Gun Dog Forum

thunderhead

My recommendation is to go with Wing Works. I am a very hard core bird hunter and am not "easy " on my gear. Wing Works is extremely durable, and very comfortable with the way it distributes weight. It is also very adjustable to get the right fit. There are also a lot of customized options available...

thunderhead

I have been feeding PMI Exclusive for abour 8 years now. I use the Performance formula year round and adjust the quantity based on activity levels.

thunderhead

Neal finished Chase with a 4 point OGD win last Sept after the NAVHDA Invitational. He is working on finishing his AFC now.

thunderhead

Thanks. We will be hitting a trial for the next 3 weeks in a row. Exciting times when puppies are on the way! I suppose Daysha is getting pretty big now. Zoey is due on the 24th, and an xray showed 8 pups waiting for the big arrival day. I am hoping some of the folks who will be getting one of the S...

thunderhead

Yes, Deb is checking her calander to see if she can come along. A couple are getting pretty close to finishing.

thunderhead

Two dogs ran at Des Plaines in some pretty challenging weather conditions, Thunderhead's Outrageous Otto MH took 1st OGD, and 1st ALGD, VC Thunderhead's Brawny Bruno MH took 3rd in OLGD and 4th in ALGD. Down in KY at the other 2 trials where the weather was much nicer than up north, :), Thunderhead'...

thunderhead

The weekend was pretty good for the Thunderhead dogs. Three different trials and the dogs earned 15 ribbons. 6 of them were those pretty blue ones.

thunderhead

Thank you. Neal has done a great job with Chase.

thunderhead

FC VC THUNDERHEAD'S HOT PURSUIT MH "Chase", finished his FC title with a win in a 24 dog OGD stake last weekend. Chase is following in his mothers footsteps, FC VC Shooting Starr's Bonnie Girl MH.

thunderhead

Thanks to all. There were some challenging days with the winds. It was a great time out there. The frosty last morning, really gave me the itch to start the new hunting season

thunderhead

The 2012 NAVHDA Invitational is officially over. There were 8 Thunderhead dogs who earned a Prize I Utility score last year qualifying them to run in this year's Invitational. 6 Thunderhead dogs ran in the big show, and 3 of them are the newest Verastile Champions of the Thunderhead Family. VC Thund...

thunderhead

Whether you get a puppy or a dog with some training behind it, it will take a level of dedication on your part. If it is a puppy, you will want to draw out and develop the instincts that were bred into the pup. Finding some experience dog trainers will be a huge advantage so you can be guided down t...

thunderhead

If you are thinking about getting a 12 ga, it sure would open up the options on waterfowl loads. You can however do well with the 20. I would suggest the high desity loads, rather than shooting steel. You will pay more, but you are getting a better load for waterfowl.

thunderhead

If you have a pointing dog, you need to use birds that can fly. Do not use wings and try to get her sight pointing, as that is not teaching her anything that will be usefull in a real hunting environment. It takes a little dedication when you committ to training and developing a hunting dog. By givi...

thunderhead

The original post said nothing about the puppy being broke by 6 months, just that you would be shooting birds over the pup at 6 months. I do start pups young and draw out and develop the instincts and prey drive. I have had many pups that were hunting machines by the time they were 6 months. I don't...

thunderhead

Shooting Starr has never reguired NA testing of there pups I'm told. Sharpshooter does and I believe Thunderhead does. I know there are a lot of people out there who Require that their dogs be tested. We do Not. I want a person to test their dog because they want to, and not because of stipulations...

thunderhead

There are plenty of areas in CA with decent wild quail numbers. I am sure there is also game farms or other sources where you can find birds to put out for her. Bird contact will stimulate her prey drive, and develop the desire and excitement you are looking for.

thunderhead

I believe you need a good balance of both planted birds to ensure a more controlled training environment for a productive training session. In addition, you also need the wild birds, as they teach the dogs things that you cannot quite duplicate in the training field using planted birds. At times, I ...

thunderhead

As you said, she does great while training at home. I don't do my yard work at home in the yard. I do it in the field where the dog has learned is an exciting and positive place to be. A training session in the field does not mean you have to have birds planted. There is a lot to be gained by doing ...

thunderhead

The Rizzini that I use as my primary hunting and dog training gun shoots really well, and I have droped countless birds with it. The one problem that has been re-occurring is broken firing pins. I have had this happen durring hunting trips and am lucky enough to always pack a back up gun. It has als...

thunderhead

The information that you do get on tri color says it is very rare. Would a well respected breeder who wants to improve the breed, breed to a dog that has HD, known to have seizures, or a number of other physical defects. I would venture a guess and say no, probably not. Would a breeder breed to a DQ...

thunderhead

Just got e-mail from a German breeder and judge. I sent her a picture of the pup. Her response : Hallo- Gelber Brand is o-k- Greeiting madonna Greetings, Madonna, You are a German breeder and judge . Do you see > DK or GSP of this color? Is it OK with German Gelber Brand? Thank. You > GPBLITZ (Howi...

thunderhead

Don't you think a breeder who purposely breeds undesirable traits and justify it with performance are doing there breed a great injustice? To some it's more commonly known as kennel blindness. Today we don't have to cull, some don't have stomach for it. We can spay , Neuter, or give limited registr...

thunderhead

Tri color is a "color" the same as black is a color. If you have ever bred to a black female you have bred to a dog with a know disqualifying fault. Black is not acceptable for the AKC standards, but is acceptable to the German standards the same as tricolor is. To try and compare an acceptable colo...

thunderhead

I have been in KS hunting with the dogs for the past several weeks, and have been out of touch for a while. With the winter storm and artic temps, I am holed up waiting out the weather. Many people will go their entire lives and never see a tri color or even hear about one. This is a rare color that...

thunderhead

I know it is more expensive to shoot, but I would highly recommend using the heavy shot type loads that are available. I like Kent Tungsten Matrix. Any of the higher density loads are going to be more effective than steel. I am sure that there will be plenty of folks who are satisfied shooting steel...

thunderhead

Has your dog been force fetched? Maybe when you seen potential issues you should have sererated a bit to give her her owne space to hu to with you. Did you notice anything that happened between the two dogs.

thunderhead

Maybe you should consider running her in UT. If she is starting to put on some good duck searches she will probably do fine in the test. In UPT they will be required to deliver the duck to hand. In UT they are evaluating the search, and the dog does not even have to produce the duck. The judges are ...

thunderhead

Wing Works is the best I have ever used. I have retired my Filson to back-up status. The vest is very adjustable to get just the right fit for you. It also distributes the weight very well and is quite comfortable to wear. Several of my buddies also have them now after trying mine.

thunderhead

It depends on how young your pup is. I would not want a very young pup to have a big rooster flush in his face as his first experience with a bird. I would get the pup excited about some planted birds first and stimulate the pups prey drive then, work the young dog on wild birds. When you get to som...

thunderhead

I expect consistency in the dog's performance. It does not matter if it is in the training field, FT HT or the wild bird fields when out hunting. If the dog is broke, then I keep them at that level even when hunting. There will be times when to dog makes a mistake and that is the time when you will ...

thunderhead

I like to build a positive association with the collar. I may put the collar on pups as young as 4 months, but it is not activated. The collar goes on when it is their turn to run the field. It does not take long and they start to get very excited about the sight of the collar, and want to be the on...

thunderhead

When you plant birds for the pup, plant them on the edges and get pup to learn that is where to find the birds, not out in the middle of the open fields.

thunderhead

Is he whoa trained?

thunderhead

I have two both are Sig Arms. One is a 12ga the other is the same but in a 20ga. I would say that 98% of my bird hunting is done with the 12ga Rizzini and it is practicaly heat seeking. I just throw it up to the should and the birds come tumbling down.

thunderhead

If you are hunting over a pointing dog I would suggest to open the chokes up as you are pretty tight now. 90% of my bird hunting is with cylinder/imp cylinder. I shoot high velocity copper or nickel plated shot and crush many of the birds that I pull the trigger on. You could go, imp cylinder/mod an...

thunderhead

I like to use high velocity 5's in either nickel or copper plated. 5's will give more pattern density than 4's and more penetration than 6's. There really is no best pheasant load. You will have to use a choke that is appropriate for most of the range of shots you will encounter. You may start off t...

thunderhead

That is Drei. She is a mother to the dog on the left, Morgan. She has a few seasons of experience behind her.

thunderhead

The start of a new hunting season. ND sharptails and huns.

thunderhead

You may switch loads and not see any improvement in the performance. If you think it may not be patterning well then you should see how it looks on paper. When you try a different load you can then truly see if you are getting a better pattern. You could also try a different choke too.

thunderhead

It really has nothing to due with gender, but more the individual dogs personality as several people have said. The traits common from the line that the dog is from will also be a factor. Some lines will naturally be more strong willed, others will be more cooperative, and some will trend toward the...

thunderhead

The continuous button on a TT collar will stimulate for up to 8 seconds if you keep the button depressed. After than it will automatically end the stimulation even if you are still pressing down on the button.

There are many uses for continuous

thunderhead

If you truly think she is ready, and want to have a litter of pups, then my suggestion would be to A.I. until he can get it figured out for a natural breeding. The clock is ticking. If you take her in to the, vet he can run a progesterone level test to see where she is at and can collect your male a...

thunderhead

I almost exclusively use copper or nickel platted 5's for pheasants. If I am in an area that may look more like quail cover than pheasant then I will slip in a pair of 7 1/2's If I have the pheasant loads in when the dogs point a covey of quail, I just pick a bird and pull the trigger.

thunderhead

If you are serious about wanting to go out to the Dakotas, then just load up the dogs and pick a spot on the map. There is no "Good or Secrete Spot". Cover+Food=Birds.

thunderhead

I would not teach her whoa yet. Build her prey drive and indepence before you do that and let her mature a little. You can use launchers to control the flush of the bird. You can also put the birds down very light in cover that will be easy for them to flush from. I have been wearing snow shoes whil...

thunderhead

When I am training for backing, or really any of the steadiness steps leading up to steady to wing and shot, I use the situation to cue the dog with no commands coming from me. It is the situation that becomes the command to the dog with no influence or association to the handler. By verbally whoain...

thunderhead

When I get the dogs to a certain point in their training to prepare them for the NAVHDA Invitational, I teach them to do blind retrieves. I have not seen any of the blind retrieve work reduce our dogs drive in the field. I do not however, put as much pressure on them as I have seen people who train ...

thunderhead

It is not as simple as just going out and practicing. If you are practicing without applying proper fundamentals, then you will not see the improvements that you are seeking. You have to practice proper fundamentals to become a good shot. I would suggest that you spend a few sessions with someone wh...

thunderhead

I guess that all depends on if the silver lab has weim blood flowing thru its veins.

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