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The Great Debate: Pointing or Flushing Dogs for Quail
My wife said I winced when we pulled up to the only game in town. It was an old motel of a vintage that reminded me of the Golden Era of travel by car. Over the years families probably over-nighted here while on their way to any one of a number of the nearby wild quail Valhallas. No visible capital improvements had been done for a long time, at least I couldn't see any renovation. The 30-some-odd rooms looked sad while the adjoining restaurant and tavern was booming.
Pups first year or so
Your hopes and dreams are wrapped up in that little ball of fur you just brought home. Training started the moment you gathered him up in your arms for the first time, and it never ends. It is a continuum of more and bigger distractions your dog must endure while executing a command, and "finished dog" is always a relative term.
Cadillac Farm by Tom Word
My great friend Joe Prince, farmer and every-day-in-season quail hunter of Stony Creek, Virginia, died from a tractor accident I predicted in 1997. His brother, Dr. John S. Prince of Emporia, died of old age at 97 last month, having practiced as an Internist to age 90. They were alike as two peas in a pod, smart, hard working, opinionated. Both had served in WWII, Joe as an enlisted radar operator aboard troop transports to Europe, John as a Navy officer aboard a cruiser.
You Cant Just Have One
I love the saying 'anything done in moderation shows a lack of interest' because it's true. My gun cabinet, my rod rack, my decoy rack and my kennels are all full. I'm immoderate, just like you.
Rare breeds vs Popular breeds - By Craig Koshyk
Breeders of the more popular gundog breeds sometimes use the term 'popular' to promote their breed; the implication being that 'A million owners can't be wrong'. And sometimes breeders of less common breeds use the term 'rare' to promote their breed; the implication being that their dogs are super cool 'one in a million' hunting machines.
Joe and Denny and Me -- and Lucky - by Tom Word
In the summer of 1973, when I was thirty-five and a striving Richmond lawyer, I got an amazing gift from a more striving life insurance salesman hoping for referrals from me, an introduction to his brother, Joe Prince, perhaps Virginia's most striving grain farmer, and after his crops of wheat, peanuts, soybeans and corn were up, most striving quail hunter.
Running Spring Woodcock - By Tom Keer
A pro trainer recently asked me about my training bird bill.
Long Distance Runaround - By Craig Koshyk
In a perfect world the pup of your dreams, from the breed of your dreams, would be whelped by an awesome breeder living just down the street. And when the happy day came for you to bring you puppy home, all you'd need to do is walk half a block to get him.
Beware the Twins - By Tom Word
They were twins, and identical, at least every one said they were. Of course white folks would have said identical anyhow, they couldn't have distinguished between them if they were just cousins, let alone twin brothers. They could each ride like the wind, and scout a bird dog, which Ron did for a living, working for the all-age handler, Sparrow Bates.
The Nose Knows: Reading your Birddogs Signs by Tom Keer
If you own a bird dog, let alone a string of 'em, then the odds are high that you know what their every movement and noise means. But if you're hunting over a buddy's dog then you might not be as keyed in to their tells. Here are two common situations that bird dogs encounter and some different ways in which they react.
Gundog Central Announcement
I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to bring you some brand new content from two super talented and respected individuals of the bird dog community. I really admire their work and I think you will too. Later today I'll be uploading a short story written by legendary Bird Dog and Field Trial author Tom Word, accompanied by art work contributed by bird dog and wildlife artist, Leah Brigham.
Whats in a name?
I will call this an information session for all of you gundog enthusiasts out there, however some of you will more than likely call it venting and complaining. But nevertheless, here is my story. This article is about duel registration for your gundog. Specifically duel registration with the AKC and the NAVHDA. I will share my story here today with all of you in hopes that you will not run into the same misfortune that I have recently when trying to accomplish this with my new male GSP. First off, just a little bit of back story to set the mood. I had been in search of the perfect male to add to my bloodline for quite sometime. I mean I really did a lot of research, spent hours combing the classifieds, and some real foot work looking for that special litter that contained my future superstar. You know the kind, the pup thats pedigree contains just the right balance of proven master hunters and versatile champions, he had to have the perfect markings, and his tail had to stand at attention like a soldier when he meant business. After forfeiture of a couple puppy deposits due to not getting exactly what I wanted, I had almost given up when a boring day at work and one more scroll thru Gundog Central yielded what I personally considered perfection out in eastern Iowa. I was on the phone straight away and an immediate trip to the post office after work with deposit in hand began the long wait and picking process and picture messages leading up to eight weeks later when my lovely bride would make the not so short journey to pick up our new champion prospect. He was a beautiful pup. Over the years I have had a bunch of good looking German Shorthaired pointers, but this little guy topped em all. Now after waiting for several weeks, of course I had already named him before I had even met him in person. So a quick visit to the AKC website is all it took, and it was official, my new pup had a new name.........or did he?
Go Slow When Introducing a Dog to Gunfire
Sometimes hunters are so eager to develop their new pup into a hunting dog that they rush things. With some training exercises, if you make a mistake and try to teach something too fast, you can fix the resulting problems by going back and starting over. In others cases, such as with introduction to gunfire, you don't get a second chance.
Training Your Retriever for Double Duty
If you own a waterfowl dog, chances are that sooner or later you're going to ask it to perform upland duty. It might be a pheasant hunt as a sideline to your Dakota duck hunt, or maybe an afternoon of quail hunting after a morning goose hunt. Most retrievers handle their second job pretty well. You can help your dog perform that job even better.
