What Is a Field Trial?
Posted by Boomer in Advice for Humans, Dog Humor, Field Trial Announcement, Uncategorized on March 14th, 2009
Dear Boomer,
What is a field trial?
Signed,
Nimrod
Dear Nim,
Humans think they invented field trials to discover which dogs have drive, can find birds, point, back, and retrieve. A field trial is, in fact,a game made up by dogs so they can enjoy watching their humans act like morons.
The truth is, field trials were invented by ancient Roman dogs to find out which humans were worthy of being adopted by dogs. At a field trial you see humans lose their tempers, shout, threaten, and even break down and cry. Dogs note which humans misbehave and pass the word to avoid teaming up with those humans. Some humans are not responsible enough to lead a dog.
You may see humans walking around holding a piece of paper at a field trial. Those are “human whisperers” who are recording when the humans misbehave. After the trial, they meet with the human, make them roll over on their back and make them say, “I will not act like a moron at a field trial. I will not act like a moron at a field trial.”
Signed,
Boomer
Quail Unlimited Dog Trial
Jerry Lehman, Quail Unlimited Chairman, sends notice of a Dog Trial scheduled for March 22nd on Bear Creek Road, 41/2 miles North of Nokomis. Boomer is scheduled for the first brace at 7:30 AM. The stated purpose of this trial is “Fun and Relaxation”, according to Jerry. Give Jerry a call and sign up at 217-825-5423. The entry fee is a very reasonable $20.00. You need not be a member to participate in this trial. Trophies will be awarded. This is your chance to make your dog proud.
It’s the Principle! Largest Deer of 2008
Posted by Boomer in Human Interest, Uncategorized, Unusual Hunting Experiences, Upland Hunting on February 5th, 2009
This story is so good I’ve directed my human, Glenn Savage, to share it with all my readers.
Boomer
Kyle Hacke and Deer He Discovered
It’s the Principle!
Kyle Hacke, Principal at Hillsboro High School and his brother, Scott Hacke of Springfield, found what may prove to be the biggest Illinois deer head of 2008 on January 2, 2008. Here is the riveting account of Kyle and Scott’s discovery in the words (lightly edited) of Kyle Hacke. The Hacke brothers experienced the equivalent of discovering a shoe box full of thousands of dollars on a deserted street. Kyle and Scott did not hesitate. Kyle wrote, “Scott and I both knew we had a special deer, but the right thing to do was to give it to John(the landowner).”
Kyle wrote further, “Scott and I know that we aren’t supposed to remove a deer or antlers from the field without a salvage tag and John called a CPO as soon as he got there. No one could show up immediately, so he took it home and told them to come to his house, which they did. Scott and I both knew we had a special deer, but the right thing to do was give him to John….It was found by me on John Grosboll’s property in Menard County on January 2, 2008. My brother Scott got permission from John to bird hunt his property. I walked up on the carcass in a border strip along a creek and called Scott over. Coyotes had slicked it up, but there was still a lot of hide, the hoofs, and all of the bones and vertebrae intact. Couldn’t tell how he was killed, no holes in the hide, or broken ribs. I would bet someone took an illegal crack at him. No way someone legally takes a shot at him and doesn’t shout from the mountain top that they may have hit him. He could’ve also been injured from fighting. They say there was a real aggressive 9 pointer out there, that this guy wasn’t really the boss. I spoke with John Saturday at the Quail Forever Banquet and he said he hasn’t had it officially scored yet, but should be somewhere around 246-250. 24-25 points, 4 drop tines, one palmated (you can see that in the pictures we took). The large drop tine on the other side is really long (can see that one in the picture too). When we found it, we called a hunting buddy of ours to explain it to him, then we called John who was extremely happy. He’s taking it to the Deer and Turkey Classic and getting it scored. I don’t deer hunt, but I knew we had found something special. I’ve seen a lot of big deer and I am a pretty good judge after spending so much time outdoors. I don’t know John’s plans for the deer or story, other than he promises to keep it in Menard County.”
For more pictures and story on the Largest Deer go to:
http://www.prairiestateoutdoors.com/index.php?/pso/article/grosboll_buck/
In Dog We Trust
Posted by Boomer in Dog Behavior Advice, Dog Humor, Uncategorized on January 28th, 2009
Dear Boomer,
I read an article in an important magazine about a hunter who wanted his dog to “handle” pheasants. It seems this person wanted the dog to know everything about the bird. The dog was supposed to know which way the bird was running, whether the bird was sitting tight or had just sat in a place then moved on and when a running bird made a sharp turn and was sitting tight. The title of the article was “Point or Creep?”
You are an experienced pheasant hunting dog. What is your opinion on dog handling?
Signed,
Puzzled in Montgomery County
Dear Puzz,
Dogs have a saying, “One dog is a better hunter than a dozen humans.” We also say, “A bad day hunting is usually caused by a human.” You’ve never seen a dog lose their temper and shock a human have you?
A smart human will form a strong bond with their dog and train the dog to hold point, back, and retrieve. The dog will then show the human what the bird is doing if the human will pay attention and learn.
Contrary to some human beliefs, dogs are not able to “hypnotize” a bird into staying still. Pointing dogs do naturally freeze (point) when bird scent becomes strong enough. A smart human will encourage their dog to point with praise and stroking from the time the dog is young. A young dog must learn to stay still until their human tells them to “go on.”
Any pheasant dog will tell you that pheasants (and quail) run from the dogs and hunters. Sometimes the birds “sit tight” and hope you’ll walk by them.
Allow your dog to “run” the hunt. They will not “bump” the birds unless their basic training is weak. Establish with your dog that when you call, they have to come. Use that habit to keep your dog within gun range.
My canine compadres report that skilled human hunters take years to develop. So remember, Puzz, “If the dog you trust, the more birds you will bust.”
Outdoor Eyewitness: Hawks Stalk Pheasants on the Ground
Posted by Boomer in Natural History, Unusual Hunting Experiences, Upland Hunting on January 24th, 2009
I, “Pheasant Finder Supreme”, am intensely interested in the behavior of any animal that can capture pheasants by any means. If any faithful readers have been an “Outdoor Eyewitness” to unusual predator behavior, please share by writing comments about the following story. Better yet, tell your story so we all can learn.
Boomer
Hawks Stalk Pheasants
Dear Outdoor Eyewitness,
A long time ago, my bird dog and I were making our way along a railroad right-of-way in search of “pheasant friendly” tall grass. A group of two rooster pheasants and two hens swooped over my head and landed between the railroad tracks. The group was one hundred yards from my dog and I and the pheasants were unaware of us. They immediately walked into the border of tall grass.
My bird dog and I were frozen in fascination with what we’d witnessed. Before we could take a step, a red tail hawk, flying low, much like the pheasants, appeared suddenly and landed next to the grass. The hawk then deliberately walked into the same cover. My bird dog and I sped our approach so we could see what might happen. We were within 25 yards when the tall grass erupted in commotion and the red tail hawk emerged with a hen pheasant in its talons.
The raptor rose forty feet into the air as the pheasant struggled to free itself. In a shower of feathers, the hen broke free and flew off. The hawk flew in the opposite direction.
During a pheasant hunt earlier this year, I observed what I thought was two hen pheasants fly low across the field I was facing. As they flew closer, I realized that the bird in front was a hen pheasant but the bird in back was a red tail hawk. Both birds landed by tall grass and walked into the grass.
I thought hawks “stooped” that is dive out of the sky, stun their prey with closed talons then seized their prey and pierced it to kill it.
Rapt Observer
“Win Win” When Dogs and Humans Cooperate
Posted by Boomer in Advice for Humans, Dog Natural History on January 16th, 2009
This is for Bill, who asked if I think dogs get impatient with humans because humans are “blind in the nose.” This story was handed down through “ancestral memory.” What do you think, Bill?
It was the worst drought any human or dog could remember. There was no green grass, no delicious grasshoppers or mice to eat, no rabbits, no quail, and no pheasants anywhere. The ancestral canids were desperate for food as they roamed at night far beyond their usual range looking for anything edible. A wonderful smell drifted on the air and pulled the pack into the wind to find the source. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the wildfire leaping into the air, crackling, and snapping savagely at them. There was a strange smell besides the delicate smell of cooked prairie dog. It was a faint mixture of familiar odors of other animals like badger, raccoon, wolf, and deer. There was a much stronger smell that was like wet grass, wild cat, and skunk all in one but different and fearsome. It was the smell of human!
The pack always avoided humans because humans were predators on the wild canids. But this time the white muzzled pack leader was overcome by the smell of roasted prairie dog. As the pack lay on their bellies and drooled, the pack leader laid back his ears and began to crawl toward the humans and their fire. The pack leader sensed food at hand and snapped up a prairie dog bone swallowing it whole. How delicious! More bones flew magically through the air and landed around him.
His belly full, the pack leader crawled back to the pack and led them away from the human encampment at the edge of the prairie dog town. Once they were at a safe distance, the pack nuzzled and licked the leader’s grease coated face. They whined with hunger and even growled at each other for the privilege of licking their leader’s face.
The next night the pack returned to where their leader had found food. This time the pack leader’s mate followed him to the prairie dog bone feast and gorged until she was near bursting with food. Each night thereafter more canids joined in the feast until the whole pack was secretly feasting on the human’s discarded prairie dog bones. When the humans had snared and trapped all the unwary prairie dogs, they moved on to another place where they trapped turtles, fish, and collected freshwater clams. Of course they threw out the bones, shells, and best of all the spoiled excess that humans couldn’t eat. The pack feasted during what would usually have been a deadly time for them.
The pack continued to hunt but now they were prosperous, producing large litters with more babies surviving than usual. No one knows how long the first wild canids checked human garbage heaps before they revealed themselves to “The People.” “The People” was what humans called them selves during the time of this story.
It took many years but eventually humans and dogs teamed up. Each species caused the other to prosper. Humans gained a faithful friend who could smell danger at a great distance and would raise an immediate alarm day or night. Humans also had a hunting partner who could track game, wounded or healthy, faster than any human.
Dogs had a partner who could find and catch game in the worst of times. “The People” could catch food from under the ground or under the water with equal ease and then would throw the excess away. “The People” weren’t even afraid to stand up to the wolves, cougars, and bears who all relished canid puppies.
Times were very good then and dogs and humans were happy together. Alas, the world changed to what it is today. Most humans don’t hunt and gather like the “The People”. Dogs can no longer fend for themselves in the wild. Dogs have lost the knowledge that their ancestors were born with and it has been replaced with dependence on humans for leadership, exercise, health care and food.
Boomer
It Happened to Me!
Posted by Boomer in Advice for Humans, Dog Behavior Advice, Dog Health, Dog Humor, Unusual Hunting Experiences on January 14th, 2009
Dear Readers,
I took my human hunting today. I found a rooster in the tall grass, and pointed him. Old “Frequently Falls Down” kicked around upwind until Mr. rooster flushed with much cackling and pooping. FFD fired his gun and Mr. rooster dropped dead. I didn’t even have to track him down or retrieve him. FFd has fed and watered me and I am curled up next to his computer dictating this blog.
From my vantage point in the back seat of the pickup truck I listened to old FFD and his hunting buddy, “Three Shooter” swap stories and theories about hunting (more validation of my idea that a dog’s viewpoint is needed to balance human thinking.) That gave me an idea! If humans would comment on this blog and tell what unusual experiences they have had in the out doors, I will comment from my point of view if needed or I will just pass it along by p-mail if the canine community needs to know.
Write me and tell about unusual experiences you’ve had in the field. Happy hunting!
Boomer
A Hairy Home Companion
Posted by Boomer in Advice for Humans, Dog Health, Dog Humor on January 13th, 2009
Dear Boomer,
Is it true that hunting dogs should not be treated as pets?
Garrison K.
Dear Garrison,
Letting your hunting dog be in the house with you will not hurt his desire to hunt. In fact the bond between the two of you might be strengthened.
Hunting dogs should be treated with great respect! Hunting dogs go to work in the night, day, rain, snow, heat, and the dirt. Some chase boars, cougars, foxes and coyotes. Hunting dogs are fearless, strong, persistent, and loyal. What do humans give them in return? At best, dogs get a tight box with lots of straw, plenty of food, fresh water, regular work and a few “attaboys”. Mark Twain summed it up when he wrote, “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”
You should not treat dogs as humans in fur coats. Such treatment leads to confusion on the part of the dog which often leads to behavior problems. Dogs need regular work to do. It doesn’t matter what the work is as long as we get out with a human every day for an hour or so. Just a walk is enough to keep up a dog’s health as well as a human’s. Training, whether for the field, for the home or for amusement also counts as work.
Goodbye to you, Garrison, from Litchfield, where all the humans are above average and all the bird dogs can point, back, and retrieve.
Boomer
Donnie Burton Memorial Hunt
Posted by Boomer in Human Interest, Uncategorized on January 9th, 2009
Donnie Burton
Sally Burton and Don Burton with UFC Champion, Matt Hughes
I received some p-mail (drop me a line and I’ll share the origin and operation of p-mail with you) from some professional hunting dogs earlier today informing me about a special event that took place recently. My human was in attendance and wrote an account of the event.
Boomer
Hunter Cured of Winter Funk
By Glenn Savage
The event that held curative powers was the Sixth Annual Donnie Burton Memorial Quail Hunt held Saturday and Sunday, January 3 and 4, 2009 at Don Cranfill’s Shooting Preserve in Hillsboro. One hundred and thirty-one hunters participated.
The days have been short and sunshine in short supply. The writer was tired, sore, and a little discouraged from pursuing pheasants for miles and then muffing what were good opportunities to bag a wily rooster. Worse yet was the fact that the writer’s hunting buddy was bagging roosters “left and left”. Hunting buddy, Glenn Bishop, who couldn’t seem to miss, “heaped coals” on the writer by not even mentioning the missed shots. He even acted supportive and seemed to let a little sympathy seep out around his eyes.
The writer’s dog was injured by a locust thorn and was out of the game for fifteen days! The writer had to depend on tagging along with hunting buddy to get a shot. Things just weren’t going well.
Sunshine burst through on Saturday afternoon on a hunt guided by Dennis McCammack and Don Cranfill. The writer and three other hunters were treated to a spectacular display of dog handling, bird finding, and bird retrieving by Dennis, Don, and the dogs. This writer was lucky enough to bag more than his share of birds in a safe and efficient manner.
After the hunt, the writer asked Don Burton about the hunt. According to Don Burton, “Donnie Burton loved the outdoors and the friends he made during his outdoor adventures.”
Donnie, son of Don and Sally Burton of rural Hillsboro, passed away unexpectedly in June of 2003 during a church sponsored outing. Donnie was swimming in the motel swimming pool prior to a float trip when his heart stopped. Sally Burton said Donnie was sixteen on January 28 and passed away on June 30, 2003. Sally went on to say, “Every year is bittersweet before the Memorial Hunt because I remember Donnie and think how he would have enjoyed it. I don’t want him to be forgotten but it is hard to think about it.”
Sally Burton said, “The only advice I can think of is that you force yourself to keep going. It is good if you have only one good friend who realizes that years later it still hurts. Every year I get stressed thinking about all there is to prepare for the hunt. We have house guests and there are pies to be baked. Every year, eventually, I stop worrying about it and I have a peaceful feeling. Every year Joyce Connor comes over and helps bake pies. She is a huge help. During the hunt, I met a man who had read about the Memorial Hunt who had recently lost two brothers. He just wanted to come out and show support.”
Sally Burton, her sister, Susan Gisler, and Joyce Conner baked twenty-five pies and four chocolate cakes for the two day event. Lunch, including chili, hotdogs and dessert was provided. Early hunters were provided with coffee, milk, doughnuts, or pie.
Don Burton said, “This year was emotional for me because of the numbers of volunteers who help make the hunt happen. More help was needed because of the large number of hunters. If anyone is available next January 2 and 3, 2010, call me to volunteer. I need persons to take hunters to the fields, serve food and assist with car parking.
The 2009 hunt raised about $6,000 for scholarships to be distributed through the Hillsboro Education Scholarship Fund. About $31,000 will have been distributed to high school seniors over six years as a result of the Donnie Burton Memorial Hunt.
The hunt is $100 per person. To book for Saturday or Sunday, January 2 and 3, 2010, call Don Burton at 217-532-2507.
Yappy New Year!
Posted by Boomer in Advice for Humans, Dog Humor, Uncategorized on January 2nd, 2009
I, Boomer, wish everyone a “Yappy New Year.” This year I plan to establish a 401-K9. Any extra treats I get will be buried. I was going to invest my extra treats with Bernie Madoff but something about him didn’t smell right! His smell reminded me of the Governor of Illinois. It would be hard to choose one to roll in.
In the new Year Spirit, here are some things I recommend humans do:
Love your family.
Take regular baths.
Live in the moment.
Stop to smell the road kill.
Keep your shots up to date.
Let your dog sleep in the bed with you.
Take more baths.
Go for long walks with family members.
When you have spare time, lick yourself.
We Can All Get Along
Posted by Boomer in Advice for Humans, Dog Behavior Advice, Dog Humor, Dog Natural History, Political Commentary on February 3rd, 2009
A Strong Siamese...Modest Too
MARCIMOM9@aol.com wrote:
Dear Rebel,
Humans have perpetuated myths for as long as they have been on this earth. I counted two myths in your letter that have been made up and passed down by humans. Dogs do not discriminate against cats when it comes to superiority. Dogs just know they are superior to every living thing. I’m sure you can relate to that.
According to canine ancestral memory, dogs and cats are co-equal races, having a common ancestor. Humans have “muddied up the water” by breeding dogs for hunting, fighting, pulling, and much more. Cats have been historically bred for their looks. No human should tolerate a dog as part of his family or pack that would assault a cat. The same is true of cats and their human subjects.
Your question is so excellent, if you don’t mind, I will post it on my blog, <boomerdadog.wordpress.com> for everyone to read. You are the first cat to write me. Would you be the first on my blog? Puuurhaps together we could show how compatible dogs and cats can be. To paraphrase Alphonse de Lamartine, “The more I see of the representatives of the people, the more I admire my dog /and cat/. ”
Boomer
Dog Behavior, Dog Training, humor
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