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Hunting Chromatic Snowbirds
No matter when snow blankets the landscape with white powdery ice crystals, it’s prime time for bird hunters to do what it takes to get after those ring-neck pheasants. If this means layering up like the Michelin Man or donning snowshoes, then so be it. Pheasants will seek out those places that offer protection from the elements, for when the heavy snow comes, and flatten sparse cover.
Meet Gen Next
Everyone loves puppies, but not everyone likes dogs. It’s unsurprising that the same holds true in the canine world. Many adult dogs don’t care that much for puppies, and some downright despise them. Making sure that the introduction is successful isn’t just important, it’s critical. That prevailing attitude means introductions to the new member of your string requires some thought and planning. After all, you only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Read Your Dog
Just because a gun dog can’t speak doesn’t mean he’s not saying anything. Reading the dogs’ body language is key for elevating performance levels, so here are some things pro trainers look for when they cut loose their string.
Building the Foundation at Any Age
Most of us know that the best training comes from starting early in a dog’s life. Getting that young pup chasing tennis balls down the hallway is the best way to get that future Master Hunter started on the retrieving journey. But what do we do if the dog we get is a little older, two or three years old, and other than “sit” and playing fetch in the backyard, they have no formal retrieving skills? They are solid with those very basic things, but with no formal training.
How to Help Your Dog Learn
When I started training retrievers professionally in 1972, I believed that dogs needed to be worked six days a week, for at least a half hour each day. If you have a big kennel, you know that’s a lot of work. After a few years and training several hundred dogs, I wound up skipping a day or two. That’s when things started to make sense.
What expenses can kennel owners write off?
Maybe you accidentally started a dog-related business pursuing a hobby, or maybe owning a kennel has been your lifelong dream, either way, you can be sure Uncle Sam wants his fair share of your hard work. My blood always starts to boil this time of year, especially when the government reaches into my pocket and pulls out a whopping 33% of what I earned the past year. After being gouged by the IRS a few times, I've tried to do a better job of keeping up with expenses. I'd much rather invest my hard-earned money back into my business as an expense than let the government have it.
Positive Training Methods for Puppies – 4 Tips for Success
Positive training methods are becoming increasingly popular and work well when your puppy is young. This training method rewards puppies for successfully completing a task. Once a puppy understands the kind of behavior that gets him a reward he’ll want to do more of it. Here are four ways to get started using positive training with your puppy.
Ringnecks in the snow
Snowfalls in many states is the silent signal to die-hard bird hunters that it is time to venture out and chase ring-neck pheasants in the snow. There is much to enjoy about pheasant hunting in the snow during the colder weather months. While there are some hunters that will shun hunting in the snow and extreme cold conditions, there will be those that will find it to their liking and challenging. Hunters should be able to walk around when the snow is dry and light. However, the amount of snowfall will determine the difficulty in traversing the countryside and fields. Hunting during the winter adds a physical and mental challenge to finding and chasing winter birds.
`Upland` Chaps
The snow had begun to accumulate. Measuring just high enough that each boot step would certainly put me into almost ten inches of the white stuff. The landscape was wet with freshly fallen snow. Its weight had pushed down all the dried, tan switchgrass that fall and winter brings. I opened the back half of the truck’s cab to get to my gear bag. I unzipped the main compartment and pulled out matching tan chaps. They were quickly put on over my pants and secured. An hour into my hunt, I quickly found the chaps sole purpose that day was to keep me dry. I had pushed though snow-laden grass, flushing roosters who had taken to burrowing themselves in small openings to get out of the weather. If I had not worn chaps, I would’ve been one wet and cold bird hunter.
How to remove Cockleburs from your hunting dogs coat
I have two Field bred Cocker Spaniels, aka Cocklerbur Spaniels, magnets for all things like cockleburs to get mired in their little wisp of hair. As sure as the sun rises, my dogs will be covered in hundreds of these annoying prickly little burs within minutes of being turned loose in the Field. I’m sure it’s no different for any other long-haired breed like English and Irish Setters, Brittany and Springer Spaniels. What I’ve put together here isn’t meant to be a comprehensive guide on how to remove Cockleburs, this is just the method that I use. If you’d like to share your own method, please do so in the comments below.
How to sell dogs during a recession
There is a lot of debate in the media right now about whether we're headed for a recession or already in one. The Feds talk about making a soft landing with the economy, but I keep seeing the stock market dropping and the interest rates rising. There might be some tough days ahead, or there might not be, but it never hurts to be prepared. Selling dogs is tough, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, it's even harder in a recession. During a recession, you may face some challenges placing your dogs. This article offers sure-fire tips to stack the deck in your favor should the economy take a turn for the worse.
Overcoming In-Season Obstacles with Your Duck Dog
You’ve waited to hit your honey-hole spot for the perfect day. You know that you’re hitting the migration just right, and if you’ve played your cards correctly, you’ll be limited out by early morning.
Zen and Sharing Space With Bears and Snakes
While planning a trip to Montana a friend asked me if the possibility of running into a bear or snake was “over hyped or a real concern?” After some thought, my answer “both” wasn’t very helpful in easing his mind. But it is true - while the odds of an encounter go up exponentially in the country either dreaded species inhabits. The sheer volume of hunters, fishers, and hikers flooding the space makes the odds of you actually being the one who gets bitten or mauled impossibly low. Put another way, you have to play the lotto to win, but when was the last time you won the jackpot? That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared, but common sense often goes out the window when we head west with our fears in tow.
WHAT TO WEAR? THAT IS THE QUESTION.
What do I wear for bird hunting? Is a valid and common question asked by new bird hunters. The answers they receive will be on both sides of the spectrum. From the very basic to high-tech. Comfort and protection are paramount when hunting the uplands, as they can be versatile in every aspect of the hunt. There’s a style to the upland ruggedness we hunt. What bird hunters wear must allow them to walk comfortably and if need be, crash through heavy and unruly thickets, brambles, thick cover, as well as up and over rough terrain in mild to extreme conditions. Wear what makes you comfortable and what you can afford, while still maintaining breathability, warmth, dryness, and durability. These attributes make for upland field excursions more enjoyable when not thinking about whether the clothes on your back will function, so focus can be to putting birds in your bird vest.
A Guide to Exploring Shotguns, Chokes and Shot Size for Hunting the Brown Rockets of the Marsh...
As I reloaded my 12 gauge over-and-under, yet again for the fourth, fifth, and even sixth time after I had whiffed on the acrobatic brown rockets of the marsh…the snipe, I had about given up on connecting on the fragile little fliers. The Ruger Red Label’s barrels were hot to the touch due to the number of shells being shot out of them. Trouncing through the wetlands, the occasional backsplash would create a “tsss” sound on the hot metal tubes. The break-open action on the double-barreled shotgun was surely seeing plenty of opening and closing.
