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.

I got a this great email and photo from a friend and client in the Salt Lake Area and thought I’d share it. Duck hunting is a great opportunity to take the kids out and spend some time with them.

“Chris,
“I was just reading about your duck hunt on Saturday.  I thought you might enjoy this picture (not the best since I took it with my phone). I took my kids out Sunday afternoon duck hunting. I had just planned on it being a day to mess around with the kids since the weather was so nice.  I left my lab home thinking he wouldn’t be getting any work, which was a big mistake. We ended up with seven ducks in about 1 hour of hunting.  A couple of canvasbacks and the rest were gadwalls.
“It didn’t seem to matter what I did the ducks just kept coming.  This was my daughters first duck hunt and I let her have the duck call and she is convinced she had called them all in.”

As you can see from the photo, they had a ball.

Another friend of mine once told me that the best conversations he ever had with his teenagers were on slow days in the duck blind. So, take your kids out with you.

Sam & Travis were great help while training yesterday. We are working a young black lab (rescue dog) getting his first experience on birds. He did a great job and was really keyed up on game and would readily find the downed bird. My concern with the dog was his cooperation and willingness to bring the bird back. He’s pretty focused on looking out for himself. We’ll see if we can work him through this.

We’ve been reloading shotgun shells for the upcoming season. I was pleasantly surprised when Sam watched me for a bit, then said, “Oh, I know what you’re doing. You’re taking the old ones out and putting the young ones in, so you can shoot.” For a five year old, he has a very savvy technical mind. It was a lot of fun to reload with him. I look forward to more reloading and especially more hunting with him. This last weekend he went with me and walked at least two miles over rough country after blue grouse and was a champ.

Ps. I am always looking for quality 16 ga. components and good well rounded recipies to try. One of my favorites is a chukar load with 21 grains of Herco powder that seems to be well balanced, as it crunches birds.

What more can I say, like peanutbutter and jelly, kids and puppies just go together. They are good for each other. Here, Sarah and Daisy were exploring together.

Some of our good friends and their new dog. Nothing like kids and a lab. Note 2 year-old Brooklyn holding her dog, happy as can be.

Fouth of July and fireworks are fun - not so for dogs. Be careful over the next few days with your dogs outside when there a lot of fireworks going off. Even a steady gun dog can be made gunshy from fireworks. When hunting, there is the excitement of the flush and reward of the bird, but fireworks are just loud. It may be best to bring the dog in the house for the next few nights.

Enjoy your 4th.  Happy Birthday America!

We took the kids and dogs camping over the holiday weekend. Of course I didn’t take any pictures of the dogs, but we had a great time. Camping can be a great time to be out with your dog, because you have the time to kick back and play fetch until your arm falls off, take them swimming, and sit around the fire with them curled up at your feet. We had 5 dogs with us and had a great time. One of my favorite moments was when all of us were sitting around the fire telling stories and the dogs were spaced evenly around the fire curled up at our feet enjoying the moment as much as the rest of us.

When you take the dog(s) camping make sure you have enough water and food. Also, take kennel boxes and spikes and tie-outs chains/cables. Depending on the dog, no-bark collars can be nice. Kennel boxes have made life so much easier where dogs are concerned. When you are making dinner or need a break from them, into the kennel box they go.

Things you have to watch out for are porcupines, skunks, and rattlesnakes. That’s where the tie-outs come in handy. Don’t just give them free run all the time or they’ll get into trouble.

We’re still fencing the yard. I found that I broke the sprinkler pipe in three places. One of them I knew about and fixed, the other two I didn’t until the water welled up and washed everying away.

The dogs are really enjoying the warmer weather, especially the older ones. Chandra loves to go out in the pasture and bask in the sun in the cool grass. Allie of course, is still in lock down and lets us know that she is not happy about it.

It’s hard to overemphasize the importance of socialization with dogs. Thankfully my kids are more than willing to help. Sarah loves to take the dogs for walks on lead, and Samuel, when Sarah is at school loves to play spiderman on the kennels, wrestle and play with the dogs (currently Josie a sweet, but energetic pointer is his favorite), and when he is tired, Sam likes to lay in the sun on top of the dog house where it is warm. You couldn’t ask for better socialization.