Gun Dog Forum

ckirsch

I've always heard that TT was superior, but I've have good luck with my SD. No complaints thus far, and their customer service is pretty impressive.

ckirsch

I agree with Garrison. I've always had good luck with the tried-and-true method of putting the pup's crate behind me in a hallway, and tossing a rolled-up sock in the opposite direction. Most pups will chase the thrown sock down, pick it up, and then attempt to return to their crate with it. I inter...

ckirsch

Check out Scott Beynon in Freeman, an hour SW of Sioux Falls. He takes just 3-4 dogs per year and does a nice job with them. Primarily focus is NAVHDA, but he has a strong retriever background as well. Very serious about his work, with a pretty impressive track record. He's trained seven or eight VC...

ckirsch

I have a pack living in the timbered ravines behind my house (on the edge of town) that are very bold. My older pointer has been jumped twice, once in the middle of the day, in the back yard, while I was standing about forty feet away. The dog held his own both times, had a few cuts and punctures, b...

ckirsch

In South Dakota, flushers/ retrievers outnumber pointers twenty to one. I've never understood why; could be that people perceive the training for a flusher to be easier? I'll admit that there are some conditions for which they are probably better suited than pointers, such as creek bottoms, sloughs,...

ckirsch

In the mud room on dog beds. They get a fair amount of interaction with the family there, and stay warm / cool depending on the season, but are never allowed any further in. Too much shedding to be in the house, much less our bed, as we'd have white pointer hair all over everything.

ckirsch

I don't doubt there is some merit to what Larue shared, but I'd hate for new handlers to avoid NAVHDA for fear that it will take all the run out of their dog. As Ruff and Ray mentioned, most of that is determined by the dog's genetics and training. As some of you know, I ran an AA-bred pointer thoug...

ckirsch

thank you for all the information that everyone has giving me, it really helped. has anyone trained and passed NAVDA test and done field trails with the same dog? I have a pointer that's been through NAVHDA, and I've tried my hand in a handful of NSTRA trials with him since. Haven't taken home any ...

ckirsch

I've been involved in NAVHDA for eight years or so, and NSTRA for the past two. Both are great organizations, but in my experience, NAVHDA would probably be the better resource for help in learning how to train and handle your dog, as that is more of their focus. I was fortunate in getting involved ...

ckirsch

Anyone happen to know when cheetah season opens? Think I'm gonna give it a try with my AA-bred pointer this year.

ckirsch

BillThomas wrote:.Go hunt some cattails with the same 2 dogs and report back to me after 3 days.

This guy sounds more like Birddogz with every post......

ckirsch

BillThomas wrote:Overly Animated and athletic, Excited, GALLOPING dogs ranging out from 500-1200meters + (even outrunning horses), Often Outrun their noses and blew by Lots and lots of birds.

VerY BiZarrE

ckirsch

BillT; You're insinuating that the dogs not finishing the trial dropped out due to exhaustion, which is not the case. Most, if not all, were pulled by their handlers once it was obvious that they were not headed for the podium on that particular day. A bit of trial etiquette, if I'm not mistaken, so...

ckirsch

Interesting study, but the results are about what I would have expected. Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that dogs miss birds in trials. They zig when they should have zagged, pass by upwind of the birds, run above or beneath a current of scent, might happen to be exhaling when they run through a ...

ckirsch

I had a setter that was an incredible burr magnet, and required quite a bit of tailgate time to clean up after every outing. Pretty dog, and solid enough in the field, but my pointers are much lower maintenance...

ckirsch

I think we all get pretty excited about an NA test when it's our pup running it. Congrats, it sounds like you and your pup had a great day. My advice is that you start training for your UPT or UT today. You'll have a lot of fun, will learn a lot, and your dog will end up a better-behaved field compa...

ckirsch

Seems like the $55 is but a small price to pay for a NAVHDA membership, considering that none of the testing would be done anywhere without the parent organization. The magazine, website, and database are all valuable resources. I'm happy to send that check in each year; the bird-doggin' world is mu...

ckirsch

oK JIm! THANKS for CLEARING that uP!

ckirsch

Pretty sure I saw that pup at the Savage MT trail a few weekends ago. There were some very nice looking shorthairs staked out around the Woodward camper. Congrats!

ckirsch

Not sure how I could be any more clear that I believe he should suffer the same consequence as anyone else if he indeed broke the law. It sounded to me as if that particular law had rarely, if ever, been enforced, and was obscure enough that even the locals were unaware of it. If you can point out w...

ckirsch

Ultra; I applaud you for you membership in the NRA, and for your involvement in the struggle to preserve Second Amendment rights. You seem, however, to be pretty quick to judge Nugent. If he's truly overstepped the law, then he obviously deserves the same consequences any of us would receive. It doe...

ckirsch

If folks would take a minute to watch the video, they might take a different perspective. Seems fairly clear that Nugent has some big crosshairs on his back, and the lefties in various government agencies obviously want to shut him down.

ckirsch

I've been shooting a Red Label 12 for the past six or seven years and it's been a good gun. Ruger doesn't spend any extra on their wood, and the gun is a bit heavy, but it has never let me down. I'm not that worried about a few extra ounces as the extra exercise is good for me. Not a fancy gun, but ...

ckirsch

Robert Ruark's "The Old Man and The Boy". It just doesn't get any better than that. "Gun Dogs Afield" by Horace Lytle is another good one. Corey Ford also wrote some great stuff.

ckirsch

I had the same symptoms with a pointer last spring. We finished a four-brace NSTRA weekend trial in cold and wet conditions, and I loaded the dog in his box for the six-hour drive home. Stopped after a few hours to water him and air him out a bit, his tail was hanging limp and obviously very painful...

ckirsch

Although I live in the Mecca of pheasant hunting, I would rather pursue prairie chickens and sharptails, as they take me to wilder country, with fewer fences, roads, and people. I can let my dogs range as far as they please, and prairie grouse hold better for pointers than pheasants do, at least thr...

ckirsch

I experimented with several Diamond formulas, PPP, Exceed, and TOTW, but have finally settled on Loyall. Good coats, small stools, no gas, teeth stay pretty clean, and my 50-pound dogs look good on just 2 1/2 cups per day. I feed the 31/20 Professional during the hunting season, and the Performance ...

ckirsch

Get there early enough to watch as many braces as possible. You'll learn a lot in the process, and my guess is that you'll also encounter some veterans who will be more than happy to give you advice. Your first trial will be about getting a feel for the game, and having a good time.

Good luck....

ckirsch

That is truly a breathtaking photo. It would be incredible for anyone to have a photo of their dog's first point with that backdrop. Nice work!

ckirsch

In my quote above if you got "I'm better then you" from that then you're insecure and that's a you problem. You criticize other handlers and dogs, denigrate any trial outside of your area, demand your own section on this forum so that you don't have to mingle with the unwashed, claim your culls are...

ckirsch

bigsugar wrote:So because I'm looking for that once in a lifetime dog and hes hard to find then I should just settle for the kind of dogs you guys run? No thanks.

:roll:

ckirsch

ultracarry wrote:Being a part of NAVHDA don't you see more of the lesser dogs within the breed?

Ah, yet another venue snob. As I recall, you were considering taking a run at NAVHDA once your dog is too old and crippled up to do anything else. Good luck with that......

ckirsch

Nice looking dog, Elkhunter.....

ckirsch

You've received some great advice. Your dog is young enough that you can wait until your chapter's fall test, which will give you the hot summer months to allow the dog to decide that water is a good thing. As recommended above, get him onto some ducks, as that will probably entice him to throw caut...

ckirsch

It costs me around forty bucks to take my kids to Dairy Queen anymore, so the $50 annual membership fee seems pretty reasonable, as do the brace fees. Good organization, lots of fun.

ckirsch

It takes some degree of talent to succeed in any test or trial venue, whether they be held on crafty wild birds or pen-raised poultry. I have plenty of respect for dogs that win in either. From what I've experienced in the hunting and limited testing/trialing I've done, I would agree with dgfavor. I...

ckirsch

Looks to me like JKP has a pretty good handle on this one. Pointers do have a bit of an undeserved image problem, due in part to the tasks they are asked to perform at the highest levels of horseback trialing, and the fact that the breed is inarguably the most dominant in that game. As far as pricin...

ckirsch

I tried pointers hoping for early, natural pointing. I got that, and found that I didn't really give much up on the retrieving end. I also like the athleticism of the breed. That said, I've hunted behind some friends' wirehairs and shorthairs that I'd be proud to own, and have seen some Brits and se...

ckirsch

My eleven-year-old went out to get the newspaper one morning last month, and almost stepped on rattlesnake coiled up on our front step. I would never had guessed that any snakes were still above ground in South Dakota that late in the season - the temp had dropped to twenty the night before, and it ...

ckirsch

Quite an accomplishment. Congrats!

ckirsch

If you go to Cancun, avoid the Moon Palace. We had a bad experience there this spring. Went to Riviera Maya a few years earlier and had a great time there.

ckirsch

Great story, Scott. Glad you were able to get out and spend some time in the field with your dogs. A dog's first solid point is always a memorable event, it's great that you were able to capture the moment with your camera. Keep the reports coming!

ckirsch

A sincere thank-you to all veterans. Special thanks goes out to Viet Nam vets. You answered the call and did what you were asked, then upon your return were treated very poorly by many here at home, after you had sacrificed so much. Rest assured that the majority of us remain very grateful for your ...

ckirsch

There's certainly a level arrogance exuded from some trialers and testers, but they are the exception rather than the rule. There are an equal number of those who miss no opportunity to condemn tests and trials, most without ever having even spectated at either. There are plenty of reasons for parti...

ckirsch

No challenges from me, I'm just tickled to see more longtails showing up in NAVHDA events. :D Another pointer earned it's VC at this year's Invitational, so hopefully the word will begin to get out that the breed can handle a variety of game, will actually retrieve, and (gasp) even swim. Don't know ...

ckirsch

Mark Donavan lives in Montana, and runs Brits in the Big Sky and Mid North regions. He has some very nice dogs, including a couple that are 5 or 6x champions. Mark's a quality guy, on top of having good dogs.

ckirsch

I live in a timbered area on the edge of town, and we have a healthy coyote population. My pointer has been tackled twice in the past eighteen months, both times during broad daylight, while I was letting him run a bit on the property. The dog escaped unharmed both times, just a few cuts, but I doub...

ckirsch

Pointers as a breed are on the dumb side of the dog world. RayG I don't profess to have Ray's experience, but I've not found pointers to be lacking intelligence. I've owned Weims, a wire, and a setter in the past decade, and my current pointers don't give anything up in the way of intelligence. The...

ckirsch

I noticed the Model 12's as well. Hope those are still in the family.....

Great photos!

ckirsch

I can't get any response from them either......

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