No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Posted on January 13, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com

Rick Earnhardt bought my pup, Annie, but he lives in North Carolina and we have not figured out how to get her to him yet, so I figured that I would try to get her into as many birds as I could before he picks her up. Sounded like a good idea, so on January 7 I took her, along with 5 other dogs, to northern Missouri on a quail hunt.

Shortly after getting out of the truck, we were working our way down a fence row when Lucky started acting birdy and Annie moved past him and 3 quail flushed, then 2 more and then I heard some more flush. We worked our way on down the fence row in the direction that the quail had flown. We got to an area that widened out with grass and brush that ran out into the soy bean field. At this point Luke had rejoined us and all 3 dogs were working in this area when I heard a single quail flush, then shortly after another bird flew. At least one of these were birds that Annie moved because when I checked the Garmin GPS she was a long way ahead.

We had not gone very far when the dogs got into some turkeys. Annie is only 7 months old so any bird contact is good for her. At this age pups have so much to learn and the quicker they figure out that they can’t catch birds the better off you are. We were hunting on snow that had a crust on it so I only left these 3 dogs down for about an hour.

On next day, January 8, Gailen Cooper asked if I wanted to run pups on his training grounds. He had bought Jack from me and that would let Annie and Tur Bo run with him.

We turned them loose and when we got to the first area that he usually found birds we got into the heavy cover with the pups and they worked it real well. Gailen said the last 2 or 3 times through here he had not found the birds. We let the pups work until they had covered it, then started on to the next place. We called the pups but they didn’t come. Finally we saw Jack on point. Tur Bo backed him then Annie came around and honored also. Tur Bo didn’t back very long. When he ran past Jack, Annie also ran in and the quail started to fly. Then all three pups were flushing birds. We didn’t chase the birds because it was real cold and there was still a lot of snow on the ground. Gailen doesn’t shoot birds on this training ground, its for training puppies.

We didn’t find any quail at the second place where we usually do. We walked into the cover with the puppies and got them to hunt it real well without finding anything so we started to the next covey.

All 3 pups have run here before and they showed it. We got within about 300 yards of the next covey and they made a bee line to it. Gailen ran to keep up with the pups but I don’t run. Gailen said they had flushed the birds before he got there. They were wound up and really hunting. We let them work all of the available cover then moved on to the next area.

It was nearly 3/4 mile to the next bunch of birds and the pups worked the edges real well for their age. As they went around the edge I saw Annie whirl around and go into some tall weeds and brush, then go on point. Before I got to her she moved up and went on point again. When I got closer I could see that she was in a blackberry thicket. She started running through the blackberry canes like she was chasing a rabbit although I didn’t see one. When she came out the other side she was bleeding from the blackberry vines. This is not unusual for bird dogs and anything around the head bleeds a lot. Usually it bleeds for a little while then stops.

We went on toward the next covey but Annie was bleeding more and more. Her neck and chest were covered with blood. We headed for the truck about a mile a way. When we got there the bleeding had not slowed. I put her on the tailgate of the truck to examine her. All I could find was a cut on her ear about 1/4 inch long. Gailen had some stuff that was supposed to stop bleeding so we put some of it on the cut. It worked, the ear stopped bleeding so I put her in the dog box.

When I got home I put Tur Bo in the kennel but I left Annie in the dog box. After taking care of the dogs in the kennel I got Annie out of the box to feed her and checked her over. She eat her food and was no longer bleeding but I decided to let her spend the night in the dog box rather than put her in the kennel. I checked on her a couple of times before going to bed and she was not bleeding.

The next morning when I got up I checked on her and she still wasn’t bleeding so I turned her loose and we started to the kennel. It’s only about 100 yards to the kennel but by the time we got there she was bleeding as bad as she had been the day before. Back to the truck we went. I put her on the tailgate and used the medicine on the cut and it stopped the bleeding again. This time we headed to Independence Animal Hospital.

When Dr. Wingert examined her he could only find a small cut on her ear but he wanted me to leave her and call him later in the day. They were going to have to clean her and clip the hair so they could sew her ear. When I called he said he wanted to keep her over night.

The next morning I called about 10:00 am and was told I could pick her up. When they brought her into the examining room Dr. Wingert showed me another cut on her chest that I didn’t know she had. He had put 3 or 4 stitches in it. He had a bandage on her ear. He said the cut on her ear was only about 1/4 inch long but it had cut an artery. If the cut had been just an eighth of an inch either way it would not have bled much at all.

The medicine that I put on the ear was Wound Powder by Cut Heal Animal Products, Inc. of Cedar Hill, Texas. http://cut-heal.com/ The bottle says “protective dressing for minor cuts, skin irritations and abrasions”. But the medicine stopped the bleeding from an artery in Annie’s ear. It is my opinion that this medicine saved her life. I was lucky that I kept her in the dog box instead of returning her to the kennel because when she was out of the box she would shake her head and get the ear to bleeding again.


I went on line to Cut-Heal web site and did not find Wound Powder in their listing. I called and left a message for them to call me back and but have not heard anything yet. My wife, June, says I’m too impatient but if they call I will put an update on my blog. I hope they are still making the Wound Powder because I never want to be without it.

I could have left Annie in the kennel without hunting her and Rick could have received her a week before he will get her now. I would not have had to pay a $185 vet bill. If I ever get a tattoo it may be “NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED”.

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Missouri Quail Hunt, January 7

Posted on January 8, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com

Between the weather and the holidays I had not been hunting for well over a week, so about 10 am I loaded 6 dogs and headed to a Conservation area in north west Missouri. I have enough dog boxes for 6 dogs in my truck and usually when I get ready to go I just turn my dogs out of their kennels and they go wait at the back of the truck for me to load them. The last few times Tur Bo has gone to the back of the truck then back to the kennel. Twice I have walked back to the kennel with a leash and brought him back but on this morning I put him back in the kennel and turned Annie out. She went right to the truck to be loaded. It will be interesting to see if Tur Bo learns from this.

We had two nights of below zero weather and when I got to the conservation area the snow had a crust on top that would support a dog in some places while breaking through in others. I turned Luke, Lucky and Annie loose in a harvested soy bean field and off the place on the other side of the fence was a harvested corn field.

The dogs ran south on a draw that ran from the fence into the soy bean field. Lucky and Annie saw me going on down the fence row so they started down the fence row. I saw Lucky slow down and with a real high head start working the fence row. Then Annie caught some scent, pointed then went towards the fence row. She would have held but she could see the birds on the ground. Too much for a seven month old pup. Three quail flushed, then 2 more, then I heard more getting up on the other side. Without the snow on the ground the quail might have let her get closer without flushing. Annie did what any 7 month old pup should do, she chased the birds.

Annie was really wound up as we started in the direction the quail had flown. Luke had rejoined us and he and Lucky were hunting a wide spot in the fence row that had grass and brush. Annie was in there also. I heard a single quail flush then a little later another one. I’m not sure which dog got them up but when I looked on the Garmin GPS Annie was 225 yards away. Quail don’t hold real well in snow unless they can burrow in or the snow is spotty and they can find clumps of grass, in my opinion.

We followed that fence row to the corner then turned south. I saw some turkey tracks in the snow and places where they had dug soy beans out of the snow. Then there was 2 turkeys in the air. Annie was having a good time but she was also learning that she couldn’t catch those birds.

We made a big circle and were heading back to the truck when I checked the GPS and it showed Luke on point about 90 yards away. The only problem, he was on the other side of a huge thicket that I couldn’t get through. I was going around the thicket with a small ditch on one side when a hen pheasant flushed real close to me and flew towards Luke. A few seconds later I heard another pheasant flush then Luke was moving again.

Annie

Annie

I drove to another area and turned Dolly, Blaze and Whitey out. I have never had a dog that likes snow as much as Whitey. She will be running flat out, flop on her side like she’s been shot, shoot straight up in the air, land on the other side then flop back and forth. Not just one time but several times in the first 30 minutes she’s out.

We made a large circle without seeing anything. On this Missouri quail hunt I felt that the Conservation Department had done a good job on the habitat. Granted most of the ground was covered with snow but I never saw any fescue. That is not the case on most of the conservation areas I have been on. Also I saw quail, pheasants, turkeys and a deer. That says something for the area.


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Kansas Quail Hunt, December 28

Posted on January 1, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com

Gailen Cooper and I took 7 young dogs on a Kansas quail hunt near Baldwin, Kansas. Gailen had 2 pointers, Abby and Ray, and Jack the English setter he bought from me. I brought 4 English setters, Blaze, Whitey, Tur Bo and Annie. Tur Bo, Annie and Jack were only about 6 months old.


This was private land owned by Gailen’s friend. He also loaned us a Polaris ranger to ride while we ran the pups. This was a working farm over 400 acres in soy beans and CRP with buffer strips, a nice creek with lots of cover running through it. With food, water and cover it was just about perfect for quail, deer and turkeys.

The first round we put Jack, Whitey and Tur Bo out in the cover along the creek. As they went south down the creek we followed along in the Polaris. We got to the road on the south without finding anything. We crossed the creek to the west and entered a large CRP field of switch grass. Just as we came into the field we saw a covey in the air. We got out of the Polaris so we could work the pups into the cover.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo

We saw Jack go on point at the head of a little draw that ran into the CRP. When we got closer we saw that he was honoring Whitey. We walked in front of them and nothing flushed so I tapped Whitey on the head to send her on and she moved up 3 or 4 yards and went on point again. Again I tried to flush and nothing got up. She was probably pointing where the covey that we saw in the air had flushed from.

We went in the direction that the covey had flown. We had only gone about 50 yards when a single flushed near a fence row, then another, and then another. The birds were not letting either the dogs or us get very close without flushing but they were getting the pups excited. Jack and Whitey both pointed in the tall grass but before we got to them the birds flushed. We circled through the CRP and about 8 quail flushed and flew across the road.

We continued on to the north for about a 1/2 mile along the edge of a soy bean field that had a buffer zone between the soy bean field and the edge of some woods, when I saw 2 quail fly into the buffer strip ahead of us. We got out of the Polaris to work the pups. I don’t know whether this covey was spread out feeding when we came along or whether the pups flushed them but the woods were filled with birds. As we watched the pups would point and before we could get to them the bird would flush. Jack pointed at least 3 times plus we got points from Tur Bo and Whitey as well.

We worked the pups on for another 1/4 mile then put them in the dog box on the Polaris and took them back to the truck. We got the other 4 dogs out and put Abby and Ray the 2 pointers and Blaze in the dog box but since we only had a 3 dog box I held Annie as we rode to the take off spot. That was her first ride on a 4 wheeler and her first time to be restrained like that. By the time the ride came to an end she liked to be held.

All four dogs raced around the edge of the bean field. We had to go a lot faster with these dogs than with the first bunch. I had run Jack, Annie and Tur Bo from a 4 wheeler and also from a horse but Blaze had never been run other than with me walking. When we got to the south end and went west of the creek she didn’t follow. She would get close but she would not come close to the Polaris. We finally went back across the creek and she came close but made a big circle around the Polaris. Finally I called her and when she got close I got out and walked toward her and it was like she thought, “oh, there you are.” From then on she stayed in front and guided on the Polaris.

When we got to the area where we found the first covey earlier we parked and worked the pups into the area. We started down close to the road thinking maybe all of the birds may not have flown across the road. We worked that and started up a short draw and fence row. Abby went on point and before we got to her 4 quail flushed, then 7 more. While Gailen and I were talking about this 6 or 7 more birds flushed. I don’t know if this was all one covey or if it was singles from the first covey and a new one but we had 4 pups that were really excited.

We worked them on north up the fence row and Abby and Ray both pointed but the birds were not holding very well. Before we could get to them the bird would flush. Annie came close to where a quail had flushed from and went on point. We stood and watched as she worked it out in her head. She pointed real rigid, then softened, moved up a step, went on point again. Gailen and I did not say anything, we just stood and watched. (Maybe the hardest part of dog training.) Finally, she figured out that the bird was gone so she went back to hunting.

Annie

Annie

We went on to the north and as we came into the area of the second covey from the earlier dogs I checked my Garmin GPS and it showed Blaze on point. We walked in front of her and 2 quail flushed. Finally some birds held for the dogs. We worked this area and the dogs acted birdy all around the area but we didn’t find anything else.


We loaded our dogs and headed home. That was really good for the puppies and the puppies owners. All of the pups got to see birds and to point. Although I sometimes work my pups off a 4 wheeler that was the first time for me running on wild quail. I could get used to that. Now if I can find some more places to hunt like this.


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Kansas Quail Hunt, December 26

Posted on December 28, 2013 by windypointsj1s@aol.com

Between the weather and Christmas, I hadn’t been hunting in a while so the day after Christmas I loaded 6 dogs into the truck and headed out on a Kansas quail hunt. Earlier in the year, I talked to a couple of deer hunters and they had marked a farm in my walk-in map book where they had seen some quail. Also the dogs had not been out of the kennel for a while and I was guiding on the 27th at Bird Fever in Richmond, Missouri. I was afraid that if I didn’t get them out they might just run through the field and flush all of the birds. Flushing all of the birds out of the field without the guns getting any shots is not the way to get repeat customers.

The first place I wanted to hunt was near Atchison but when I got there, there was another truck parked on the property so I drove on to Nemaha County. That was where the deer hunters had seen the quail earlier. I turned Luke, Whitey and Tur Bo out. The snow was deeper than I thought it would be. We had only about 2 inches at home but here there was about 8 inches. The temperature was about 40 degrees and the snow was melting but it was difficult to wade through.

The dogs loved the snow. Whitey ran in front of me and looked like she had been shot. She was running full speed and flopped down and flipped up into the air, rolled over and over then flopped around some more. Luke and Tur Bo rolled in the snow but were not as animated as Whitey.

This farm was pasture with a lot of trees and brush. It had a road on 2 sides with soy bean fields across the road on each side and corn fields on the other 2 sides. After the dogs got through rolling in the snow they hunted it out pretty well without finding anything and I had decided that the snow was too deep.

I went back to the place near Atchison that someone else was hunting earlier and they were gone. I turned Lucky loose first then Blaze. As I was putting the GPS on Dolly I saw that Lucky was on point with Blaze backing about 50 yards from the truck. I finished putting the collar on Dolly, grabbed my gun and started to them. Dolly came off the back of the truck, went about 10 yards and backed Lucky and Blaze.

Lucky was pointing into a draw that had a creek running through it. When I went in front of Lucky there was a brush pile that was partially rotted down next to the creek. I got to the edge of the creek and nothing got up so I went back to Lucky and tapped him on the head to release him. He went past me and went over the edge down into the dry creek bed. All 3 dogs trailed around, then Lucky and Dolly both pointed in different directions with Blaze backing Dolly. I heard 2 or 3 birds get up behind me. I whirled around and saw a bird going through the trees and threw a shot at it but missed. When I shot I heard 2 or 3 birds get up behind me again. I turned again and saw a bird flying through the trees and shot and missed again. Then a single bird came up right in front of me and flew right toward the sun. I shot but couldn’t tell whether I connected or not. I went back toward the truck and went to the other side of the creek to check for a downed bird but found nothing.

As we went up the draw there was foot prints where the other hunters had been on both sides of this draw. We followed along until we could cross the creek and started back down. White dogs don’t show up very good in the snow but shortly after we started back down the draw I saw Blaze whirl into a point. When I got closer I saw that she was backing Dolly who was pointing inside the brush along the draw. Lucky came up and honored. I got in front of Dolly and nothing came up so I went back and tapped her on the head to release her but she would not move. I kicked in front of her again, then I got down on one knee and started moving the grass around by hand. A quail got up and flew down the creek and was gone before I could get to my feet for a shot.

Dolly and Blaze went on down the draw and Lucky came back and went on point right in front of me. When I walked in front a single quail flushed and flew across the creek. At my shot it fell on the other side of the creek. None of the dogs saw it hit the ground so I had to cross the creek to get the dogs to find the dead bird. When I got to the other side Dolly came in and found the bird.


We crossed back over and hunted to the end of the draw and started back toward the truck on the other side. When we got within a hundred yards of the truck I saw Blaze on point. A single quail flushed before I got close to her. I was watching her and she had not moved.

All three dogs were real birdy and Dolly kept trailing like some birds were running around. I was standing just watching the dogs and a quail flushed about 10 yards behind me and I never got a shot. We hunted back to the truck without finding anything else.

I was tired of wading through snow so I headed home early. I knew that I also needed to save some energy for my hunt the next day at Bird Fever. The cover is real thick and it wears the dogs and the guide out in 3 to 4 hours.


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