TopAs the “Top Dog” here at the Retriever Barn I am not only an authorityon hunting but also I thoroughly understand the problems you humans have. Youknow, all my children and I want to do is get a retrieve in now and then.
We getreal tired of showing up day after day during hunting season only to see oursupposedly human partners miss another bird. Sometimes I feel we are better offback at the kennel retrieving dummies from Mr. Maxey. Speaking of dummies, Ihave hunted with more than a few in my day.
Back to this whole thing onretrieving. You know, that’s what life is all about to me and the kids. I am notinterested in seeing my children turned into “lap dogs” or “lardhounds”. Our reward is to be with you humans and just make a retrieve. Ihear Mr. Maxey telling my kids’ owners all the time, “The retrieve is thereward.
” He is right this time. It’s that other stuff he talks aboutsometimes that I wonder about. The bottom line is we don’t need treats to becoaxed into retrieving, our reward is just making the retrieve. While I am onthis whole business of food, I am concerned that some of you humans arefattening up my kids. If you don’t eat it, I am not interested. Why should I eatthose table scraps when you humans are eating the steak? I think you can dobetter than that.
Just give us some good old dog food. We don’t need that $30 or$40 a bag kind. Save your money and take us hunting with the savings. If youneed a new gun, use it for that.
We are working class dogs. Speaking oftreatment, one of my kids just got a new dog house. This thing is cedar lined,insulated and specially treated. What a pad! The thing weighs over 600 poundsand, of course, has a built in self feeder.
Just after getting his new doghouse, my son wanted to put one over on his owner. When the outside temperaturegot to a comfortable 20F he decided to sleep outside for the night on the hay. He told me it was such a beautiful night he didn’t want to miss watching thestars. That really freaked out his owner. I just told him it takes time to trainyou humans on our ways.
Sometimes I think you will never learn. You sign up mykids for a two or three month training course each year with Mr. Maxey, then mykids are given the unfortunate task of trying to train you for months after theyget home. Once in a while we have some excitement over here at the RetrieverBarn when Mr. Maxey introduces me to one of his special gals.
Not only do I havea great time, but a few months from then you humans have the opportunity to buymy puppies. You need to encourage Mr. Maxey to increase these visits. Overall Ienjoy being in the field with my children as Mr.
Maxey and I teach them thefundamentals of retrieving. My best days are when Mr. Maxey and I get out byourselves, away from the pack and get a little hunting in together. That Mr. Maxey is quite a guy. I always look forward to being outside with my master bymy side and being able to make another retrieve.
At the end of the day I justwant to lay down and take a good snooze and dream of another day of hunting. 1995 Duck and Goose Season Comes to a Close This year’s duck and goose seasonhas provided plenty of action for retrievers and their owners. The 1995 duck andgoose hunting season has come to a close. Those hunters taking advantage of thelate season found December’s snow and cold temperatures a challenge. The huntingproved to be inconsistent for many who went afield. Some days only the morninghours produced.
On other days, only the afternoons were the time flocks wereactive. The cold temperatures and snow locked in most areas leaving little openwater for this year’s waterfowl. Near record snowfalls blanketed many areas innorthern Ohio. The birds took to the corn fields where the grain left from theFall harvest would provide a much needed food supply.
This left hunters and dogswith few options. Laying in cornfields and area ditches proved to be achallenge. Some hunters were fortunate to have blinds in fields, while otherswould be forced to face the elements. On top of the weather conditions, manybirds were decoy shy.
To overcome this, the decoy patterns had to be carefullyset. Taking special care in setting sentry decoy locations became a must. Nothing could be taken for granted. The number of decoys needed to attract andmaintain the interest of passing flocks was high. The addition of black flagswas added by some hunters to add motion to their spread. In the northernsections of Ohio, along the Lake Erie shoreline, high winds had moved ice inareas and left open water for birds to congregate.
Rivers and lakes in inlandareas were frozen solid. Some hunters moved boats and blinds out onto the ice inhopes of attracting more birds. In some cases this proved to achieve the desiredresult. However, as temperatures remained in the 20s, the hunt proved to be acold one for many hunters while their retrievers welcomed the cold weather. Withthe duck and goose populations up in 1995, both hunters and retrieversexperienced a challenging waterfowl season. If things go well, 1996 should proveto be even better.
Mr. Retriever Insights from Jim Maxey The Retriever Barn isnow entering a new year. 1995 was an exciting year for all of us, but we lookforward to the year ahead. I want to thank each one of you for being a part ofour family. It has been a pleasure to watch our dogs and owners grow. For thenew year, we will continue to provide you with dog training services you candepend on.
It’s not too early to begin to think about your dog’s training needsfor the 1996 season. For younger dogs (ages one to two years old) we offertraining in fundamental obedience skills and in the basics of field andwaterfowl hunting. This course of study usually runs three months. If you areplanning on hunting with your dog this coming Fall, we offer refresher coursesto sharpen your dog’s skills just before hunting season. This course of studyusually lasts a month and helps to assure you that your dog is ready to go.
Weare now booking training for dogs for 1996. Be sure to reserve your dog’straining early. Unfortunately we are often unable to take all the dogs that needtraining, so reserve your dog’s training time today. If you need a dog that isalready trained and ready to hunt, we do offer a limited number of started dogs.
Check with us on their availability. We expect to have a limited number ofpuppies available in 1996. You might say we already have a good number onbackorder. If you would like to reserve a puppy let us know early. With anincreasing number of dogs with poor hunting traits, Retriever Barn puppies arebeing sought after by more hunters because of their excellent huntingcharacteristics.
If you have a dog you are thinking of breeding, let us know. Wewill be glad to work with you to obtain good hunting bloodlines. We do offerstud services. Be sure to check your vaccination records for your dog. Mark your1996 calendar with the dates and vaccinations your dog will need. Be sure tocontact your veterinarian to schedule the appropriate vaccinations.
The healthof your dog is important. With the close of 1995 and the promise of a new year,we at the Retriever Barn look forward to working with you and your dog in 1996. Always Think of Your Dog’s Safety When Hunting When you’re in the field it’seasy to get caught up in hunting and forget the safety of your dog. We all knowthe muzzel of the gun should never be pointed towards man nor beast. That is theobvious. But the not so obvious is what could lead to serious injury or evenloss of your hunting partner, your dog.
Always be aware of your huntingsurroundings. Are there roads near by? Are there railroad tracks in the area? Inthe field you are hunting, are there deep holes that become invisible when snowcovered? In the heat of the hunt both you and your dog will be concentrating onone thing, getting the bird. The adrenaline will be pumping. At that time itwill be too late to be concerned about the things you should have been concernedwith before the hunt began.
This is when accidents can occur to your dog. Cominghome with a dead dog rather than harvested game will more than ruin your day. Here are some tips to help keep your dog safe. Survey the area you plan to huntbefore you hunt the area. If you can, examine the area before it becomes snowcovered.
Note the location of dangers such as deep holes, the location ofditches, near by roads, railroad tracks, old fence and any other dangerousobjects. After you have selected your hunting area, use caution while in thefield. If you shoot a bird and it falls into a dangerous area, your dog willnaturally want to retrieve it. In this case, your dog must be restrained with aleash or a shock collar.
Wounded birds can cause great harm to your dog. Thebite of a Canadian goose might not only injure your dog, but in the case of ayounder dog, a goose bite might cause the dog to be bird shy for the rest of hislife. Don’t take any chances. Be sure the bird is dead. Going to and returningfrom your hunt is often the most dangerous time for your dog. Keep your dog on aleash until you get well into your hunting area.
More dogs are killed near theroad while hunters are coming and going from the hunt than any other time. Always keep your dog leashed. Training Tips The tendancy to over command yourdog is a trap all of us fall into from time to time. All too often we startrepeating the verbal commands, hand signals and whistle blows. Not only can thisvisual and verbal barrage confuse your dog, but, in a hunting situation, the dogwill be more concerned with figuring out what you are saying than finding thebirds. This only adds further frustration to you and the dog.
When you are inthe field keep things simple. Remember, you and your dog are in the field tohunt. You are not there to conduct an obedience school. Give clear commands.
Useyour whistle to direct the dog. Be sure to praise your dog for his performance. Take your time and enjoy being outdoors with your dog. Use this time to buildhunting memories for a lifetime. Bud Speaks Views from a Dog’s Perspective forHumans As the “Top Dog” here at the Retriever Barn I am not only anauthority on hunting but also I thoroughly understand the problems you humanshave.
You know, all my children and I want to do is get a retrieve in now andthen. We get real tired of showing up day after day during hunting season onlyto see our supposedly human partners miss another bird. Sometimes I feel we arebetter off back at the kennel retrieving dummies from Mr. Maxey. Speaking ofdummies, I have hunted with more than a few in my day.
Back to this whole thingon retrieving. You know, that’s what life is all about to me and the kids. I amnot interested in seeing my children turned into “lap dogs” or”lard hounds”. Our reward is to be with you humans and just make aretrieve. I hear Mr.
Maxey telling my kids’ owners all the time, “Theretrieve is the reward. ” He is right this time. It’s that other stuff hetalks about sometimes that I wonder about. The bottom line is we don’t needtreats to be coaxed into retrieving, our reward is just making the retrieve. While I am on this whole business of food, I am concerned that some of youhumans are fattening up my kids. If you don’t eat it, I am not interested.
Whyshould I eat those table scraps when you humans are eating the steak? I thinkyou can do better than that. Just give us some good old dog food. We don’t needthat $30 or $40 a bag kind. Save your money and take us hunting with thesavings. If you need a new gun, use it for that. We are working class dogs.
Speaking of treatment, one of my kids just got a new dog house. This thing iscedar lined, insulated and specially treated. What a pad! The thing weighs over600 pounds and, of course, has a built in self feeder. Just after getting hisnew dog house, my son wanted to put one over on his owner. When the outsidetemperature got to a comfortable 20F he decided to sleep outside for the nighton the hay.
He told me it was such a beautiful night he didn’t want to misswatching the stars. That really freaked out his owner. I just told him it takestime to train you humans on our ways. Sometimes I think you will never learn. Yousign up my kids for a two or three month training course each year with Mr.
Maxey, then my kids are given the unfortunate task of trying to train you formonths after they get home. Once in a while we have some excitement over here atthe Retriever Barn when Mr. Maxey introduces me to one of his special gals. Notonly do I have a great time, but a few months from then you humans have theopportunity to buy my puppies. You need to encourage Mr.
Maxey to increase thesevisits. Overall I enjoy being in the field with my children as Mr. Maxey and Iteach them the fundamentals of retrieving. My best days are when Mr.
Maxey and Iget out by ourselves, away from the pack and get a little hunting in together. That Mr. Maxey is quite a guy. I always look forward to being outside with mymaster by my side and being able to make another retrieve. At the end of the dayI just want to lay down and take a good snooze and dream of another day ofhunting. 1995 Duck and Goose Season Comes to a Close This year’s duck and gooseseason has provided plenty of action for retrievers and their owners.
The 1995duck and goose hunting season has come to a close. Those hunters takingadvantage of the late season found December’s snow and cold temperatures achallenge. The hunting proved to be inconsistent for many who went afield. Somedays only the morning hours produced.
On other days, only the afternoons werethe time flocks were active. The cold temperatures and snow locked in most areasleaving little open water for this year’s waterfowl. Near record snowfallsblanketed many areas in northern Ohio. The birds took to the corn fields wherethe grain left from the Fall harvest would provide a much needed food supply. This left hunters and dogs with few options. Laying in cornfields and areaditches proved to be a challenge.
Some hunters were fortunate to have blinds infields, while others would be forced to face the elements. On top of the weatherconditions, many birds were decoy shy. To overcome this, the decoy patterns hadto be carefully set. Taking special care in setting sentry decoy locationsbecame a must. Nothing could be taken for granted.
The number of decoys neededto attract and maintain the interest of passing flocks was high. The addition ofblack flags was added by some hunters to add motion to their spread. In thenorthern sections of Ohio, along the Lake Erie shoreline, high winds had movedice in areas and left open water for birds to congregate. Rivers and lakes ininland areas were frozen solid.
Some hunters moved boats and blinds out onto theice in hopes of attracting more birds. In some cases this proved to achieve thedesired result. However, as temperatures remained in the 20s, the hunt proved tobe a cold one for many hunters while their retrievers welcomed the cold weather. With the duck and goose populations up in 1995, both hunters and retrieversexperienced a challenging waterfowl season. If things go well, 1996 should proveto be even better. Mr.
Retriever Insights from Jim Maxey The Retriever Barn isnow entering a new year. 1995 was an exciting year for all of us, but we lookforward to the year ahead. I want to thank each one of you for being a part ofour family. It has been a pleasure to watch our dogs and owners grow.
For thenew year, we will continue to provide you with dog training services you candepend on. It’s not too early to begin to think about your dog’s training needsfor the 1996 season. For younger dogs (ages one to two years old) we offertraining in fundamental obedience skills and in the basics of field andwaterfowl hunting. This course of study usually runs three months. If you areplanning on hunting with your dog this coming Fall, we offer refresher coursesto sharpen your dog’s skills just before hunting season.
This course of studyusually lasts a month and helps to assure you that your dog is ready to go. Weare now booking training for dogs for 1996. Be sure to reserve your dog’straining early. Unfortunately we are often unable to take all the dogs that needtraining, so reserve your dog’s training time today. If you need a dog that isalready trained and ready to hunt, we do offer a limited number of started dogs.
Check with us on their availability. We expect to have a limited number ofpuppies available in 1996. You might say we already have a good number onbackorder. If you would like to reserve a puppy let us know early. With anincreasing number of dogs with poor hunting traits, Retriever Barn puppies arebeing sought after by more hunters because of their excellent huntingcharacteristics.
If you have a dog you are thinking of breeding, let us know. Wewill be glad to work with you to obtain good hunting bloodlines. We do offerstud services. Be sure to check your vaccination records for your dog. Mark your1996 calendar with the dates and vaccinations your dog will need.
Be sure tocontact your veterinarian to schedule the appropriate vaccinations. The healthof your dog is important. With the close of 1995 and the promise of a new year,we at the Retriever Barn look forward to working with you and your dog in 1996. Always Think of Your Dog’s Safety When Hunting When you’re in the field it’seasy to get caught up in hunting and forget the safety of your dog. We all knowthe muzzel of the gun should never be pointed towards man nor beast.
That is theobvious. But the not so obvious is what could lead to serious injury or evenloss of your hunting partner, your dog. Always be aware of your huntingsurroundings. Are there roads near by? Are there railroad tracks in the area? Inthe field you are hunting, are there deep holes that become invisible when snowcovered? In the heat of the hunt both you and your dog will be concentrating onone thing, getting the bird. The adrenaline will be pumping. At that time itwill be too late to be concerned about the things you should have been concernedwith before the hunt began.
This is when accidents can occur to your dog. Cominghome with a dead dog rather than harvested game will more than ruin your day. Here are some tips to help keep your dog safe. Survey the area you plan to huntbefore you hunt the area. If you can, examine the area before it becomes snowcovered.
Note the location of dangers such as deep holes, the location ofditches, near by roads, railroad tracks, old fence and any other dangerousobjects. After you have selected your hunting area, use caution while in thefield. If you shoot a bird and it falls into a dangerous area, your dog willnaturally want to retrieve it. In this case, your dog must be restrained with aleash or a shock collar. Wounded birds can cause great harm to your dog. Thebite of a Canadian goose might not only injure your dog, but in the case of ayounder dog, a goose bite might cause the dog to be bird shy for the rest of hislife.
Don’t take any chances. Be sure the bird is dead. Going to and returningfrom your hunt is often the most dangerous time for your dog. Keep your dog on aleash until you get well into your hunting area.
More dogs are killed near theroad while hunters are coming and going from the hunt than any other time. Always keep your dog leashed. Training Tips The tendancy to over command yourdog is a trap all of us fall into from time to time. All too often we startrepeating the verbal commands, hand signals and whistle blows. Not only can thisvisual and verbal barrage confuse your dog, but, in a hunting situation, the dogwill be more concerned with figuring out what you are saying than finding thebirds. This only adds further frustration to you and the dog.
When you are inthe field keep things simple. Remember, you and your dog are in the field tohunt. You are not there to conduct an obedience school. Give clear commands.
Useyour whistle to direct the dog. Be sure to praise your dog for his performance. Take your time and enjoy being outdoors with your dog. Use this time to buildhunting memories for a lifetime.
