Never Spoil your Bird Dog!

Yep, good boy! I think it`s safe to say he would be cause for pause for an intruder!
Well, he was a protector and not a bird-dog, but him,His sister and my wife's dog are squirrel dogs. You cannot say the word squirrel in my house without a total freak out! But pretty much anything inside the fence was as good as gone!
610B0295-6521-4EBB-A68E-EC0F6F55E6BF.jpeg
BCC75608-BAF6-47C4-AB05-72DC3B460A5E.jpeg
C54DD394-E60E-484E-9932-366CA3359C1A.jpeg
 
If you haven`t already read it, get a copy of the late, great Gene Hill`s " Tears and Laughter ". If you can get half way through it with dry eyes, you`re a far tougher man than I. That man absolutely ruined me when it comes to dog stories. I don`t even try to read them anymore. Great writer!
 
Had to put my old GSP down 2 years ago at 15 years and 4 months. Sad day. We hunted together from near the Canadian border and south to Texas and New Mexico. Great traveling companion as well.
He trained himself on pheasants to stay on point until I backed him. Then he backed out and ran to the opposite side to block the pheasants before they ran.
A runt at only 49 lbs, he would hunt all day! I miss that old dog!
72D2BD33-459E-43BE-A65D-614DCE769436.jpeg
 
My fave lab story. I was making the long return across Pymatuning Reservoir after picking up my decoys in approaching darkness. Not only was it just Lucky and me hunting alone, there was not another boat to be seen crossing the big lake. My motor fouled on an old decoy line and stopped. It took me forever to untangle the line in the subzero water and my hands were numb and red, approaching frostbite, and I still had a long way to go to the truck. Since a dog's body temp is a lot higher, I pulled Ol' Lucky over and warmed my hands in his crotch. He gave me a funny look as if to say he didn't know we had that kind of relationship!
 
Had to put my old GSP down 2 years ago at 15 years and 4 months. Sad day. We hunted together from near the Canadian border and south to Texas and New Mexico. Great traveling companion as well.
He trained himself on pheasants to stay on point until I backed him. Then he backed out and ran to the opposite side to block the pheasants before they ran.
A runt at only 49 lbs, he would hunt all day! I miss that old dog!
View attachment 451491
Good memories. Your Shorthair looks exactly like my old Hans.
 
After more than 50 plus years on this planet and growing up hunting with dogs my whole life, I am convinced a man gets one great dog in his lifetime. I have been blessed to have had two out of the dozens I have trained and owned. I don't know that I will ever own another or see their equal. I am not talking about a good dog. I am talking about that special exceptional one that comes along once in a lifetime. The one that just gets you and you get him. No headaches or growing pains just pure connection. The irony for me is the two that have been magic for me were both half grown when I started working with them and they were both someone else's headache. One took six weeks to get to stanch to point, took him to a field trail and got offered 5 times what I paid for him. Turned it down. Former owner said he was hard headed, difficult to deal with and wouldn't listen for all the dog treats in heaven. I never owned a more loyal and easygoing dog. Slept at the foot of my sons bead or at my feet until the day he died. Walked my wife out to her car every morning for work and waited by the door until everyone got home in the evening. Just goes to show it is all about the connection between the dog and the man.

Had a friend who had a short haired we hunted behind. He and that dog were magic together, killed hundreds of birds and won a few field trials. When he got where he could not hunt him I bought him. Me and that dog never did get along! He wouldn't listen for nothing or maybe it was me who wasn't paying attention!🤔
 
8 month old Silver Lab, name is Briar. Runt of the litter. When he was 2 months old, I had caught a coon in a live trap. Set him down beside the trap (with coon in it), and it's been 'on' ever since. Runs rabbits, squirrels, cornered a possum in the swamp, chases birds and balls, brings up snakes and mice he's caught, worked this past season trailing deer. Out of 5 other dogs, 2 of which are my sons labs who live next to us on our farm, Briar is the best watch dog. He's always there in the side by side when i'm in it. Took him to our gravel pit, which has been converted to 100 yd & less range, when he was 3 months old. Started with a 22 lr, and worked up. Doesn't seem to bother him at all now. Best of all, he comes when I call him!
 

Attachments

  • 9676780E-8662-41D9-BEFA-8963E09D0995.jpeg
    9676780E-8662-41D9-BEFA-8963E09D0995.jpeg
    27.8 KB · Views: 124
  • 89F1FB63-A84D-49F7-8EDD-7B133120498D.jpeg
    89F1FB63-A84D-49F7-8EDD-7B133120498D.jpeg
    2.2 MB · Views: 123
  • BE900962-3C87-437F-963A-A5E676AF045C.jpeg
    BE900962-3C87-437F-963A-A5E676AF045C.jpeg
    1.4 MB · Views: 112
  • 357AE2EA-83BA-4D0D-A574-67FC2CB31BF9.jpeg
    357AE2EA-83BA-4D0D-A574-67FC2CB31BF9.jpeg
    1.2 MB · Views: 126
  • 0B1349D0-36DC-4997-9527-699D25BD98E6.jpeg
    0B1349D0-36DC-4997-9527-699D25BD98E6.jpeg
    1.3 MB · Views: 111
Hey,

So when I was growing up most bird dogs stayed outside, were fed table scraps and cheap dog food. They certainly weren't spoiled. So here's what happens in my house now. This is my soon to be 13 year old Brit. She's an incredible bird dog, I'll hunt her half days this year and it'll probably be her last big hunting year.
Take Care
View attachment 450936
Yep, my German Shorthair is a big baby and doesn't like the cold until bird season comes.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20221206_151126_Facebook.jpg
    Screenshot_20221206_151126_Facebook.jpg
    325.7 KB · Views: 104
After more than 50 plus years on this planet and growing up hunting with dogs my whole life, I am convinced a man gets one great dog in his lifetime. I have been blessed to have had two out of the dozens I have trained and owned. I don't know that I will ever own another or see their equal. I am not talking about a good dog. I am talking about that special exceptional one that comes along once in a lifetime. The one that just gets you and you get him. No headaches or growing pains just pure connection. The irony for me is the two that have been magic for me were both half grown when I started working with them and they were both someone else's headache. One took six weeks to get to stanch to point, took him to a field trail and got offered 5 times what I paid for him. Turned it down. Former owner said he was hard headed, difficult to deal with and wouldn't listen for all the dog treats in heaven. I never owned a more loyal and easygoing dog. Slept at the foot of my sons bead or at my feet until the day he died. Walked my wife out to her car every morning for work and waited by the door until everyone got home in the evening. Just goes to show it is all about the connection between the dog and the man.

Had a friend who had a short haired we hunted behind. He and that dog were magic together, killed hundreds of birds and won a few field trials. When he got where he could not hunt him I bought him. Me and that dog never did get along! He wouldn't listen for nothing or maybe it was me who wasn't paying attention!🤔
I sure hope I get 2 great dogs in my life, I have had many good ones, but none like bullet. I had to put him down because of bone cancer. It's been several months and I still cry when I talk about him.
 
Got this great girl from my brother years ago. Trained her myself and she was our companion around the house on the road for summer adventures, in the duck blind and on the hiking trails above Salt Lake City. 13 wonderful years and a joy to train.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1799.jpeg
    IMG_1799.jpeg
    410.4 KB · Views: 106
Top