Cove Mountain Kennels

We got snow down to the 8000 ft elevation level yesterday and a freeze down to 5000 ft over night. What does this mean for the blue grouse? Blue grouse are interesting critters, in that they migrate in the reverse direction of everything else. They come down to the edges of the pinyon-juniper zone, around 7000’ to 8000’ in elevation. Early in the season look for these birds, especially the broods lower in the drainages and riparian area. (The young are by far the tastiest!)

The adult males seem to start their migration much earlier, just after breeding they seem to start drifting by toward the high country, whereas, the hens and broods seem to spend more time lower down, then begin their movement upward as it starts to cool off and grasses start to cure out. A hard frost kills off the forbs that they are focusing on, and they begin moving to the high country in earnest. Once all the forb leaves have withered and the berries have shrunk and fallen, and the insects are gone, they switch to eating exclusively pine needles. By this time you should be looking for them in the dark timbered areas near the very top of the mountain. Another tip is to look near edges and steep slopes. These are fairly heavy birds and to escape, they like to be able to flap a few times and bail off an edge where they can glide several hundred yards away from danger and safely hide in a dense pine tree.

So, with this first snow and frost look for these birds to be moving higher in elevation. When you find birds, take careful note of the location, habitat (both ground cover and overhead cover), distance to edges, and time of year. There is something these birds like about that spot at that time of year, and year after year you are likely to find them right around that same spot at roughly the same time of year.    Good Hunting!

 

 Photo: http://www.bentler.us/

When your dog has done his part to find the birds for you, now its is up to you. Here are three ideas to help you improve your shooting success this season. First, always carry your gun at the ready. I have learned this from personal experience and from watching some exceptional upland gunners.  

Have the gun at the ready, slanted across the front of your body about waist level. This is the beginning of smooth mount, one which brings your cheek to the stock and the barrel in line with your eye. Your eye is tracking the bird followed by a crisp trigger pull and continuing the follow through; all which culminates in a successful shot.

 Now, I understand that you can’t walk all day long in this position, but when you are in good bird habitat, try to spend more of your time in this ready position than not. I was amazed when I actually watched a good friend of mine, and very successful bird hunter, spend most of his time with his gun in front of him at the ready. When he mounts it seems slow and deliberate, yet in reality, it is fast and accurate. “Slow is steady, and steady is fast (and accurate).”

Second, as the bird flushes, take the extra fraction of a second to ensure your footing so that you have a stable shooting base. If you don’t have a stable, balanced shooting base, nothing else matters. I think this is one of the main reasons chukars are so hard to hit; you are always on steep rocky slopes with difficult footing, where it’s tough to quickly get a stable shooting base. A sound base allows you to smoothly swing through a flying bird, which is critical to connecting.

Third, as the bird flushes, look for its eye. Narrowing your focus down to the birds eye ensures that you are tracking the bird (aim small, miss small), and it helps you hit the bird in the killing zone (head and neck). When I can tell the gender of a flushing quail I am confident that the bird is going to fall. This doesn’t happen very often with these feathery buzz-balls, but when my focus is so narrow that I can see that much detail, the bird crumples every time.

By having your gun at the ready, and taking the extra fractions of a second to ensure a stable shooting base and narrowing your focus to the eye of the bird, you will find that you connect more often and improve your success on birds this season. After all, you owe it to your dog.

We’ve been reloading shotgun shells for the upcoming season. I was pleasantly surprised when Sam watched me for a bit, then said, “Oh, I know what you’re doing. You’re taking the old ones out and putting the young ones in, so you can shoot.” For a five year old, he has a very savvy technical mind. It was a lot of fun to reload with him. I look forward to more reloading and especially more hunting with him. This last weekend he went with me and walked at least two miles over rough country after blue grouse and was a champ.

Ps. I am always looking for quality 16 ga. components and good well rounded recipies to try. One of my favorites is a chukar load with 21 grains of Herco powder that seems to be well balanced, as it crunches birds.

What more can I say, like peanutbutter and jelly, kids and puppies just go together. They are good for each other. Here, Sarah and Daisy were exploring together.

 

                           Photo: Unknown – one of those that circulates around the email universe. This dog is not the one described below, but fit the blog article well.

  

  What should you do when your dog retrieves some nasty dead thing? The answer, praise them. This may sound weird, but here are my thoughts. 

I have a Brittany I am training on a long-term basis (> 1 year). The dog has been the carrion finding-est dog I have ever seen. If there is anything dead in the field when we are out for our runs, she will find it. She likes to parade around with the stinkiest things, then go sit under a bush and work on them. Over the last year, I have resisted the urge to scold her for it and take them away. Rather, I would praise her for retrieving and call her to me. Based on a solid foundation for the come command, she would come, but would hold her head away from me and get ready to resist. I praise her for coming, give her a pat and send her on her way with her treasure (usually a dead jackrabbit part, or deer leg). Then I would resume our run at a fast pace and she would usually drop the item after she realizes it is slowing her down and she is falling behind.

Over time, I started to gently take things out of her mouth then give them immediately back and let her have them to run off with. Now, this dog does two things I like: First, she retrieves all game she finds in the field, whether or not it is directly shot in front of her. Second, she retrieves directly to hand without balking.

After she is 18 months or so, I will probably still take her through the trained retrieve (force fetch) to solidify her retrieve, but for now, she has developed a wonderful natural retrieve. I am certain that if I would have scolded her for picking up carrion and ripped stuff away from her that she wouldn’t trust me and wouldn’t have the natural retrieve that she now displays so proudly. I also regularly get her parasite medication and don’t let her lick my face. (Eeew)

We live in a fairly rural area, yet we still have neighbors, and I like to stay on their good side. Constantly barking dogs aren’t acceptable to the neighbors and drive us crazy. Since we have a regular stream of different dogs for training, electronic bark collars are a necessity. I know the neighbors appreciate them, and it helps our sanity. That said, I use them sparingly, only on the right dogs and at the key times. I have found that there are typically only one or two instigators and if I control them, all the others are quiet. I also have found that at our place, the dogs are particularly noisy in the evening for a couple of hours after I get home from work and before being fed. These are the times I use the electronic bark collars.

Often times barking is about boredom for a dog. I do not believe that a bark collar should be used to shock Rex into silence in the backyard, when Rex is in solitary confinement being fed from an automatic feeder and never socialized or exercised. That’s just not right. (Why have a dog?)  On the other hand, I take every dog out every day for a 2 to 4 mile run, train several times a day, and give the dogs lots of doggy socialization (play-time) in the yard, so I feel like it is acceptable controlling nuisance barking for a couple hours a day.

I have tried three different types of electronic no-bark collars and definitely have my preferences. I have used the Innotek (sold through Cabela’s), the Dogtra (YS500), and the Tri-tronics (Bark Limiter XS). Each of the collars are reliable as far as only activating when the dog wearing the collar barks. Understandably, this is a concern, and may have been an issue with 1st generation bark collars, but it is no longer a concern. Each of the three collars works differently and has its pros and cons. Here are my thoughts on the different units:

The Innotek does not have an on/off, but rather is activated by the barking of the dog. It senses the barking vibrations through the two prongs. It has seven automatically increasing intensity levels that increase to the level where the dog stops barking, then backs down one level after a set time interval to try to teach the dog not to bark. The batteries are easily replaceable with a screwdriver opening the unit and they seem to last quite a while. The pros for this collar are its price ($40), size (fairly small) and the automatic intensity setting. However, I have not had good success with this collar. I’m not sure if it is the thin nylon collar on the unit that does not keep it in good contact with the dog or what, but it does not work reliably. When I put it on one of my die-hard barkers, she doesn’t even notice it on, but when I take it off and test it, it’s cranked up full power. I definitely do not recommend this model. It’s cheap, but not worth the money.

The Dogtra Yap Stopper (YS-500) has a circular on/off and intensity level setting switch. The unit senses vibrations from the vocal chords through a receptor between the prongs. The unit is rechargeable (12 – 14 hr charge time) and seems to hold a charge for several weeks. The only con with this collar is its size. When compared to the others, it’s a bit bigger. However, it’s not too big, especially when I put it on my larger dogs. The rechargeable feature is a plus; though you may have to time it right to recharge it. The unit costs $80, and works great. I typically only have to use it on setting 2 (of 10) and 3 for my worse barkers. This has been a great collar.

The Tri-Tronics Bark Limiter XS collar has a covered push button on/off switch and intensity level selector. The unit takes batteries, but I have yet to replace one. They seem to last a long time. It senses vibrations through a sensor between the prongs similar to the collar above. I love the collar’s tiny size. The unit also has a feature that counts the number of times it has activated since it was last turned on, which is useful in determining setting level the next time you put it on the dog (next time you use it, if there were very few activations, lower the intensity setting one level, if there were a lot of activations, raise it one). The unit costs $100, and it works great, and I love the small size. Because if its size and effectiveness, it is my favorite collar.

I would recommend either the Dogtra or Tri-Tronics units if you are looking for a solution for barking dogs.

Left to Right: Innotek, Dogtra & Tri-Tronics Bark Collars

 

I am looking forward to this hunting season with Annie. She is a nine month old American Brittany we are training. She is coming along really well in her training; she loves to work birds up, has a soft mouth and strong desire to retrieve.

Annie’s one vice is tomatoes. She loves tomatoes. When she gets a few minutes free in the yard she jumps the 3’ fence around the garden, which is to keep the chickens out, and searches for the ripest tomato, picks it and runs under the tramp to eat it. It’s kind of funny, until you realized that she has picked every ripe tomato for the last two weeks.

                      

 

Daisy loves to run, but this morning after 4 miles (2 roading and 2 with me running) she was ready to go home. If she could figure out which way was forward, she may drive off and leave me. That’s whay I keep the key in my pocket.

 It’s a good feeling to have tired dogs. Jinx is ready to load up and go home to lay in his wading pool.