Dog Characters in The Blue Bottle Tree

In my forthcoming novel The Blue Bottle Tree’s blog, there is another character that plays a silent role in this tale of murder. His name is Otto, a German shorthair pointer.

Hunting Dogs Point to Southern Traditions in The Blue Bottle Tree 

The novel, The Blue Bottle Tree, is set in 1970 against the backdrop of upland quail hunting. Bird hunting in the South is a tradition as old as bourbon and football. It is considered a manly sport, a gentlemen’s entitlement.

The character of Wes Smith, dog trainer and love interest, sees potential in Otto and wants to develop it. After all, Otto and bird hunting offer Wes a path to social status and economic gain. Joshua “Major” Butler, the novel protagonist, prefers the classic English pointer for hunting. He buys Otto at the insistence of Wes, and subsequently uses the dog as leverage to control his trainer.

Otto, a German shorthair pointer with solid, liver colored head, saddle, and freckled body, is a breed model. With his docked tail, webbed toes, and tractable attitude, he is Wes’s ideal bird dog. Otto is young and beginning his training hence occasionally “slips” under field conditions. Wes corrects the dog’s behavior and works to train around each incident. He believes that with consistent work, Otto will develop into a steady hunter similar to the elder Gunner, an English pointer.

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Gunner is Major’s favorite. The dog is a classic pointer but is beginning to show his age. A last litter of pups with the bitch Sadie, is an effort on Major’s part to continue his kennel’s reputation and his subsequent sports hunting position. Gunner and Otto serve as proxy for conflict between the two pivotal characters Major and Wes, in The Blue Bottle Tree.

The two bird dogs featured in The Blue Bottle Tree are considered pointing breeds. (There is a yard dog, Mutt, also in the novel. More on him in a later post) Pointers work in front of a hunter finding game. When they find game and come upon point position, the dog will freeze with the head, body, and tail in a mostly straight line. Some dogs will raise a front paw.  The point allows the hunter to walk closer to the birds and prepare for a shot. Because the prey is a quail, dove, or grouse, these dogs are called bird dogs.

When two dogs are used, the first to point is ‘backed’ by the second dog who holds position or honors, while the first dog will eventually, on command from his handler, flush the birds.

Wes Smith sees bird hunting with a dog akin to a religious experience to be respected by every hunter that enters the field. He is impatient with novice shooters that do not adhere to the field protocols. Major Butler views hunting as a gentlemen’s sport, a way to move within elite social circles. He invites friends hunting so that he can show off his dogs and their hunting acumen, while laying claim to his gentleman status. He thrills to the heart-thumping adrenaline rush when birds explode into the air.

Conflicting Views of Hunting in The Blue Bottle Tree

There were times friends invited me to hunt with them. I always had mixed emotions about actually killing a bird hence never worked at perfecting my shooting skills. Bird hunting dogs were not common in my rural area of South Georgia. On the other hand, porch or yard dogs and raccoon hunting dogs were plentiful.

My uncles were great night hunters mostly when there was a fresh supply of white lightning. Night hunters use hounds, spend the entire night around a campfire listening for the baying to signal a “treed” raccoon. Moonshine was drunk liberally to ward off the cold

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Your Turn

Human-canine relationships are unique and special whether in the hunt field or simply walking with your best canine friend. Complex relationships among men, women, and critters is a highlight of The Blue Bottle Tree.  I love a good outdoor story. Care to share some of your special times out bird watching, walking with a dog, or hunting?   

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