Latest Trends in Chicken Keeping By Lisa Steele, Blue Seal Brand Ambassador The excitement around backyard chicken keeping doesn’t appear to be abating any time soon. Certainly not if you take a look at the vast number of “chicken centric” blogs, social media accounts and the like. Consider the million followers of Fresh Eggs Daily each month on Facebook, Instagram, … Latest Trends in Chicken Keeping Read More »
Why Families Keep Chickens: Species Overview By Lisa Steele, Blue Seal Brand Ambassador Backyard chickens are kept for eggs, meat or sometimes both. They are also kept for entertainment, stress relief, to help in the garden and for tick and mosquito control. But let’s focus on the main reasons why most families decide to keep a flock of chickens. Egg Layers … Why Families Keep Chickens: Species Overview Read More »
Oh, Happy (Chick) Days! Everything You Need to Know to Pick the Best Chicks By Lisa Steele, Blue Seal Brand Ambassador Each spring, our thoughts turn to baby chicks. Whether we are expanding our existing flock or just starting out with chickens for the first time, getting a few chicks is the best way to add flock members. On the other hand, adding pullets or grown hens can bring … Oh, Happy (Chick) Days! Everything You Need to Know to Pick the Best Chicks Read More »
Coop, Sweet Coop: How to Set Up a Home for Your Chickens Chicken coops come in all shapes and sizes. No design is perfect, but all good chicken coops do share some common characteristics. You can buy a prebuilt coop or a coop kit that you put together yourself. You can also build from scratch, or you can even convert a garden shed or other outbuilding into … Coop, Sweet Coop: How to Set Up a Home for Your Chickens Read More »
Keeping Your Chicks Healthy: Be Aware of These Common Health Issues Chicks purchased from a reputable feed store or hatchery likely won’t face major health issues, but there are still some things that can go wrong. It’s always good to at least be aware of these common chick health concerns. Coccidiosis Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease of the intestinal tract that causes diarrhea, bloody droppings, ruffled … Keeping Your Chicks Healthy: Be Aware of These Common Health Issues Read More »
Feed ‘Em Right From the Start What and When to Feed Your Chicks By Lisa Steele, Blue Seal Brand Ambassador Baby chicks are much like our own babies. They don’t really stick to a regular schedule and instead eat when they’re hungry, sleep when they’re tired and play and poop in between. Feed and clean water should be available 24/7 for chicks until they are about eight weeks … Feed ‘Em Right From the Start What and When to Feed Your Chicks Read More »
Preparing Chickens for Summer Heat: How to Help Them Keep Their Cool By Lisa Steele, Blue Seal Brand Ambassador Chickens do far better in cold temperatures than in the heat, and once the mercury rises much past 75ºF, they’ll start feeling the effects, especially if the air is humid. Understanding your chickens’ needs is important in warmer months. Heat exhaustion is a very real thing and can … Preparing Chickens for Summer Heat: How to Help Them Keep Their Cool Read More »
Understanding Bird Scent — Part 3: The Dog’s Nose The canine nose…truly one of nature’s most amazing accomplishments. A dog’s nose not only dominates her face, but her brain, as well. In fact, a dog relies on her sense of smell to interpret her world, in much the same way as people depend on their sight. Although this contrasting world view may be hard … Understanding Bird Scent — Part 3: The Dog’s Nose Read More »
Understanding Bird Scent — Part 2: Diffusion In last month’s column, Understanding Bird Scent-Part 1…The Bird, we learned about how bird scent is created. We know that there are scent rafts that create four different scent clouds that carry the scent into the atmosphere. Once the scent is airborne, there are numerous atmospheric weather conditions that affect the scent dispersal and the … Understanding Bird Scent — Part 2: Diffusion Read More »
Understanding Bird Scent — Part 1: The Bird In his book Best Way To Train Your Gun Dog, Hall of Fame Trainer Delmar Smith said: “No one’s ever understood one thing about scent.” Add this: Odor chemistry is complex and still poorly understood. (The Science of Smell, Iowa State University May 2004). Now we can understand why few, if any, have dared enter … Understanding Bird Scent — Part 1: The Bird Read More »
Generalize Your Training Wow– it seems everywhere I go, folks have puppies! And, they’re anxious for training advice. Here’s advice that every puppy owner can use. It’s about making your training more widely applicable. In the gun dog training business, this is often referred to as generalizing commands and instruction. One example would be the use of a … Generalize Your Training Read More »
How Good is Your Bird Dog? How good is your pointing grouse dog? Fair? Good? Outstanding? What is the standard you use to judge your dog? Your author has had the good fortune to watch and shoot over many pointing breed grouse dogs. Those include English setter, English pointer, German shorthaired pointer, pointing griffon, Brittany and many more. The training of … How Good is Your Bird Dog? Read More »
Anatomy of A Litter, Part Two In last month’s column, we reviewed how my wife and I decided to breed our female German shorthaired pointer, the process of artificial insemination and selecting buyers for our litter. We finished the column explaining that, as litter owners, we had first pick. I promised that I would reveal, in this column, the puppy we … Anatomy of A Litter, Part Two Read More »
Anatomy of A Litter My wife, Susan, and I like to have a new puppy come into the family approximately every five years. That formula ensures that we always have a dog at the top of their game. At the present time, we have a 10 ½ year old male (Dillon) and a five year old female (Dena). About … Anatomy of A Litter Read More »
Introducing A Puppy to Water Introducing a puppy to water is an important step in the gun dog training process. It’s especially important if we want our dogs to retrieve from the water. And, a very important second reason is for dogs to voluntarily enter water if they’re being worked in warm weather. Before water introduction, a pup should have … Introducing A Puppy to Water Read More »
Controlling Range One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is how to control the range of my bird dog. It’s a good question because we want dogs that hunt for us rather than us hunting for the dog. And, have you ever hunted with someone who is constantly calling their dog? Rather annoying, right? The range … Controlling Range Read More »
March Woodcock Training Unlike the advice the soothsayer gave Caesar to Beware the Ides of March and stay home, in modern times, the bird dog owner in Northern states, from Minnesota to Maine, should welcome the month of March. Weather permitting, March means the return of the American woodcock from their wintering grounds in the Southern United States. … March Woodcock Training Read More »
Winter Activities For Your Dog Sporting dogs are truly canine athletes. These canine athletes require physical and mental stimulation throughout the year. If you live in the South, this is easy to accomplish simply through hunting; with many bird seasons going through February. However, if you live in the North and deal with snow all winter long, you need to … Winter Activities For Your Dog Read More »
Picking a Puppy Picking a puppy is a gut-wrenching exercise for many hunters. It’s a ten to twelve-year commitment and you don’t want to get it wrong. For this article, we’ll assume you already know the breed you would like; however, picking a breeder, then a litter and then the puppy in that litter is the challenge. There … Picking a Puppy Read More »
Buying a Finished Dog If you’re too busy to train, too busy to buy a pup and place it with a professional trainer or simply want to bypass the entire puppy and training stages, then buying a finished dog is for you. That advice may sound simple but how does one go about doing this? This is an important … Buying a Finished Dog Read More »
Prairie Bird Primer Every upland hunter should experience prairie bird hunting at least once. Both you and your dogs will love the prairie. My wife, Susan, the dogs and I have traveled to Montana three of the past five years. And, we’re already planning our trip to the American West for 2016. There are many reasons that influence … Prairie Bird Primer Read More »
Pup’s Opening Day You have a young dog that is about to experience their first hunting season. If ruffed grouse hunting is your game and you live in the Continental United States, your opening day will be here very shortly. Here are a few thoughts about how to handle opening day with your young dog. Make sure that … Pup’s Opening Day Read More »
Best Grouse Dog Breed? If you ask upland bird hunters to name the most difficult bird for a pointing dog, the answer you’ll hear most often is the “ruffed grouse”. It’s a bird that would rather flush or run than get pinned by a pointing dog. What is the best grouse dog breed has been debated for decades. There … Best Grouse Dog Breed? Read More »
Conditioning for Hunting Season Hunting season is getting close. Depending upon in which state you live, it could mean opening day is in September. If you haven’t already, it means you need to start a conditioning program for both you and your dog. The ramifications of not being fit could be fatal. The fun side of this is that … Conditioning for Hunting Season Read More »
Puppy Steps (Part 2) Last month, in Part 1 of Puppy Steps, we covered genetics, gestation and the first two weeks of a puppy’s life; this included the opening of the puppy’s eyes. In Part 2, we’ll cover from the third week until the puppy leaves for its new home. Weeks two through six are very important. It’s the … Puppy Steps (Part 2) Read More »
Puppy Steps (Part 1) You’ve made a deposit and you want your puppy. At what age should the breeder allow the litter to be separated and go to their new home? Your author is a member of several hunting dog Facebook forums and sees this topic frequently debated. Everyone has an opinion. Five weeks, six weeks, 49 days, eighth … Puppy Steps (Part 1) Read More »
Using Place Boards Get five pro trainers in a room and you’ll get five different answers to a training question; and they all could be right. The use or non-use of place boards in training bird dogs is one of those questions that could produce five different answers. In this article, we’re going to talk primarily about theory; … Using Place Boards Read More »
How Old is My Dog? How old is my dog? Your author recently received an email from a young man saying he couldn’t afford to buy a hunting dog so he adopted a German shorthair pointer from a shelter. The shelter told him they thought it was about one year old but not sure. His email asked if I could … How Old is My Dog? Read More »
Generalize Your Dog Last fall, your writer met a young man in Maine who was on his first season of grouse hunting and the first for his young Brittany. Hearing from young hunters and their experiences is always fun. The young man said his dog was locating and pointing birds fine but wasn’t retrieving well. Further questioning revealed … Generalize Your Dog Read More »
Developing The Point Recently, I was asked if I would take a look at the bird work of a one-year-old Vizsla. The owner had very good luck force breaking the dog to fetch but was having serious problems with pointing. I’m not a professional trainer, however; I’ve watched many accomplished trainers at work and usually can provide productive … Developing The Point Read More »
Neuter Your Dog? Whether to neuter our young dogs is a difficult question for many dog owners. I’ve mentioned in this column before that my father was a veterinarian. We had a separate kennel just for our sporting dogs, and it was always full of setters and beagles. Dad never neutered any of our sporting dogs. He always … Neuter Your Dog? Read More »
First Year Pup The glory time has arrived…hunting season. How sweet it is. And the good news is that the grouse and woodcock numbers are very promising from Minnesota to Maine. Several professional trainers who began training dogs on wild birds in late July have reported two or three times the flushes compared to the same time last year. The season … First Year Pup Read More »
Avoiding Canine Bloat She became very restless and kept looking at her stomach. At this time of the evening, she’s typically lying down on a dog bed in the living room. I’m talking about our three year old German shorthaired pointer; a breed that is prone to gastric dilatation-volvulus or most commonly known as “bloat.” Both my wife … Avoiding Canine Bloat Read More »
Conditioning August means we need to get serious about conditioning…for both the dog owner and the dog. Depending upon where you live, hunting season may be only one month away. First, the dog owner. To enjoy hunting season, your heart, lungs and legs must be conditioned for long walks and, in certain areas, climbing mountains. If … Conditioning Read More »
What is Line Breeding? A recent email from Aaron: Paul, my long time hunting buddy is getting old and I need to get a puppy this spring. A pointer kennel I’m looking at advertises many years of conscientious line breeding. What is line breeding? Your author is not a veterinarian or genetic scientist; however, I can give a layman’s … What is Line Breeding? Read More »
Correcting Unproductive Points & Creeping This month’s column is about correcting two common faults with pointing dogs. The first fault is a dog that has too many unproductive points. An unproductive is simply a good solid point but there is no bird. The most common cause of the unproductive point is that a bird has just left the area…either by … Correcting Unproductive Points & Creeping Read More »
Puppy Selection “Make sure the sire and dam have proven hunting experience. If possible, try to watch one work in the field.” How many times have we heard or read that advice pertaining to selecting a breeder for that new puppy? You hear it frequently and often in this column. The theory is that we want to … Puppy Selection Read More »
Battle of the Sexes Should I get a female or male puppy? I get this question asked, on the average, once per week. The battle of the sexes is as active with dogs as it is with humans. Ask a dozen professional trainers and you’ll probably get a 50-50 split decision. Here are some thoughts. Dave Duffy, a well- … Battle of the Sexes Read More »
Wild Bird Training In March March is a very exciting month for the pointing dog owner. It’s the month we’ve waited for all winter…the month we celebrate the return of the American woodcock. Nothing is as important with pointing dog training as wild birds. And the return of the woodcock gives us a solid dose of wild birds for a … Wild Bird Training In March Read More »
What Age to Begin Training Your author receives training questions via email on a continuous basis. That’s exciting to me because it demonstrates that dog owners are interested in a better performance from their dog. The entire hunting dog experience is so much more enjoyable with a well-trained dog. By far, the most frequent question always relates to “what age” … What Age to Begin Training Read More »
Understanding Natural Ability & Trained Ability The distinction between natural ability and trained ability is a question I often hear when presenting a seminar. It’s a good question because each ability is distinctively different and requires different training methods. Let’s begin with natural ability. Natural ability is inherited. That’s why it’s so important to check bloodlines before you buy a puppy. … Understanding Natural Ability & Trained Ability Read More »
Guidelines For Training A Pointing Dog Now that you have a new puppy, what comes next? The first thing you do is take the puppy to your veterinarian for a puppy check-up. The next step I would recommend is enrolling in a local puppy obedience class. A puppy obedience class will introduce you as leader of the pack, provide an excellent … Guidelines For Training A Pointing Dog Read More »
Preventing & Curing Hard Mouth A dog that retrieves birds must deliver the bird suitable for the dinner table. Crushing or chewing on the bird is unacceptable behavior. This is referred to as “hard mouth”. Dog breeds that are historically known for retrieving may never have a problem with hard mouth. They may be genetically inclined, over hundreds of years … Preventing & Curing Hard Mouth Read More »
Don’t Expect Too Much From Pup During the past few months, several folks have told me that they’ve purchased a puppy and are preparing their new pup for the upcoming bird season. What could be more exciting than having a new best friend and hunting companion this fall? Especially, if you’ve spent hours, days and weeks training the pup. No matter … Don’t Expect Too Much From Pup Read More »
Locating A Good Grouse Covert How fortunate we are to have the “king of game birds” available in thirty-eight states…and all Canadian Provinces. Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) provide the ultimate challenge for the pointing dog and upland hunter. It’s a hunter’s desire to locate good grouse cover, be given a solid point and then rewarded with a straightaway shot after … Locating A Good Grouse Covert Read More »
Feeding & Conditioning Your Dog Your best friend needs your support to ensure he’s ready for the hunting season. Has he been a couch dog all winter and spring? If so, you need to execute a conditioning plan immediately. A hunting dog’s desire is often greater than his heart or lung capability. If not conditioned properly, this desire can lead … Feeding & Conditioning Your Dog Read More »
Using Bird Launchers Prior to World War II, bird dog training was done on wild birds. Birds were plentiful and easily accessed by most trainers. With millions of soldiers returning home after the War, housing was in great demand. Forests were cut for lumber to build homes, suburban sprawl gobbled up habitat and wild game birds retreated to … Using Bird Launchers Read More »
Transitioning to a New Dog Food As we talk to people about Native® Performance Dog Food, one of the questions we are often asked is how to safely switch your dog to a new food. This is a really good question because of the nature of a high performance food. Since performance foods are very nutrient dense, they do not feed … Transitioning to a New Dog Food Read More »
Initial Bonding with Your New Puppy Puppies Need Structure The first few weeks you spend with your new puppy can be the hardest. He’s been taken away from his siblings and familiar surroundings and is now surrounded by new people, new smells, and a new routine. Dogs, especially puppies, have a need for routine. They like knowing what’s coming next. It’s … Initial Bonding with Your New Puppy Read More »
Feeding and Hydration Management Considerations for Your Canine Athlete The following are several management practices and tools to consider when maximizing your dog’s conditioning and genetic programs to reach optimum performance levels. Reaching the winners circle involves a good deal of time, effort and talent. Based on my learning from successful competitors and bird hunting enthusiasts from many different venues of canine performance events, … Feeding and Hydration Management Considerations for Your Canine Athlete Read More »
Steady or Not? There is a long history of good arguments within all upland hunting breeds whether or not training to steadiness is important to their wild bird hunting situations. Some will argue the importance of being right behind the bird, as the natural survival instinct takes flight and success of one sharp shooter’s skill meet together. Others … Steady or Not? Read More »
What’s in a Guarantee? Remember when a handshake and a person’s word was all it took to seal the deal? A person’s promise was a bond; integrity was not a commodity, but part of a common set of values. I’m not saying integrity no longer exists, but in today’s world, the expectation is to provide written guarantees to clarify … What’s in a Guarantee? Read More »
The Last Hunt Too often gun dog owners take for granted their teammates and do not realize how great they truly were until after they have passed. I own numerous dogs and have had the pleasure to hunt with dozens of fine hunting hounds. With that said, I always knew my first dog Lily, was something special. The … The Last Hunt Read More »
The 3 Types of Upland Sporting Dogs An Extension Of You There are many sporting breeds for upland bird hunting and everyone has a personal preference. In my experience, many types and breeds of dogs can be effective hunters. Most sporting breeds produce well rounded companions with the genetics to excel while hunting in the field or on the lake. A good … The 3 Types of Upland Sporting Dogs Read More »
Seasonal Feeding Programs Feeding For Performance As a breeder and trainer of canine athletes, we’ve spent many years refining our feeding program to ensure peak performance and condition throughout the year. Consequently, we get a lot of questions about the feeding regimen in our kennel. Following is a summary of some of the key points to consider regarding … Seasonal Feeding Programs Read More »
Transitioning To A New Dog Food Changing To A New Food As we talk to people about Native® performance dog food, one question we are often asked is how to safely switch your dog to a new food. The answer is particularly important due to the nature of a high performance food. Performance foods are very nutrient dense since they don’t … Transitioning To A New Dog Food Read More »
Pre-Season Conditioning Health & More Birds With the hunting season just around the corner, now is a good time to start thinking about conditioning your canine athlete for early season performance. We wouldn’t think about going out and running ten miles one day without some prior physical training and it doesn’t make any more sense to expect … Pre-Season Conditioning Read More »
E-Collar Control for Your Hunting Spaniel The e-collar is a useful and powerful tool that can greatly extend your reach as a trainer. When used correctly, an e-collar can be a great aid in the training and control of your hunting spaniel. Incorrect use, though, can do more harm to your dog than you can imagine. For this reason, it is … E-Collar Control for Your Hunting Spaniel Read More »
Pre-Season Conditioning Health & More Birds With the hunting season just around the corner, now is a good time to start thinking about conditioning your canine athlete for early season performance. We wouldn’t think about going out and running ten miles one day without some prior physical training and it doesn’t make any more sense to expect … Pre-Season Conditioning Read More »
Choosing The Right Dog For You By Chad Hines Article originally appeared in Pheasants Forever magazine. Match Your Style Certain things just go together well, and that applies to hunters and dogs. Dogs and their owners begin to resemble one another over time and take on characteristics of each other’s personalities. There’s some truth to that, but there are also mismatches … Choosing The Right Dog For You Read More »
Tips for Beginning Retriever Training Train To Your Expectations There are many schools of thought regarding the best methods for training a finished retriever. The extent and style of training will often depend on the activities you plan to perform with your dog. For example, your standards of acceptable training may be very different if you plan to do a … Tips for Beginning Retriever Training Read More »
It’s The Training, Not The Tool! While on a radio show, I was told of young pointing dog that was taken out to hunt his first birds, the owner relying on an e-collar (electronic collar) to help keep the dog close. The dog hit the open field and was gone. The owner called the dog and pressed the transmitter button to … It’s The Training, Not The Tool! Read More »
How About A Pager For Your Dog? It Works For People For years, business people have used pagers to maintain effective communication while out of the office. Through sound or vibration, a pager has proven an effective way of letting them know when someone needs to communicate with them. In the dog world, many brands of electronic collars have recently begun to … How About A Pager For Your Dog? Read More »
Tips for New Field Trialers Maybe you’ve done Field Trials & Hunt Tests before, maybe not. As a beginner you’ll make mistakes and not remember everything that you’re supposed to do. The more prepared you and your dog are before you get to the event, the better off you’ll be. To help you along the way, I’ve put together a … Tips for New Field Trialers Read More »
Determining Factors In Bird Dog Abilities Laying A Genetic Foundation In more than fifteen years of breeding dogs, we have taken great care in selecting traits for hunting, conformation, and overall health in order to ensure a quality household and hunting companion. We have learned that breeding opposites together will not necessarily produce “happy mediums” nor does the “give and take” … Determining Factors In Bird Dog Abilities Read More »
