Thursday 29th October.

Co. Tyrone.
A disappointing day. I haven’t been shooting for some time now but just to see what mobility I had in my shoulder I tried to dry mount Steven’s gun. I couldn’t do it. I could just get the top of the butt below my armpit. The later on I slipped, grabbed a tree for support and couldn’t speak for about ten minutes. I was so sore that I decided to go home after lunch.
Tam seemed keen enough from the start but he wasn’t hitting the cover and seemed unfit. Mid morning I beat out The Orchard and Tam was performing a lot better pushing a number of birds but he didn’t get a chance at a retrieve.
I would have thought Tam was quite fit, having done well on the mountain several times lately but when I was packing up to go home Tam was lying on his back snoring, a sure sign he was knackered. Last night (Friday) Ross said he thought Tam looked too big and heavy so I will up his exercise levels but I’m not going to touch his food intake because already he gets less than any of the other dogs and he is considerably heavier than any of the Pointers.