In today’s world of technology, I feel we are spending much more time e-mailing and texting with one another. Actually talking to people seems like a rarity. The lack of personal communication seems inevitable with people; however, we still must make deliberate efforts to communicate with our dogs, especially puppies to ensure a better hunting dog and pet.
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The black and orange bobber bounces once and vanishes in the green river water. “Hit ’em, Paul,” Travis Mattoon hisses. Paul sets the hook with authority. A mint-bright steelhead cartwheels two feet in the air. “Fish on.” After a jump-filled battle, Mattoon slips the net under an 8-pound hatchery hen!
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Picture a winter day, grim and cold, putting a damper on possible outdoor activities. You and your children are beginning to suffer from the early stages of cabin fever, and yet the pickings are slim — movies? Seen them. Mall? Sick of it. What’s a parent to do? I can think of few things more fun for a family than attending a dog show!
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Squirrel hunting expert Mark Beason says: “Squirrel hunting with dogs is more like a dove hunt, more of a social activity. Dog
hunters don’t need to be quiet or still. People can go hunting with several friends, talk and enjoy a really great time. In my opinion, hunting squirrels with dogs is the best way to involve youth in the outdoors, too.” Learn more about this fun way of hunting squirrels!
I’d wager a bet that all of us have insurance for our homes, vehicles and personal health; but, although many of us are multiple dog owners, we haven’t looked into pet insurance. Ah hah, you’re thinking, so, is it worth it? Here’s what I discovered after looking into it.
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I woke up. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was eyes. Big brown ones. Set where they’d always been, in the brown-and-white face of my devoted Springer Spaniel — namely: Scamp. "There’s one out there," answered Scamp. Well, I suppose the word "answered" isn’t quite right. Perhaps "indicated" is a more accurate descriptor because Scamp didn’t actually answer me with words. I mean, c’mon, he’s a dog and is not capable of vocal dialogue.
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Joe and Mark couldn’t wait to run Mark’s new pup Champ with Joe’s
accomplished German shorthairs. Joe flushed the bird, and
both he and Mark took two shots at the pheasant. Joe’s dogs took off to retrieve. Champ headed back to the truck, and he could not be encouraged to return to the field. It can take just a few seconds to create a gun-shy dog. Try to anticipate problems before they start.
Those planning to run a fall marathon lace their sneakers in a training program that typically begins about three or four months before the race. Since ancient Greece, the marathon runner has known — there are no shortcuts to developing endurance. And yet a few months from now many of us may ask our dogs — not to mention ourselves — to launch into hunting season with little preparation. And we’ll pay the price, whether we’re afield on two legs or four. There’s no time like the present, with summer’s long days, to launch a conditioning plan, which aims for fall.
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Being it’s mid-July 2012 as I write this, that means we are halfway done with summer and only have a couple of months before we can begin shooting ducks! If you are an avid waterfowler like me, this is the time to get your gundog prepared for the upcoming
fall! It’s time to transfer the retrieving skills he’s learned on land to the water.