I am planning to pull the trigger on a puppy this afternoon. When I get her in 2 weeks - she will be 12 weeks old. German Wirehaired.
Firstly, she'll be a family dog. Secondly, she'll be a part time hunter.
I see some other posters on here have GWP's. I'm living in the city and currently have limited access to hunting. I've hunted over Brittanies and GSP's but never a GWP. Also, I've had lots of dogs but never trained a bird dog. I would love to get together with some folks - especially with GWP's - to get some pointers(no pun intended). And maybe even some hunting.
I'm currently living next to a huge park (with lots of other dogs) and the endowment lands near UBC so I have lots of running space.
I'm relatively new to the area (being 'merican) but have a fair bit of hunting experience down south.
I would have the dog this weekend but due to travel work schedules it looks like I'll have to postpone delivery for 2 weeks. I hadn't planned on getting a dog so quickly and unfortunately my wife and I have travel booked at the same time so we can't watch a new pup.
No advice to give and my toller just likes to chase non huntable seagulls and robins.
I will say if you are new to near the endownment lands (i grew up in that neighbourhood, and it's where my heart is) a few pieces of advice:
Your dog WILL get sprayed by a skunk.
You will get garbage and compost destroyed by raccoons.
Watch for yotes in the AM, keep a cat inside if you have one.
The endownment lands are great for running, and the camosun bog part will give you a contact high if you go when school ends lol. It's pretty enjoyable to bike up past St. George's and enter up there to the endownment lands. hang towards the left and there is lots of down sloped trails that are fun to bike on. You can then cut back and forth from the highway to UBC and back around the endownment lands. Drop past the golf course towards spanish banks and take a leisurely bike along the water.
The off leash dog area at spanish banks is nice.
Burgoo on west 10th is great for a nice and affordable dinner.
Cosy Inn Cafe on Dunbar is good (for that old chinese/western diner food) in a greasy spoon kinda way.
Stongs is a great grocer. Packaged food is expensive but their veggies and meat are great. ALWAYS good quality fish and chicken.
"The butcher" up on 10th is great but EXPENSIVE.
Finally the cold beer and wine on dunbar and 29th gets a lot ALOT of limited release craft beers.
Oh and the prettiest girls at UBC hang out by the physio/kinesiology departments, and the birdcoop (gym) maybe a great place to walk your dog.
Be careful at night in the endownment lands, it's a great place but some weirdos live there after dark.
dt - there's a couple in there i haven't tried yet. i'll get back with ya after i've been to cosy inn. i've been wondering about that place. i'm pretty much close enough to walk there.
Know the type of diner that locals love, BUT other people wonder how they could ever like it and think its meh. It's that kind of place.
Don't go on the day the musquem band gets their band cheque. Im pretty sure 80% of their book is from Musquem
Nice travelogue Ducktoller.
Since moving out of Vancouver we really don't miss much of the LML at all but walking the mutts at Spanish Banks in the summer when the tide is way out sure brings back memories. Probably one of our top dog walks was McDonald Beach along the Fraser River in Richmond, wet, muddy, lots of sticks, lots of very friendly dogs and their owners and almost guaranteed to run into fellow Tollers. That and the Lynn have to be the two best off leash dog parks in the LML.
Burgoo - yumm, on a cold, wet winter night some of the best comfort food in BC.
OK, so we really do miss the LML.
A bit.
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