Prairie birds in South Dakota!

[chiendog]

Well the weatherman is calling for snow tomorrow and there's only a few more days of deer season left. That means the 2015 hunting season is pretty much history up here. Sure, we may get out a couple more times for grouse if the snow ain't knee-deep, and I will probably chase jack rabbits in January, but for all intents and purposes, our trip to South Dakota last week was the last big adventure of the year.

And what an adventure it was! We could not bring any birds back with us (there is a complete ban on the importation of anything remotely resembling a chicken to Canada due to avian flu stateside), so my wife Lisa and I mainly used our Canons instead of shotguns. We could not have asked for better conditions. The temps were near perfect, the light was just right and the hunters, dogs and birds put on a great show. We managed to get some shots that we are really happy with, one or two of which I am pretty sure will make it to my next book.

If you'd like to see a selection of our favourites, check out the 2015 hunting gallery I've set up here: https://cdog.exposure.co/la-belle-saison It features shots spanning the entire season, in reverse chronological order from South Dakota to North Dakota to Manitoba.

Enjoy!!



 

[Cicada]

Inspiring photos very impressive!

Grant

[mask]

Thank you for sharing.

[deseeker]

Nice pictures

[fishvik]

Chien, What breed is the grey long haired dog? Is it long-haired Weim?

[gonehuntin']

As usual wonderful pictures!!!

[chiendog]

Chien, What breed is the grey long haired dog? Is it long-haired Weim?

Yes, there are actually two Longhaired Weims in the gallery, both from the same breeder in Germany.

Maisey is a 6 year old female.


Zeiss is an 8 year old male.

[Sharon]

Beautiful photography. I posted it on our Ontario Out of Doors forum. Thanks.

[fishvik]

"Yes, there are actually two Longhaired Weims in the gallery, both from the same breeder in Germany. "

They are beautiful dogs. They look like a grey setter.

[OhioVizsla]

Thanks for sharing. Those longhairs look sleek compared to the big blocky weims is see around here. How do they run?

[chiendog]

Officially, in Germany, the only difference between a LH and SH Weim is the coat length (and the fact that lh tails are never cropped, sh tails are). And in my experience, it is true...of Weims from Germany. Shave a German LH, and it would look just like a German SH (with a long tail). Outside of Germany though, the breed is all over the map. I've seen Weims in the US that look more like Great Danes and others that look more like Whippets. There is very little consistency in the breed right now, except in show lines where most of the dogs look like grey ponies

As for run, the two I hunt with now are both relatively fast, medium range hunters, in the woods they range out 40-80 yards, in the field maybe out to 150+ yards. Here is a video that shows Zeiss (German LH weim) hunting snipe with my American field trial bred shorthaired Weim Henri (who died this summer, at only 7 years old dammit... ). Most of the footage is of Henri doing his thing, but you can see Zeiss in a few brief portions. Henri was a bigger runner than Zeiss, he was from field trial stock and most of the time he was a grey dot on the horizon, but as you can see, the only real difference in their overall look is the coat length and tail: http://www.craigkoshykphoto.ca/p864745993/e7e8b6b1d

And in this video you can see me running another German LH Weim (male) with another American field trial Weim (female). Sorry, the dialogue is in French (it was made for French Canadian TV show), but the action speaks for itself. http://www.craigkoshykphoto.ca/p864745993#h557a2d9

Henri and Zeiss in the field


Henri and Maisey chilling in the house

[ezzy333]

Mo has a litter of Weims getting about old enough to go home I think. It was a repeat breeding as the first litter really turned out great.