Boomer, a German Wirehair Pointer, lives on a farm in central Illinois.

Boomer can answer questions about dogs, hunting, the environment, or anything else of interest to you. Boomer cannot answer all of his mail because his priorities. Eating, sleeping, exercising, training, and hunting do not leave much spare time. If your question is chosen for an answer by Boomer, it will be published in this blog. Please give your name and state.

Dear Boomer,

My bird dog, Jack Daniels, likes to drink from the toilet bowl. I read in the newspaper that some toilet bowls are cleaner than the salad bar at some restaurants. Is there anything wrong with letting Jack drink from the toilet bowl?

Signed,

Clean Gene

Dear Clean,

That depends, my friend, on whose health you’re guarding. I personally don’t see a down side to refreshing myself from a toilet bowl now and then, but I don’t make it a habit as one never knows where humans have been.

When I work or train, I often pick up poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, ticks, fleas, and juice from road kill on my fur. My fur touches the toilet bowl when I drink. Long story short, if you don’t mind, I don’t mind.

Signed,

Boomer

This letter is from Ashley Bishop, Litchfield, IL.

Dear Boomer,

Bath time is a big problem at our house as our dog, Crissy, does not want to take a bath. She refuses to go in the tub. When we put her in the tub, she jumps out. Last time she went hunting, she got sprayed by a skunk. How can we get her to get in the tub?

Signed, Ashley

Dear Ashley,

Great question, Ashley! Coincidentally, I am about to launch my own line of dog fragrances and shampoos based on what dogs like. Your dog probably just doesn’t understand how stressed “Eau De Skunk” makes humans feel and doesn’t see the need for deodorizing. Crissy would like it much more if you splashed on some of my “Sun Baked Mashed Marsupial.” Also, I recommend you roll in some of my “DB #1 or DB#2. You read it right, you roll in it, not roll it on. If you follow my advice, neither of you will feel the need to bathe anymore. However, your family may need some retraining. But that’s another column.

Bathing Crissy in the bathtub is a noble thing to do because you can regulate the temperature of the bath water. When we (dogs) are in the field and retrieving from water or searching in wet grass, we feel the cold water but ignore it because we are born to hunt.

If Crissy is obedience trained, have her heel, walk at your side, come up to a barrier and tell her, “go in”. Change the barrier to a low sided box (card board), then use a box the same “jump over height” as the tub. After she is successfully jumping into the box, you can take her to the tub. Before you have her jump in the tub, wet a towel and lay it in the empty tub. After bathing, drain the tub and lay that towel down in the bottom of the tub so Crissy won’t slip. Remember, to get anywhere in life, you need a little traction.

This next letter is from a young man, 15 years old from Minneapolis Minnesota.

Dear Boomer,

What do you think about spaying and neutering in relation to hunting?

Signed, Curious

Dear Curious,

Spaying and neutering does not interfere with humans desire to hunt and they will be easier to work with.

Signed, Boomer

The next letter is from a female hunter, 16, from Kansas City, Kansas.

Dear Boomer,

What do you think about hunter safety?

Signed, Careful Hunter

Dear Careful Hunter,

Make sure any humans you hunt with have graduated from a hunter safety course.

Hunter safety courses can be hard. I use positive reinforcement with my human. I reward my human with positive attention from time to time.

Signed, Boomer