Toward the end of our pheasant hunt last week, we let Thunder and Storm hunt together. They had each a turn hunting alone. Then Freighter had his turn. We knew there was still a bird, maybe more, out in the field so it was a good time to let our two senior dogs work together.
We were heading all the way back to the tree line in the far corner of the field, but on the way they caught a scent. Unfortunately it was just a scent, no bird there.
The two have hunted together many times and work together well as a team. The only problem is that they move fast together. They stick close to each other, but sometimes the hunter has to recall them to him. It is a good workout because we moved quickly toward the back of the field.
It was a warm day (in the upper 30’s F) and I did remember the orange vest, but we elected not to put anything extra on the dogs. We also made sure to bring water and to stop and water them. Although the upper 30’s might seem cold to some, believe me when you are hauling it through a field, you heat up fast.
When we finished hunting, we had a chance to talk a bit to Chuck, the gentleman who runs the pheasant farm. He told us that he sees dogs that are affected by the heat all of the time. This kind of hunting is very strenuous for the dog and some people just do not realize it. Sometimes their dogs are out of shape or overweight and they don’t always take time to rest and water them during a hunt. Our dogs are in excellent condition, but they are senior dogs so we have to keep an eye on them for over exertion or heat stroke, (even with temperatures in the 30’s).
Thunder will be 9 in March and Storm is 7 1/2. We make sure they get plenty of regular exercise, we keep their weight in check, and last summer we started them on a supplement that also contains a joint supplement. This supplement has made a big difference for them. They seem to have more energy and neither of them was stiff after this hunt despite working hard.
We worked our way to the back of the field where there is a row of thickets and trees and a drainage ditch with water. Before long they flushed a rooster. They had to go through the thickets, down and across the ditch to make the retrieve. Storm being Storm made sure she got the bird. At least she delivered it to hand.
We had the field for a half day hunt so all together we were hunted from about 8:30 am to noon. We used every minute and were pooped by the time we finished. Not the dogs. They would have gladly worked the field again.
We hope you all had a nice holiday yesterday. I spent a good part of the day tidying up the blog. I moved some things around and cleaned it up. I would like it to load faster and not bog down. I still need to update some of the pages. I have been very lax.
We had hoped to get some training in this weekend, but it looks like we are going to get freezing rain so we will probably be stuck inside. It will give me time to catch up at least.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks to SlimDoggy, MyGBGV Life, and To Dog with Love for the FitDog Friday Blog Hop!
I love your hunting posts! They seem to have the best time.
Great post – love watching them in their element. Did you see the vid I put on FB yesterday about hunting dogs in Wales…I thought of you and JoAnn S. when I posted it – go check it out. Happy New Year!
I guess we have a bit of the same wavelength today as I mention hydrating your dog even in the cold winter weather. Glad they are so fit and work so well at what they are born to do. Thanks for joining the hop!
More great pictures. I love to hunt the dogs together but Gman is a bird hog too so Glory is left out unless he is a mile away.
I love reading about your hunts, and I love how much you love and care for your dogs. You’re a great team. Happy New Year to you, and happy hunting in 2015!
It’s great to see the brown dogs at work :o) Easy is always green with envy, but it’s better for me to have no gun, I’m dangerous enough without LOL :o)
Good advice to remember about making sure they get enough water and rest periods even when it’s cold outside. It looks like Thunder and Storm had a great time together. If you get a chance, can you let me know what supplement you’re giving them since you’ve had good luck with the results?
We use Fido-Vite Flexx. It was recommended to us by a field trial trainer who said he found the dogs recovered from heavy exercise quicker. That is what we are seeing too.
Thanks so much! I’ll check into Fido-Vite Flexx
Looks like a good time guys! I bet so many people forgot about the water and getting too hot when it’s that cold outside.
Which supplement are they on? I’ve been thinking about whether or not Mr. N needs a joint supplement.
We were just in Michigan and I thought it was cold lol!
As I told Elaine, we use something called Fido-Vite Flexx. It is out of Wisconsin. Takes a bit to arrive here after ordering though.
The smile on Thunder’s face says it all!!
You must have had a fabulous morning enjoying nature and your pups in their element! Love the pictures! The only “hunting” our pups will do is race after squirrels and the occasional rabbit…Missy caught a rabbit once, she really IS fast. She didn’t kill it, just kept it between her front paws, nudging it with her muzzle as if wondering why it didn’t squeak 😉 Poor thing probably had a heart attack. Missy let go of it when being caught in the act by her Daddy!
That’s great that the dogs work so well together…and I had no idea a dog could get heat stroke in such low temperatures. Good thing to be aware of.
As for your joint supplements, I’ve seen a lot of improvement in my two seniors as well, ever since they started taking their type too. Glad yours is working for your crew!!
nice to see older active dogs
retro rover
That’s so great that they are in such good shape. Had no idea you’d have to worry about overheating at those temps! Looks like they had a great time!
Our weekend has been rainy and bone-chilling so far, too, with more on the way tomorrow. UGH! Soooo glad we’re retired now and no longer “have to” do our week’s food shopping on Sunday. Now we do it when we feel like it.
It’s great to see the two seniors out there enjoying themselves, and working so well together! We used to snowshoe a lot with previous dogs and I don’t remember if we brought water for them (I think we did), so that’s a great reminder to give people.
They look so good out there!! I love seeing dogs do what they were bred for!
They are a great pair and appear to work really well together. I get what you’re saying about warming up, sometimes when I walk the dogs I am sweating on my way back because it was such a vigorous walk. 🙂 Happy New Year!!
Love seeing them do what they were meant to do, it’s got to be so fulfilling. And yes, even though the 30’s may sound cold it’s definitely strangely warm here lately for this time of year. We finally got some snow yesterday, maybe it really is winter in Michigan after all. The blog looks amazing, and it loads really fast. You did a great job with it. Oh and I also started Laika on a joint supplement recently. I was skeptical but it really has made quite a difference.
Hi Y’all!
Playin’ catch up. Poor Thunder. Storm needs to learn to share? BOL!
Y’all come on by,
Hawk aka BrownDog