Today’s plan was to ice fish. Change of plan at 5:45 as a son’s gf was slightly sick. Son and I decide to Chukar hunt.
It was brutal. Teens, wind frozen ground to climb, etc. I won’t say I was enjoying the experience. Standing at the truck Cady, my rockstar setter, points a few hundred...
Thats really interesting about the falcon tagging along...did it ever show interest in the flushing birds? I assume a falcon needs to be airborne and strike from above to get up to speed, or are they able to hunt from a low perch?
Ever experienced anything like that before?
Awesome photos. That's super helpful. I guess my reasoning for hunting the chukars early is thinking that snakes might be less active early in the morning. I have no idea if that's a good idea or not. My dog has not had snake training, and although his "leave it" command is pretty damn...
I was just going to mention DON'T let the cost of birds override all else, especially what the dog handlers ask but most importantly, SAFETY for dogs and people. Agree on a word that will be used to halt all shooting. Most places I've helped simply use the shouted word SAFE.
I'm glad you...
So the kids were finally at an age where they are mainly self sufficient (8 and 5). I had been researching and learning as much as I could about breeders and breeds. I talked the wife into a golden retriever from a hunting background. We were on the list for the first female from a litter that...
Yes, these 2 dogs & handlers have hunted together. I like the summer sausage & cheese route. Wish I had filled one of my tags this year; could have had sausages with a more personal touch :/
If your dog doesn't know that you want it to start tracking or following it's nose then you need to be clear/ build in a command for it.
This can be just going to a hotspot for the scent and tapping on the spot while giving a verbal- ie go find it
Vienna weenies are great for early training...
Never seen a dog that didn't have a nose a lot better than any of us do. Enhancing and bringing that out can be done in training, have to figure out what motivates the dog and make it a game. Be consistent with commands and they'll surprise you.
I've used "find it" for everything from a...
No worry about the last part, I wouldn’t know if the dogs are doing well or not.
But yes, one accident can erase a whole day of fun in an instant, and cost far more than the bird will.
I think this would be a fantastic book for anyone with their first dog.
Advanced trainers might find this book too elemental because they learned these six principles years ago.
I found this short book ($9 on Amazon) an easy read.
There were not many specific examples, but the reader can think...
Hiring freezes and cutting government had nothing to do with a flood that wipes out folks. You government folks are not that important. You create no taxable income (I know you have your with holdings) but every natural disaster will happen without you government people. It has been...
Seen a lot of "horse people" who dont own ranches and such.
I dont at all mean to sound condescending - but owning a horse is much harder than a dog. Its much harder to train - and typically the people training/riding also need plenty of training. The people who enjoy it typically own a...
To help puppy get use to the sounds of gun shots I take her to my local shooting range. Hold her in my arms and speak softly to her while allowing to listen to firearm reports. Not close early on. I stay back many yards, in the truck, letting her get use to the shot noises. A few trips to the...
No doubt shooter had training (see him calmly clear a jam), but our security guys say unlikely a true pro hit as a pro would not have done it in such a public place - a pro hit would have got him walking his dog or something.
Would be shocked if related to a trading window mess - those happen...
I wouldn't bother with the ranch dog. Between the pointer and lab in training you'll be fine hunting planted birds. I've taken clients to a few of those clubs and eventually end having to carry a pocket full of rocks to throw at the birds. Even when the dogs get on them, some of those birds are...
Oh, one more thing...if/when you decide to use live birds for training, whether you plant birds or use launchers, it has been my experience that quail, although cheaper, are not great fliers which increases the chances your dog will catch the bird which will then in turn hinder steadiness and...
I've read a few articles that pigeons are a good training bird. I'll take a look and see if any are available around here. I found some Chukar. The thing I'm really trying to nail down is fair expectations on timelines. When he should be doing this or that. Called the the guy I'm going to take...