Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Airline Travel with your Buddy
It takes me about 45 minutes to an hour from the time I arrive at the front of the airport to when I clear security and head to the gate. That's to check dogs and get them through security and then do the same for the guns. It's a goat-rope for sure, but the 2 1/2 hour flight versus a day and a half drive sure makes up for it. That is....until something doesn't work according to plan. In my many years of airline flying, I've seen a lot of that- things not according to plan.
We wrapped up our hunt in South Dakota with a last day that saw a lot of birds and a filled possession limit. It was time to head home for Christmas and a lot of family time. We packed the bird cooler with the birds (with all the requisite information on the birds) and headed to the airport and our Delta flight home. We got there with plenty of time to spare and got the dogs and guns checked and on their way and eased to the gate to settle in for a short wait. Piece of cake, I said to myself. I'll be home by 10 p.m. Our seats were called and we headed to the plane to stake our claim to the back row. About 10 minutes before takeoff, the gate agent came back to us. She said this airplane had a malfunction in the cargo bin and the dogs could not go with us, but would be on the next flight! We knew if we got off the plane we would spend the night there, since all the other flights were full. We decided to go to Atlanta and wait for the dogs there. "What if they don't get on the next, and last, plane?" I asked. "They go to a kennel for the night and we'll send them first plane in the morning." she answered. I sure hope so, I thought.
We arrived in ATL and claimed our bags, guns and birds. Everything but the most important stuff- the reason I go hunting- my dog! It turns out they arrived about 30 minutes after we did. We were a little late departing and they were on time. I have to say, I was glad to see the shaggy eared mutt roll out of the oversized luggage space. I took his crate outside and let him out to water down. It was then I noticed his kennel was cleaned out, the attached water bowl was new and different, and the security tabs were different than the ones on the crate earlier. In addition, he didn't need to relieve himself- he'd been watered before he left. Those Delta folks did all that in the 30 minutes they had before they loaded him on the next flight! I was, and am, thankful for those good people. I know, having worked extensively for two huge bureaucracies, the US Navy and Delta Airlines, that supervisors like letters to inform them of who's doing what. So I wrote them a complimentary letter using as many names as I could remember. I do know they will get the word.
That dog trailer is looking prety good for the trip to NM to bag a few blues in January....stay tuned!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Snow Hunting in SD
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Day One
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Yow! I'ts cold for a Georgia redneck like me!
On the way.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Getting Psyced Up
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
SD changes limits on pheasant for the rest of the season....
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Training
It’s a little intimidating to talk about dog training. There are so many men and women out there who are such good “dog whisperers”- I can’t hold a candle to them. But, I do know and use a few techniques that work for me…..
Touch- Good work is rewarded with a stroke down the side of the body or along the side of the head. Not excessive- just enough for the dog to know you are pleased. They love it! Watch momma-dog with her pups. Where does she lick them and touch them? Along the side of the face.
Voice- Tone and cadence are very important. Initially, all they hear is “blah, blah, Ace, blah, blah!”. But soon, they get the gist of what it is you want. They will respond to the praise- “Good, Boy!”, “Let’s Go, Buddy.”, “Look in there, buddy!”. They will also respond to “You short-tailed, spotted, snub-nosed, shaggy-eared mutt! Get away from that skunk!” when delivered with the proper tone!
Probably the most important technique for me is consistency and repetition. Make it the same every time and do it the same every time- and do it over and over.
One reason I enjoy my dogs so much is because all they want to do is please me. No other living creature can say that.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
I love the Fall!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
One Big CAT.....
Monday, November 9, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
It works great! Keep your birds frozen!
This year, going from ND to WI for more bird hunting, I had a cooler with my Pheasant possession limit in the back and needed them to stay frozen for 5 more days. A quick search located a dry ice retailer in Fargo, ND. 30# this time kept them frozen from Tuesday until Saturday. The guy in Fargo was only a mile off the interstate and didn't slow me down much.
It isn't that cheap- about $1/lb., but I think it's worth it to keep the catch fresh. They wrap it in heavy brown paper and give you a warning about breathing it (for the moron). Definitely worth the extra effort.
Friday, October 30, 2009
A Garmin Story
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Typical Wisconsin Hunter Trail
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Back in Wisconsin
Monday, October 26, 2009
Great Place To Hunt In North Dakota
the Big Valley
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Chef Dan
Friday, October 23, 2009
Hate it!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Mr Bad Boy
Can You Spot the Fleeing Pheasant?
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Perfect!
Riding the Dinosaur
Monday, October 19, 2009
Visual pollution
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Sunday, October 18, 2009
Arrggghhhh!
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Saturday, October 17, 2009
We knew this was coming!!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ready to Go
It's tough buying shells, though. At least I'm down to 2 guages- 20 and 16. SD requires steel on public land as does ND, on one of the areas we hunt. Lead is still good in most places, though. I'm gradually switching over to all steel, now, but I have a few antiques guns I hunt with that can't take the steel and I still use lead shot in those.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
What's Coming Up
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Grouse Woods have a hold on me.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Garmin and Tritronics and Possible Frequency Interference
As best I know, the Garmin receives the signal from the GPS and then the collar sends the info from the transmitter on the bottom of the collar to the handheld. Depending on the settings you choose, it could be every 5 seconds (the setting I chose). So we know the Garmin is transmitting at least every 5 seconds. The Tritronics, on the other had, controls the remote beeper through the collar. When you send the signal to turn the beeper on or off, the handheld unit sends a signal to the collar and it sends a signal to the beeper. (Very short range signal from the collar to the beeper.)
What I noticed was my beeper was turning itself on and off every 5 seconds, when I was running a dog with both units on and functioning. I checked the location of the collars on the dog and noticed the Garmin unit was riding up the dogs neck and was within 90 degrees of the Tritronics beeper, which was close to the top of the dogs neck. Which unit was moving on my dog is irrelevant, it's the relative location and distance between the units that is important. I adjusted the Garmin to stay underneath the neck and the problem went away.
My conclusion, based on my totally scientific experiment near Clam Lake in the Wisconsin woods (Laughing!), was there there may be some frequency interference between the two units from different manufacturers.
How to address this problem is beyond me. I will send this to each company and let them chew on it- and it may not be fixable or even a real problem (see "scientific experiment" in previous line). If it happens to you, you'll see how I fixed the problem.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Roading
These two tired bird dogs are just getting back from a short "roading" jaunt. What a great way to get some dogs into shape. It amazes me that they love it! They pull as hard as they can as long as they can. It's a simple set up using roading harnesses. Eventually, I'll get up to 4 dogs per run. Right now, I'm waiting for the pasture to get cut- I don't want to get all four dogs on the road at once. Once the hay is cut, we'll be able to make loops of the fields as much as we want.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Garmin Astro
In Wisconsin, easing down a trail with a new pup, I listened to his beeper getting farther and farther away- probably he flushed a bird and chased it. Instead of laying on the whistle, or tapping him with the Tritronics, I pulled up the Astro and watched him get out 400 yds and run in circles for a bit. Then I hit the whistle and watched as he turned and headed back to me. I didn't have to keep blasting- just a toot when I saw that he was stopped (on point) and listening. When he got to 50 yards, I laid off it entirely and let him run around a little and get scared. After a bit, I gave him a tweet and we had a little "Homecoming". That little bit of training in the thick Grouse woods was invaluable- he constantly checked for me after that and made my Grouse hunting much more pleasurable.
That's only 2 examples of how the Astro worked into my hunting. I never had a dog fall off the radar screen, so I really don't know the max range in heavy cover. I do know that 500 yds is a long ways in those woods, and I was tracking a dog that far for a while. Can you hunt without it- sure can. Will I hunt without it- not unless I absolutely have to! However, it is no substitute for a training a dog properly- no doubt about that- and I hope guys don't start using it as a crutch for proper training.
I think we've only scratched the surface on how to use this thing. It seems to be as tough as it needs to be, too. I had no trouble at all. I did put it on the charge every night, though.
Hey, Tritronics, are you listening? Can we get a collar that integrates it all? Hey, we put a man on the moon using slide rules. Now, we have micro-miniturization and batteries that are incredible. Can't we get one collar that does it all? Heck, my dog carries almost $1000 worth of bling around his neck as it is. I'd be willing to pay for a combination collar........
Ace Waiting
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Corey Perdue wins the Ironman 2009!!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
2009 Ironman Trial Sparta GA
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A great trip comes to an end...
End of a Trip
Best Breakfast In Wisconsin Grouse Woods
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Bandit makes the big leagues!!
Heading to the Honeyhole
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Monday, September 14, 2009
Old Bo
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Bandit hits a Porcupine!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Hot Day in Wisconsin
Another day tomorrow. We'll slay 'em then.