Monthly Archives: September 2011

A Well Deserved Break

Posted in Fun, Hunting by

The 2 brown dawgs worked so hard this summer that they earned a little hunting break.  Of course in preparation they tried on their hunting outfits.  :)

Thunder and Storm Modeling Their Vests

They Have To Make Sure They Still Fit

Good To Go!

In addition to waterfowl, they plan to do some grouse and woodcock hunting.  These pictures are from the end of October last season.

Storm Grouse Hunting 2010

Thunder Grouse Hunting 2010

Hopefully the 2 brown dawgs will have a lot of luck so that we can have a dinner or two of…

Yummy Grouse and Woodcock

This is my quick and easy recipe for preparing grouse or woodcock breasts:

  • Fry 1/4 pound of bacon in a fry pan
  • Lightly dredge breasts in flour seasoned with dried herbs of your choice, (I use Penzeys Fox Point Seasoning)
  • Remove bacon from pan and saute the grouse or woodcock breasts in the bacon fat until lightly browned and cooked through (Don’t  over cook)

I know it isn’t low cal, but since we only get grouse a couple of times a year, we splurge.  You can pair this with rice or crusty bread and a nice big salad.  At least the salad is healthy. :)

Nice Fresh Salad

Unfortunately the 2 brown dawgs will be so busy hunting that they won’t be able to visit any blogs next week.  But they plan to catch up when they finish hunting.  They won’t be totally absent from blog-land though because we scheduled a few posts.  We hope you will stop by.

Have a great weekend!

Buckeye Ribbon

Posted in Hunt Test by

I tried to take a few pictures of Storm with the ribbon that she earned for her Seasoned Pass from the Ohio HRC.  (Yes, I realize it is the colors of that team from Ohio which shall not be named.)  Of course she did not want to cooperate.

Not This Again?

I even brought treats to tempt her, but she was not tempted.

Haven't You Learned By Now That I Don't Like Pictures?

So I had to break out the secret weapon.  I said the “SQ” word.

Did You Say Squirrel?

But I didn’t just say “SQ”.  I said the whole word.

Where? Where?

Ah well, best I could manage…

Storm Seasoned Pass Ohio HRC

A Proper Bath

Posted in Fun, General/Misc by

Last week’s Wordless Wednesday post sparked quite a few comments so I thought I would post on what is a proper bath for Thunder and Storm.  They have never had a get out the tub-soap-water-blowdryer type of bath.  Yep, you read that right, never a bath.  Most of their “baths” have been a rinse off with a hose and towel dry or this…

Splash!

The reason we don’t bath them often is because coat is one of the main things that makes a Chessie a Chessie.  They have a wavy coat, but there is more to it.  From the AKC breed standard:

Coat
Coat should be thick and short, nowhere over 1½ inches long, with a dense fine wooly undercoat. Hair on the face and legs should be very short and straight with a tendency to wave on the shoulders, neck, back and loins only. Moderate feathering on rear of hindquarters and tail is permissible. The texture of the Chesapeake’s coat is very important, as the Chesapeake is used for hunting under all sorts of adverse weather conditions, often working in ice and snow. The oil in the harsh outer coat and wooly undercoat is of extreme value in preventing the cold water from reaching the Chesapeake’s skin and aids in quick drying. A Chesapeake’s coat should resist the water in the same way that a duck’s feathers do. When the Chesapeake leaves the water and shakes, the coat should not hold water at all, being merely moist.

Chesapeake from 1915

Chesapeake from 1915 (Image via Wikipedia)

Soap can soften the coat, strip the oil from it, and reduce the ability of the coat to repel water.  Since the 2 brown dawgs are used in cold weather waterfowl hunting, we are very sparing with the soap, (I guess you could say we spot clean with it if needed :lol: ).  Instead we usually just find a nice clean pond, throw a couple of bumpers and lightly towel dry them (to remover dirt).  No blow dryer needed.  We may occasionally spritz them with a natural conditioner which has been heavily diluted with water and again lightly towel it off.  This makes them smell pretty.  :)

There are some dogs that need to be bathed with soap after swimming.  Some dogs have skin allergies which can be aggravated by swimming in pond water, (especially mucky stick ponds).  Luckily the 2 brown dawgs don’t have these issues.  So whenever they need a little freshen up, we just find a nice clear pond and…

 

Ahhh!

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