I have 5 dogs and most times I feel good about having them but along with owning multiple dogs there are sometimes multiple problems. Actually, I have 4 working dogs. I have Luke who is 10+ years old and I think he has had a stroke. He’s retired. Luke has been a really good dog and he deserves to be treated like a hard working, retired person. And he is.
I went a few years back for the first few pictures.
Luke pointing a pigeon.
Mann watching a pigeon fly away.
Sally honoring Tur Bo.
Abby had been off her feed for a few days along with a really loose stool so I took her to Independence Animal Hospital. During this virus pandemic going to the vet is different to put it mildly. A young vet tech came out and got Abby. I told her all of the symptoms. Dr. Wingart came out with Abby and said she was already getting over her problem. He gave me some can dog food and some pills for her.
By shortly after 8:00 am I was on my way home when Vince Dye called to see if I wanted to go hunting. I had more dogs with loose stools which is unusual. I was afraid some disease was in my kennel. I thought it best to not get our dogs together until mine were doing better but after just a few minutes of sitting around I decided to make a short hunt in Kansas, by myself.
I loaded Mann, Sally and Boss and went close to Atchison Kansas. The first couple of places I drove by had been worked over with a bull dozer. I know everyone needs to make as much from their land as they can but some of these places looks like they are trying to make sure not even a bird could live there.
I drove to a small place that had a large cattail patch with water ways running into it. There was some scattered trees growing along the water way. As I was putting e-collars and GPS collars on the dogs I remembered this place where Tur Bo had made one of his first points and retrieves.
By the time I made it to the north edge the dogs were already across the field and running along a creek that was about a quarter of a mile away. I can just enjoy watching them run. Sally had gone along the road ditch to the creek and Mann was running the edge when I saw him. Boss crossed the harvested soybean field to get to the creek. Each of them hunting independent of the others.
When they hit the north edge I hit the tone on their e-collars and they swung over to the water way and came back to me. We had gone up the east side of the cattails and went back to the truck on the west. I loaded the dogs and went to another place.
Abby in Kansas.
The next place was 160 acres but there wasn’t that much was huntable. It looked better from the truck than when I got in a few yards. I thought the cattle were off of it but there was a gate open and some cows along the hedge row that was in about a quarter mile. Right off the road was a big clump of brush that I used to find a covey. The cows had grazed it down but there was still enough cover to hold birds but they weren’t there.
We went to the hedge row across a corn field that had a lot of grass growing in it. Most of the time there is no cover in any of the row crops. I was surprised by the grass. As I started across the corn field the dogs headed for the hedge row.
As I walked across the field I saw what I thought was Mann on point but it turned out to be Boss. He looks a lot like his dad at a distance. When I got closer I saw he was honoring a Hereford cow. Sally saw Boss and honored him. I called them off but Boss went back three or four times. With the cows in the hedge row we didn’t get to hunt it.
We went to the north west corner where I knew of a little draw that has held quail in the past. The cows had cleaned it out pretty well. No birds today. We hunted back to the truck where I loaded the dogs and headed to another place.
Sally pointing a quail.
The next place was new to me. I’m not sure how many acres because it was shaped different and there may have been more than one owner of this place. It had pasture running along side of harvested soybean fields and one small corn field.
I walked in the soybean field along the fence row. Mann had run down the fence row but came back before I had gone very far. I had him go into the pasture. The fence between the pasture was a real taut five strand barb wire. Mann only went about 25 yards and went on point. Sally and Boss saw him and honored.
I can cross really good barb wire fences but not quickly. Mann was standing in short grass looking like a million dollars and I had left my camera home. When I finally got across the fence I walked about 25 yards ahead of him and nothing flushed. I released them and they all three started trailing. They didn’t want to leave the area. There was some heavy woods up the hill away from the soybean field and they trailed toward it. After a few minutes the dogs went back to hunting.
Boss and Abby backing Sally.
As we went on to the north there was a couple of dry ponds and some other rough land in between two soybean fields. Whoever owns this place is strong. Their gates are even really taut and too tight for me to open. I laid down to crawl under the gate and I had 3 dogs trying to lick my face. They had been way out until I laid down.
We went through this then back down the fence row toward the truck. There was more soybeans lying in this field than I’ve ever seen before. I don’t know whether turkeys, quail or pheasants had run out on Mann’s point but whatever it was could fill up quickly on this field.
I had driven into an area I had never hunted before and by the time I saw something I wanted to hunt it was close to my self imposed quitting time of 4:00 pm. I checked some more places out as I headed home.
The dogs still had their e-collars and GPS collars on when I got home. As usual, I parked in front of my garage, took the collars off the dogs and turned them loose to go to the kennel. When I got to the kennel Boss wasn’t with us. I called him as I put the others up, cleaned pens and put out dog food. Nothing. I’ve turned him loose in the front yard many times and he always goes to the kennel. Not
tonight.
Sally on point.
I called June and had her look out front to see if he was just hanging around the front yard. Nothing. I finished cleaning pens and feeding dogs. At about 28 degrees I got the 4-wheeler out and drove around my 5 acres and my neighbor’s. Usually, when he hears the 4-wheeler he will get in front of it. Nothing.
I got the truck out and drove the streets close to me then further out. I drove the truck to the back on my side. Nothing.
I left the gate on the kennel and on his run open. I drove the roads some more before bedtime. I kept thinking that some coyotes were having him for dinner. I checked on his kennel run again. Nothing.
Abby pointing a pigeon.
I went out before daylight this morning to see if he was there. Nothing. It was 20 degrees this morning and I decided I would ride the 4-wheeler when it got daylight. About 7:15 I heard the dogs barking and looked out. Boss was running around near the kennel.
I went out and when he saw me he came running. He was as happy to see me as I was him. We went to the kennel and when I put him in his run he wasn’t hungry or thirsty. He hadn’t finished his food the day before, then hunted all day and was out all night. He should have been really hungry. Someone had him and fed him is the only thing I can think of. We are responsible for these dogs. When we don’t know where they are or what they are doing we can’t take care of them. But I’m just glad to have my dog back.