Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2021-22 från Gun Dog

A YEAR AGO, I was just a few months into owning my second bird dog. I had stepped out of my retriever-owning comfort zone and decided to bring home a setter pup. After 365 days, if you asked me today if I had adjusted to life with two dogs, I’d laugh and tell you no. "A year should be plenty of time to adjust to change," you say. I know some of you will agree with me, so hear me out: Adding a puppy to your life when you have a seven-year old, seasoned bird dog…is hard. Not only does my Lab basically speak English, but he is calm and well-mannered. Jones, my young, ambitious setter…is on his way to be all of that and more. But he has the…

GUNNER PERFORMANCE PAD Let’s face it—our dogs work their tails off for us. They deserve better than the hard plastic of a kennel floor after a long day in the field. This Gunner-tough performance pad gives your tired gun dog the comfort and support he needs after a day chasing wild birds with its ¾-inch insert. It is also odor resistant, which is something we can all appreciate. This performance pad is shock absorbent, tailor fit specifically for Gunner’s G1 Kennel, and proudly made in the US of A. $89–129; gunner.com BROWNING UPLAND SWEATER This rugged, highly comfortable, 100 percent polyester sweater from Browning is the perfect in-between field solution for days too cold for a shirt, but too warm for a jacket. A 70D water-resistant polyester lines the arms…

WHEN I WAS shooting on my university’s trap and skeet team 20 years ago, everyone wanted a Browning Citori. The school didn’t provide firearms or funds to go and buy them, so we were tasked with finding the money to lay our hands on a Citori or find someone willing to loan us their shotgun. I simply didn’t have the funds to buy one of my own, so I borrowed one from a friend for skeet competition and practice, and used my own BPS for trap events. I felt that once I owned my own Browning over/under I would have arrived, that I would have a field and target gun I could carry for the rest of my life. I survived those lean college years, and after a couple years…

DURING the early and middle part of pheasant season, you can get away with a little bit more than you can when the clock is starting to run out and the temperatures have dropped. Late-season birds are survivors, and they really don’t tolerate too many mistakes from us, or our dogs. It’s also some of the most enjoyable hunting you’ll find if you have access to the right cover. This is almost always tall, gnarly habitat that soaks up the birds from a given section as the crop fields are picked, the snow flattens the lighter grass, and their cover options run low. This concentrates birds in a way that makes the hunting both pretty special, and really challenging. This also necessitates precision field work dog-wise, because without it, you’ll…

While the Pacific Northwest has experienced historic levels of wildfires the past two years, it’s too early to tell what their impact has been on forest grouse and quail. In my favorite hunting area, for example, over 100,000 acres burned in September 2020 and public access is still denied while cleanup crews work diligently. Walton notes, “We simply can’t get into many of our study areas that were burned, but what we’ve seen in the past is patchy burns can create favorable upland habitat that quickly attract birds, while burns sweeping through a large area of forest can take a while to recover.” “It’s not just fires making it tough for these birds,” adds Walton. “Intense heat all summer long has resulted in severe drought, making it very challenging for…

HITTING THE BOOKS I have included a photo of my husband Tom and our 5-year-old GSP, Jubal. As you can see, they are both fully engrossed in reading the most recent issue of GUN DOG. Both Tom and Jubal are excitedly anticipating the upcoming season in Wisconsin. What better way to prepare than by perusing the magazine! – Kathy Staack | Plover, Wisconsin Hi Kathy, Tom, and Jubal, That’s what we like to see! Study up—the uplands are calling! Happy hunting. – Kali Parmley | Editor in Chief ENJOYING THE PRESENT... BUT HOW? I am submitting a question for the magazine and its readers in the hopes it can remain anonymous. This year we welcomed a new gun dog to our home. The love and challenge of having the pup…

I USED TO live in Southern California, and one of my favorite places to eat was a burger joint called Islands. Although they had amazing burgers, my favorite item on Islands’ menu was the chicken tortilla soup. The contrasting textures, flavors, and colors in the soup were perfect: Spicy seasonings balanced by cool avocado, crispy strips of tortilla layered with gooey cheeses on top, bright and fresh flavors of cilantro and lime, and healthy doses of diced sweet peppers and carrots. During cooler months, chances of finding me at Islands during my lunch break were high. It’s been years since I’ve had a delicious bowl of Islands’ chicken tortilla soup, but I obviously haven’t forgotten it. Here’s my version made with pheasant. This is a good recipe for fall, winter,…

NO BIRD, no bird dog.” It’s a simple statement and fitting topic to discuss in the wrap up of this series on Cali’s training. To make a good bird dog, or gun dog for that matter, there is just no getting around it: You need to incorporate the real thing. It needs to happen when the time is right and in the right way. The question is, when and how is that? Over the last year, the number of questions I receive revolving around puppies and young dogs continues to increase. I spent a weekend at a consumer show and literally had hundreds of conversations with dog owners who had no shortage of questions as hunting season had arrived. The most asked question: “How do I get my dog hunting?”…

EVERY DISCIPLINE of gun dog training has its unique lessons and commands that lead to an intended behavior. The pointing dog trainer will inevitably have a specific plan to teach and reinforce “whoa,” a command that ensures a staunch point in the presence of game. The retriever trainer will drill the marking of fallen game, and/or the release on a “back” command that sends a retriever on a straight line out to fetch. Flushing dog trainers, however, do things a bit differently. The flusher doesn’t require a specific command to seek and flush game. That behavior is a natural result of good breeding and prey drive. The flushing dog trainer instead drills and reinforces an “off switch” that is known as the “hup” command. With a sustained whistle blast, a…

This is MAVERICK, my 6-year-old German wirehaired pointer with a six pack of chukar from northern Nevada. Joseph Leone Susanville, California BRAVO is a 3-year-old Drahthaar doing what he loves with a laser focus! Neil Halonen Alberta, Canada COOPER is a 1.5-year-old Lab showing off his retrieves during this past valley quail season in California. Cody Velasco Lompoc, California PHOTO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES – Please make sure your phone or camera is set on the highest quality .jpeg available. – Submit no more than two photos and include your dog’s name, age, breed, and any additional interesting details, plus the town and state in which you live. – Submission does not guarantee publication. We reserve the right to reject images that aren’t high enough in quality. PLEASE SEND IMAGES TO: gundogsnapshots@outdoorsg.com…

Servings: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes 1. Wash pheasant thoroughly and cut into pieces if kept whole. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, add chopped bacon to a large skillet over medium heat to render. Then add diced onion with a pinch of salt and sauté until translucent. Next, add diced red bell pepper, diced carrot, and another pinch of salt, and sauté until soft, stirring occasionally. Add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Take off heat. 3. After 1 hour and 30 minutes, take pheasant pieces out of the pot and shred the meat. Return shredded meat and bones to the pot.…

YOU HAVE BEEN thinking about getting a hunting dog. This quickly morphs to you absolutely need a hunting dog. All sorts of rationalizations emerge. You shot down all the negatives except for the nagging things like what breed, where to look for a dog, how much to pay; all things you deem practical so as not to appear too naïve. But you overlooked the big question: Why? Why do you want a dog? What prompted the desire for having your own hunting dog? Within the why you also need to ask what do you want the dog to do for you? Do you want a specialist like a pointer, retriever, or a tracker? Or do you want a ‘does everything necessary for hunting’ type dog? What do you want to…

HEADS UP, topknots erect, and in mountain quail-like fashion, the covey vanished into a massive slash pile. I was 150 yards from the birds when they busted me. Echo and Kona, my two pudelpointers, worked a gully between us, hidden from view. Once the dogs gained elevation and caught wind of the quail, however, things quickly escalated. Both dogs worked together, then separated. Echo went on point where I’d last seen two quail, while Kona worked around the backside of the giant debris pile. I approached Echo, but no birds flushed. I called her off and we went around the pile which towered more than 30-feet into the sky, and instantly, she joined Kona on rigid point. As I began to shoulder the gun and inch forward, three blue bombers…