Outdoor Life - Crows RSS

20 Best Taxidermy Photos from the Safari Club International Convention

Alex Robinson — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:58:49 -0500

We rounded up 20 of the best mount photos from the SCI convention floor. Let us know in the comments section which one you like the best.

Top Ten Creatures You Hope To Stumble Across in 2012

OL Editor — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:36:29 -0500

Bigfoot, Loch Ness, mermaids, unicorns and dragons... I’ve never seen any of these creatures, and I’ve covered a lot of ground in my day. I’ve even been lost without a camera a few times. You’d think that would have been the perfect time to run into one of these! But, "Nope!", Chuck Testa’d. I’m not lucky enough. Question is what would a guy do? Shoot it? Probably.

There are a ton of myths out there, including whatever always swallows up that missing sock. I have no idea. And Da Turdy Point Buck--where’s he livin’? I definitely haven’t seen him and if I did, what would I do? Miss, most likely.

So, Happy New Year everyone! Let’s hear what critter you’d like to finally get an encounter with in 2012!

Here’s Mine: A Liger! If Napoleon believes--I believe!

Write your funniest ideas in the comments section for the chance to win an ASAP Survival Gear Pack. Last week’s Winner

Top Ten Christmas Gifts You Hope Fall Out of Santa’s Sleigh

10.) from pineywoods: Feral hog chia pet.

9.) from Buckshott00: A man bag. I don't care what the salesman told you, it's a purse!

8.) from Sven_Katur: A python.

7.) from Johnnie: Reindeer poop. I have three dogs and I pick up three dogs worth of poop all year long. The one gift that I hope Santa doesn't bring me this year is nine reindeer pooping on my lawn. I have enough poop to pick up as it is. Merry Christmas everybody!..... Johnnie and Family

6.) from pbshooter1217: A gift certificate to the mall, I was their long enough with my girl friend Christmas shopping.

5.) from Fishman24: A$$less Chaps, I just don't need them.

4.) from ishipley: naked Rosie O'Donell quote of the day calender

3.) from JM: Women's Lingerie...it's not the base layer I want to wear hunting.

2.) from Ric Waters: I carved a brook trout and wan't happy with it. My mom pulled it from my scrap heap, painted it, screwed brass hooks in the side and gave it to me for hanging my keys on.

1.) from drake_whisperer: A week long visit from my new mother-in-law...'nuff said...Anyone need company in a duck blind? The lab and I are ready to load up the wagon and peel out of here.....

Help Us Pick The Prize for Our Next Caption Contest!

Alex Robinson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:33:47 -0500

So Outdoor Life is part of a cool contest operated by Crown Royal, sponsor of Field & Stream’s Hook Shots show and maker of the whiskey that comes in a purple bag. The contest is called “Pass the Crown,” and it’s a variation on the Secret Santa gift exchange anyone who’s ever worked in an office is familiar with. Are you lucky enough to have never worked in an office? Then here’s how this works:

Each day from now until Dec. 15 Crown Royal is giving away a prize to a different web site to pass along to its readers. Today is Outdoor Life’s turn, but here’s the catch. Crown’s not telling us which prize they’re giving us right away. Instead, we get a clue, embroidered on one of their famous purple bags,* and we have to guess what prize the clue refers to. Based on that guess, we then get to decide whether to keep the prize in our bag or steal one of the prizes that have already been opened by a different site. Here’s a list of the prizes that have already been opened.

This is where we need your help. Do we keep our prize, or steal one from somebody else? You’ve got until 4 PM this afternoon to weigh in. Check out our clue (below), then post your best argument for keeping the prize in our bag or for stealing a specific prize from another site in the comments section here or on our Facebook post about the contest over at facebook.com/outdoorlife. If you can convince us your argument is best, we’ll go with your suggestion. If you’re not convincing enough, we’ll make the decision ourselves.

We’ll post an update here tomorrow telling you what prize was in our bag, and whether we decided to keep it or not. Keep in mind that any of the five sites who come after us can steal our gift, so don’t get too attached to whatever we end up with!

And last, of course; how will we determine which of our readers wins the prize we end up with at the end of the contest? It’ll be a caption contest, photo and date TBD. Stay tuned!

*Crown is running this contest is to get the word out about the custom-embroidered Crown bags ($9.95), and the free personalized Crown Royal bottle labels (21 and over, only) available at CrownRoyal.com. If you’ve got a Crown-lover in your family, this would make a great gift.

Introduction to Trailing

Brian Lynn — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:23:32 -0400

For a dog, the act of following a scent trail upon command is a very different behavior than that of following one during hunting. It's a learned behavior that cues the dog to act in an independent manner and not interdependently with the handler.

It's a cue and behavior that I'll be working with Kona on over the next couple of weeks, and I'll be laying scent trails all over the place as is described in the video above by Dan Hosford. Trailing was something I was worried about with Kona at our last NAHRA test, but wasn't something I trained on during the two-week hiatus before this week's test. This past weekend it came back to bite us in the butt.

While Kona nailed the sit-to-flush, which we thoroughly trained during the last couple of weeks (including walk-through sits at heel, flushed pigeons in the field and obedience drills in the fight pen with birds flying and walking directly in his face), when we moved from the upland exercise of quartering and flushing he was still in hunt mode and we didn't have cue cemented in his psyche that told him to stop hunting and start following the scent without regard to my distance.

As a dog that has done quite a bit of pheasant hunting, Kona keeps my location in mind and works as a team (most of the time anyway). When we're afield and looking for a cripple, he's either in hot pursuit or we're both working the cover for the downed bird.

His "dead bird" command holds him tight to the immediate cover and if he scents the bird he can track it down. In the hunting field when he gets on scent I'm usually following behind in case a follow up shot is required. In the NAHRA test, however, you show the dog the start of the trail and then he's on his own.

You can encourage him to follow, but you can't give hand signals or walk with him. Most trails take a turn or two and can stretch anywhere from a short 20 yards to 100 yards or more. Where Kona and I often run into trouble is that he picks up the scent and tries to puzzle it out but when I encourage him with a "dead bird" he stops and starts working the cover for more indications. If I use his "where's the birds, get 'em up" command, he thinks it's time to hunt and starts to quarter the trail eventually stopping and waiting for me to catch up into gun range. When I don't follow, he returns to me.

This past weekend the trail had broken down on Saturday morning and redrage in a different location was fair and Kona followed it. On Sunday, however, he was all messed up. Coming straight off the quarter and sit-to-flush exercise he was still in hunt mode and never even showed an indication of understanding what I was asking him to do. It was a very fair judgement to be disqualified.

So, our next couple of weeks will be filled with trailing, as well as sit to flush, marking, blinds and water work. When you get down to it, trailing is probably the easiest thing for the single trainer to work on alone, yet it's something that is often ignored for sexier things like technical marks, blinds and the like.

But that folly won't happen again. I'll be dragging a dead duck through the sagebrush and fields surrounding me every day from now on! Check out the above video to see how best to lay a trail and teach a dog to use his nose independently of the handler.

As I can attest however, use a separate command to initiate the behavior and after the dog starts getting good at it, make sure to train it with other dogs and people so he gets used to the multitude of scents and tracks laid.

War Dogs and the bin Laden Trail

Brian Lynn — Thu, 05 May 2011 16:52:17 -0400

In the wake of Osama bin Laden's assassination in Pakistan this week, the nature of elite military teams has captured the imagination of the public. We wonder who these brave, mysterious men are, what their daily lives are like, their families, training, etc.

The same sort of intrigue is taking place in the dog world. Canines have been used to detect IEDs at increasing rates in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that trend will continue and is a testament to the abilities of man's best friend, but one dog in particular has now piqued the interest of many in the public: the canine that accompanied Navy SEAL Team Six in the raid of bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

In this piece by the New York Times, the training of commando dogs and their role in detecting IEDs and hiding insurgents, as well as more a more mundane question: what breed of dog was with the SEAL team? It's a toss up between a German shepherd dog and a Belgium Malinois according to the article. If I had to guess, I'd lay my money on a Belgium Malinois.

While at a D.T. Systems seminar with George Hickox last year (where pros answered your questions), he mentioned some of the work that is being done by the Pentagon in regards to dogs. Different training techniques, timing, reinforcement and the like that the government is testing in order to improve the training and reliability of dogs and their handlers. As one of the few civilians that has been allowed to see some of the techniques and been privy to some of the statistical results, it was very interesting to hear his reports. In a more lighthearted moment, he mentioned that the baddest dog around was the Belgium Malinois. "The won't just bite you," he said. "They'll try to eat you!"

But as smart, athletic and tough as the Malinois is, the Labrador retriever is very popular with troops. Just as the dual-purpose dog excels at quartering and flushing ahead of the upland hunter, Labs also work more than 100-yards ahead of patrol troops searching out IEDs.

In this story by foreignpolicy.com, not only is the dog at the center of the bin Laden story examined but the history of dogs in war is looked at too. The pictures themselves are worth a quick scroll through, even if you don't read the fascinating history.

Of particular interest to me was the reclassification of war dogs. According to the article's fourth slide: "Military working dogs (MWDs in Army parlance) may not enjoy all the privileges of being full-fledged soldiers, but the U.S. military no longer considers them mere equipment. (The war dogs deployed to Vietnam during that conflict were classifiedas "surplus equipment" and left behind.) Today, MWDs are outfitted with equipment of their own -- a range of specialized gear that includes Doggles (protective eye wear), body armor, life vests, gas masks, long-range GPS-equipped vests, and high-tech canine "flak jackets."

I remember a conversation with John Satterwhite, the former US Olympic champion shooter and current exhibition shooter, while at a seminar at Wildrose Kennels, on what really sent him down the shooting road. While he enjoyed shooting in high school and was a state champion, it wasn't until Vietnam that he got really, really serious about it.

The impetus took place with his entrance to the Air Force during that war. "I put down that I liked to train dogs and got assigned to the canine unit," said Satterwhite, noting that the survival rate of dog handlers was about 10 percent. "That's something you never wanted to have happen back then."

His former high school coach called his commanding officer and told him about Satterwhite's skill with a shotgun. The officer told Satterwhite that as long as he could maintain a certain level of prowess with the firearm, he wouldn't have to enter the canine unit and deploy to Vietnam. From that moment on Satterwhite lived at the range and practiced every shot he could imagine. As you can see by his biography, Satterwhite not only shot exhibition, but represented our country in the Olympics and taught our troops how to shoot better.

It's nice to see that military intelligence isn't always an oxymoron and that canines have been reclassified and are now given the deserved attention and respect as team members (check out picture slide 10; man and dog living in a pack at its finest). With results like these, however, I guess it's hard to ignore the success, fiscal impact and the abilities of dogs:

"In October 2010, the Pentagon announced that after six years and $19 billion spent in the attempt to build the ultimate bomb detector technology, dogs were still the most accurate sniffers around. The rate of detection with the Pentagon's fanciest equipment -- drones and aerial detectors -- was a 50 percent success rate, but when a dog was involved it rose 30 percent."

If you're looking for more war dog stories, check out this book: "Always Faithful: A memoir of the Marine dogs of WWII". It looks like a very interesting read!

Gun Dogs: Training vs. Practicing

Brian Lynn — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:57:06 -0400

Back in my younger days I enjoyed skiing. A day on the mountain was filled with fresh, cold air and adrenaline rushes as my buddies and I pushed each other to do better. I used the mantra (sometimes it doubled as an excuse): "if you're not falling, you're not skiing hard enough."

The same might be said of training your dog: if you're not making adjustments, corrections or changes to your dog's performance, you might not be training hard enough. You might just be practicing. Now, I say might because with dogs it's very subjective and depends upon what you've already done with the dog.

If you haven't taught the dog what you expect and then suddenly throw him into a scenario that he has to figure out by trial and error, then corrections, be them verbal, physical or via e-collar, are woefully unfair.

However, if you've gone through the teaching phase, the dog understands what you're doing and what's expected, then pushing him to do better by challenging him mentally and giving him every opportunity to make the correct decisions is training the dog.

If you're simply running drills over and over or keep repeating the same scenarios in the same area, then the dog begins to pickup on what's happening and can react accordingly.

"So many people don't train, they just practice," said pro trainer Dan Hosford recently when I was out at his place. "They just go through the motions and the dog isn't really working or having to try."

Now, practicing can have it's benefits. It's great for building a dog's confidence and momentum, as well as re-establishing the basics, but repeating the same scenario or drill over and over in the same place doesn't train the dog to react accordingly in the future in a new setting.

"When people train in the same place, the dog begins to pick up on cues and anticipates what's going to happen next," said Hosford. "You need to get the dog out of its comfort zone a little bit and challenge it, or else you're just practicing and not training."

You can push a dog by changing locations or making a known drill/scenario more challenging by increasing the complexity, distractions, number of birds, suction, terrain or getting out in inclimate weather (after all, hunting rarely takes place during ideal conditions).

I've been guilty of lazy training (especially over the last couple of months) and have repeated training sequences that rarely challenge Kona. What about you Gun Doggers? What's your ratio of training vs. practicing?

How to Feed Your Hunting Dog

Brian Lynn — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:23:20 -0400

We've talked about feeding, how to keep pup at his ideal body weight and the benefits of feeding a performance formula before here on the Gun Dogs blog, but I thought you might want to hear about the best time to feed and how many times per day you should feed -- straight from the mouth (or pen, well, computer anyway) of an expert.

Brian Zanghi is a nutritionist with Purina and his latest release details why feeding your active sporting dog once a day will help him perform at optimal levels.

Will feeding twice a day ruin old Fido? Nope, but if he's a hard-working dog that hunts extensively, day after day, then you might consider switching his feeding routine to a once-a-day regiment. He'll feel and perform better in the field for you.

So when do you feed your dog during the day over the course of the hunting or performance season, and how many times a day do you feed? There are some concepts to consider in structuring a feeding strategy for your hardworking dog and we will discuss why they work. Some things to consider include, the optimal time to feed and how often to feed daily.

There is a variety of information that indicates feeding a hardworking dog is optimal when the food is provided after hunting or training for the day, and not before. Did you know that it takes 20-24 hours for your dog's meal to be completely digested and eliminated as a bowel movement?

Nutrition studies have revealed that a dog's endurance performance can be as much as doubled when on an empty stomach compared to having eaten 4 or less hours before exercising. There is also scientific evidence from dog nutrition studies that feeding 17 or more hours before exercise results in a much greater use of fat as energy; this is compared to feeding 6 hours before exercise, which results in a much greater use of carbohydrates for energy generation.

You might be asking: why is this important? Exercise metabolism for a hardworking dog is best when fat is used for producing energy for muscles. This is because fat is the best energy source for promoting and supporting endurance exercise, which is exactly what most hardworking dogs require for optimal performance.

For any sportsman or pet owner reading this article that has dogs that tend to sprint more often than quarter a field, this applies to you and your dog as well. Why? Because nutrition studies with greyhounds have even indicated that high fat diets, which promote fat metabolism for energy, result in faster run times than strictly high carbohydrate diets. Even though all the reasons for this are not well understood, it minimally demonstrates that fat metabolism is very important for short duration/high intensity, as well as long duration/moderate intensity, exercise in dogs.

Based on this information, it is recommended that intensely exercising dogs be fed approximately 24 hours before an intense exercise bout to help alleviate problems associated with a full colon. This can include bloody stool, believed to be associated with irritation of the intestinal lining by movement of fecal material in the large bowel because of intense exercise.

If the sporting activity is a multiple day event, then likely it will not be realistic to wait 24 hours before the next exercise bout. Therefore, most dogs should be fed 30-60 minutes after exercise or hard work is complete for the day so that they have the maximum amount of time to digest the meal before the next day's exercise bout.

Immediately after the dog stops working or hunting, it is best to focus on allowing the breathing rate to slow or generally return to normal, and provide fresh water in for rehydrating. Just be sure that the dog doesn't over-consume the drinking water all at once, as vomiting could occur.

DAILY FEEDING FREQUENCY

Consistent with feeding your hunting dog after a day's training or hunting is complete, as well as providing as much time for digestion, also leads to the suggestion that feeding once daily is more optimal than feeding twice daily.

Healthy adult dogs, unlike people, don't get hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) with short or multiple days of food deprivation, even when exercising, as they rely much more significantly on fat metabolism. Of course, feeding once daily would be considered optimal for performance of a hardworking dog, but this may not be feasible in some situations or for some dogs.

If very large quantities are required daily to maintain an ideal body condition, like 7-8 cups for a 50-60 lb dog, it would be recommended to consult your veterinarian to devise a custom feeding strategy for your dog's particular needs. This scenario can be typical of young adult dogs housed outdoors in cool to cold temperatures, particularly when they exhibit very active kennel behaviors, and are trained/hunted multiple times a week.

If you are feeding this large quantity of food on a maintenance formula, this is a good example of a need to switch to a performance food. Feeding 7-8 cups a day would also be a situation where feeding twice daily may be required, however feeding the bulk (~75%) of the food immediately after exercise, then the balance 4-6 hours later. Alternative options to consider would be to increase the caloric density and/or feed a food with higher digestibility as a strategy for reducing the amount needed to deliver adequate calories. Again, if you find yourself in this scenario with a high-octane dog, consult your veterinarian to work out a custom strategy to ensure adequate nutrient balance and feeding, as each extreme situation will require some customization.

Our hardworking dogs are nothing less than elite athletes in every way. We expect high performance when they are afield and we train them for success, so it is important that we consider how providing the best nutrition and feeding strategies support our canine athlete. This is critical to complement the training and breeding of your pet. Taken together, all these suggestions can contribute each in simple ways to develop an optimal feeding program for your hardworking dog. Good luck.

Dogs Can't Cram

Brian Lynn — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:35:04 -0400

Cramming with Kona:

Pushing deadlines and cramming isn't a good practice for anyone. When a dog is added to the mix, however, cramming definitely doesn't work.

Case in point: I entered Kona in a North American Hunting Retriever Association hunt test in Chewelah, Wash., despite not doing any serious training for months. We went 1-for-1 in the Senior Division, which is the highest of the organization's four levels. We passed on Sunday but failed to meet the standard on Saturday.

To add an ironic twist, the judge that ruled us out Saturday was my high school Vice Principal. I was sent or called to his office on more than one occasion and now nearly 20 years after graduation I find myself, not to mention my dog, once more disciplined by the man.Going into the weekend I feared two elements of the test the most: sit to flush and trailing. Some last-minute training, or cramming if you will, did nothing to alleviate my concerns. Arriving at the test as a late entrant, I found out my high school Vice Principal has been into dogs for 30 years and would be judging the Senior stake on the first day.

This man struck fear into even the biggest, baddest football players we had at school. Probably because he was bigger and meaner than they were. His bald head contrasted with his dark bushy moustache and only served to frame his penetrating eyes.

I found myself sitting in his office on three occasions that I remember: once for talking in class (not guilty, it wasn't me), once for getting into a fight in gym class (guilty, but I was sticking up for a smaller kid) and another for a Homecoming prank that apparently wasn't funny to some female members of the senior class (again, guilty. But it WAS funny). In all three instances the punishment fit the crimes. He was very fair and two decades later it was no different.

After nailing the land triple and one-whistling the land blind, we moved on to the quarter and sit-to-flush test. Coming out of the holding blind we worked down a thick hedgerow. Kona worked the cover perfectly. He stayed in range and zig-zagged back and forth hunting the cover, plowing through briars and crossing the small creek in search of birds.

And then the sit-to-flush portion came. The thrower tossed the bird into the air and shot it. At the toss I blew the sit whistle and Kona's butt dropped. The pigeon dropped too. About 7 yards in front of him. The mostly white bird flapped, flopped and rolled around. It was too much for Kona to handle even with a second whistle. He broke and had the devil bird in his mouth within two strides. Delivering it happily to hand, the man that had meted out discipline in 1992 again informed me of my punishment: "that's an out," he said.

I agreed with the decision (although I did say, "that was brutal!" to which my old VP agreed) and we ran as the test dog for the rest of the day.

On Sunday we did better but I think the only reason Kona didn't break on the sit-to-flush portion was because the gunner missed. When Kona realized the pigeon wasn't coming down his posture relaxed a bit and I no'd him off the flyaway and we continued quartering through the field. I can't say for certain, but I am pretty sure had that bird been shot that "The Black Booger" would have reared his head and he would have broke again. I bet you can guess what we'll be working on for the next couple of weeks.

After that Kona nailed the marks for both the land and water triples (despite a no-bird situation on the land test's live flyer), did so-so on the water blind, respectable on the land blind and looked like a Hoover vacuum on the trail.

Despite passing on Sunday, I'm not happy with either Kona's or my own performance. In addition to training sit to flush before the next test in two weeks, we'll be working on line manners (specifically: creeping), water blinds and practicing more trailing. He did great on the trail Sunday, but I'm not confident in Kona's confidence in himself on the exercise at this point.

I'm an idiot who has been extremely lazy in training this winter and obviously cramming doesn't work when it comes to dogs. The ony reason I got one ribbon this past weekend is because I just have a good dog that can handle most of what I throw at him on short notice and with little preparation.

It's the Why, Not the How

Brian Lynn — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:53:46 -0400

You can run drills all day long, day after day, and you will produce a hunting dog. It's not until you understand why you're running them and what effect they, and any subsequent corrections or praise, have on your dog that you start to really become a trainer.Plugging along from Point A to Point B and beyond will build a foundation for your hunting dog. It's vitally important that your dog have that foundation to build upon, and it's also one of the biggest problems amateurs have with training.

We get excited to "get to the fun stuff" and skip all the small steps that teach a dog to correctly carry out that fun stuff. When someone says their dog doesn't do something correctly or only does X, Y or Z incorrectly, you can almost always bet that the issue was caused by glossing over or altogether skipping a step in their foundation.

However, just plugging along and running drills, exercises, obedience and applying praise, corrections and the like in a more or less ordered sense isn't what it's all about.

The why is much more important than the how.

When you understand why you're carrying out a task and why you apply positive or negative reinforcement, praise, corrections or any other type of pressure and instruction, the how, when, where and what make so much more sense.

Going beyond just connecting the dots in a training manual allows you to truly understand what's happening in your dog's head and gives you the opportunity to anticipate what your dog is going to do next (before even he knows it) and also to shift gears, improvise or change your training tack altogether.

While it's very advisable to follow an established training program from start to finish, no program can serve the needs of every dog and amateur trainer. And when professional trainers put out books, DVDs and the like, it's a broad-sweeping generalization of how to train a dog using their methods. They can't incorporate every little nuance of training many different dogs and their personal quirks and issues. That's what makes a good trainer: adjusting the program to fit those "problem children" that have issues, whether they're genetic or learned it doesn't matter.

And you can only do this when you understand why you're performing a certain task, what ramifications it has on the dog both mentally and physically, how it fits within the program, when you will use the skill in the future and where the issues might arise by changing the program's sequence or training stresses.

When you hit that level of consciousness, not only you will be living in the moment with your dog but you'll be looking forward and backward at the same time. You'll truly be clicking along in your training. You and your dog will be on the same plane and it will all come together magically. Only, it's not magic.

It's understanding what's really going on from both your perspective and the dog's. It's knowing that the why is more important than the how.

A Keeper: Tri-Tronics' New Upland G3 Beeper

Brian Lynn — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:22:58 -0400

Tri-Tronics' new G3 Beeper:

Admittedly, I don't have a ton of use for a locator beeper. But there are times, even with a close-working flushing dog, when one comes in handy. On my trip to South Dakota this past season I used the Tri-Tronics G2 Beeper in conjunction with a Pro 100 G3 EXP e-collar. It worked passably well, but there were issues; mainly the fact that the collar kept spinning out of position while running and working the heavy cover of pheasant heaven.

The new Upland G3 Beeper from Tri-Tronics has eliminated that problem and has features that make it a must-have if you're looking for a locator ... especially if you're running multiple dogs.

The old G2 Beeper was much more bulky and sat horizontally on the collar, which put it at odds with the G3 receiver sitting opposite it. A continuous battle for balance ensued, which caused the G2 to constantly spin out of its top-of-neck position.

The new Upland G3 Beeper has a vertical design and is so much more lightweight and compact that the spinning issue has practically been eliminated. I've been playing with it on Kona's collar for the past couple of weeks while on walks and running drills, and even in the thick and steep terrain favored by ruffed grouse (not to mention elk and moose) on my buddy Woody's place in northern Idaho this past weekend, without having to re-adjust its position at all.

TriTronicsG2vG3:

Weighing in at only 3 ounces, with the battery installed, the Upland G3 Beeper is completely waterproof (a very good thing if you're hunting around water during the early season, in warm climates or have it strapped to a water-loving Lab) and features four hunting sounds (including silent) and two on-point sounds (including an improved hawk scream) for a total of eight possible audible combinations.

With an audible range of more than 1/4-mile, the various sound settings on the new beeper can be changed simply with one button. Unlike the old G2, which required that you take off the collar and unscrew the back to change settings, the new G3 allows you to make adjustments quickly and easily on the fly.

My favorite features of the new Upland G3 Beeper, however, are the remote operation and instant locate. Like I said, running a flushing dog doesn't usually require you to use a beeper in the same manner as a pointing dog, but in heavy cover and with multiple dogs running it's nice to be able to quickly discern which animal in the brush ahead is yours; especially if you're about to administer an e-collar correction.

The remote operation and instant locate allow an owner with a close-working dog in heavy cover to occasionally check-in on the whereabouts of their animal without having the beeper constantly sounding off. The remote operation, when paired with an e-collar, allow you to turn the beeper on or off from distance, while the instant locate feature allows you to simply press a button to hear a continuous series of beeps up to eight seconds in duration.

You can purchase the Upland G3 Beeper and an orange collar for $119 on the Tri-Tronics site or the beeper and an EXP receiver for $259.

Dogging the Periodic Table

Brian Lynn — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:54:08 -0400

Beyond answering an occasional question on Jeopardy, I've never used algebra, geology or the periodic table since leaving high school and college. I'm sure on some level it's good to know about those things, as I freely admit that I'll never fully understand any of them, but for day-to-day living (both personally and professionally) there's really no reason for me to know much about them.

Just as I haven't needed to know that stuff, my dog doesn't need to know anything that doesn't pertain to hunting or being a good citizen.

At outdoor shows, the park, while on walks and many other places, people will quite often ask: "Does he shake hands?" And before I can answer they're commanding Kona to "shake," "roll over," "play dead," or any number of other tricks that are common for household pets to perform.

After watching them desperately try to get my dog to do something while he just sits there with his head cocked looking at them like they're idiots, I tell them: "If it doesn't have to do with hunting, he doesn't know it."

Some people accept that, some go on to tell me how smart their dog is and some people seem rather taken aback. I don't really care. Kona is a working dog. He needs to know only certain tasks, but those tasks can be very complicated. Why would I muddy the waters of his thinking mind by introducing things such as tricks, commands or behaviors that could be construed as counter-productive in many circumstances?

I'll give you that learning to shake hands probably wouldn't mess his field training up in the slightest. He's probably not going to raise a front paw and wave it around in the air when sitting on the whistle during a 150-yard blind with a crosswind blowing scent from a poison bird to him. He'll have other things on his mind. But I don't see the need to even put it in his head to begin with.

Last time I counted, I came up with around 30 or so commands that he has to follow if you include verbal, whistle and hand/body signals. Those are the commands I have trained him to follow. Who knows how many cues, both verbal and non-verbal, he uses to decipher me on a day-to-day basis. I just don't see the need to add more entries to his mental dictionary. If he doesn't need it, it doesn't need to be there.

But what say you, Gun Doggers? Do you teach your dog "stupid pet tricks"? Have any of those tricks/commands interfered with your training or proved costly while in the field?

6 Pointers for Pointer Pups

Brian Lynn — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 03:18:38 -0400

Puppyhood provides a very pivotal time for the future of our gun dogs. It's a time that we can either look back on with fond memories of laying a foundation that paid dividends when our dog matured, or one that we might look back upon with a grimace at opportunities missed and the roots of bad habits that last a lifetime.

To keep your pup on the right track and ensure that the pointing dog in your life keeps you smiling and makes you proud for the next decade or longer, consider these tips from D.T. Systems pro Chris Larson at Six Oak Gun Dogs in Stillwell, Kansas.

No time frames: "It takes as long as it takes. Don't put deadlines and expectations on a puppy," says Larson, who notes that different breeds will mature at different speeds. "If you have a pointer puppy, it'll come along fairly quickly. A Brittany will come along a little slower and there are other breeds that will develop slower yet."

Regardless of the breed and bloodline, don't hold your dog to a schedule found in a book or DVD that says by a certain age your dog should be performing specific tasks. And definitely don't get into a race with your buddies about whose dog is ranging further, pointing, backing or whatever; they all develop at their own rate and pushing that time frame to meet another's expectation or to bolster your ego is a surefire way screw your dog up.

Be mindful of the future: When you play and train with your puppy, keep the end product in mind. "Don't ever let your puppy do anything that you don't want your three-year-old bird dog to do, as far as behavior," says Larson. "What's cute at 10 pounds is frustrating at 60 pounds. What's cute at 10 weeks sucks when he's two-years old and is playing keep away or tug-of-war with the only pheasant you've shot all weekend."

Think about what you want the dog to do in the field and begin filtering those habits into daily life where possible. If your pointer will need to retrieve, play fetch to encourage the habit. If he's to deliver to hand, decide if you want a squared-up front-facing delivery or at your side in the heel position. Use supper time to encourage standing still: just as retriever trainers make their dogs sit before receiving food, pointer trainers can encourage their young pups to stand still before eating.

No wing on a string: We've all seen great pictures of a very young puppy pointing a pheasant or quail wing dangling from the line of a fishing rod, but Larson disagrees with the approach. "It's awesome to see a little puppy stack up and have its tail straight up and quivering, it really is cool, but it will cost you a thousands shots in the future because you're teaching him to sight point," he said.

Larson said that as few as 10 or 15 repetitions can have a detrimental effect on a pup. In most cases, but not always, it's problem can be corrected but why train in a habit that you will later have to train out? Just don't do it to begin with and you won't have to worry about it.

The problem arises because the pup becomes used to seeing what it's pointing and will have a tendency to carry that behavior forward. With a bird dog you want him to stop and hold point as soon as he encounters scent.

A sight-pointing dog will use scent to locate the bird but then won't point until it has a visual on its prey. Bumping and pushing birds will result and because pointers range much further than flushing breeds, you're not going to get a shot off. If you're hunting a cagey three-year-old rooster or skittish grouse, you can forget about getting a sight point.

Instead of dangling a wing on a string, get your pup into the field, park or anywhere they can get out and explore and experience nature. Let them point butterflies, field larks or whatever else they find.

Gunshy goof-up: "Don't check to see if your dog is gunshy by shooting over their head. If they weren't before they probably will be afterwards," said Larson. "Build your dog's prey drive and get them fully engaged in chasing bird and then shoot. Use a small cap gun from Wal-Mart if you have to before moving up to blanks."

If your dog shows any sign of intimidation from even a low-level shot, Larson says to continue on as if nothing is wrong. If your bond and position of authority in your pup's eyes is solid, he'll see that you're not worried about anything and will take it as cue for him not to be concerned. Should he return to you out of fear, pitch a pigeon out for him to chase to ramp his prey drive back up and distract him from the negative thoughts in his mind.

Socialize them: "Get them out of the house and kennel, be it the local dog park or a nearby field. Don't leave them leave them in the kennel and then seven months later decide it's time to train," says Larson. "The more he's subjected to as a puppy, the better off he's going to deal with things in the future -- be it your buddy's dog box, hotels, kids, flora or fauna."

No rescues: Stay out of your dog's way; let him get himself into trouble and figure out how to get out of it. "No matter how hard we try as trainers, we can't teach them what certain things are...like cowpies, skunks and the like," says Larson. "If he goes into a skunk den and gets sprayed, well he's learned that skunks aren't to be messed with. Some things they have to learn on their own so that when it comes time to hunt, they know what's important and what's not and they're not going to waste their time."

Shed Hunting: Advanced Pattern Field

Brian Lynn — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:37:03 -0400

If you want a dog that can find shed antlers, then eventually you have to move past indoor puppy games and advance to more challenging training exercises. In these two videos, Tom Dokken discusses the training of Tank, owned by Lee and Tiffany Lakosky, stars of "The Crush" on the Outdoor Channel.As you can see in the video, Tank is hunting outside in the snow. He didn't, however, jump to this level of training overnight. It took time and started long before with much more simple drills.

What Tank is running in the video is an advanced pattern drill; very similar to teaching a dog to quarter in search of upland birds. Before a dog can make it to this level of training, however, you have to teach him that the shed antler is the object he should be searching out. This is done with puppy games of simple retrieves, easy hide-and-seek indoors, as in my last blog post, and eventually progresses to a simple pattern drill.

To start the pattern drill, you lay out sheds in the same simple pattern and teach the dog to seek these destinations out using their eyes and memory. Dokken has invented antler silhouettes to help speed the process (see photo above).

Using the silhouettes, you can pull a dog to the area of a hidden antler and from much greater distances. At first you would keep the antler close to the silhouette to ensure an easy find. As the dog begins to understand the game and uses his eyes to seek out the very visible silhouettes, you can begin to hide the shed antler further and further away -- forcing him to use his nose and teaching him perserverance.

Dokken also uses multiple silhouettes in combination to break through barriers and different cover. The first silhouette would pull the dog to the general area and upon reaching the spot he would see the second silhouette that can pull him into thicker/higher cover in search of a shed.

The reason behind this is that dogs are funny when it comes to changes in cover. They will "bounce off" thicker/higher cover and hunt the edge unless you train them to break through. The silhouettes can help pull them past that barrier and get them hunting an area.

Check out the two videos of Tank hunting up some shed antlers in an advanced pattern drill and how he delivers them to Dokken and then returns to the field upon cue.

Beginning Shed-Hunting Training

Brian Lynn — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:50:55 -0400

If you're interested in training a dog to pick up and retrieve shed antlers, then you'll want to watch this video I shot of Tom Dokken working with a young dog named Tank. The appropriately named pooch belongs to Lee and Tiffany Lakosky from the Outdoor Channel's "The Crush."

Like all dog training, teaching a pup to pick up shed antlers begins simply -- with easy and encouraging retrieves and games of search-and-find indoors. As Dokken notes in the video, food rewards are used in the beginning phases to add importance to the antler -- there's no way a bone can compete with the scent of feathers (or fur, if you were training a hound).

Before you can get to this point in training, however, you have to teach the dog that the shed antler is what you want him to focus on. Playing fetch to begin with and then moving to the dog picking up an easily visible antler on his own and delivering it are starting points. After the dog understands that finding a shed is the object of the game and he eagerly seeks them out, then you can progress to hiding them throughout the room -- under pillows, behind doors, in a corner or up/down a couple of steps.

Addendum:

Watch (or rather, listen) to how Dokken encourages the dog to stick with picking up the antler and making the retrieve in the video. The antler is hidden behind some waders and the dog is a bit intimidated by swinging boots and is puzzling out exactly how best to pick up the antler.

Tank is only 9 months old in these videos and, like all puppy retrieves and introductions, lots of encouragement and positive reinforcement needs to be used. Listen to Dokken's voice and how he keeps Tank digging for the shed.

World Shed Dog Hunting Championship

Brian Lynn — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:34:43 -0400

Shed hunting has gone to the dogs. Literally. The endeavor has grown in popularity over the last decade and several pro trainers are taking a cue from the public's interest and have started training dogs to assist would-be bone collectors.

One trainer, Tom Dokken of Dokken's Oak Ridge Kennels, has taken it beyond just training dogs to find shed antlers and has created an association, the North American Shed Hunting Dog Association, a World Shed Dog Hunting Championship event and a new website that covers not only the planned events but also offers tips and products to help you train your own antler-finding Fido (such as this step-by-step training handbook).

Dokken created the association about a year ago and just last week launched the companion website, sheddogtrainer.com, to help promote the events and championship efforts as well as to support do-it-yourself trainers interested in training their own dog.

The site features upcoming events, sells training aids and will soon feature tips and columns for trainers. A trophy room gives users a place to send in pictures of their pooch with found sheds.

The World Shed Dog Hunting Championship will be held on Dokken's property in Northfield, Minn., in April...hopefully. "We've still got a lot of snow on the ground here," said Dokken. "So we're shooting for April sometime but we have to be flexible."

The inaugural championship event will be an invitation-only affair, but Dokken is proposing two qualifying events for 2011 that will hopefully serve up a field of 15 to 20 dogs for a 2012 championship. The proposed events would be held in late summer and early fall. Ideally, Dokken sees qualifying events taking place throughout the country with regional events filtering the best shed-hunting dogs into the championship similar to the Super Retriever Series or other dog-related testing associations.

The events would be broken into three divisions: an Open Division, for professional and amateur trainers alike; an Amateur Division, for weekend-warrior-only participants; and a Junior Division, for dogs two-years old and younger.

Any breed of dog can participate in the events and judging criteria consists of points for the number of shed antlers found, and delivered to hand, within a specific time limit.

Dokken sees not only room for the events in the dog training world, but a need for them. "There’s been such a great interest in this new sport and it’s growing by leaps and bounds. This gives people a place to compete and develop shed dogs through competition; that’s normally how these things develop," said Dokken. "It gives people who are training and breeding shed dogs a place to showcase their dogs and exchange information."

Working Multiple Dogs

Brian Lynn — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:58:27 -0500

Multiple dog work:

When you add more than one dog to a training or hunting scenario, it can be a benefit or a detriment -- it all boils down to how you've prepared your dog.

In the retriever world, discipline is key to running more than one dog from a duck blind, while the all-out effort and pure joy a pack of hounds experiences on the hunt can teach a young dog much. Likewise, in the pointer world, the pack mentality surrounding the stake-out chain can embolden a gun- or bird-shy dog; however, discipline kicks in for the pointer when multiple dogs hit the field and backing is required.

If you haven't prepared your dog for the excitement of the scenario and extreme distractions brought about by other dogs, competition, prey drive and the like, then they're not going to perform as you might expect -- and you're the only one to blame.If you have two dogs, one of which isn't a working dog, like I do, you should leave the pet home while you head afield. It isn't always possible, however, to do so. I often bring my bulldog to the park or field when taking the Lab out to exercise and run some lines or drills.

The problem is: the bulldog isn't interested in discipline or drills. He likes to disrupt the party by stealing bumpers, play-attacking the Lab as he leaves the line (if you're into retrievers you can imagine what this does to an initial line), chewing bumpers or just being an annoyance. So, if he does come along, he gets a little time to free run and then he's tied up or left in the truck while the Lab works. I don't want his bad habits and play mentality to have an adverse effect on the Lab.

If you have two dogs, even if one is the same breed but isn't meant to work, consider separating them during training times.

Separation is another important discussion. Especially with young pups, and especially with retrievers, it's often a good idea to separate your pups for a large part of the day after about three months of age. If you don't, the two pups might develop such a strong bond as to relegate your importance to that of below the other pup's.

You want to be the center of that dog's universe, not the other dog. Good things happen for the pup when you're pleased -- and pleasing you should be the utmost goal in the dog's life. Another pup that they spend 24-hours a day with can make that much more difficult.

This brings us to the point of not putting a pup in a situation that it's not ready to experience. If you have two pups, there is much work you can accomplish together, but a majority of the work should be done separately. Allow enough time in your day to work each dog alone, so you have their full attention and can train, repeatedly, what is expected.

As the dogs mature and progress in their training lessons, with basics becoming second nature, you can up the ante by slowly bringing in the other dog as a distraction. As they learn that the same rules apply with another dog present just the same as they did when they were alone, you can begin to work both dogs together.

Putting pups, or mature dogs that have worked very little with other dogs, into a scenario that includes other dogs and lots of energy (i.e., hunting or an exciting training/test scene) has the potential to make for a very long day at best, create bad habits in your dog or to set your dog up for failure.

Your dog will only do what you've allowed and trained it to do. If you take a trial-by-fire approach with your dog, don't be surprised if you get burned.

If Charlie Sheen Were a Dog

Brian Lynn — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:40:20 -0500

Charlie Sheen:

If you haven't seen or heard the train wreck that is Charlie Sheen lately, then you're missing out (well, on second thought, maybe not). The troubled, yet highly entertaining, actor is letting loose with more one-line zingers than a proverbial stray dog has fleas. Everyone from his producer to CBS execs to the media are the target of his zany, hubris-filled citations. A slew of deranged passages ("they've picked a fight with a warlock") that are sure to be quoted for years -- or at least until the next Hollywood crazy comes along -- and delusional behavior made me wonder: If Charlie Sheen were a dog, what breed would he be?

Trying to determine where Sheen lies in the canine-personality spectrum, which is itself an insult to dogs everywhere, does come with one caveat: the unbalanced nature of both beings. While Sheen has only recently seemed to pass the tipping point, although his crazy exploits have been documented for decades in the tabloids, an unbalanced dog is almost always a result of its environment.

Actually, I guess both have that in common; an unstable environment invites destructive and unreasonable conduct. For only in Hollywood would Sheen's behavior be even remotely tolerated and only in a dysfunctional (from a canine's point of view) home are unstable actions rewarded.

That said, the point I'm trying to make is: dogs are generally balanced creatures and so when I put forth a couple of guesses as to what breed Sheen would be, you have to take into account that these are not only based upon stereotypes but also an unstable apparition of the breed -- those stereotypes perverted and that might also coalesce in behavior similar to Sheen's over-the-toppedness of the last couple of months.

Without further adieu, nominations for Charlie Sheen's canine alter ego:

Pit Bull: Popular among gang members and other toughs as a means to improve their own masculinity, pit bulls are notoriously tough, unpredictable and often don't follow the rules of society (or more accurately their owners don't, but sadly it's the dog that is saddled with the irresponsibility). Similarly, Sheen has taken part in bar brawls, frequents hookers and conducts business with drug dealers. As the Pit-Sheen sees it: rules don't apply to him because "he's special."

Miniature Schnauzer: Like Sheen's recent and incessant yapping on radio and television shows, miniature schnauzers yip and bark constantly. Demanding special grooming to maintain their regal looks, these dogs would fit perfectly in the self-promotion of Hollywood (and those are the stable ones!).

Stray/Mongrel: The tramp that he is, Sheen might not fit into any one specific breed or category of dogs. His shattered and unsettled self cannot be contained by any one place or woman (except of course, Hollywood, where this type of behavior is not only tolerated but often rewarded; so he's limited to southern California/L.A. for long-term survival, the odds of which are dropping rapidly anyway). With baby-mamas, ex-wives and live-in girlfriends, Sheen's uncommitted and unapologetic lifestyle lends credence to this canine alter ego.

While Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and Tiger Woods might be grateful for dog fight Sheen has stirred up in the media, it's clear the Hollywood progeny hasn't learned a lesson every dog inherently understands: don't bite the hand that feeds you.

For all his bad-mouthing of producers and CBS execs, Sheen risks losing his place as the highest-paid television actor -- he garners approximately $2 million per episode of "Two and a Half Men."

If he really were a dog, Sheen wouldn't have received more than one chance to bite the network hand that has fed him for the last eight years. Most of the dog guys I know would have taken him to the back-forty for a long walk from which he wouldn't have returned.

Of course, this is Hollywood we're talking about and the rules of reality don't apply to actors because they are indeed "special." There will always be another studio, producer or director willing to leverage Sheen's name and media draw to get their project noticed just as there will always be homes that reward dysfunctional behavior of their canine companions and then wonder why it continues.

My Favorite Dog Stories

Brian Lynn — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:48:54 -0500

The Big Book of Favorite Dog Stories:

Merry Christmas to Brian, from "Candy" Nana 12-25-1982

So the inscription reads on the inside cover of a book I remember receiving that holiday season when I was nine years old. It was from my great grandmother, with whom I added the moniker "Candy" in part because of the ever-present supply of sweets in various dishes found throughout her apartment. I recently rediscovered the book while perusing the bookshelf in my old room at my parents' house during the Super Bowl Sunday weekend.

The 334-page tome (including author bios), entitled "The Big Book of Favorite Dog Stories", has an Irish setter on the cover and was probably part of the impetus for its selection as a my gift. At the time I absolutely loved dogs, but Irish setters especially. This was due not only to their good looks, but in no small part to the borrowing of Jim Kjelgaard's novel "Irish Red" from the library of an elder cousin (from which I'd also borrow Desert Dog and Lion Hound).

As I type this, it's 29 degrees and snowing outside. There are no hunting seasons open. My plan for today included finishing up some social media commitments, writing this blog and then taking the dog out to play with the new Tri-Tronics G3 Beeper and Tracer e-collar light (for a future blog post) and a little exercise/training.

Now, however, I'm thinking that I'll do exactly what the month of February was invented for: staying in and reading a good book. The Big Book of Favorite Dog Stories is an anthology featuring such classic writers as Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, Farley Mowat and John Steinbeck.

I recently watch the 1974 adaptation of Wilson Rawls' "Where the Red Fern Grows", an excellent story of a boy and his hounds. The slower pace, simple message and grainy film from the disco days is in stark contrast to today's high-definition and action-packed flicks. Sometimes I wonder if we're really advancing or just moving faster.

Yeah, I'm definitely in a mood to chill today, and a good book filled with dog stories sounds about right. But before I go, let me ask: What are some of your favorite dog stories and authors? Or heck, even just authors and books!

Downside of the Raw Diet

Brian Lynn — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:14:08 -0500

In addition to the all-natural processed foods hitting store shelves over the last couple of years, another dietary trend that has taken off is the "raw" diet. Instead of feeding processed pellets made of turkey, duck, deer, salmon or whatever else, the raw diet calls for the actual meat of wild fish and game, and sometimes cattle, sheep or other livestock, to be fed.

If you have the time, knowledge and resources, it can be a very healthy diet for your dog. There is more than one drawback, however; it goes beyond the preparation and storage of large quantities of meat and threatens to create a black market trade in wildlife.

As you can read in this USA Today article, dog owners' quest for raw, wild meat has led to the selling of natural resources online. Craigslist and eBay are used to solicit and/or sell meat from ducks, deer, elk, salmon or just about any other type of wild game.

As you can imagine, unlicensed harvesting of game for a profit is a slippery slope. Left unchecked, illegal trade could create a black market similar to China's demand for wildlife parts like black bear gall bladders or shark fins. Whenever money is involved, someone (and lots of someones at that...) will always abuse the system and resource, milking every last scrap of meat, drop of blood and red cent that they can rend from the rest of us.

The selling of illegal game meat can net you five years in prison and a $5,000 fine and buying the stuff can get you six months in the slammer and a $500 fine. A source in the article states that he doesn't know of any place you can purchase deer meat commercially due to FDA standards.

Just this past week I was talking with a guy that fees his Labs a raw diet that consists of moose meat, salmon, boil potatoes and mixed veggies. He has an advantage most of us don't: he was an outfitter that lives in the wilderness and has Europeans that come over to moose hunt. They can't bring the meat home with them, so he takes some for the dogs, his guides and then gives some to neighbors and food banks.

Beyond the suppy and legal issues, I don't think the raw diet is for me. Way too much hasssle. Even if I had a steady supply of game meat to feed the mutts, storing and preparation would be a pain in the butt. Think about the room a year's worth of meat for a couple of dogs would require. Granted, a nice-sized freezer would probably hold all you needed but still, that's quite an investment.

The preparation and time required to feed properly is beyond my patience. Heck, if my son isn't around I barely feed myself adequately. I've seen a few raw recipes and they're quite detailed in the amounts of various meats, veggies, etc, to ensure that the pooches are getting all the proper amounts of protein, fat and other building blocks of nutrition.

No, I think I'll stick with Purina Pro Plan. So much easier to scoop out three cups and know for sure that they're getting all the nutrients required to run, hunt and live a healthy life.

Puppies in Pastel

Brian Lynn — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:23:56 -0500

Joanne Graham:

The eyes are the window of the soul - English Proverb

While the potential to go broke as an outdoor writer is very likely due to low wages and a saturated market, all the cool gear and accessories don't make it any easier to pay bills on time. Case in point: Joanne Graham's pastel paintings.

While at yet another trade show, this time in Portland, Ore., I found Joanne tucked among the booths lining an aisle amid all the other vendors hawking their wares. Her work stopped me in my tracks. While her work is amazing, it was the expression and detail of a black Lab's eyes that really caught my attention.

The picture, which can be seen to the right, is a commissioned montage that details the life stages and greatest memories of the owners. Take a look at the expression and eye detail of the centerpiece. It's a phenomenal work. If you're a dog person you've seen that look and expression before from your own companions, and you know it's what's usually missing in artwork; that conveyance of real emotion.

Joanne's medium of choice is pastel paints. They're like little chalk pieces that she colors the paper with and uses only her fingers -- no brushes -- to shade in the fine detail and highlights. In addition to dogs, she paints cats and horses, too.

The award-winning artist (she has more than 22 recognitions to date) who hails from Chico, Calif., paints dogs on paper ranging in size from 16 x 20 inches to 24 x 30 inches. Costs run from $1,000 for a 16 x 20-inch piece of a single dog's head to $2,500 for a 24 x 30-inch full-body dog with background or a montage piece of a head, bird and body.

Those prices might make you go "ouch!" when you first think about the dent to your wallet, but consider this: you're getting an original piece of artwork of YOUR dog that contains all your memories and emotions. Throw in the fact that it takes Joanne about three weeks to complete a piece and you begin to understand the necessity of the price when factored against the hours involved.

I'm already envisioning various pictures of Kona that can be included in a montage portrait. From puppyhood to our South Dakota adventures to a really neat shot I have of him at just over a year old staring at incoming geese as his sire sits in the background in a very similar and intense pose.

Now I just have to figure out how to balance the price of commission against the wages of an outdoor writer!

If you want more info or to view more examples of Joanne's work, check out her website at http://www.joannegraham.com or call (530) 877-2100.

8 Tips for Crate Training

Brian Lynn — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:56:03 -0500

While a new puppy brings much excitement and joy to a household, the addition to the family can also cause some major headaches when it comes to potty training. One of the best methods of keeping your carpets clean and teaching a young pup to eliminate outside is crate training. A crate or kennel can simplify the process for both you and pup and also gives your new family member a safe place to call his own. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when starting the crate-training process:

1. Crate size: The proper crate size is of utmost importance. Dogs don't like to loose their bodily functions too close to where they sleep. If your crate is too large, pup can go to the bathroom in one end and still sleep at the other end--free and clear of the mess. You could buy two or more crates to accomodate a growing dog, but it's much easier and cheaper to just partition a larger one and slowly increase the internal, usable, size as needed.

2.Purely positive: The crate is not to be used as place of punishment. The crate should always be a positive experience for the dog. You can put him in there if you just can't stand to have a rambunctious puppy underfoot at a specific moment, but you shouldn't punish the dog for a misdeed and then place him in there ala a "time out" for an unruly toddler. Think of the crate as the dog's den; it's his home within your home. It's his safe place. He can go in there whenever he wants to escape household life and relax.

3. Command introduction: Crate training also allows you to teach pup one of his first commands: "Kennel." This is a command that will be used for the rest of his life. Whether or not you use a crate in your automobile (which you should), the kennel command can be transitioned to any object or place that the dog must enter. To start the training, toss a treat into the crate and when pup's front feet touch the entrance of the box, say "kennel." Keep repeating this exercise until pup begins to link entering the crate with the command. Then slowly vary the food reward and eventually eliminate it. If at some point, after the dog has thoroughly learned the command, he doesn't enter the crate upon being ordered, you'll want to push him into the box and repeat "kennel" just as he enters (this goes back to never giving an order you're not in position to enforce).

4. Get on schedule: While the crate will assist you in helping pup learn to hold his bladder/bowels, you must be fair to the pup. By scheduling feedings and removing water at the appropriate time, you will keep pup from having to hold it in to the point of her being forced to soil the crate -- this will also eliminate midnight whining and the need to go out as the pup matures. Feed pup early enough so that she can empty out before bed and take her water away around 9 p.m. or earlier so that she has time to process it and empty her bladder.

5. The two hour timetable: As a rule of thumb, a dog can hold it for approximately 2 hours longer than however many months old they are, upto 8 hours. That means an 8-week-old pup can hold it a maximum of four hours. This is a rough timetable and is directly related to the amount of food, water, exercise, sleep and every other imaginable variable the puppy might encounter.

6. Bathroom triggers: Just about everything can trigger a young puppy to go to the bathroom, especially urinating. Playing, sleeping, eating or drinking will all trigger a puppy to go to the bathroom. If at any time your pup engages in these activities, even for just a couple of minutes, pick her up and take her outside so that she can successfully eliminate in the yard. Positive reinforcement works much better than negative. When she wakes up in the morning or after taking a nap, don't let her walk out of the crate on her own. She WILL have to go to the bathroom and you'd be surprised at how quickly they'll start going once they clear the threshold of the crate. Pick her up before she has a chance to exit and carry her to her outside spot.

7. Use the same spot: When you do take pup outside, put him down in the same general area. The scents and prior visits will help trigger and teach pup to go. As an added bonus, it will help concentrate bowel movements and make cleaning up easier.

8. Command it: When you put pup down in the grass, repeat a key word (potty, hurry, etc) as she's about to start. Once she starts going, use that word again and then praise her verbally and excitedly. Soon you'll be able to just say the word and she'll get it done.

Kona's Dock Dog Debut

Brian Lynn — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:56:36 -0500

Kona's Big Air:

After sitting in the booth for my hometown for several days at a recent Sportsmen's Show, both Kona and I had grown restless. That's when I decided, partly as a means to escaping the endless jokes about Mega-Millions Lotto winners, who came from Ephrata, Wash., and partly out of curiosity, to enter Kona in the Puget Sound chapter's Dock Dogs Big Air Competition.

I really had no idea how we would do, but I was confident Kona would jump even when the girl signing us up said that he might not (something that would reverberate through my mind during our practice round). The feeling when climbing onto the stage is the exact same as when you approach the line in a hunt test competition; butterflies swim in your stomach as people watch every move and evaluate not only your handling skills but your dog's worth.While I usually don't give a rip what most people think of me, I know Kona is a good dog and the limiting factor in his training and lack of titles has been my inexperience and inconsistencies. Ascending the stairs to the stage/dock, I became keenly aware of the eyes upon us; from Dock Dog veterans to judges to a fairly sizable crowd.

Kona didn't care. His focus was on me and the bumper I had borrowed from some guy behind the scenes. Blocking out the small practice-round crowd watching us, I in turn focused all of my attention upon Kona. Just as when stepping to the line to run marks and blinds, you have to forget the judges and everyone else watching and get in sync with your dog. The problem was, when running a hunt test I'm confident Kona can do the work; here I had no idea what he would do or what exactly was the best approach I should take.

Do I put him on sit at one end of the dock and throw the bumper from the water's edge? Do I walk Kona out, throw the bumper and take him back to the end and send him ala a memory blind? Should I try the prevailing Dock Dog method of sitting him and releasing him, only throwing the bumper as the dog nears?

I was still running through options when it was our turn to take our one and only practice jump. In the end I opted to take Kona to the end of the dock so he could get a very quick familiarization with the platform and entry height. Then I took him to the far end of the dock, put him on sit and walked back to the end. The plan was to throw the bumper just as I would when training alone with Kona and release him as if it was a mark.

With Kona sitting at the opposite end of the dock, I tossed the bumper into the air. Up it went...right into a concrete support beam. Dropping into the water less than three feet from the end of the dock, I could hear some laughter from the audience.

After asking one of the staff to net the bumper for me, I tossed it again and released Kona. He tore down the platform and I instantly had visions of him launching through the air and landing in the water to great cheers.

Instead, when Kona reached the dock he put the brakes on and looked down at the water before jumping in. A few more laughs from the audience. Well this wasn't going as planned and it would only get slightly more embarrassing.

Picking up the bumper, Kona turned and started looking for me. Having left the dock and positioned myself atop the exit ramp, I guess Kona missed me. He tried swimming back directly to the dock. When he couldn't get back up the dock he tried exiting over the side of the pool. He was pushed back in and I began tooting the recall whistle. Kona then swam over to the ramp. Up one side, off the other and again attempted to crawl out the side of the pool. He was pushed back in and swam by me as I tried to pull him up the ramp. He was just swimming, confused at this point and started heading back to the opposite side of the pool.

I jumped back onto the dock, only faintly aware of the crowd's giggles, focusing instead on just getting my mutt out of the water. Seeing me atop the dock, Kona came at me. I reached down and grabbed the skin on the back of his neck and pulled him up on the stage. Standing, I was nearly as soaked at my retriever. If not perfect, at least it was comedy relief for all involved.

Returning to the booth, both Kona and I drenched, all that kept going through my mind for the next several hours was: what have I got us into this time?

Looking on the bright side and trying to stay positive, I told myself that he was now familiar with the dock and exit ramp and the actual competition would go better. And it did.

In the end we used a bumper borrowed from a walleye guide I know and a tennis ball, which Kona absolutely loves, borrowed from a Dock Dogs veteran. I let him watch the first two flights of dogs jump to up his excitement and hopefully overcome any end-of-dock hesitations.

I tried two different approaches for Kona's two competition jumps. First, I ran it like a memory. Taking Kona to the end of the dock, I threw the bumper (very conscious of the concrete support beam looming above) and heeled him back to the opposite end of the dock. Lining him as if for a blind, I released him with a loud "Back!" He had his best jump, 12 feet, and garnered some cheers and applause instead of laughter. Some of the pressure was released and this competition was becoming what it was meant to be: fun.

The second jump is when I borrowed the tennis ball. I put Kona on sit and tried throwing the ball like a mark from halfway down the dock. It was a lame throw, but good enough to try. I released Kona by name and he didn't hesitate to jump. It was an 11-foot jump.

They weren't great jumps, but they weren't bad ones either. Some dogs, as the sign-up girl said, wouldn't jump while others just sort of flopped off the end of the dock. The veterans, which included not only Labs and Chesapeakes, but also collies, goldens and even a pit bull, soared to lengths of 18- to 20-plus feet!

Having worked for ESPNOutdoors.com during the heyday of the Great Outdoor Games, I knew Kona and I would never threaten the world record of 28.10 feet but it sure provided a few minutes of reprieve from working a show booth, as well as some fun...and not just for the audience!

Who Needs Booth Babes?

Brian Lynn — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:10:16 -0500

Having attended SHOT Show in Vegas last week, I'm now at the Sportsmen's Show in Puyallup, Wash. This time, instead of cruising the floor in search of scantily clad women, I'm sitting in a booth helping to promote the outdoor activities found around my hometown. Kona is with me and let me tell you, a dog will attract just as much attention as a midriff-baring hottie.

Having escaped our booth a few times, I hit the floor with Kona and checked out the guides and outfitters, as well as products being hawked by vendors. Most of the time I don't pay much attention to the wares, but I did find one item that piqued my interest. For a dog owner, the Miracle Door Mat might just be a must. Check out this video I shot of the mat in action.

Like most items at a trade show I was skeptical of the mat, (i.e., the "energy bands" being sold in the booth across from us) but after doing the demo myself (and with the assistance of Kona to boot) I think I'll have to buy one of these things.

As you can see in the video, the guy has a container of mud you can step in. A regular "wipe yer paws" mat stll leaves debris on the bottom of your shoe (or canine's foot). But the "Miracle Door Mat" seems to suck most of it off.

Originally made for commercial use, the mats are now being produced for residential dwellers. They're a cotton and micro-fiber blend that attracts and cleans your shoes/boots of both wet (mud) and dry (sand) material with just a step. Available only at trade shows right now, you can call their customer service number and have one shipped to you. I'm probably going to spring for the purchase price of one just to give it a shot; the dogs and I track so much mud into the house it's even driving me crazy.

Prices range from $40 (30" x 20" mat) up to $100 for a runner (30" x 60"). There's also a mid-size mat that's $60 and measures 30 inches by 40 inches. If you have it shipped anywhere in the country there's an additional $10 charge.

Easy to care for, you can supposedly just throw the mat in the washing machine and dryer to clean it. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee and it comes with a 5-year warranty that covers anything--including if the dog chews it up!

To order, call 800-995-8141. You can also find out what trade shows they'll be at if you want to see the mat in action before buying it; it's a Pacific Northwest company, however, and they pretty much just stay in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana areas.

Strange Death of a Setter

Brian Lynn — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:12:07 -0500

Checkers:

Recently, a high school friend contacted me on Facebook about the death of her family's English setter. The symptoms came about suddenly, and within a day or so the little black and white bird dog, named Checkers, was dead.

Here's her story of what happened to the family pet and what I was able to find out from veterinarian Ben Character, author of Sports Medicine for the Retriever: Caring for the Hunting Retriever.

My friend, Brandy, knows that they will never really know what happened to their dog (without an expensive autopsy), but having at least an idea or two of what may have taken place might give them some closure.

It seems that the whole family went back to our hometown for Christmas; a five-plus-hour drive. The dog, a five-year old English setter, was fine on the 23rd. On the 24th it was lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink. On the 25th it came to a head just like that and the dog died that evening. It had some weird symptoms that came on suddenly. Here's how she described it:

"we got to mom and dad's and she acted fine on the 23rd. And then on the 24th she started acting ill: she was laying down and not acting like our running bird dog...but everyone gets ill sometimes...mom and dad live in farm country with no neighbors with poisons out or anything....the next day she was worse: she wouldn;t drink or eat....layed around all day....peed blood....there were no vets open on christmas...we thought if she makes it thru the night she is going in first thing....we pulled up her lip and her whole mouth was orange...mustard yellow...obvious liver shut down....that night Ben took her to bed with him and when i went upstairs she was at the end of the bed and had bled out....but her blood was mustard yellow...."

My thoughts were that the dog got in to some poison at some point. Even though Brandy was sure there was none around, we all know that it only takes a moment for a dog to consume something. That said, I wanted to get an experts opinion. While it's not much to go on, Ben Character had some very good possibilities.

Before I give you Ben's thoughts, I would like to hear what you guys think might have caused Checkers to expire in such a manner. Does anyone care to venture a guess as to what might have caused Checkers to bleed out and for that blood and her gums to be turn a mustard yellow?

Below you will find the email Dr. Ben Character sent in response to these strange symptoms. Read on for some of the possibilities:

"Gosh Brian this could be lots of things... also many of the observances could go various ways... but my thoughts are below:

Peed blood

"Blood" should be in quotes because, this could be either blood (tumor, cogaulapathy, trauma, infection [bladder or kidney]), hemoglobin (usually caused by something attacking the RBCs), or myoglobin (secondary to extreme muscle damage) in the urine, each has a multitude of causative factors (in parenths)... further analysis could have detected which of the three

Pulled up her lip and her whole mouth was orange...mustard yellow

After she was dead? if while alive then, given the red urine, I'd lean toward some sort of red blood cell destruction (which would point to a hemaglobinuria above) or coagulopathy (which would have been blood in the urine)

Obvious liver shut down....

not necessarily, yes technically "icterus" is due to liver but more generally any yellowing can be called jaundice or icterus which could also be from red cell destruction since it can also cause a yellow/orangish coloring of the membranes

At the end of the bed and had bled out....

??? from where??? if from multiple sites this fits a coagulopahty best guess??? if just from the reproductive tract then RBC destruction or renal bleed still on the table

But her blood was mustard yellow...

back to RBC destruction, presuming this was the blood from the "bleed out"??

then there is always DIC (dissminated intravascular coagulopathy) which can occur as a result of any extremely massive insult to the vascular/endothelial system....

...so..... ddx include:

1.) primary coagulopathy (e.g. rat poison), 2.) autoimmune hemolytic anemia (or other cause of massive RBC destruction - e.g. blood parasite) 3.) some other problem that resulted in DIC

best I can do with limited information via the internet."

SHOT Show: SportDog TEK 1.0

Brian Lynn — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:31:30 -0500

SportDOG TEK 1.0:

At this week's SHOT Show, SportDOG Brand of training gear and accessories upped the ante in the dog-training and tracking world. The company's new TEK 1.0 combines GPS-tracking capabilities and electrical stimulation into one rugged collar unit. And they did it at a lower price point than that of Garmin's Astro unit, the current industry leader.

Now everyone from houndsmen to those that use big-running pointing breeds can keep track of their dogs AND make remote corrections from a single handheld unit. The TEK 1.0 is available in two models: the 1.0L is a GPS tracking collar only and will reportedly retail for $100 less than Garmin's Astro. The 1.0LT combines both the GPS-tracking and e-collar and will cost about $100 more than Garmin's Astro.

The TEK has a range of seven miles and can track up to 12 dogs at once. Not only does it show the dog's location, it also reports on its status -- stopped or direction of movement.

When married/combined with the e-collar unit, the TEK provides up to 100 levels of e-collar stimulation, vibration or tone corrections.

The transmitter is waterproof and submersible up to 25 feet, and all components (GPS tracking, e-collar and transmitter) charge via a single wall adapter. A 2-hour full-charge time provides about 20 hours of battery life.

It remains to be seen how well the GPS capabilities stack up against the Garmin Astro, and how well it performs in dense cover, rugged terrain or how consistent the stimulation is under similar circumstances, but it's exciting to see the technology advancing and providing trainers and hunters a convenient unit that does it all -- and at a lower price point.