To the vet....

When I woke up this morning my youngest pup Mack just didn't seem like himself. He wouldn't get off the bed like he usually does to go out in the morning. Usually he is just a little ball of energy in the morning till he gets outside. He could barely move and he looked just miserable.... My fiance took him in at 8 and now we are just waiting to hear what's wrong with him. I sure hope it's nothing major but I will be thinking about him all day today. Love you Mack!

Clipping dogs

One of the few downsides to owning a Springer Spaniel is the coat. Unlike many hunting dogs the Springers coat actually grows. Now this coat provides for lots of protection and warmth it also attracts any kind of plant matter you can imagine. This was the case two weekends ago when I got back from a trip to my uncles farm. Both dogs were covered in STUFF!! It was everywhere and very difficult to get out. My fiance and I spent the better part of two hours brushing out the dogs. This is when I decided the dogs needed a haircut.

Trips to the groomers happens twice a year for us and each dog costs about $75 to wash and clip. If you do the math it adds up to $300 for the year. I know that I spend much more on food and gas for hunting trips for the year but this just seems like too much money for haircuts that just like human haircuts never come out just the way you want them.

With all this in mind I decided to purchase my own dog clipper and do it myself. I had purchased a clipper a few years ago with the same intentions but I went the cheap way out and I just couldn't get the job done. This time around I put my cheapo ways behind me and put the money up for a professional clipper which set me back $100. I figured it would pay for itself after clipping only one dog.

The adventure this weekend started out in the garage but it was just too hot in there so I changed the venue to my basement and the utility room. I was shocked how well the clippers worked! The dogs also put up with my antics for the most part as well. Mack didn't particularly care for having his back end shaved but I overcame that obstacle by having Kristi trim him while I held him.

After all was said and done the dogs where clipped albeit a little uneven but they still look good and even more important plant free for hunting season. So instead of spending hours after a hunting trip picking burrs out of there coat I will be enjoying some time horizontal in my recliner with a beer. So in honor of the Master Card commercials

Dog grooming= $300

Dog clipper= $100

Beer and a recliner= PRICELESS!!!!!

Great video!

I think we have all had dogs which we wish we could create a tribute for like this. I know I already think about the day that Gus will be gone. It will be one of the hardest days of my life but one I hope when it does come I will look back on his life and truly appreciate all we have been through together.

More good times

I've been searching for bird dog blogs lately and I have found a few but not very many. Some are really good and it's fun looking through the archives and reading past posts. The problem with many of these is that they don't post very often if at all any more. I love reading about the trials and tribulations of owning a hunting dog. I picked up my first dog almost five years ago and I wish I would have written about our time together more often. There would be so much to write about especially my reaction to things as they happened. For instance:

1. Gus knocking over a huge garbage can in the kitchen while I was about to sit down and engulf a sub. When I went in to check out the ruckus Gus slipped past me to try to devour my sandwich... smart little bugger.

2. Going to the game farm for the first time with Gus and him chasing a killdeer about 1 mile while I yelled and blew on my whistle. This wasn't the last time a bird has forced me to chase down my dog but it was a great learning experience. I got an e-collar after that... wouldn't own a dog without one now.

3. Living in Rochester and replacing all the screens in the house because Gus wanted to get outside while I was at work. Don't worry he was always sitting in the front yard when I got home. I'm now a pro screen installer... I could work for a hardware store now for sure.

These are just some of the hundreds of stories and experiences I had as a young guy with a young and rambunctious gun dog. He will always hold a special place in my heart. We have spent so much time together and he has taught me so much.... much more than I have taught him.

Back to my original point of the post... If any of you know of any good blogs let me know I would love to check them out!

Reminiscing

This is my first blog and I have to admit I'm no English major so bear with me. I'm a 26 year old guy from Minnesota. I have a passion for pheasant hunting and the dogs that find them. This blog will focus on my two English Springer Spaniels(Gus and Mack) and our lives together in the field and on the couch. They have both taught me so much about hunting, life and as corny as it sounds love.

I've been fairly outdoorsy all my life but like a lot of kids these days that don't live the rural life organized sports takes over your free time when you are growing up. I fished a few times a year and hunted every now and then growing up. My dad was the guy who I did all of this with me but with him passing when I was 18 and being fairly sick for the 2 years prior our time to spend time together in the great outdoors was fairly short.

The next four years I spent at college I longed to be in the field pheasant hunting. Most of my friends didn't really hunt much so most of my time was spent wandering the prairies of Western Minnesota by myself.

We had owned dogs all my life which included a very old springer spaniel in my early years and two great Bulldogs. After the death of our first Bulldog I pleaded with my parents for us to get a hunting dog. These request fell on the deaf ears of my parents mostly because my dad knew the time and commitment it took to train a good hunting dog.

Well my itch for a hunting dog hit me again in the fall of my senior year of college. I was sick of hunting by myself and I felt I had the time and flexibility to raise a pup myself.

I began doing research on all types of hunting dogs but kept coming back to one breed that did "it" all for me. That breed was a Springer. I began talking to breeders about their dogs and eventually found a breeder that really wanted to keep one of her pups to breed but couldn't justify keeping it. Her deal to me was if I would breed the dog later she would let me have the dog for free. So the Friday before Thanksgiving I headed down to Fairmont to pick my new buddy and what was to follow I could have never predicted.

Like I said before this blog will be about me and my two springers and our lives together. I will continue to flash back to catch us up to the present but I will also be keeping you update with our current adventures and experiences.