Gun Dog Forum

ON Honker Hunter

Not entirely sure what you're trying to say here, but let me take a stab at it: If at first you don't succeed with a trainee handler, you should advise him/her to try, try again ... with someone else. You seem to be questioning if that is not the ethical thing for all trainers/mentors to do? Hope I ...

ON Honker Hunter

The storm is not here yet (NW Ontario) but wind has picked up and temperature is dropping by the second. We are told to expect school closures tomorrow, and when they close them here it is BAD, not the wimpy skiff of white stuff that sends agencies scrambling Down East. We were supposed to have 13 c...

ON Honker Hunter

Snowed hard yesterday morning here in NW Ontario but it's almost all gone today ... all of it that fell yesterday that is. Still a three foot drift in the front yard. Saw first geese of the year here three days ago. Yesterday it was blizzarding in Montana while a wildfire on one of the reservations ...

ON Honker Hunter

Hey Miss Sharon, that's what you get when you mention beagles on a birddog forum :D Well, it is a GUN dog forum. Presumably that would include everything from coon hounds to Labradors to spitzs but it seems the pointing dog crowd thinks they have sole possession of the term. And by the way, birddog...

ON Honker Hunter

"Keeping a looping dog staying to the front is important whether you trial or not. It's hard to judge what you can't see or what happened beside/behind you especially in dense cover." I am trying to figure out why/how a looping dog would be a disadvantage in the above situation. A looping dog would ...

ON Honker Hunter

Personally speaking, a dog that loops back all the time is definitely a "treasure" for the way I prefer to hunt. The game I'm after is primarily pheasants, Huns, and sharptails. The former two will move a lot, sharpies not so much. But sharpies after the first week or so of season won't hold at all ...

ON Honker Hunter

Simply put, to state the obvious, quail tend to hold. Pheasant don't. Hen pheasants will hold tight even towards the end of the season. My older Lab (who is having CT scan this morning for what appears to be terminal cancer) will go rock solid point on pheasants she can see that don't move. Almost ...

ON Honker Hunter

Good advice on here, lots of experience I can tell. I think we're starting to turn a corner, maybe, lately he's started retrieving a tossed ball, toy, stick, etc. in exchange for a treat. But maybe 30% of the time. He'll usually go through his obedience paces too, sit, stay, etc., but for treats. N...

ON Honker Hunter

"Some dogs are wound tighter than others. And some legitimately have ADHD. You'll have people that try to make u feel like it's something that you've done wrong in training or that you don't set boundaries but that's garbage." Well put, Cass. I have the courage to say it, but few may want to hear it...

ON Honker Hunter

One of the problems I see in this dialogue is that most of us are talking about training a pup fresh from the litter and this fella has a three year-old GSP that's gone through a couple of unknown ownership/training scenarios already. It's not apples and oranges but not the same for sure. I question...

ON Honker Hunter

Do they make ritalin for dogs? Seriously though, I feel your pain. My just-turned-four Lab must have some GSP in her genes somewhere. She is still wound up like a six month old pup. Boundless energy and personality plus. Like your dog she was initially reluctant to retrieve (weird for a Lab!!). Elli...

ON Honker Hunter

Some very interesting and variable thoughts from some very experienced people. I admit my experience may be difficult to apply to this person's situation. I have the luxury of being able to hunt almost every day for three months a year. And I'm not into competition so no need to rush things either. ...

ON Honker Hunter

Some of the confusion comes from the fact that most of the advice on here is from people who live by the e-collar and you cannot use one. I have never used them and do just fine. This whole chasing business is a matter of lack of basic obedience, something that needed to be on its way to being sorte...

ON Honker Hunter

Really nice to hear back from someone on how things went. We don't get that often here. Thanks. :) Well yes, persistent as I am I keep bringing him outdoors on wild birds. The last few weeks have been miserable though. He often points a few seconds before he rushes in to flush and chase, but also s...

ON Honker Hunter

Veggie: My French Brittany breeder warned me to not expect a lot the first two years. Apparently it is much in the setter breed to mature slowly. She is my first pointing dog (I've been a Lab man for more than fifty years) so can't speak much to that myself but he has been breeding and training them...

ON Honker Hunter

Pretty plain Jane here. Used a magnum Browning humpback in 20 ga. with a 26' IC barrel for a lot of years on upland game. Never once fired a 3" shell through it, but thought I should have the option. Never felt I needed more than a 20 for upland since I did my thing behind pointing dogs. About 25 y...

ON Honker Hunter

Oops. I see the dialogue on this was exactly a year old. I wasn't paying attention to the year and thought it was current. Anybody know what breed he finally decided on?

ON Honker Hunter

Has anyone had experience with started British labs advertised in gun dog magazine? I have contacted some and it sounds good. Those British dogs are built more for waterfowl hunting. They are typically bulkier with shorter legs. Great disposition but I don't think the American Lab could be improved...

ON Honker Hunter

I think a few of the fellas are not responding to your particular needs and environment. I'm over here in NW Ontario (but still slightly south of the 49th) and I think I understand where you're coming from. I am sixty-six and still going strong. Every year I spend about six weeks south of you huntin...

ON Honker Hunter

Pretty dog. Hard to tell from that angle and that colour, is it a Lab or Chesapeake?

ON Honker Hunter

The degree of intolerance towards other hunters on this board is alarming. I have been eating a steady stream of mature bull elk and whitetail bucks for decades now. Properly handled they are delicious, is what I and every one we serve it to will tell you. If your palate is different that is fine, ...

ON Honker Hunter

ON Honker Hunter - You wrote: "Our choice of hunting dogs is definitely apples and oranges. I want to be able to watch my dogs work ... with the naked eye, not binoculars. I prefer a close relationship." Be careful...you bias, and lack of knowledge is showing. Do not assume Just so you know, I can(...

ON Honker Hunter

I think you may be wrong with that sentence...plenty of geezers and geezettes here with training days that preceded ecollars. I well remember those old days, and much prefer the kinder gentler methods available now because of "something between me and my dog". I came by my gray hair honestly and I ...

ON Honker Hunter

Now see there Honker, That last sentence comes across as more disparagement. Those are beautiful trophies. If we were sharing a truck ride, a meal or a campfire, I would solicit you sharing every detail of the hunts/experiences behind them. I have been incredibly Blessed to experience a wide spectr...

ON Honker Hunter

... The older you get, the easier and more necessary it is to go to an ecollar. I am sixty-six. How much older do I need to get? I'm not overweight and still have lots of air in my tires. It is NOT "necessary" for me to go with an e-collar. Maybe I'm not what I used to be but I can still walk most ...

ON Honker Hunter

... The older you get, the easier and more necessary it is to go to an ecollar. I am sixty-six. How much older do I need to get? I'm not overweight and still have lots of air in my tires. It is NOT "necessary" for me to go with an e-collar. Maybe I'm not what I used to be but I can still walk most ...

ON Honker Hunter

What I am "disparaging" is the current philosophy that e-collars are essential. They are not. Perhaps they might be more useful for someone who hunts only a couple weekends a year and lets his dog range seven hundred yards, but I don't hunt that way. And I will pack it in anyplace I hunt where other...

ON Honker Hunter

Honker: Very few people are capable of training a dog without some form of long range control. Of course a dog can be trained without a collar, it is done all the time. If your hunting partners dogs are out of control without collars it is because they were not trained properly. Don't blame the eco...

ON Honker Hunter

Honker: Very few people are capable of training a dog without some form of long range control. Of course a dog can be trained without a collar, it is done all the time. If your hunting partners dogs are out of control without collars it is because they were not trained properly. Don't blame the eco...

ON Honker Hunter

Fifty-four years of raising hunting dogs and no e-collars. Not even for my Fr Britt. With her and the two Labs I can hunt any one, two, or all three at a time no problem because I am in control. "Hup" gets their attention. Whistle and point to my side brings them back (or else!). Wherever I point is...

ON Honker Hunter

"Haven't shot geese in many years because I would rather be walking in the uplands, but the wife got a new shotgun and tells me we will be spending time in the goose blind this fall. Better put grease wheel bearing on the goose trailer on the "to do" list. :D [/quote] I hunt geese quite differently ...

ON Honker Hunter

Sorry, Max, you're not getting much response. Apparently not many here are that far south? I'm actually north of the US border so absolutely no help to personally offer. I might suggest getting involved with local a local quail recovery organization ... what are they called? ... Quail Forever (obvio...

ON Honker Hunter

Tell us a little about you so we can get a perspective on who we are talking to. How old are you?? Male or Female?? What do you do for a living?? How long you been hunting/shooting?? What kind of hunting do you do?? What kind of dog(s) do you have?? How long have you had dogs?? You into any field t...

ON Honker Hunter

A few specks have been coming through in the spring but haven't seen them during season. Not yet. Still on my bucket list. You are in Ontario. Specks are on your bucket list. Every year you travel to Montana. Must not want specks that bad if you cant plan a stop in Sk or AB. Specks are here the who...

ON Honker Hunter

I was out there six weeks October to December and you're right, it was very bad. Worst I've ever seen in fact. I wouldn't even shoot at a sharpie or Hun last season. Only saw one covey of Huns and hardly any sharpies. Pheasant hunting was exhausting. Few birds and they were VERY jumpy. Lots of time ...

ON Honker Hunter

I really appreciate your interest in my gun dog future. I probably didn't communicate very well. I had an English Pointer quite a few years ago and trained it to the extent that a field trial person bought it to compete in amateur events. The English Pointer would point a pheasant and hold the poin...

ON Honker Hunter

Welcome to the forum. I'm a retired BLM fish biol. and I too have 3 hounds, a lab, a lab/GWP cross and a GSP. Maybe we can meet up in Montana some fall. Perhaps we might be able to work a deal. I'm also a fly fishing fanatic but alas none of it around here. Thinking about maybe going back to Alaska...

ON Honker Hunter

Guys, the reason I sold my English Pointer and later my GSP is that I was going to school and was in a Fraternity. Somehow girls and beer got the better of me. Then I went to graduate school and was too busy for a dog. Then I got into riding horses and owned a couple of them. For my own goals and l...

ON Honker Hunter

Guys, the reason I sold my English Pointer and later my GSP is that I was going to school and was in a Fraternity. Somehow girls and beer got the better of me. Then I went to graduate school and was too busy for a dog. Then I got into riding horses and owned a couple of them. For my own goals and l...

ON Honker Hunter

"Even this side of the pond .Many dont know how to teach a dog to walk at heel without a tether of some sorts , then when the dog is off "tool" ...the wheels fall off ..when a Cat or something else is in the equation ." I couldn't agree more. I regularly use "pinch" collars when walking my dogs (I p...

ON Honker Hunter

ON Honker Hunter, Tip of the cap to the old dogs giving it their all in the field. I was enjoying the big up cycle of birds in the Dakotas during the same era. I hope we and our dogs live to see it again, but have concerns as droughts and CRP acreage allotment declines reduce habitat. On the steadi...

ON Honker Hunter

"To put things into perspective, four years ago I shot fourteen daily limits in Montana before quitting early and coming back to Ontario." That's 42 roosters. If you also had some days where you didn't shoot the daily 3 you must have been eating a lot of pheasants while you were here. I have family...

ON Honker Hunter

My ole GWP Jack with his last limit of wild public land roosters taken on the last day of season. He was 12. We limited out 3 times on public land that last week of season. I took Jack's first limit of wild roosters when he was 8 months old. He was a pointing dog who learned how to handle them well...

ON Honker Hunter

The question for Novice123 that's nagging in the back of my mind is why did you get rid of the two hunting dog pups 45 years ago before they even reached the age of oestrus?

ON Honker Hunter

I have been living with and hunting with female hunting dogs for more than a half century. And my dad for longer before me. We always had females and they were always spayed early. Usually as close as possible to first oestrus. In fact, my older Lab went into heat at the vets. That cost me a bit mor...

ON Honker Hunter

An interesting dialogue. I have a Fr Britt and a couple of black Labs. We hunt publicly accessible land in Montana every year and by the time we get there after goose hunting is done here, the pheasants are spooky. This past fall was the worst year for numbers by far that I've yet seen. The birds we...

ON Honker Hunter

For geese here I use a 1976 Browning (Miroku) Magnum Twelve A-5 I bought used four years ago. Foul weather days I'll dust off my old 1968 Rem 870 magnum. For uplands it's a modified fixed choke Light Twelve A-5 bought in 1972 during my tour in Korea. The big A-5 also doubles as my trap/clays/skeet g...

ON Honker Hunter

I have never used pigeons to train my dogs. Been lucky I guess. Fortunately I can spend a lot of time with them in the field hunting every fall. We work the bugs out on the job. I'm fine with that. Never in a big rush to clean birds. Mostly my pups all had the right stuff given to them by God. And w...

ON Honker Hunter

Been a brutal winter here in NW Ontario. Walking the dogs this morning I only made it around the block. Warmed up to about -10F now including wind chill. We had a couple of -50C nights this winter. Snow is piled up to the top of 4' chain link fence in the back yard so I have to keep an eye on my ver...

ON Honker Hunter

Hi all: I'm new to the forum ... but not new to gun dogs. I have been hunting and training them since age twelve. That would be ... uh, let's see ... fifty-four years. Presently I have three dogs: Opal (black Lab soon to be twelve), Coral (aka "Puppy" French Brittany, age eight), and Ellie (aka "Spi...

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