The Making Of A Champion Grouse Dog - Video

Professional trainer, Dave Hughes and Long Gone Kennel owner Lloyd Murray discuss the bright future of two-year old Long Gone Buckwheat. Buckwheat already has a champion title.

Check out more Bird Dogs Afield @ http://www.myoutdoortv.com/hunting/bird-dogs-afield

Snakefoot
The Making of a Champion

Save your dog's life: release him from a conibear trap

3 Videos Showing How To Release Your Dog From A Trap

Ruffed Grouse Hunting With Championship Dogs - Video

I like this video because it has some good grouse hunting footage but also because they talk about the training and development of the dogs.





Check out more Bird Dogs Afield @ http://www.myoutdoortv.com/hunting/bird-dogs-afield

Winter Season Tips

by Jill Swan

Right now about half the country is in the middle of an arctic siege. We need to dress differently and take precautions during these winter months. The same goes for our pointing dogs. I especially think about my very first dog that still lives happily at my parents' house: a Brittany named Daisy.

She's almost ten years old, which brings a few things to mind right away. For one, icy spots should be avoided during walks around the neighborhood so that she doesn’t slip and twist or break something, which really is the case for dogs of any age. Older dogs (and young pups) also can’t regulate their body temperature as well, so they can’t be outside in freezing or below-freezing temperatures for very long.

She is not as susceptible to the cold as other pointing breeds that have shorter coats; however, her feathers get easily ornamented with ice balls after a decent romp through the snow, so it's important for her to have a dry, warm place to return to.

Some other things all dog owners should be aware of:
Paw Care. Salt and other de-icers for sidewalks and roads can cause irritation on your dog’s foot pads, which causes the dog to lick its paws. An upset stomach is usually the result since these products are toxic; however, this occurring too often can lead to more serious issues. Wipe off your dog’s paws with a moist towel right after coming back inside. Also watch for ice balls that may have formed between the dog’s toes. “You can reduce the problem by trimming the hair,” says Larry Brown.
Frostbite. “All dogs should be watched for frostbite on the extremities (feet, ears, tail, etc.),” says Dr. Ben Character. These areas are susceptible because they are the most exposed to the elements and often have less insulation from hair or fat or muscle. Frostbite in an area begins as a reddish color that gradually turns to grey. If you suspect frostbite, give your dog a warm – not hot – bath, and wrap the dog in towels. Don’t rub the affected spots. Call your vet if the problem looks to be significant.
Dehydration. Look at your hands after two months of winter and you can easily tell how little moisture is in the air. Dry winter air takes moisture from our dogs, who lose even more during a winter workout. To replace that moisture, we need to encourage our dogs to drink more often during and after working outside. The signs of dehydration are lack of skin elasticity, constipation, exhaustion, appetite loss, vomiting, and depression. Offer a dehydrated dog lukewarm water in small doses on a frequent basis. If your dog still refuses to drink, entice by adding a bouillon cube. Sometimes it takes two or three hours for recovery, but improvement will begin within 20 minutes of the first dose because that’s when the water starts to plump up the shriveled cells.
Antifreeze. Dogs think this stuff is candy. Keep an eye on your dog when outdoors, especially in areas where it can encounter this poison. According to Dr. Ben, “The first symptom of antifreeze toxicity you will notice is something called ataxia, where the dog appears to be drunk. Within a short time, the second-stage symptoms, which include vomiting and depression, will begin to occur; lastly, the dogs usually either become comatose or begin to have severe seizures.” To put it in perspective, a 75-pound Lab has to lap up only two-thirds of a cup to be harmed. For Daisy, who’s half that size, that’s twice the amount. Take your dog to the vet immediately.

More From Pointing Dog Journal

Fox shoots man - Fox Fights Back Against Hunter

(Reuters) - A wounded fox shot its would be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle, media said Thursday.
The unnamed hunter, who had approached the fox after wounding it from a distance, was in hospital with a leg wound, while the fox made its escape, media said, citing prosecutors from the Grodno region.

"The animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle accidentally pulled the trigger with its paw," one prosecutor was quoted as saying.

Fox-hunting is popular in the picturesque farming region of northwestern Belarus which borders Poland.
(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Matthew Jones)

Original Article

New Beretta Xcel Competition Shotgun

http://www.berettausa.com/
Built on the Xplor platform introduced last year, the Xcel is the newest offering the Beretta line of competition shotguns. It has a traditional vent rib and is available with and without the patented Beretta Kick-Off(tm) recoil system.
There are a lot of surprises in the Xcel for those of us who would think it is simply a repackaged Xplor with a vent rib. In researching the need for a new auto-shotgun Beretta discovered that the Xplor was too light, so inside they took some of the aluminum and polymer components and replaced them with steel. They also added a weight system at the end of the screw cap, and completed the shotgun with a completely new piece of shotgun competition technology. There is a computer in the stock! Every round you shoot with the Xcel is counted by the gun, and you can’t reset it. Turn the gun upside down and you will see an LCD display with buttons, and this display will tell you a variety of factors about your shots. If the batteries run out, the Xcel keeps counting. When you put the new batteries in it will tell you what you shot when the batteries were dead. This is nifty new shotgun that we will hopefully pick up more information and better pictures for this week.








Orignal Post On Gunsamerica site

Willmar and Benson MN Pheasant Hunt

November 27th 2010

This was my first group pheasant hunt of the season. Usually it is just myself and maybe one other hunter. Today we had between 4 and 6 hunters in the field at one time. Even though we had a group we didn’t do the traditional push and block type of hunting that most people associate with group hunts.

It was a nice day for hunting with just a couple of inches of snow and at 32 degrees it was comfortable for both hunters and dogs.

The first farm was just outside of Benson, MN.

We started working a fence line and Young Mark ( We had 3 Marks hunting ) dropped two roosters in quick order. Both of them looked well hit but we were unable to find one of them. We had 3 dogs looking for it and still couldn’t find it. After abandoning our search we hit a section of thicker cover and after pushing through it Mark L put one up out the thinner cover and dropped it in one shot.

We then tackled the cover on two sides of a drainage ditch and Young Mark and his Springer Diesel took two more rooster in his usual quick shot fashion. After the two birds we almost had a disaster as two of the dogs went off the ice and into the open water of the drainage ditch and the water was moving faster than expected and the dogs weren’t able to get back on top of the ice. After some spread eagle on the ice action by Tony O and Young Mark they were able to bring the dogs back to safety.

After working the field for a bit longer we decided not to pound it any longer and made the move to a new farm outside of Willmar, MN. The last time I hunted this property was the opening weekend of 2006 and I had just had a round of chemo where they had added a new drug to my regimen and I had trouble walking through all but the thinnest cover. It was much nicer today.

We started out following another drainage ditch hoping to pinch the birds. We didn’t see any along the main portion but we went along a smaller ditch that was frozen over we put up two rooster and I was able to pull some feathers off of one but it flew into some think cover that we don’t have access to. The next strategy was to work a couple of fence lines and the nearby cover. This strategy didn’t pan out. There was a small area of thick cover and willows that we hadn’t hit so we decided to employ a little push and block action. Tony O, his two GSPs, myself and Tina the setter set out across the cut corn field towards the thinner grass and the thick cover at the end of it. As soon as we hit the thin cover the dogs started to lock up. Tony had a rooster get up just behind him that he dropped with his second shot. I had one get up that I was able to connect on ( finally ) that then flew right into the trunk of a tree. A couple of hens got up then a Rooster went high and Young Mark who was post below the cover took him on a high overhead shot. After retelling the action for a bit we decided to drive to the other side of the farm and re-hunt a couple of spots. We walked in through the smaller drainage ditch that we had hit before but didn’t move any birds. We walked the edges some more and decided to call it a day and as we walked out on the small ditch ( the fourth time we hit this cover ) Young Mark flushed and dropped his 5th rooster of the day. His shooting made the rest of us look bad but made the group look good.

It was a great six hours of hunting and all the hunters and dogs we tired from all of the walking.

Tina November 14th 2010

November 14th 2010

Marge 11_06_2010

November 6th 2010