I have been thinking of how we can get the idea across to land owners that wildlife is important and that there is a value for wildlife. Part of the problem is that too many of these landowners, they see no value to wildlife, or maybe even perceive a negative value to them. They only see animals (mainly deer and pronghorn) eating their crops and the hassle of having to deal with hunters and trespassing.  I spoke at the last Division of Wildlife upland game public meeting (Regional Advisory Council) about extending the pheasant season from its current 10 day season to a 30 day season; the response I got from landowners at the meeting was that they didn’t want a longer season because they don’t want to have to put up with hunters and trespassing any longer than they already do. It’s hard to convince someone like this that leaving any possible cover for wildlife is important.

I have been thinking of how to change private landowner perception of the value of leaving wildlife cover, because the other day I saw the owner of a beautiful 10 acre field of tall grass out mowing the field with his tractor and PTO mower. I had been watching this field all season and had seen several pheasants fly into this thick cover. The grass cover was waist high, thick and fairly uniform and provided excellent hiding and overwinter cover for pheasants. Best of all, the field was adjacent to a corn field, now corn stubble, which provided an abundance of waste corn feed.  The proximity of the feed to the cover was excellent, because minimizing exposure to predators is critical for a pheasant.

Unfortunately, the owner mowed the field to look about like a putting green. I believe he did so for several reasons, first, he didn’t see the value it provided to wildlife. Second, around here a clean manicured field says something about your self-perception as a farmer, and third, let’s face it, it’s fun to drive a tractor around and hack stuff down. The tragedy is that in our rural valley this provided some great pheasant habitat, that’s now gone. On a small scale it is a minor loss – habitat for a few pheasants, but cumulatively on a county-wide scale it is a significant loss.

Somehow we need to find ways to make wildlife more valuable to private land owners.
 

A little neighbor girl got a new puppy the other day. She is so cute with the pup. Kids and puppies just go together. She came over to find out all about puppies and how to take care of him. I hope the excitement lasts. She sure does love this little puppy.

 We had Oakley (black lab) out last weekend trying to polish him up on both flushing and retrieving. It is getting near the end of the pheasant season on the shooting preserves here in Utah. The birds all worked great for the dog, they held fairly well and flushed strong and wild. It was a great workout for Oakley, plus it was a great time for Jake (owner) and his brothers.

Three times now over the last thirty days I have had people call me saying they have found my dog. While it hasn’t been my dog, they have been dogs I have trained. In each case, I sent the dog home and thankfully forgot to take off my collar, which has my nameplate. Somehow the dogs have gotten out and been running around the city and have been picked up by people in the area. Each time they had a cell phone and called right away. I have been able to call the owner and put them in touch with the person that found the dog and the dogs have been returned quickly. If those dogs hadn’t had a nameplate and weren’t microchipped, I hate to think of the heartache it might have caused.

The first thing we do when we get a new dog is to take photos of the dog, put a good sturdy collar with a metal buckle (not a fastex-type) on the dog with a name tag and get the dog microchipped (avid - home again). That way, if anything were to happen and a dog got out and was picked up it can be returned quickly. 

Since most folks now carry cell phones you have a good chance of getting a call right away if someone finds the dog. I suggest putting your name (not the dog’s), your home phone and cell phone on the tag. Some folks I know also put the phrase “Needs Medication!” or “Needs Meds” on the tag with the idea that the finder will feel a greater sense of urgency to get the dog back, or if they were considering stealing the dog they wouldn’t want something that’s going to fall over with seizures at any moment.

If you don’t have a nametag on the dog and don’t have a microchip implanted, here’s a to-do list for you:

1.) Get your nameplate on the dog: Get online and order a metal tag. They cost about $3 including shipping; some of the best money you will ever spend. Many of the hunting/training dog suppliers will provide a free name plate if you purchase a collar from them. Collars with nameplates range from $4 to $24 depending on how fancy you want. GunDogSupply.com
2.) Take new photos of the dog: Take them from different angles and photograph anything unique about the dog.
3.) Get the dog microchipped: Make an appointment with the vet or animal shelter and get the dog microchipped. If you have microchipped the dog, but have not yet sent in the paperwork, send it in. Often clinics make you fill out the paperwork there and they send it in so they insure that it gets done. Otherwise the dog registration comes back to them and they don’t often have a record of who the owner is. Make sure the paperwork has been sent in.

Jump on it and get it done today, you won’t regret it.

Every morning we let the dogs out for exercise and to do their business. (Which is a lucrative one for our kids because we pay a “by the piece” rate for clean up.) The dogs tend to pair up, the two older males play-wrestle and they do it a LOT. This reminds me of my son and nephew, both 5 year olds, when Chris took them on a scout camping trip and all they did was roam around camp and roll in the dust wrestling. They could not keep their hands off each other.  They had a blast. The two younger puppies roll around and play keep away with a stick and the new rescue dog we are trying out plays and checks things out, like he is trying to figure the pack out. This doesn’t take long; he has already gotten the hang of the exercise program every day with the roading set up. Eventually they all end up in or near the kennels waiting for the morning feeding. They get an hour or so to digest then it’s off to the run.

I got a note from Kent of Snow Canyon Outfitters today that Gubby passed away a couple of days ago. Back in December I blogged about going out with Kent and Gubby for one last hunt. It was one of those moments that as you were having it, you knew that it would always be special. I didn’t know Gubby other than this one day, but she became special to me, probably because of my Drahthaar Aika.

Kent, I was sorry to hear about Gubby’s passing. It is tough to lose a long time friend like Gubby.

Merry Christmas!

For Christmas we got a new German Shorthair from Jerry and Kathy Jordan of Kojac Kennels. Man are we pleased with this pup. He has a wonderful personality, is very social and seems to be very keyed up on birds.

Jerry & Kathy, Thanks for your hard work and excellent breeding! We’re enjoying the pup.

I went out with some new friends today at the Rooster Valley Pheasant’s shooting preserve. Kent of Snow Canyon Outfitters brought his 15 year old German wirehair pointer (”Gubby”) for one more hunt.  It was a really touching event for me, as it reminded me of my wirehair that recently passed away. Gubby ambled along like Eeyore and teetered a bit on point, but proved that she still had it.  

This series of photos are of what was probably Gubby’s last retrieve. She is deaf and mostly blind, nevertheless, she marked the bird well and slowly made her way out, picked it up and shuffled back toward us.  

She had to rest several times on the 50 yard trek back, but she never set the bird down.

It was all smiles. We knew this was a moment to be remembered.  Afterwards, you could read her body language, Gubby was proud of herself.

Nothing helps ease the loss of a dog like another dog. We are hurting from the loss of our 13 year old pointer, but the labs are helping keep us in the present. Especially the puppy, she is so fun and full of life. Just looking at her makes me happy. If you have reciently lost a dog, my recommendation is another dog. They don’t take their place, but they force you to move on and make another place in your heart.

After 13 years, our Aika (Deutch Drahthaar) passed away. It was bittersweet. It was definitely her time to go. I was so glad that she did it on her own and in a very dignified way. She had been going downhill for several months. I considered having her put down several times, I even called the vet twice, but I just couldn’t bring myself to schedule it and take her in. Thursday early morning Julie checked on her and she had passed, curled up on a blanket in the kitchen. We lovingly buried her under the big tree in the back. She has been such a part of our lives for so long. Julie and I talked late into the night about all our memories with her, her VJP and HZP ability tests (hunt tests), the many wonderful outings, memorable retrieves, and most of all, her constant companionship. It’s hard to see her go.