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"These guidelines supplement the many columns and magazine articles we’ve shared with you over the years. Our goal has always been to develop the pup in a quiet, kind and gentle manner suited to pup’s temperament."
POINTING DOG POINTERS June 2019 By Bob and Jody Iler Through the years, as pups come into our kennel for training, we may find that some of them also come with problems! One example might be the pup that has lost his motivation to hunt because of overuse of the e-collar. Another young dog …
Spring is an ideal season to get going on yard work, or obedience training, with your young pointing dog.
The game preserves are closed and spring has arrived. (On the calendar that is, for as we write this column, we are under a winter storm watch and it is, in fact, snowing.) As we residents of Iowa like to say, “If you don’t like the weather, stick around, it’s bound to change.” But the …
An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.-Martin Buber #nationalpetdayu
This cute pup is on the cover of our May/June 2019 issue. Thanks, Bob Bertram for the great artwork!
Sage was Joe’s first pointing dog pup and he was anxious to get at the “nuts and bolts” of her bird dog training. Here are some of the other questions Joe had – likely many of the ones you might ask as well….
by Bob and Jody Iler “When should I start my pup’s pointing dog training?” Our client, Joe, sat across the table from us in our office as he asked this question. His six-month old female shorthair pup, Sage, sitting in a nearby crate, watched us. “I’ve done the early training you recommend...
Ruffed Grouse Society
"On a night when we could have sat home, watching March Madness, we ducked-out to behold another spring ritual—American Woodcocks dancing among the stars.
Springtime."
Have you gotten out and experience the woodcock's skydance this spring?
#HealthyForests | www.ruffedgrousesociety.org
"We had three setters but two were very old and probably would soon be gone. When next hunting season arrived, we might have just one. And if that dog got hurt, I couldn’t face hunting alone."
By Sarge Collier Fearing the worst, I discussed the matter with Miki. We had three setters but two were very old and probably would soon be gone. When next hunting season arrived, we might have just one. And if that dog got hurt, I couldn’t face hunting alone. So, back to Miki’s rescue group. Wi...
Have you checked out the March/April issue yet?
Features Red Setter Saviors by Tom Davis Knucklehead Basin by Christian Douglass Bates The Place by Chris Smith Photo Essay Mearns’ Challenge by E. Donnall Thomas Jr. Rimrock Ghosts by Dave Smith Pockets of Grouse by Frank Jezioro Departments Eastern Encounters Out of touch? by Tom Huggler Gun ...
Each stage of development – bird introduction, handling, gun work, yard work, retrieving, honoring or backing, and steadying to wing and shot – are all elements that build upon one another.
POINTING DOG POINTERS By Bob and Jody Iler This past bird season is over and game preserves will be closing in a few weeks. As you evaluate your young pointing dog’s strengths and weaknesses, you might be feeling dissatisfied and impatient with his performance. Maybe you feel as though pup hasn’...
Ruffed Grouse Society
"Hunting woodcock without a dog requires patience and the sacrifice of a lot of boot leather. But like many things, there are bird hunting hacks and tactics that make this a more efficient experience. This article is not the end-all-say-all on Woodcock hunting without a dog, but it should provide enough basic knowledge to start putting birds into your game bag."
Do you chase grouse and woodcock without a dog?
#HealthyForests | www.ruffedgrousesociety.org
Here's our March/April 2019 cover. What a gorgeous scene!
Anxiously waiting to hear from the Dog Writers Association of America if we won the 2018 Best Magazine award! So honored to have BOTH The Pointing Dog Journal and The Retriever Journal nominated in the same category!
"One of the key things that clients learn is how to plant birds! This is an art that fosters the young pup’s development and ready him for the hunting season."
by Bob & Jody Iler Our clients love their bird dog classes! Not only do they learn to train their pointing dogs with the help of “seasoned” trainers, but sessions are hands-on from the start. Each class, of course, is preceded by relevant theory for that day’s lesson, but nothing works better ...
Pheasants Forever Annual Report: Ground Covered, Miles to Go
In 2018, Pheasants Forever, Inc., including its quail division, Quail Forever, completed 13,608 wildlife habitat projects and worked with thousands of individual landowners to implement voluntary conservation programs, improving habitat for pheasants, quail and other wildlife on more than 1.5 millio...
Did you know that much of our cover artwork is available as prints in our store? Visit https://secure.villagepress.com/store/items/list/group/112 to see if we still have your favorite cover in stock.
Stay tuned, folks... the Jan/Feb issue mailed a little late this time thanks to some vacation time around the holidays and a couple of malfunctions on the press. I believe it went out late last week.
"As we turn the calendar to a new year, we got out some of the old pointing dog training books in our library, several written nearly 100 years ago."
POINTING DOG POINTERS By Bob and Jody Iler All good pointing dog trainers keep an open mind and learn everything they can from many other sources. And that includes you – as you consult trainers, read books and articles, and watch training videos – trying to piece all the information together. M...
Thought you all would enjoy this little Christmas tale: All Bill wanted for Christmas was a setter calendar, so his lovely wife Kathryn ordered one from us. However, it never arrived. She called us to find out about the order. While we were in the process of tracking it down, she called back to report that her beloved setter had decided to chew and tear up the calendar, scattering it all over the backyard! We were happy to send her a replacement pronto, which she gave to her husband Bill - along with the original one as evidence of their pup's antics. #pupswillbepups #ChristmasCheer
We hope you and your pointing dog have a wonderful day!
This month we take a page from one of our recent gun dog classes and focus on an issue common to many novice owners of young pointing dogs – over handling.
Pointing Dog Pointers by Bob & Jody Iler Do you “over handle” your pointing dog in the field? Are you afraid that unless you do, you’ll have a control issue with your dog? Do you use your whistle and voice excessively to direct your dog where you want him to go? Is this working? For …
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As the season winds down, I thought I'd share my upcoming editorial in the January/February 2019 issue...--Jason Smith, Editor
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To say that the world of bird hunting is “steeped in tradition” is as well-worn as saying the Detroit Lions will never appear in a Super Bowl, let alone win one. And yet, it is one I find myself reflecting more on these days, and finding more enjoyment in, especially when it comes to bringing my kids along in the ways of outdoors.
Seeing Dad’s pointer Nell quivering staunch on a bird sparked a story of my old setter Allie pinning a flight woodcock under a squatty evergreen on the edge of a clearcut nearly twenty years ago. My older son missing a grouse this season because of a rude oak tree led to sharing the memory of walking behind Dad, my eight-year-old legs barely keeping up, and watching him obliterate an arm-sized aspen a woodcock conveniently chose to fly behind. Watching through the camera lens as my younger son dropped a pheasant and my daughter practiced raising an empty gun on a rooster on my father-in-law’s preserve flooded my senses with the sights and sounds and smells of Trapper Jim’s Hunt Club with Dad and Chris and old Jess.
Perhaps that’s why, as fleeting as these sparks of moments are, I find myself gravitating toward using an old gun. I’ve carried an old Fox Sterlingworth 16-gauge for nearly 25 years for grouse and woodcock – I've even shot some quail, a couple of sharptails, Huns, a black duck, and a turkey with it – and I find myself longing for an old LC Smith for pheasants and a Parker for ducks and geese (with some newer no-tox shot friendly to the older barrels). These are firm in my grasp, carrying with them their own memories of grateful hands and distant coverts and the blue skies and riotous colors of autumns long forgotten. The expenses of a young family have so far prevented the Smith and Parker from filling a slot in the gun safe, but there is always “someday.”
Do the birds get faster in our retellings? Sure. Do the distances increase? Of course. Do the dogs’ efforts become more heroic? Absolutely. And so what? It is well that they should, for the memory is not so keenly sharpened as when the stories are retold, the journals reread, the photos shown to young eyes.
At times I almost feel in a panic when I neglect my journal or the photos. I’m not writing things down enough or with as much detail as I should. I’m not snapping enough photos or hanging them around the house. I’m not taking the dogs enough to fill their painfully short lives with those moments that will be gilded in aging minds.
I feel as though I’m forever missing something.
And yet, it occurs to me that we are walking photo albums and field journals. Even if they never wrote anything down, I guarantee you that Pete will always remember shooting that oak tree instead of the grouse. And Mark will never forget the lesson learned on staying steady on that crossing pheasant after missing the first shot. And when Maddie brings her first bird to hand, she’ll recall those heart-pounding moments when she raised an empty gun on a flushing bird and thought, “Soon.” These are all things taught to me, that I taught to them, and that someday they will teach.
But one thing that is good for us to remember is that the outdoors and dogs do not and should not have a monopoly on our memory. For in the ebb and flow of bird populations, public land availability, economic pressures either allowing or preventing new excursions, even the day-to-day and year-to-year unknowns of life, it is the full range of our human experiences that shape us. Not simply the outdoors. Is the memory of Allie’s point more important than her meeting her Labrador “sister” for the first time? Does seeing my wife make one of the most amazing shots I have ever seen on a wild South Dakota rooster pheasant tarnish seeing her walk down a South Carolina beach at low tide? Is Pete missing that grouse and Mark bagging that pheasant going to outshine them playing snare drum side-by-side in the marching band during a snowy football game? Will Maddie’s first steps into the world of hunting burn brighter than seeing her on stage at eleven years old belting out a solo in The Little Mermaid?
Our lives are a tapestry of experiences, a collection of moments at times overflowing. Relish them. Share them. And be ever watchful for the new ones to come.
Great for every season! https://secure.villagepress.com/store/items/list/group/113
Favorite Covers: "Delta on Point" by Bob Bertram. Read the complete table of contents for our November/December 2018 issue.
Features Gary Christensen: Remembering the man who trained Snakefoot By Tom Davis Creek Bottom Pheasants By E. Donnall Thomas Jr. Successful Mid-Winter Grouse Hunting …
Whatever your preference for a particular pointing dog breed, once you get your pup, it makes sense to include gentle introduction to water as part of your training program.
POINTING DOG POINTERS October 2018 By Bob and Jody Iler Some years back, we hunted grouse in Wisconsin, marking our way alongside the high bank of a fast flowing river to our right. A grouse flushed in the deep woods to our left and flew directly overhead, silhouetted for just a moment in the blue ....
A beautiful, hardworking dog. Why do you love Vizslas?
Meet the Vizsla, a breed described as affectionate, gentle and energetic. Why do you love the breed?
Let’s take a look at some of the factors that might contribute to your pup’s lack of drive.
POINTING DOG POINTERS September 2018 By Bob and Jody Iler We’ve been looking at ways to successfully develop both “soft” and “hard” pointing dog pups. But what about the pup that doesn’t show much interest in birds or hunting? The one that lacks motivation or drive? The one that doesn’...
The September/October 2018 issue mails today! Here's what you can look forward to reading.
Features A Woodcock in the Backyard By Tom Davis 2018 Upland Gamebird forecast By Dave Smith The Season of Smoke By E. Donnall Thomas Jr. The Dogs Don’t Care By Frank Jezioro Upland DMZs By Jon Osborn A Pheasant Hunt By Steve Smith Departments Favorite Covers October Brittany....
"These hunting dogs, they make their livings doing such perilous things in such perilous places and despite our many precautions, we’re never sure when disaster may strike."
That trainer’s response became a reality for my son and I in an April Nor’easter that raged through northern Wisconsin the spring of 2018.
“We need the help of grouse hunters from four identified sample areas in the state to do that," states Upland Game Bird Biologist Al Stewart.
Michigan saw historically high positive West Nile Virus (WNV) numbers in all species in 2017 with ruffed grouse being one species that saw a significant rise in WNV positives.
This "October Brittany" is ready for the season! Thanks, Lou Pasqua for the beautiful cover art. Here's what you can expect to read in the next issue of PDJ...
Features A Woodcock in the Backyard By Tom Davis 2018 Upland Gamebird forecast By Dave Smith The Season of Smoke By E. Donnall Thomas Jr. The Dogs Don’t Care By Frank Jezioro Upland DMZs By Jon Osborn A Pheasant Hunt By Steve Smith Departments Favorite Covers October Brittany....
Some other words to describe this type of pointing dog are bold, tough, independent, stubborn, or headstrong. This rambunctious pup will require training that will instill needed control without diminishing pup’s special brand of zest and enthusiasm. This is a real commitment...
by Bob and Jody Iler What do we mean by training the “hard” dog? Some other words to describe this type of pointing dog are bold, tough, independent, stubborn, or headstrong. This rambunctious pup will require training that will instill needed control without diminishing pup’s special brand of...
Following public comment, which can be made via e-mail or phone until August 3 at 11 a.m., the NRB will vote to approve (or not) the abbreviated season at their August 7-8 meeting. The governor and legislature must then sign off on the measure.
By Mark Parman At its June 27 meeting, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board (NRB) took the first step to shorten the state’s 2018 ruffed grouse season. The proposed season in Zone A (most of the state) would end November 30 instead of the traditional January 31. The Wisconsin Conservation Congres...
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