Archive for the ‘Hunting’ Category
Dog of the Day: “Bob”
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Jim Miller says his French Brittany, “Bob,” is now a seasoned pheasant hunting dog.
Have your own bird dog photo you’d like to share? Email it to Anthony Hauck, Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor, at ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.
Dog of the Day: “Sadie”
Monday, May 20th, 2013
Alan Boisen’s Lab, “Sadie,” rousted up these roosters on a morning pheasant hunt in Goodhue County in southeast Minnesota.
Have your own bird dog photo you’d like to share? Email it to Anthony Hauck, Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor, at ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.
Dog of the Day: “Remy”
Friday, May 17th, 2013
Derek Fillmore’s five-year-old German shorthaired pointer, “Remy,” pointed this wild Michigan rooster in early November.
Have your own bird dog photo you’d like to share? Email it to Anthony Hauck, Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor, at ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.
Why Do My Bird Dogs Like Turtles?
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
While running my shorthairs earlier this week, we encountered a large snapping turtle. The big “hen” snapper had left the confines of a nearby wetland to (I presume) lay her eggs. My older GSP, “Trammell,” caught a whiff of the turtle and b-lined for the reptile. After a moment’s wavering point, Trammell went in for a closer look only to be nipped in the snout with a glancing blow from the turtle’s pliers-like jaw. Seconds later, in spite of my scolding, my younger shorthair, “Izzy,” mimicked Trammell’s path. Fortunately, the younger pup was quicker and avoided the snapper’s jowls.
This flush could take a while. Pheasants Forever File Photo
This encounter immediately had me recalling a visit to the Fort Pierre Grasslands of South Dakota in which Trammell locked up solid on point . . . of a box turtle hidden in a stand of beautiful bluestem.
My next thought was to Bob West, Purina’s bird dog expert who I often call upon when my own bird dogs leave me perplexed. “Do you have any idea why pointers have a propensity to lock up on turtles?” I questioned.
“I have no idea,” West responded with a chuckle. “I can remember a particular field trial many years ago where I lost track of points after dozens of pointers locked on box turtles that day. There is just something about the scent of turtles that makes a pointer lock up.”
Bob and I discussed the fact most turtles in the north (painted and snapping) spend almost all of their life in the water, so turtle points are less common compared to areas further south with lots of terrestrial box turtles. Either way, West went on to assure me, “There is nothing wrong with your dog, it’s very common for pointing dogs to lock up on a turtle.”
How common is it? Has your bird dog ever pointed a turtle?
The Pointer is written by Bob St.Pierre, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever’s Vice President of Marketing. Follow Bob on Twitter @BobStPierre and listen to Bob and Billy Hildebrand every Saturday morning on FAN Outdoors radio on KFAN FM100.3.
Dog of the Day: “Heidi”
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Dr. Curtis D. Livengood’s German shorthaired pointer, “Heidi,” cut loose on this spring training run in Iowa. Dr. Livengood just became a Pheasants Forever Life Member.
Have your own bird dog photo you’d like to share? Email it to Anthony Hauck, Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor, at ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.
Fido Photo Ops
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Photo by Nancy Anisfield / Anisfield Hunting Dog Photography
A friend sent me a photo of her young chocolate Lab last week. The dog was sitting nicely with a pheasant in his mouth, but the Lab had a head the size of a Neapolitan mastiff, the diminishing body of a Chihuahua and a wicked case of redeye. Poor pup. His awesome first retrieve deserves a much better picture to remember it by.
Digital cameras make it easy to snap pics in the field, but really good dog photos take a little more thought. Here are four tips that will lay the foundation for great dog shots.
1. See your dog eye-to-eye. Get down on the ground or put your dog on the tailgate of your truck, so the camera is looking directly at the dog, not down on it. If you take photos standing up over your dog, the result will probably be the Mr. Potato Head Effect – a dog that looks like its head is too big for its body. Taken on the dog’s level, your subject will look proportionately correct. Whistle, do your best goose call, or have someone wave a hat in the air. Dogs’ personalities and moods can be seen in their eyes, ears and tails.
2. Zoom in. For great photographic portraits of your dog, the closer you are, the more detail your picture will display. If the dog is facing you, position it in the middle of the image. If it is facing left or right, try to leave some extra space on the side to which he’s facing. That will give the picture a better sense of depth and won’t “trap” your subject inside. Remember to keep the sun or the light source behind you so the dog’s face won’t be in shadow, but make sure your shadow isn’t in the photo either.
3. Use the technology. For motion shots, use autofocus and the “sports” or “continuous burst” mode on your digital camera. When you hold the shutter button down, your camera will take several pictures in a row quickly, focusing it for you. Try to move the camera with the dog – panning along with it – if the dog is running across in front of you. If the dog is moving towards you or playing in one place, hold the camera steady. Some of the images will be blurry, but you should get at least one or two frames in which your dog is in sharp focus as it moves.
4. Experiment. Try different compositions and effects. Compositions with odd numbers of subjects (three dogs, five birds, etc.) are apt to be more visually interesting than groups of two or four. Similarly, varied sizes and positions are more eye-catching than simply lining up people and dogs. Also keep in mind that composing the picture in halves can be dull. If half the image is dark and half is light, it’s boring. Make it one-third dark, two-thirds light. One quarter sky, three-quarters ground, etc.
Remember: Dogs are dogs, and they won’t always cooperate. Be patient. Take your time. They’re worth it.
Nancy Anisfield, an outdoor photographer/writer, sporting dog enthusiast and bird hunter, serves on Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s National Board of Directors. She resides in Hinesburg, Vermont.
Dog of the Day: “Tebow”
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
“Tebow” the English springer spaniel pup showed off his retrieving skills at an early age. “Tebow” is owned by Irving and Joan Cryderman of Whitehall, Michigan.
Have your own bird dog photo you’d like to share? Email it to Anthony Hauck, Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor, at ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.
Bury Me with My Dog
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
“Hunter” the springer dug deeper into the author’s heart after this successful pheasant hunt in Winneshiek County, Iowa, last December.
In the book “The Vikings” by Else Roesdahl (first published in 1987 in Denmark, a Viking homeland), she writes that Viking men were buried with their weapons, tools and hunting dogs. The Vikings Age ran from the late 8th Century to the mid-13th Century (Common Era).
I found myself reading this book after viewing the first season of “Vikings” on the History Channel (great series, by the way). What does it say about man’s relationship with hunting dogs that they were once buried with them? At first, I thought how wrong to have a hunting dog killed so it could be buried with its master. But then, Vikings were pagans who believed they needed their dogs in the afterlife (warriors went to either Valhalla or Folkvangr). Or did they take them as a mercy, believing it cruel to leave a dog without its master?
We’ve all heard the sad tales of dogs that mourn the loss of their masters, dogs that never recover or die of a broken heart. Take the story of “Shep,” a sheep herder’s dog in Montana. The herder died in 1936 in Fort Benton. His body was taken away on the train, but sadly, poor Shep kept vigil at the train station for years, waiting for his beloved master to return. Today in Fort Benton a large bronze statue of Shep, still waiting for his master, graces the train station. It is entitled “Forever Faithfull.”
Many dogs are “one man” dogs. The pack instinct remains strong in our hunting dogs. The hunter is the pack leader and our hunting dogs will go to great lengths to remain with the pack for, in the dog world, it means survival. My hunting dogs have never liked it when I leave them behind, whining, barking and pacing, according to my wife, Terri.
There is a poem that I’ve run in the Pheasants Forever magazine a few times entitled “To Bury a Good Dog” that proffers another option. It goes on about all the places a hunter could bury a favorite hunting dog. In the end, however, the story concludes, “The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.”
I like that. I have several buried there already.
The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever Journal. Email Mark at mherwig@pheasantsforever.org.
Dog of the Day: “Lillie”
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Mike Morgen describes his two-year-old springer spaniel, “Lillie,” as a “hunting machine.” Morgen and his bird dog companion live in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Have your own bird dog photo you’d like to share? Email it to Anthony Hauck, Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor, at ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.
It’s Porcupine Season
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Riley after an encounter of the porcupine kind. Photo courtesy Dave Kuritzky
Ahh…springtime. The time of year when a dog owner’s thoughts turn to porcupines and skunks. I basically have nothing against either creature, but when my dogs are involved, it gets personal.My first porcupine-hunting dog encounter was many years ago on a warm August evening. I took my German shorthair, Harley, for a run in the woods down to a small duck pond. He flew by the pond to explore the ditch beyond, and when I called him to me just moments later, it looked like he had something white in his mouth, a rabbit maybe. It seemed odd.
As Harley ran towards me in the dimming light, I realized what now looked like a Santa Claus beard was actually more than a hundred quills covering three quarters of his face. I didn’t even consider pulling them myself. I leashed him and rushed home to grab the phone and find out what vet was on call that night. Thinking back, even though I now have had some experience pulling quills, I probably wouldn’t have tried it myself. With so many in his muzzle and in his throat, better for him to be mildly sedated and not have to feel the pain for the hour plus that it took to remove them all.
My next notable porcupine encounter was the opening day of ruffed grouse season. Rimfire had been doing an odd point and sprint dance down a wooded hill towards a broad cornfield, not his customary grouse tracking style. Eventually, I saw him locked solid between two rows of still standing corn. Odd place for a grouse, but it was possible an early woodcock was resting there as I had once or twice found woodcock in the corn.
On closer look, I saw the humped brown bristly back of a porcupine. I leashed Rimfire, then dragged him back to the trees explaining that we were after birds and that while I appreciated his varmint tracking skills, porcupine stew was not on my menu.
Two years and several unremarkable encounters later, I was at our cabin with my two shorthairs, one a puppy barely four months old. After unloading the truck and settling in, my eyes caught sight of something big, lumpy and dark trundling across the grass between the cabin and the river. First thought: a beaver – and I am always nervous about beaver and dog confrontations. Then the beaver climbed a tree, thus, not a beaver. It was a huge porcupine.
Until it moved on, we were held hostage. Versatile dogs love to hunt fur or feathers, and the laws of nature predicted a snout full of quills for my 15-week-old puppy. A few stripped tree tops told me the porcupine had been hanging around the cabin for a while. There’s no closed season on porcupines in Maine, so I opted to take it out of the equation.
Some gun dog owners are lucky and haven’t had to deal with quills. Others, like Dave Kuritzky, who owns Riley in the photo here, has had to remove face and mouthfuls of quills over and over. Even with aversion training, Riley still loves to go after those porkies. I guess some days a 20 lb. rodent with a back full of toothpicks is just too irresistible to a hunting dog.
Nancy Anisfield, an outdoor photographer/writer, sporting dog enthusiast and bird hunter, serves on Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s National Board of Directors. She resides in Hinesburg, Vermont.
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