Gun Dog Forum

marysburg

Sharon, what was the outcome for your dog?

marysburg

Since you're committed to two dogs, stagger them. Five years apart is about right. That way you're never without a dog when one can't hunt anymore. This. We usually have 3 to 5 dogs at various ages, and they are spaced 2 to 4 years apart. At one time, we did get two pups only 16 months apart to get...

marysburg

Just an update, we received a replacement transmitter 8 weeks to the day from when the service transaction began and Garmin got our money. In the meantime, we bought a Garmin (hate to admit it) Sport Pro transmitter which came with a collar and receiver. We linked it to the three collars we had been...

marysburg

Sharon, thanks for letting us know. I always looked forward to reading his posts on the forum. He seemed like a really good guy who loved his dogs and family and enjoyed the outdoors, and there will be a lot of people in his neighbourhood, workplace, and circle of family and friends who are saddened...

marysburg

Glad you have had better luck than we are having. Sent our Pro 550 transmitter for replacement 5 weeks ago, and although they say it has been shipped, it has never arrived. They won"t send another one. I have 4 dogs in training this summer, and we are using the OLD relic Tritronics Pro 200 that we b...

marysburg

Thanks Sharon, so many of us have felt this way.

marysburg

Hello and welcome to the forum! It's great that you want to make hunting a family activity with your daughter. There is a lot of great help available here. Contact your local NAVHDA chapter and go to a training day to see what it's like. Ontario Grand River is your nearest one, I think. Friendly peo...

marysburg

Don't feel bad, we have ALL done the "Ooops, wrong button." drill. I finally put little coloured stick-on dots beside the launcher numbers on the transmitter, and then put corresponding coloured flag tape on the antenna and foliage at each of the traps. It really helped a lot, but I still screw it u...

marysburg

Oh Sharon, I'm so very sorry for your loss. Little Lady lived a long and happy life with you, and you two had wonderful days together. She was a part of so many stories and training tips you related, we almost felt we knew her. Regards and condolences, marysburg

marysburg

Years ago, we had a reluctant pup who was lured into thinking swimming was fun by my son who put on a wet suit and swam with the pup every day until she thought it was not a big deal. That pup ended up being a NAVHDA Utility Prize 1 twice (204, and 201 points). It's too cold to try that now, but whe...

marysburg

Wow. What a generous and beautiful gift. True friend.

marysburg

You really are OOOR WULLIE. I always look forward to your comments here and learn from your sage advice. You and Polmaise give balance to so many discussions. We're pulling for you, and you are in our prayers.

marysburg

I'm with Shags, those teeny cans of cat food are irresistible for dogs and the more it stinks, the better they like it (fish dinner is best). We feed Nutrisource Super Performance to four dogs, and sometimes on the road they get too keyed up to eat. I split one of those little cans 4 ways and mix it...

marysburg

There is NOTHING like hunting with an old road warrior. We have a 12 year old Britt who likely is in her last season in the field. We give her short hunts on easy cover and although her stamina is not what is once was, she makes up for it in efficiency and smart use of wind and cover. Her last outin...

marysburg

Sharon, I'm dealing with an oldster who is needing a little extra to hold her weight. She is a 12 year old Brittany who is still going for field walks and can do light training and hunts, but her appetite is not enough to keep her at a good body condition. I've started to mix about a coffee spoon of...

marysburg

Looks good, I think I'll print this so I can put it on file. Thanks for posting it all.

marysburg

Excellent advice there. Build it bigger than you think you'll ever need, then make it bigger yet. Don't ever make it so small that you can't walk inside and swing a catch net. I toured another loft built by a very experienced racing pigeon fellow. He made plywood nest platforms 12" by 30" and didn't...

marysburg

Sorry to hear this, I hope he went easy, and now he's with his dogs on the other side.

marysburg

Sharon, thanks for posting that excellent episode of Angler and Hunter TV. Great work by dogs, handlers and gunners, and so nice to see three generations all out together. Very interesting show.

marysburg

Polmaise, I have used launchers to good effect with pointers, but now I have a young Springer bitch and I wonder how I could use launchers to set up training sessions for her. We have an unlimited number of homing pigeons to use, but they are difficult to dizzy and plant for the flushing dog. Any sa...

marysburg

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us for all these years. Godspeed.

marysburg

I have had pneumonia twice. It's nothing to trifle with, and it took months to fully recover, although from the outside I wasn't coughing and probably looked fine. Think about your long term goals for this dog, and weigh the potential costs if you run the dog too soon.

marysburg

Very nice. Thanks for taking us along.

marysburg

About 3 weeks ago, two of our dogs were out for the last pee before bed, and they surprised a skunk when they went into the long grass at the edge of the yard. One got it in the mouth and the other got it in the eye. They had yellow skunk juice dripping off their faces. I called our local vet, and s...

marysburg

Your story sounds very familiar to me. I have 4 gundogs at present, but only one has chronic gut issues. When she first got sick about 4 years ago, the vet put her on metronidazole, .......4 times in a row. The dog would be fine while on meds, but the diarrhea, loss of weight and appetite, and distr...

marysburg

The TT 200 is the first ecollar I started with. Since then, I have ploughed my way through 2 Sportdog systems, 2 G3 transmitters and now have a Garmin 550. Throughout the years, when the newer ecollar systems were out of service, I would charge the old TT 200, and work one dog at a time on that old ...

marysburg

Mine ride in the back of the Expedition in crates. It cuts down on mud, and odours on the seats.

marysburg

Shags and Don F have it right. And remember what Rick Smith always says, "It takes as long as it takes." If you pick a time when you are not in a hurry, you can wait for calmness in your dog. Rick taught us that when you go to take the dog off the chain gang, if he doesn"t stand still, you just take...

marysburg

Getting back to the original question, I would back up exactly what deseeker said in his two posts. My experience has been the same, and we have 3 to 5 spayed females in the house. Our Britts came from strong NAVHDA breeding because that's the on foot hunting style we wanted to develop. Good luck in...

marysburg

Well, we have quite a crew of oldsters here, and I'm glad to see I'm in such good company. Last year, when our 12 yr old lab died, we got a Springer pup which will likely be our last pup. We're both 65, and hope we can keep up with the dogs for another 10 years or so. We also have two Britts (10 yrs...

marysburg

Nice work. He dealt with the fence problem just fine, then used his nose to find the retrieve target. You're going to have a lot of fun this summer.

marysburg

I have a friend who has a Border Collie cross. It's the family pet, and one of those dogs who you could teach to do any job. This dog does a nice field search and flush, then he's steady to wing, shot and fall. Nice retrieve too. Not flashy like a pointy dog, but a very useful dog. He also will do w...

marysburg

Wow, your're going to have a great summer. There's nothing cuter than a Brittany pup (we've had 3).

marysburg

I have used the x-pen and doorless crate setup as per cj's suggestion. It has worked well for us for the last 7 gundog pups and several others. The pen was 42" tall, and climbing was never an issue. The timing for a pup at Christmas, and cold weather for a few more months is going to be tough. A tir...

marysburg

Great pictures and stories. I guess I am one of the oldies too. We got a FB Springer pup last spring, and she will likely be our last bird dog. We have 2 Britts, and a GSP, but like to run a flushing dog in the mix too. We'll be 75 when the pup is 10, so we can hobble off into the sunset together. I...

marysburg

We drive a 2011 Expedition and hunt with 3 or sometimes 4 dogs. The back is set up with a homebuilt platform on legs, under which we fit 2 plastic "under the bed" type drawers. On top of the platform, we use two large wire dog crates which hold 2 Britts (snuggled up in one crate) and a GSP. When we ...

marysburg

I feed my pigeons medicated chick starter in the spring, summer and fall when they are still nesting. When it gets really cold, I switch to unmedicated chicken layer ration, as there are no more babies in the loft. Ionophore medication (rumensin or deccox) is present in the starter ration to control...

marysburg

Sharon, it sounds like the situation is under control now, and using the bark limiter on high is a great idea. Good thing those JRTs are vocal when they go after something, as it sets things up so he delivers his own correction instantaneously. Bravo for you. Lucky for him that he lives with you, or...

marysburg

Pretty soon I will be too old to start another pup, but this summer we hope to be getting one more. Any day in the field beats the heck out of doing housework. Glad you are getting out with your pups Don.

marysburg

If you and your vet suspect allergies in your dog, why not just get allergy testing done to find out what is really the culprit? There may be many environmental allergies (plants, dust mites, etc), as well as food allergies. You can spend a lot of time and money fooling around with different rations...

marysburg

After two fairly mild porcupine encounters this summer, I used a fresh road kill porkie for avoidance training with our GSP. Worked great so far. They only have to learn to avoid the scent; just like snakeproofing. This is the 4th dog who got porkie-proofed in the same way.

marysburg

Don, your beautiful pictures of Bodie made us feel like we knew him. So sorry for your loss.

marysburg

She's lovely, have a great time getting to know her.

marysburg

Ray, as usual your advice is spot on. Carrying a live bird is very useful in a lot of training scenarios that don't go quite the way we expected. Years ago I took coaching from an old hand who said to always carry a fresh dead bird and a live one. The live one is great for steadiness to flush, and i...

marysburg

Hope your new pup helps to brighten your days. They sure will get busier! Pics would be great.

marysburg

It's so very hard to lose a once in a lifetime dog at such a young age. That's the part that takes a long time to reconcile in your heart. Sincerest sympathy.

marysburg

As said by others, lots of options for breathable layers, face protection, and wind proof outer layers. For the dog, you might want a Rivers West H2P Dog Vest. I've got them for both Brittanies, the GSP and the Lab, and they are good for turning the wind and also water. Have a great time out west wi...

marysburg

Yup, get him out there. Gonehuntin' has given great advice, but make sure he is ok with the gun, as advised.

marysburg

This late summer, we had a lot of moisture which resulted in a heavy seed set on just about everything. I have had one Brittany and a GSP with eyes full of seeds after a hunt. Flushed both, one was fine, the other is still weepy and red-eyed after treatment by the vet. It is definitely not a structu...

marysburg

Instead of avoiding cattle, you could set up training outings using planted birds that you flush and let the dog chase. Use the wind in your favour and put the cattle upwind of the training exercise, and let the dog see them as well. Maybe an association will form between cattle and fun birds in you...

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