We have had record cold temperatures here in Southeastern Idaho so far this spring. We got snow here last week above 6300 feet and we lost our tomatoes for the second time to frost. I heard somewhere that May was the coldest on record for this area. I have tried to take it in stride and enjoy the cool weather.

That said, I have enjoyed the cool weather for training and running the dogs. I believe now have hit the hot weather with little time for my internal thermostat to adjust.  When talking to some folks in Arizona and Las Vegas, they are already seeing temps in the upper 90′s and even breaking 100.

I have started to get things ready for the hot weather by filling the 50 gallon trough and putting shade up for the kennels. Soon I will be wetting the dogs down good before roading them, and will be switching to early mornings for training to take advantage of the cool. Spring was nice while it lasted.

While preparing your kennel and dog area for summer, consider the following: make sure your dog has shade accessible from at least 11:00 am to four pm, make sure there is plenty of fresh drinking water available. If you are going to be running the dogs, try to do it in the cool morning or evening. Also, make sure they are watered well. Since dogs don’t sweat (the cool themselves by panting), wet them down thoroughly before running them.

If you have read much of this blog or know me, you know I like quality and I think it is worth the extra effort. If you have the same tendencies, here’s something to watch out for. The other day at the local feed store, I bought a couple of new 3/4″ vinyl coated nylon collars to replace the chewed up collar straps on several of my bark collars. I thought they were reasonably priced at around $8. When I got home and compared them to the original collars I was amazed at the difference in quality. The nylon collar itself was significantly thinner, as was the rubber-vinyl coating. The worst, however, was the hardware. The buckle was much lighter, and the tang is more like a thin piece of wire than a good buckle tang. I’m sure they will work, but I was amazed at how cheaply they are made. If you are buying new collars, look carefully at the quality, they’re not all equal. When I checked a couple of the reputable online suppliers they were selling the higher quality collar with durable hardware (double buckle with a stout tang, rather than a thin roller buckle and flattened wire tang) for around $4 (check Lion Country Supply).

Let’s see, which would I rather have, a cheap piece of junk for $8, or quality stuff for $4 plus shipping and a couple days wait?

Last Saturday we had a great time training dogs. I had several folks come for field work with birds. Besides my regular dogs, we got to work a setter, brittany, and a bunch of American and English cocker spaniels. We had a ball working these dogs in the field. It is really fun to see a cocker spaniel bounding through brush working up a bird. Another huge reward was seeing a dog that I force fetched last fall come back and had a perfect retrieve every time.

I hope I get the chance again this fall to hunt behind one of these field breed cockers.

I enjoy hunting coats and vests. I probably own ten different ones that I have bought over the years trying to find just the right vest for just the right occasion. I finally found the ultimate hunting vest for my needs. The strap vest from Wing Works is hands down the best vest I’ve ever taken afield. If you like extended day hunts away from the truck like I do, this vest is the ticket.

My needs are fairly simple, I need a vest that can carry a fair amount of water for my dog and me, fit comfortably, not interfere with gun mount at the shoulder, and be able to carry some weight (birds, my lunch and extra layer of clothing). The Wing Works vest fits all these needs.

It carries 64 Oz of water in two water bottles on the sides. (I am not much for sucking through a tube, but if you like the camelbak idea, the vest can easily be fitted with one.) Plus you can carry additional water in the back pouch if needed. The two shell pockets with velcro closure flaps in the front are deep enough to carry plenty of shells, a point-n-shoot camera and a GPS unit. A great feature is the game pouch in the back in divided up with a smaller, but easy to reach mesh pocket for empty shells to keep them separate from your birds. Then it has an additional pouch in the very back large enough for a lunch and a light jacket.

Best of all is that the contoured vest carries all the weight comfortably and with the thin strap, it doesn’t interfere with gun mount. Between the shoulder straps and the padded waist belt and overall contoured fit of the vest it is very comfortable to wear. They also have a pocket and loop to hold a tri-tronics transmitter!

The vests extremely well made here in the US; Idaho in fact. I have no connection with Wing Works, other than I have fallen in love with their product.  Wing Works can be reached at the following website:  http://www.wingworks.biz

In April I had several chances to get out and see sage-grouse on the lek (breeding ground). They are such a unique bird. Their wet-popping/booming sound of the males can be heard from a long ways off. These males are almost comical to watch fight back and forth. They look almost like they are placed on little remote controlled cars that zip back and forth; their legs are such a blur. It was fun to see how things got really animated when a hen would stroll through the puffed up males showing off. As she would pass by a male, she would hunker way over and become interested in the ground and pretend to ignore the males trying so hard to impress her.

If you get the chance, even though it is early in the morning, go out and watch them lekking. What a cool species! I am concerned for their long-term conservation status. I want to show my kids and grandkids lekking sage-grouse.

Pheasants Forever has been at the forefront of the political lobbying effort to help wildlife populations through government farm programs. It will be important to watch how political changes to broad Federal programs impact our favorite bird hunting spot and local and regional bird numbers. Watch and see, we are in for some changes.

We woke up to winter again this morning. There was about 3 inches of fresh snow and it was cold. I am not going to complain; I know that shortly I will be longing for the days I was breaking ice from the water buckets. By this afternoon it had all melted off and was mild. It made for a great afternoon training session. So far, spring in southeastern Idaho feels more like winter than summer though.

The shooting preserve season is closing here in Idaho, so Saturday we planned on going to a nearby preserve and working the dogs on some pheasants. However, Saturday morning in southeastern Idaho felt like the Arctic; there was about 4 inches of snow and it was blowing 40mph.  The guy I was with called a buddy down in northern Utah and he said that the weather was calm, so we went down there to train. We ended up getting about seven guys together and a pile of dogs. We had shorthairs, setters, pointers and French brittanys and worked them on pheasants and chukars.  It turned out to be a great day down there.  It was fun to work a bunch of dogs and sit around and shoot the bull about dogs and swap hunting stories.

One interesting thing I had happen was that a pointer I was working, who has been fully steady to wing and shot, broke when a chukar paraded around in front of him then flushed. He hasn’t been worked on chukars before, plus it was a new area with a bunch of other dogs and people around, so…  I guess he thought he would try a new strategy. Needless to say, we had a quick talk about what it means to be steady on birds. He’s coming along.

Today was rainy most of the day, but this evening the sun came out and we have had a spectacular evening. To top it off, over dinner we have had the pleasure of watching a rooster pheasant chase a hen all over the back field. From a distance they move like a remote control car; their body stays almost motionless as they buzz around on blurred legs. Their courtship has begun, and rooster cackles can be heard every few minutes in the morning and evening. It’s a great time of year. It gets me thinking about gobbling toms.