Today we join Heart Like A Dog for Follow-Up Friday.
The big news…Thunder has been released from treatment. He had a recheck last night and the orthopedic vet is very happy with how his leg is doing. The vet examined Thunder’s leg and had him move up and down the hallway and was very pleased. Thunder only limps occasionally when he first gets up from rest, but not every time. The vet said that should improve as he continues to heal. Thunder can go for walks and be outside off lead; however, no training or hunting for another month.
On Monday, I shared how Storm got her goose. It is important to clean up cripples and one of the best ways to accomplish this is with a well-trained dog.
However, the state of Michigan makes it very difficult for people to train their dogs by limiting the areas where we can train. Most state land is closed to dog training. In fact I know of people who have received costly tickets simply for training their dogs off-lead in a state park. They weren’t training in the middle of a picnic area. They were off in a far away spot but that did not matter. They were told that if they had been using ducks, it would have been worse and the state would have called in the federal government.
The state does have a bit of land set aside for dog training but it is not maintained at all. The grass is so high that unless you are looking to work in heavy cover, it is not useful for training. There are small trees growing in the middle of what should be a more open area and the weeds are quite thick in spots. It makes it difficult to work on a dog’s marking with so much going on. Forget water. There really is no good water on state land set aside for training.
Most of us who are serious about dog training seek private land. But the casual hunter may not have an easy time finding such land. It is a problem. I was hoping that a change of administration at the DNR would mean a loosening of restrictions but the opposite seems to have been happened and that is a shame.
If you persevere with your training and bring a dog to hunt, there are a few perks. The DNR has some hunting areas set aside for hunters with dogs including areas where only dogs can enter to retrieve the game. Also the DNR allows hunters with dogs an hour just before mid-day to walk certain areas to look for cripples. But it would be nice of the DNR did more to make it easier for people to train their bird dogs.
Finally, our pal at Doggy’s Style has put together a little contest and voting is now open. The participants all came up with a little story based on a few words which were provided by Doggy’s human Leo. There are some very clever entries so take a moment, check them out and vote for your favorite. (PS you will find one from the brown dawgs. :lol:)
Have a nice weekend!
You can add your link or see the others participating in Follow-up Friday by clicking the link below.
It’s too bad that the government locks up land and places restrictions like it does. We have a lot of land under the Bureau of Land Management and CRP land that’s open to us, but federal lands are a different story., In our last election, hunting, fishing and trapping were amended to the state constitution making them a constitutional right.
Woo-hoo Thunder! You’re free! Have a great weekend!
Yay! I’m so glad Thunder is finally on the mend! He will be so happy to get out even if it isn’t for hunting or training. Too bad there’s no designated land for training. Bummer!
Good luck in the contest!
Yippee – Thunders properly on the mend. That’s great news. Have a fabulous weekend.
So happy to hear about Thunder!! I bet he can’t wait to get out.
Blessings,
Goose
Great news about Thunder and we hope he makes a speddy recovery back to normal. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
Hurray for Thunder!! Interesting info about the areas for training. Thanks for sharing.
Yay for Thunder!
Thanks for participating in FUF! Great recap and that is excellent news about Thunder. I couldn’t even tell you where in my state I could go to train a dog off leash, for hunting or anything else. I think that’s a shame, but I feel a lot of the reason is irresponsible dog folks.
Glad the link worked for your blog! I really like this linky tool although sometimes it gives me trouble. :-0 (No real surprise there.) Have a great weekend.
Hi Guys,
That’s great news about Thunder – Yay for you 🙂
Hope you’re having a fun weekend 🙂
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
Our State Parks do not have any of leash training or walking areas. We did a lot of trail walking last year but always on lead. They enjoy the great smells and there are seldom any other people . If we want to practice rescue swimming they will let us have a small spot on the lake. A weedy area where there are no people or beaches and no exploring.
Great news about Thunder 🙂
It is a shame that the DNR does not recognize the need for training areas for gun dogs. I’m glad I have some places I can go but it would be nice to have more choices.
Hi Y’all,
Many states, (your state is not alone), make it difficult to even walk your dog on lead on state owned land. Too bad so many people are not responsible about training their dogs and spoil it for all dogs, hunting dogs and companion dogs.
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog