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I had promised a bunch of updates starting in February, and I delivered…barely. In addition to the updates that I posted earlier in the week I just added a bunch of new ones today:
New Book Review: Alex & Me by Irene Pepperberg.
In the last year or two I have read a couple of books that explore the
world of animal intelligence, and I recently finished one of the best
reads I’ve found on the subject. Some of you may be familiar with the
life of Alex the African Grey Parrot. He was an exceptionally
intelligent bird that was the subject of numerous articles, news
segments and a television show. At the most basic level Alex was the
30-year research project of Dr. Pepperberg. Very early in the book you
realize there was certainly much more to this pair than that of
researcher and subject. READ MORE
New Case of the Month: Better than a Stick in the Eye? I’m guessing this GSP thought most things were better than a stick in the eye after we removed it. READ AND SEE MORE
New Featured Link: Wolfe’s Sporting Collectibles
I’m a sucker for anything sporting history related. The reason my first
dog was a Chesapeake was because of their tie to waterfowling history.
Our house is adorned with sporting art and memorabilia. Dennis Wolfe’s site is an unbelievalbe source of sporting collectibles. For someone with my “addiction” to this lifestyle, such a site should be illegal. To borrow from the homepage: This is a site designed for like minds who enjoy and Collect Antique Hunting & Fishing Collectibles. I hope you will find some things of interest so get comfortable in your chair and take a look around. Visit the site HERE
New Ask the Vet: When a front leg lameness is difficult to identify what’s next? Read More HERE
With so many dog foods, supplements and energy products on the market,
there is a lot of confusion from dog owners about what foods and
products they should be using in their hunting dogs. The scenario is
further confused when you throw into the equation the fact that we do
so many different activities with our dogs: the dog chasing western
prairie birds will have different needs than a dog hunting timber
mallards down south, the grouse dog of the northeast or the pheasant
hunting dogs of the Midwest. The truth of the matter is that there
isn’t one formula that works for all dogs. Instead it is important to
be able to understand your dog’s needs, what is available for your dog
and how the products may work in your situation….In this latest article I try to unravel the mysteries that seem to surround what we should put in our dogs’ bodies.
It will come as no surprise that fall is my favorite time of year. Much of what I enjoy occurs during the fall, and I spend the rest of the year longing for, planning for and training for the next fall to come around. That being said, spring places a close second in my rankings of the seasons. As I get older I certainly have started to dread winter more and more, but no matter how rough the winter is, I don’t think I could live in a part of the country that doesn’t experience it. Without winter’s extreme temperatures, and the frozen, snow-covered environment it creates, spring would not seem so glorious. This last weekend the wind chills once again were below zero, yet today’s forecast high is 52. These first sunny, almost warm, days of spring are nearly magical with their effect on the people and animals in this part of the country. Of course we will be slammed back into reality on Thursday when the wind switches back to the north, the temperatures plummet and snow returns to the forecast…but it will be days like today that give us hope that better times are indeed just around the corner.
There truly is something eternally rejuvenating as winter eases its grip on the earth and spring slowly inches closer and closer. One of the spectacles that I greatly enjoy during this transition are the magnificent sites of migrating waterfowl. This year I hope to once again be in the field capturing images as the birds head north to their breeding grounds. In anticipation of this event, I’ve uploaded a gallery of images from previous years’ waterfowl migration:
CLICK HERE to view.
Well, after making promises that this month would be the month that I kicked off a more regular schedule I’ve clearly dropped the ball. I was on the road for continuing education for two weeks with spotty internet access and spent last week feeling like my head was going to explode with a late-winter respiratory infection.
I have most of my planned content completed and will be posting new stuff almost daily this week to make up for the lack of updates for the rest of the month. Stay tuned to the main page as the updates are posted.
Last night I added a new video to the video podcast series. One of the simplest tasks an owner can do at home is to trim their dog’s nail; however, I would say that a vast majority of people are intimidated by that task. In this newest installment I hope to take away some of the fear and make you more comfortable managing the nails at home.
A couple of notes on the video. It does require Quicktime in order to view it, and there is a link on the video page to download the latest version. Also, it is again a very large file and so if you plan to view it from your browser I would recommend hitting pause and allow the video to load for a couple of minutes to allow seamless playing. The video is available in the iTunes store as a free download, and if you have the iTunes software this may be the easiest way to handle the video.
Link to Video Podcast Page
Link to Nail Trimming Video Page
Most of the snow in the area has finally started to melt after accumulating much of the winter. This has helped open up more areas to training, and we’ve been taking advantage of it. I’ve been slowly returning Maggie back to action and she’s been loving every minute she gets in the field:
She’s definitely still a little awkward and sore in that rear leg, but unless you watch closely she isn’t missing a beat. By far one of the most stylish dogs I’ve ever owned, I never had the heart to “break” her to be completely steady. For whatever reason she is easy to make steady to wing and shot, but when the feathers drop watch out:
All the dogs got to work, but with Belle and Lily I’m trying to work out steadiness, which meant it wasn’t practical to carry the camera in the field. Both dogs are doing great and as long as I stick with it I’m hoping to have a couple of steady youngsters by hunting season. It seems like I make that statement every year and never see it through, so we’ll just have to see. Lily is progressing and it has certainly been an exciting process to train her, essentially in reverse, from any other dog I have ever owned. She has been remarkably steady and obedient through her early training and now that we are introducing birds late in the process I just need to stay ahead of the curve:
I’ve posted some of the best pictures from the morning (the light was fantastic) in the photo gallery on the site. For more pointing dogs in action CLICK HERE.
I’ve been out of town most of the last week at a Continuing Education meeting and my internet access has been sketchy at best. My hope had been to post some ramblings from the meeting but there just wasn’t wireless to be found at the meeting facility. I was able to get some site updates before leaving last week. The most significant is a new podcast:
In this episode we talk with Dr. Vicki Wilke, a surgeon at the
University of Minnesota and a prominent researcher in the field of
canine knees. This is the first in a two-part interview discussing knee
injuries. In this episode we discuss the different types of cruciate
injury, the current popular surgery techniques, and what to expect from
the recovery process. This is a very informative interview and a
must-listen for any dog owner. In addition we feature our Ask the Vet
section and some website updates. CLICK HERE.
We also added a new Ask the Vet question:
Q.) My six-year old setter developed a hard
lump on the inside of his leg, above the dewclaw, at the wrist. It
didn’t seem to bother him at all but of course we were very concerned.
Our vet x-rayed, and recommended a biopsy, which we did The report came
back as a organizing hematoma. Our vet has never seen one before. Since
the biopsy the dog licks the bump, and limps a little after exercise.
The entire joint is thicker now. Any advice on what we should do next,
if anything?
A.) Each year I
seem to gain clients at the clinic who comment that they bring their
dogs to me because I’ve been through most problems with my own dogs. I
guess this is good for my clients and website visitors, but bad for my
dogs.
CLICK HERE for the rest of the answer.