Hah Rick, I never thought of the politically correct angle... I hope my friends down south forgive me ; ) A friend of mine in Alabama had an English pointer named "Rebel". Rebel was an awesome quail dog.
I'm going to train this dog right. I've been doing a lot of reading up on this breed and evidently they are super smart, super tough ("pain" training is not the program with these dogs not that that's my program anyway). Mini Chessies is how some people think of them. But, we're not going for blue ribbons, above all, this dog is a family dog, a hunter second.
I am still trying to figure out the dog's limitations esp. duck hunting. There is a lot of literature re upland, but not much re duck hunting. It's not mill ponds we hunt, it's the salt water bay and there are usually waves and it is usually cold. I don't bring my lab if it's colder than 10 degrees, and I won't bring her if the wind is ridiculous (i.e. big waves).
Inevitably I'll be posting a lot about the dog's progress. He'll be ready for next season.
That's a very funny story about Mickey.
Best, A.