Gun Dog Forum

Please join us this weekend. The forecast is predicting beautiful weather and this will be a fun trial. It's a great trial for kids and new people wanting to learn more about field trials. The course is an easy 30-minute loop and there will be a lot of bird work. There is a nice club house with a re...

Good suggestion already.

I always carry a Leatherman or similar multi-tool in case you need wire cutters for dog wrapped up tight in barbed wire and pliers to remove porcupine quills.

Remadyl/novox
immodium
saline solution to flush eyes
ophthalmic ointment
cotton swabs
antibiotics

My pup was about four months old. Size of the hernia was about the tip of your thumb about half-way down the thumbnail.

I have a pup that had a slightly more pronounced hernia than yours. Vet charged me $75 to fix and no problems.

Go to Wal-Mart and buy their medium-sized soft-sided black pet carrier... Cost only about $25. I flew on a Delta commuter regional jet from Wichita to Atlanta with two eight-week old Red setter pups earlier this month and worked great. The height exceeds the limits to fit underneath the seat in fron...

I use welded wire panels from Tractor Supply for my kennel runs. They are 6' high. I lay heavy gauge hog panels from Tractor supply over the top and secure with those metal hose clamps to the kennel panels. I then lay corrugated PVC panels (from Lowes) on top of the hog panels and secure them by pun...

I have never bird hunted in Wy or Id but my concern would be snakes during the summer months. Perhaps the rattlers are not indigenous to those areas but I would check.

I just got back from the Ok Panhandle area (Beaver). Four small coveys -- two days of hard hunting. Last year I moved 12-15 coveys (20-30 birds) a day. The amount of cover was okay I just think the rain came way too late this year.

A really terrific photo essay. Thanks for sharing.

Just anecdotal but I started using ProPlan after the Diamond recall and have definitely noticed a greater tartar accumulation. I had two dogs' teeth cleaned by a vet last year and the degree of the build-up is surprising. Otherwise, I think ProPlan is a good feed, although way too pricey. I'm thinki...

I just got back from Oklahoma but have some friends still hunting out there. I'll ask them to save some wings and bring them back next week.

What's the best way to ship them to you?

From everything I've read and heard, you should avoid neutering your pup until he is physically mature. He needs the time for his skeletal and muscular development.

I got a Honda 350 Rancher 4x4 with the electric shift last spring and have been very satisfied. So far so good.

Enjoyed the photos. Must have been incredible seeing all those birds. The opening for mourning doves was mixed where I hunted in N. Ga. My group got 32 Sat afternoon and 8 Mon morning. We all had a great time. I leave for a two-week hunting marathon next Fri. Neb, SD, ND, and Montana. Really looking...

Season opens this Saturday in GA. I'm going Sat and Mon. Looks like we will have nice weather this weekend.

It must be this time of year. There is a thread on the National Red Setter Field Trial Club discussion board about run-ins with "small ground yellowjackets." It would be good to have some Benadryl on hand. I accidentally ran over a nest with a lawn mower when I was a kid. That was more than 30 years...

Grant,

No, I didn't make it last year so I don't know what to expect. I've been seeing tons of birds around here though.

Mike said they will put groups together in the same part of the field and rotate positions during breaks depending how the birds are flying.

Ross

Grant,

I hunt at Cherokee on occasion and a couple of other preserves in NE Alabama. Hope to meet you some time.

Are you doing the dove shoot at Cherokee during Labor Day weekend?

Ross

You also may want to explore National Bird Hunters Association(NBHA) and U.S. Complete Shooting Dog Association field trials. These are walking stakes. Also, many field trial clubs will hold walking stakes in addition to their all-age, shooting dog, and derby stakes. Many of these field trials will ...

Ryan,

I have found the Citori to be a good value. Don't think you can go wrong with them. Most important factor in my opinion is finding an O/U that fits you.

I don't think Benelli makes an O/U.

I'm taking a vacation/road trip through Neb, Dakotas, Montana during last two weeks of Sept. This is something I've always wanted to try but have never done before. Could be a fiasco but worth a shot. West Texas and Oklahoma panhandle for quail in Nov. South Texas for geese... exact dates TBD. Usual...

Many thanks for the information and clarification regarding rattlers v. copperheads. I thought for sure I read from some seemingly authoritative source about the toxicity of copperheads in relation to other vipers. Good to know that their bites are treatable and generally not as serious as rattlers....

Ryan, I think they're great dogs -- but of course I'm biased. While I've hunted with all different kinds of breeds, I'm actually a rookie when it comes to owning bird dogs. I got my first red setter two years ago and the second last year have thoroughly enjoyed them. They're terrific pets and awesom...

2 Red Setters (2 1/2 and 1 1/2 years old)
1 Lab (6 years old)
1 mutt rescue (looks to be mostly Border Collie... got her five years ago when she was about a year old)

Merkel 20 ga. and 12 ga side-by-sides for upland and Benelli Super Black Eagle 12 gauge for waterfowl

A four-foot fence will not keep an athletic dog contained if it wants to get out. I would build a taller one if you're okay with the aesthetics. One of my red setters has decided she likes to climb my four-foot wooden fence to explore the countryside. She's small (under 40 lbs.) and doesn't look lik...

2004 Ford F-150 Lariat 4x4.

My fifth Ford truck and they've all been great (knock on wood).

Good thread. I worry about this almost everytime I take my dogs out for a run. I'm going to ask my vet about the vaccine. Unfortunately, we have a lot of copperheads where I'm at (Lookout Mountain, GA) and I've been told their venom is the most destructive and lethal of the common pit vipers whereas...

I've had good luck with Super 8s. Certainly won't be confused for Ritz Carltons but they're generally clean and most accept dogs for a few extra bucks or damage deposit. They've got a helpful website (super8.com) and you can easily determine where they're located along your route and if they allow d...