Canine Comparison

A week ago doggo and I swapped out the SD cards on the trail camera trap line.

 

There was maintenance to perform.  Cam #1 needed a reboot. We can go back out to do that when we replace Cam #2 which has finally died after more than a half-dozen years of nonstop, 24/7 service.

 

More important was this.

 

These video clips were taken the morning of March 23, 2025 by Cam #5 (which is set to video mode). 

 

The first is of a coyote at 5:39 AM. 

 

 

The second is of my upland bird dog at 10:41 AM. 

 

 

Same day and same location.  Different times.  Because the cam is immobile it’s a terrific opportunity to compare stature between the two canines. Ruby tips the scales at 42 pounds.

South Dakota Ringnecks

Got back home Monday late afternoon following a trip to South Dakota to chase pheasants with my new dog and nine of my buddies.  Most of the guys are long term hunting and fishing pals along with some new ones.

Here's a handful of photos from the festivities.

Drive west including an unplanned Minnesota blizzard.

 

Some photos from the field.

All the corn was off the fields so we exclusively hunted cattail sloughs, reed canary grass you could barely see over and other natural cover.  Ugh.

Add rain and wind and it was the toughest hunt in memory

A day's tally of dead birds.

Lounging around the house.

The Red Rocket (Ruby) is a natural.  She put-up her share of birds on her own and had several retrieves.  First trip out - I think she's a natural.

She shes got some aches and scrapes so if you're looking for a Pro Tip for a sore schnoz there is this... 

And So It Begins

The calm before the storm.....

 

Bonk!

Today was to be a soft opening before the South Dakota trip. 

After a year of training, five guys, sixteen birds and one dog at Woodfire Lodge in Brillion. Sure, it’s a canned hunt; but no better way to make all that hard work come together. 

Cancelled. 

Yesterday we spent an afternoon at the animal ER in Green Bay. 

The Red Rocket collided at full tilt with a steel fence post holding a bluebird box. 

Dog 1 - Nest box 0

Anyway, no broken bones. Close call with the right eye.  Sutures in the face. 

Any of you who’ve raised hunting dogs have been to this rodeo before.  This is one, tough working doggo. 

The debutante has to chill for ten days.  Stay-tuned for SD….

 

 

 

Hunting Dog

There are no upland game birds to  legally hunt this time of year.   Although I wouldn't rule-out a half day hunt at a game farm to put the dog on some birds and see how she does.

Nevertheless, I've got a good feeling about this pup as she seems to intuitively know what to do when we go thru the motions on our daily walk. 

Trail cameras don't miss much...

 

 

 

 

 

Red Rocket

From today there is this.

Our pup tearing it up on our daily walk.

She is responding very well to the e-collar.

With this warmer stretch of daytime temps water is puddling on the surface of the still (mostly) frozen ground.

Mud season is just around the corner.

This little red golden retriever is a rocket!

 

Daily Drill

Part of our daily routine.

Dog certainly knows the drill.

Don't know were the birds are.

Oh yeah.  Under the feeder in the front yard...

Pupper Update

Just about every day without fail I take the dog out for a "hunt".  It's basically about going thru the motions now as I'm not sure where all the pheasants have gone to.  Coyotes maybe?  

Anyway, if you've lived with upland bird dogs there is a certain ritual to swapping out shoes for boots, a shell vest or jacket, blaze cap, and fetching the shotgun from the bench at the back door and heading out.  The dog now knows the drill.

On our walk she works the cover following her nose.  Sometimes I plant a pheasant wing or two for her to locate.  We both get some fresh air and exercise.  And a tired pupper is less likely to bedevil you.

The dog basically knows what to do and she's now been trained with an e-collar to respond to a tone. 

Smart dog.

Anyway, my device tells me that my walk is anywhere from .75 to 1.5 miles in length.  The dog's mileage may vary towards a number north of those figures.  And the trail camera trap line logs our movements too.

With the help of a bathroom scale and the trail cam photos this is how we keep track of the pup's growth over time.

From the end of November to mid December there are these.....

Winter Fun

When I had a day job a significant number of my Wisconsin clients had beat it out of Dodge by this time of year.  If not, immediately following Christmas.  They lived here mostly on lakes and in northern Wisconsin three seasons out of the year and by the time winter rolled-around they had vamoosed for warmer latitudes.

Not this retired guy.

When you have overcast skies, fresh snow and 26 degrees Fahrenheit and can work with your dog in conditions like this who wants to be in Florida or Texas.  For gosh sakes, they have cockroaches as big as your hand, poisonous snakes, fire ants and termites in those places.  Yeech!

Life is good...

 

Taunting

The other day there arose a big ruckus from the front door in the dining area.  

It was the dog working herself into a tizzy over a couple of pheasants.

Seems these two roosters decided to take a stroll across the front yard to taunt the dog before continuing on their way along the roadside ditch.

 

Seems they knew they were safe as nobody would turn-loose a dog on them so close to the road.  And besides it is unlawful to discharge a gun across the road.

A couple more (or the same ones) were back the next day in the rain sneaking behind the shed to hide in the lilac hedgerow.  Alongside the road.

We'll get them one of these days.....

Don't Curb The Enthusiasm

What our redheaded bundle of energy lacks in finesse is more than compensated-for with enthusiasm.

It was a cluster.

Nevertheless, Goal One is to keep this immersive experience fun and enthusiastic.

There is a high probability of pheasant fingers during happy hour.....

dog is airborn

 

Dog's Best Friend

In the instruction manual of The Art Of Raising A Puppy there is the lecture section. 

 

 

Note how my pup is hanging on my every word of unsolicited and generally useless guidance?

When everyone else dismisses you out of hand this is why a man needs a dog…..

Pup Update

The staff here at The Platz has been away for a couple of weeks - namely to celebrate a Fiftieth High School reunion a couple of weekends ago and do some traveling with my pal, The First Mate and his missus.  Charleston, Beaufort, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia.  I'll post some pictures and tales if I get around to it before too long.  Busy, busy, busy.

You're probably wondering if we took the pupper along with us for all of the festivities and travel?  Nope.  Ruby is still too young to be boarded at a kennel or travel a great distance.  So, she stayed with her birth family, a bunch of other dogs, toddlers and assorted small children, adults and a couple of different households.  It was terrific socialization, yet we know she's happy to be reunited with us and quickly settled into our familiar routine.  

I am tickled to report that even having been away for a couple of weeks on our first walk she remembered precisely where the most recent deer carcass was so she could go and fetch a bone to gnaw-on.

She has grown and now weighs-in at 21 pounds.  She's skinny as a rail even though we feed her incessantly.  We just cannot keep-up with this puppy growth spurt.  We'll ask the doc at tomorrow's veterinary appointment how much chow is too much chow. 

She starts puppy class on this evening at a Green Bay kennel for more command discipline and socialization with other dogs.

I should also add that these started showing-up on the trail cameras while we were away.

It is clear that the Door County Fish Farm and Game Club has released captive-raised birds for their members and predictably any number of them found there way over here for me to hunt and I'm not even a member.  They should build walls or something, eh?  But I digress.

Beginning Sunday the daily walks now include a shell vest and a Browning 12 gauge semi-auto along with a pocket full of shells and dog treats.  I've had a gun over Ruby a couple of times.   Gunfire doesn't scare her and she is demonstrating some natural aptitude for flushing and retrieving.  We just haven't had an opportunity to put two and two together completely.  So, slow and steady.

Stay-tuned for a progress report.

 

 

And by the way, after we get up around 6 AM to pee there is breakfast and a snooze together on the couch until Jill rouses.

It's a pretty good routine. 

Welcome To The Family

A year ago on September 1 we said good bye to our blonde Lab, Queenie.  Who was preceded in death by her Auntie, Inky.  Also a Lab.

As a consequence of being dogless we really ramped-up our travel in our post-COVID world.

Nevertheless, it's been lonely as all heck.  Without a dog a house is not a home.

So they say.

Anyway, I want to introduce you to Ruby, a Golden Retriever who comes from a long line of AKC registered hunters.

Her story behind arriving here is long and complicated so I won't bore you with the details.  We're tickled to have her and are working diligently to establish a predictable schedule of structured play and exercise, feeding and rest.

Puppy teeth continue to be as sharp as I remember them...

Lonely

Well, Santa didn't bring a Lab puppy for Christmas.

It's a shame as these keep showing-up on my trail cameras.

Maybe that will change in 2023.

Time will tell.

Hardly a day goes by I don't miss having dogs underfoot....

Her Highess

Lest the other Lab have her delicate feelings hurt by the attention lavished on her older auntie I present Her Highness - Der schlafende Hund...

click on the slumbering dag to enlarge

The Girlfriend

Me and my main dog are getting creakier, gimpier and limpier.  Grayer too.  I have a replacement hip to match her replacement knee...

Before...

And after...

We've got more than a few good upland bird-hunting seasons ahead of us yet.  Yet, time sure flies when you're having fun.

Stay tuned...

Kindred Spirits

click to enlarge

A good romp in the snow today and Inky (aka Girlfriend) has still got the Labrador piss and vinegar. Coincidentally. she sports an artificial knee and I have an artificial hip. Kindred spirits.

And at age 70 the Dowager Retriever is enjoying semi-retirement.

Chasing Birds With the Pooches

Seems like forever ago but fond memories nonetheless.

click on images to enlarge

Me and my pal Smokey Joe and his eight-year-old son out with the dogs seeing if we could scare-up some woodcock.  (We didn't).  Nevertheless, it was terrific to be out in the woods getting some fresh air and exercise.

Nice kid too.  Polite, smart and liking the outdoors.  Plenty potential there...

Trail Maintenance

The Frau was quite grateful of last month's ritual mowing of about 3+ miles of trails.

I would agree that it is easier to take Girlfriend and Sister on their morning walks and not have to stumble through wet or frosty tall stuff.

If you have been paying attention to the trail camera pictures the critters also like nicely groomed trails.

It's like a freeway after all.