May 26, 2023
Raspy trumpets descending from the heavens broke the crisp silence and broke me out of my ice fishing trance. It’s easy to lose yourself while staring into the flashing circles and lines of a Vexilar screen, but the first sandhill crane calls of the year would snap anyone back into reality. I looked up through...
May 24, 2023
Frost fell from the prairie grass as it moved around our legs. The sun had come up halfway through our walk, and water droplets began crawling up the denim of my jeans. Jack and Gunner, young labs and littermates, worked the cover intensely. Their backs, covered in white ice particles, began to steam off from the...
May 22, 2023
The question pops up on bird dog forums and breed-specific forums on social media platforms all the time, “Can we handle the energy of a bird dog?”
The posters want to get a bird dog pup but they’ve heard they can be a handful; they wonder if they’ll be able to manage the infamous exercise needs of a working...
May 19, 2023
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is a common phrase most folks are familiar with. From a sustainability standpoint, it’s easy to understand that leaving more birds on the landscape than you take is something worth valuing. However, when we are lucky enough to have a bird in the hand, how do we begin...
May 17, 2023
Sweat beaded on the handler’s forehead as I gave my instructions on the water. A cloud of nervous energy consumed him in anticipation of the day’s last event. After all, a prize one score was on the line. His young Brittany gave a stellar performance in both the field work and tracking portions of its test. Now, the...