Gun Dog Forum

ckirsch

So sorry Don. She sure was a pretty pup and it sounded like she was going to be a good one in the field. Never easy to lose one, especially that young.

ckirsch

Please don't go anywhere, Sharon. This place would not be the same without you. Congrats on the new dog. He's obviously fortunate that you found him.

ckirsch

I appreciate that information. My lawn get fertilized once or twice a year, but the dogs really don't spend much time on it. No use of fertilizer to thaw ice that I'm aware of. Are there other potential sources of magnesium and phosphate? The one common denominator between my two affected dogs is th...

ckirsch

In the event that any of you find yourselves with a dog bothered by struvite crystals, I'll update the situation with mine..... I switched him from 30/20 food to 24/20. (I'd like to find a 20/20 food but so far, no luck) Have been using water from my fridge, which has a filter. Putting about three c...

ckirsch

Update - my wife is a nurse and brought home some testing strips. Switched him back to a 24/20 food. I've been watering the food down, and adding a little apple cider vinegar and a cranberry supplement. Also letting him out to pee more often. He currently shows no sign of infection but urine shows s...

ckirsch

Sharon isn't "wrong" very often.....

I'm far from an expert but this worked for me. I think CoveyRise was kind enough to give me the idea all those years ago. First dog went fast, subsequent dogs not as quickly but we eventually got there.

ckirsch

I trained a dog for the Invitational years back using a silhouette. Drew out a GSP on a sheet of 1/8 plywood, put handles on both sides so that it could be propped facing either direction. Cut it out and painted one side roan and the other white with liver spots. Employed the services of my nine-yea...

ckirsch

Thanks for the thought, Sharon, but we are on city water which is pretty good here. I also have an in-home system that is supposed to dissolve minerals in it. Not sure how effective that is. Apparently not enough to prevent the problem. Hard to tell what to believe, but some information I've accesse...

ckirsch

Just reread one of my previous posts and thought I should clarify that my foot troubles are not life threatening. When I said I was running out of time I was referring to being able to get around well enough to still enjoy hunting. I didn’t word that post very well….

ckirsch

Thanks for all the perspectives. Much appreciated. Part of my concern is financial. I’ll admit it. Eight or nine years of feeding food that runs close to five bucks per pound is not much fun to think about. Also, I don’t think a dog can hunt anywhere near potential on 15% protein. My other struvite ...

ckirsch

Thanks Garrison. Shags - I was up late last night doing exactly what you warned me not to do, and researched online. One of those sites stated that grains caused the urine to be more alkaline. I noticed (after reading your post) that the Purina food had a high grain content. I’ll visit the sites you...

ckirsch

Thanks for the encouragement. I’ll look into the Purina. We have a Kangen water system in our home that will produce water with increased acidity. Wondering if that might help. Also read online that a little apple cider vinegar can help. This dog is probably the best canine friend I’ve had, even if ...

ckirsch

My three year old pointer (Blackhawk/Elhew/Guard Rail) has had dark, thick urine for a month or so. I took him to the vet a few weeks ago, and found he had a UTI. Antibiotics for ten days. Took him back today for another urine test and learned he has struvite crystals, which apparently is a permanen...

ckirsch

I've had a kennel somewhat similar to what you're describing for thirteen years. I used powder-coated Behlen kennel panels. They still look ok from ten feet away, but on closer inspection, the spots that my male dogs repeatedly irrigated over the years are showing quite a bit of rust. I don't know i...

ckirsch

Had homers as a kid, but never had the opportunity to race them. My family owned a KOA campground in the South Dakota badlands, and when campers who stayed with us checked out my lofts, I'd ask if they could take a box of birds with them the following day to release. I'd put one of the little messag...

ckirsch

I'm probably more concerned about my dogs staying warm on the long drives to and from December hunts than during the actual hunts. As Garrison stated, short-haired dogs seem fine as long as they're moving, but I take a few extra steps to make sure mine are comfortable while being transported. I use ...

ckirsch

I've had four. One struggled a little with cold, particularly if he got a little wet. Not surprisingly, he was also had the best heat tolerance of the four. The other three seemed pretty oblivious to cold. That said, our western SD winters aren't quite as brutal as yours, and I'll usually stay home ...

ckirsch

Sorry, Sharon. I can only imagine what it will be like to say goodbye to my final dog. Probably won't be too far off for me so I'm reminding myself to enjoy every second I get with mine.

I sure hope you'll remain involved in the forum. It would seem emptier without you.

ckirsch

I ran a two year old pointer thru snake breaking before last season and wasn't convinced he really had it figured out, so I signed him up again a few weeks ago. We turned toward the snake and were about fifteen yards out (dog on a leash) and he just about pulled me over trying to go in the opposite ...

ckirsch

I guess I'd also be concerned about potential long-term impacts on the dog's hearing. It's one thing being exposed to a half-dozen shots during a hunt. Sitting through hundreds of shots at a trap cub seems like an unnecessary risk. As my own hearing has deteriorated over the years, I've become more ...

ckirsch

You're getting some good advice. I also train my dogs not to jump into the pickup box until instructed to do so. It's not cool when someone has a new Weatherby laying on the tailgate and a dog lands on top of it jumping in. Additionally, I work on training mine to remain in their boxes until called ...

ckirsch

I had an HTA grandson with Rebel on the bottom side who was by far the most biddable dog I've owned. I've never had another dog who was so concerned about making me smile. Ice set the bar almost unreachably high for the dogs that came after him. I lost him to cancer at seven, and have often heard si...

ckirsch

I vaccinate my dogs, and snake break them as well, but a dog can be snake broke and vaccinated and still die from a snake bite. A "broke" dog can get bitten while flying across a field, never having any idea it was bitten by a snake that it stepped on while running full speed Most vets will admit th...

ckirsch

Get with the NAVHDA group. I doubt you'll run into anyone who objects to you and your setter. I've been running pointers in NAVHDA for the past fifteen years with no problems. My guess is that most will be intrigued by your dog - I got lots of "I didn't know they'd swim / retrieve" comments. You'll ...

ckirsch

Hate to see this disintegrating into a "my game is better than yours" debate. Tests and trial winners are indeed decided through judges' opinions. Sometimes it's better to have an outside opinion, as we are all a little biased as to the abilities of our own dogs. Great dogs can obviously come withou...

ckirsch

Sharon - someone on here recommended Mendota glucosamine tablets. My older pointer gobbles them up like candy, and I have to say that he seems to be a little less achy after having been on them for a few weeks. Might be worth a shot.....

ckirsch

The earlier posts about big coveys of grouse reminded me of an encounter years ago. I was pheasant hunting with three others here in western South Dakota, on a very windy late December day. I typically give up on prairie grouse by the middle of November, given that, as described in earlier posts, in...

ckirsch

I'm just glad this forum is available. I rarely post, but check in daily, and have learned a great deal from those like RayG, CoveyRise, and others who've been there and done that. I'm an admitted dinosaur, and do not use Facebook. Obviously a great concept but it's use to politically manipulate use...

ckirsch

Thought I'd provide an update on this in case anyone else's dogs are having issues with pressure sores. I used Coveyrise's suggestion and it has worked like magic. Cut the panels down to fit over the plywood floors of the dogs' inside kennel boxes, and within a couple weeks they are pretty well heal...

ckirsch

This is probably not what you want to hear, but in my mind it's unlikely that your dog's tail will improve. I'm on my fourth pointer, and none of their tails changed significantly from what they carried as a pup. I have one that is exactly what Shags described - his tail varies day to day, sometimes...

ckirsch

This pup had me frustrated a bit last fall when he temporarily decided he was a Springer rather than a pointer. He's since regained his composure and has been very staunch on his birds for the past few months. He just turned two and I'm looking forward to getting him out on the prairie after sharpta...

ckirsch

Welcome, and thanks so much for your many years in law enforcement! Keep us posted on your setter's progress.

ckirsch

I'm not interested in bedding for warmth - I mentioned that my dogs have access to insulated quarters. My concern is that they are getting sores on their elbows and hocks from laying on the hard plywood. My vet has plastic trays of some sort in the bottoms of the kennels in his practice, which are f...

ckirsch

Another good idea. I could use the barrels as per weimdogman's suggestion, cutting one in half and laying it in the wooden boxes. Could put some hay in there, I guess I could sweep up whatever they managed to kick out onto the floor.

Appreciate the ideas....

ckirsch

Where does one purchase marsh hay? How long does it last before breaking down?

ckirsch

The doors on the boxes are about six inches up; so there is a substantial lip, but the way the one dog digs at his floor, I'd still guess he'd distribute most of the shavings out onto the floor. Frustrating to want to make them more comfortable and then have them stymie the effort. Setters would pro...

ckirsch

Some good ideas already. One of the dogs scratches through the box's flooring - I've had to replace the plywood twice in four years. Wondering if he'd scratch thru the horse mat as well. Also unsure that those matts offer enough cushion although they's be better than plywood. Worth a try for the $60...

ckirsch

My two pointers have outside runs off the back of my attached garage, with dog doors providing access to the interior sections of their kennels, which contain wooden boxes in which to sleep, along with small adjacent areas where they can be fed and watered. The boxes' interiors measure 22 x 32, prov...

ckirsch

Who brought up bra size? Relevance?

I guess that, for decades, I've been guilty of insulting and offending my wife and five daughters by telling them how beautiful they are. How odd that it has always seemed to make them smile.

Shame on me.

ckirsch

Beautiful pup, Don!

I'm a pointer guy but seeing a dark red setter with that level of style and intensity gets me to thinking.....

ckirsch

So sorry, Trekmoor. Will be praying for you.

ckirsch

I use the surveyor's tape with chukar. A ten foot strip tied to one foot. When launched, they'll often fly up to a couple hundred yards before going back down, so there is usually not much chance of a young dog running them down and catching them. When I'm done training for the day, I'll put the pup...

ckirsch

You are a gifted writer. Your words paint pictures and convey emotions that likely resonate with most on this forum.

Sorry about your dog. My guess is that he felt the same way about you.

ckirsch

My back yard is on a fairly steep slope, so I put a drain in the middle of my 10 x 10 pad and ran 2" pvc about fifty yards farther down the hill. I'm able to rinse out the kennels each day and they stay smelling much better, which is important since they are near my deck. It was a lot of work diggin...

ckirsch

I'll second the recommendation that Ray write a book. I learn something each time I read one of his posts.

ckirsch

That's a beautiful site for a test. In the shadow of Devil's Tower. We have a new Black Hills NAVHDA Chapter that tests there as well.

ckirsch

Can't go wrong with Bob Konz at Hackberry. Typically offers Elhew and Blackawk lines. Very knowledgeable guy. Spotless kennels. Lots of satisfied customers. I picked up a pup from him last fall and am very happy with it thus far.

ckirsch

Followed Shag's advice and checked out abebooks. Picked up the Hochwalt's "Modern Pointer" and another Horace Lytle book, "Breaking A Bird Dog". Both are interesting. Hochwalt provides a thorough history of the breed, and Lytle provides training tips that remain relevant almost a hundred years later...

ckirsch

Ruark's "Old Man and The Boy" and "The Old Man's Boy Grows Older" both contain some stories about his experiences hunting quail behind his setters and pointers, as well as tales about fishing, waterfowling, and big game hunting. He's probably my favorite writer as well. I've given copies of that boo...

ckirsch

Lytle was a very good writer - "How To...' is very entertaining and you'll pick up an old school training tip or two as well. His book about his Irish Setter "Smada Bird" is titled "Gun Dogs Afield" and another great read. I found a copy a year or so ago. The book was written in 1942, and inside the...

Search found 425 matches