Post by paul105 on Sept 30, 2016 9:40:23 GMT -5
Tank Hoover's article on Ruger got me to reminiscing about Willow our yellow lab. Thought I'd share a few of our experiences. She's 14 now and has some significant mobility issues but still happy and laying at my feet as I post this.
It was 14 years ago this upcoming March that we rescued the then 10 month old female yellow lab named Willow. The wife and I had agonized over another dog after putting down our two previous labs several years before. She was an absolute nightmare for the first month we were together and the family thought we had made a terrible mistake. Long story short, she turned out to be the best dog we ever had and my constant companion for the last 13+ years.
One of the first things I did was to see if she was gun shy. Took her to the range. She was in her crate in the back of my crew cab. Opened the door and with her still in the crate, fired a round from my 2” M317 .22 LR – absolutely no reaction. Next up was the 2” M340 PD .357 magnum, again no reaction. We’ve had thunder right over the house that sounded like heavy artillery in the front yard and it’s never bothered her. Our other dog, Sadie was hiding in the basement bathtub.
About six months of walking, twice a day, with a retractable leash and we knew something else had to be done. You couldn’t unleash her as she would only come back some of the time. We finally decided to give an electronic collar a try. Best thing that ever happened. She had some training when we got her, but would only do what she wanted to do. Using the collar and treats to reinforce commands, results were almost immediate. We were free to walk her off leash and still be in complete control. She started to associate the collar with outdoor fun time. When I’d grab the collar, she’d come over, sit in front of me and start wagging her tail. Finally got to the point the collar wasn’t even necessary.
Some background.
I belong to an outdoor archery range. It is a walking course that has 28 targets on both the front and back side. It meanders thru aspens and conifers, along the side of and over hillsides, thru small sagebrush parks and a couple of minor drainages. It takes a little over an hour to walk one side. Great place to walk the dogs and it’s usually accessible from late March thru mid Oct. Rabbits, squirrels, gophers and an occasional coyote make up the smaller animals. Deer, elk and moose not uncommon. I’ve never seen one, but wolves, bears, and mountain lions have been seen in the general area. One night, several years ago, a local rancher (about 10 miles from the archery range) had to kill a grizzly marauding one of his stock pens that charged him when he went to investigate. Can’t believe how lucky I am to have such a wonderful place only 15 minutes from my front door. Have spent untold hours for at least the last decade waking the range and adjacent woods and trails.
With the above as background, following are a few interesting experiences that Willow and I have shared over the years on our walks.
Rottweiler at archery range.
Before my daughter left Sadie (a big wus -- 85 lb White Shepard/Lab mix) with us, Willow and I were finishing up our morning walk. I was about to shoot the last target when Willow exploded out of the timber on my left, about 30 yds in front of me. Right on here heals was a big black 4 legged critter. My mind screamed “BEAR”. I dropped the bow and went for my other constant companion, a S&W 329 .44 Mag. It only took an instant for me to realize it was a big Rottweiler that belonged to another archer – the two dogs were just playing. Had the ticker pumping pretty good there for a moment.
Killing gopher at archery range that bit Sadie yelp.
Another time, we were midway thru our morning walk when Willow managed to catch a gopher. Sadie went over to investigate and tried to grab it, and instantly it bit her. With a loud yelp (big wus), Sadie let go of the somewhat stunned rodent. Willow pounced on it, picked it up in her mouth and shook the living crap out of the little ground squirrel, killing it. First time I had ever seen her kill anything that she caught -- every other time she caught something alive, she’d just play with it. I guess she was just protecting her younger cousin.
Bugling Elk at Archery Range
One morning, I was testing a replacement mouthpiece on my combination elk bugle/cow call as I walked to the first target. About half way to the target, I got a bugle response, so I gave several cow calls and a single, weak, monotone bugle. Got an immediate response from the bull. The bull was still out of sight but I could tell he was circling trying to wind us. Played this game for maybe 15 minutes while moving slowly towards the cover of the first target butt. There was no wind, and plenty of human scent around, and although cautious, the bull never spooked. I was hiding behind the target butt and finally spotted the bull (a real nice 5 point), about 80 yds out and moving toward our position. Both dogs were sitting right next to my position. Willow spotted the bull the same time I did. She will bark at anything that is out of place. This time, she just gave a couple of muffled woofs and waited to see what would happen next. The bull came within about 50 yds before figuring out something was wrong and disappeared into the ravine on our left. The range is a no hunting area and I had no intention of shooting the bull but it sure was an adrenalin dump for those 15 or 20 minutes.
Cotton tail catch on neighborhood walk.
When we first got her, my wife and I would walk Willow around the neighborhood several times a day to “wear some of the rough off”. Lots of cottontail in the hood. One day coming back and close to home, a little rabbit darted out of some shrubs heading across the street to the next available cover. Willow took off at an angle to intercept the wascally wabbit. She actually managed to catch it in her mouth, for a fraction of a second. It squealed, screeched and kicked so hard that it must have surprised Willow and it was immediately dropped.
Duck at warm springs ponds.
Took both dogs duck hunting at some settling ponds that had been part of an EPA mine site reclamation. Ducks weren’t flying that day, so we just walked around the edge of the ponds enjoying the day and being outside. Willow disappeared down a bank and into some bull rushes. Several minutes later, she appeared up over the berm with a freshly killed duck in her mouth. Some hunter must have shot the duck just before we arrived and was unable to retrieve it.
Break up fight in back yard.
Was babysitting the neighbors golden retriever in the backyard when Sadie and Penny (neighbor’s dog) started scrapping over a bone. Willow ran in between them growled at both and stood her ground until things settled down.
Wood rat while elk hunting.
My son and I took Willow on an evening elk hunt. It was rifle season and the son was out working the timber while Willow and I found a likely vantage point and settled in against some timber. It started to get dark and was getting cold fast, so Willow and I started working our way back to the truck. She was 20 yds in front when all of a sudden she jumped into the air and pounced with her front feet on something in the snow (just like a coyote). She came up with a large rodent (wood rat or some such) and started flipping it into the air and chasing it down when it landed and tried to run. I watched for several minutes until it disappeared under a log.
Pheasant in a sack.
Wanted to see if Willow had any natural hunting instincts, so my son and I took her to nearby bird hunting preserve. Only thing she had ever retrieved were gophers and she was a natural. Made arrangements for the owner to put out a couple of pheasants and several chuckers. Asked to let Willow smell the birds. The chuckers were pretty easy. The pheasants were in a gunny sack and when they put it on the ground, Willow went to smell the bag and the pheasants went nuts. The gunny sack was bouncing all over the place – we had to get between Willow and the sack or the pheasant hunt would have ended right there.
They had a flat area covered with juniper and sagebrush leading up to a canyon that was maybe ¾ of a mile long. The bird boy went out a half hour before us and planted the pheasants in the flat area and the chuckers at various locations in the canyon.
The first pheasant was a runner. Willow was gave chase and flushed it. My son wounded the bird and it hit the ground running. Willow was on it immediately and if a dog could look proud, that was her when she brought the bird to us.
When we went to check out, they were amazed that we came back with all birds but one, a chucker that we could never get a shot at. Willow crawled under a juniper to flush one chucker and bum rushed a runner to flush another with a couple of points in between. All in all, she did great and we had memorable outing.
Elk calf at Manney lake
The wife and I were walking with Willow at a small, nearby lake. There are three little feeder streams filling the lake. One side is along the access road with three separate public picnick facilities. The whole area is surrounded by national forrest interspersed with some private ranches. Great place to retrieve sticks thrown in the lake and chase gophers. Willow was sniffing around some sage brush when she almost stepped an elk calf. The calf wasn’t much bigger than Willow and I guess she thought it was a playmate. I called her off before she got to close.
Pepi Le Pew
Willow needed to go out one night. Herd her bark to come in. Still groggy with sleep I opened the sliding glass door off the back deck. Willow came in. Thought I smelled something weird, but still groggy with sleep, so it didn’t’ register. Went to the kitchen for a drink of water and headed back to the bedroom the weird smell getting stronger and stroner. Willow had taken up her position on the foot of the bed when it hit me – she had an encounter with Pepi La Pew while outside. She must not have taken a direct hit but it still took several weeks to purge the smell from both the dog and the house.
Sampson
A local fireman/paramedic used to walk Sampson, his Great Pyrinese at the Archery Range. Willow and Sampson had been playing together since Sampson was a pup. Watching them together was hilarious. Speed and agility vs bulk and clumsiness, kind of like Christian Maccafery vs a sumo wrestler. Willow would run up to Sampson, nip him on his jowls, circle around and do it on the opposite side. Then she go into high speed, rear end down tail between her legs and run figure eights around the huge dog. Next came the typical k nine shake and bake with her front end down, rear end up taunt – you could almost hear her saying “come on big guy let’s play”.
Out of state hunters
Used to take the dogs, for mid week, fall bow hunt in the mountains just south of town. We worked our way up a small drainage to one of our favorite spots. Wasn’t trying to be subtle, just seeing if I could locate any Elk activity. I did a series of cow calls and a weak, single note bugle. Moved another 20 yds and immediately hit the big bull bugle (a low growl, a strong, multi note bugle, followed by a chuckle. I knew there was a dirt road on our left, but didn’t pay it much attention, being the middle of the week and all. A couple of minutes later, I heard a door shut and a truck start up. It turned out that a couple of out of state hunters had been camped along the dirt road. They didn’t waste any time trying to locate where those noisy elk were. The truck guy parked on the main road below us and was working his way towards our position. The other guy was making his way directly toward us from their camp site. I could hear them coming a long way away thru the timber. Made the dogs sit next to me and waited until the other hunters were in hailing distance to make my presence known. Had their heats pumping pretty good there for a while.
Paul
It was 14 years ago this upcoming March that we rescued the then 10 month old female yellow lab named Willow. The wife and I had agonized over another dog after putting down our two previous labs several years before. She was an absolute nightmare for the first month we were together and the family thought we had made a terrible mistake. Long story short, she turned out to be the best dog we ever had and my constant companion for the last 13+ years.
One of the first things I did was to see if she was gun shy. Took her to the range. She was in her crate in the back of my crew cab. Opened the door and with her still in the crate, fired a round from my 2” M317 .22 LR – absolutely no reaction. Next up was the 2” M340 PD .357 magnum, again no reaction. We’ve had thunder right over the house that sounded like heavy artillery in the front yard and it’s never bothered her. Our other dog, Sadie was hiding in the basement bathtub.
About six months of walking, twice a day, with a retractable leash and we knew something else had to be done. You couldn’t unleash her as she would only come back some of the time. We finally decided to give an electronic collar a try. Best thing that ever happened. She had some training when we got her, but would only do what she wanted to do. Using the collar and treats to reinforce commands, results were almost immediate. We were free to walk her off leash and still be in complete control. She started to associate the collar with outdoor fun time. When I’d grab the collar, she’d come over, sit in front of me and start wagging her tail. Finally got to the point the collar wasn’t even necessary.
Some background.
I belong to an outdoor archery range. It is a walking course that has 28 targets on both the front and back side. It meanders thru aspens and conifers, along the side of and over hillsides, thru small sagebrush parks and a couple of minor drainages. It takes a little over an hour to walk one side. Great place to walk the dogs and it’s usually accessible from late March thru mid Oct. Rabbits, squirrels, gophers and an occasional coyote make up the smaller animals. Deer, elk and moose not uncommon. I’ve never seen one, but wolves, bears, and mountain lions have been seen in the general area. One night, several years ago, a local rancher (about 10 miles from the archery range) had to kill a grizzly marauding one of his stock pens that charged him when he went to investigate. Can’t believe how lucky I am to have such a wonderful place only 15 minutes from my front door. Have spent untold hours for at least the last decade waking the range and adjacent woods and trails.
With the above as background, following are a few interesting experiences that Willow and I have shared over the years on our walks.
Rottweiler at archery range.
Before my daughter left Sadie (a big wus -- 85 lb White Shepard/Lab mix) with us, Willow and I were finishing up our morning walk. I was about to shoot the last target when Willow exploded out of the timber on my left, about 30 yds in front of me. Right on here heals was a big black 4 legged critter. My mind screamed “BEAR”. I dropped the bow and went for my other constant companion, a S&W 329 .44 Mag. It only took an instant for me to realize it was a big Rottweiler that belonged to another archer – the two dogs were just playing. Had the ticker pumping pretty good there for a moment.
Killing gopher at archery range that bit Sadie yelp.
Another time, we were midway thru our morning walk when Willow managed to catch a gopher. Sadie went over to investigate and tried to grab it, and instantly it bit her. With a loud yelp (big wus), Sadie let go of the somewhat stunned rodent. Willow pounced on it, picked it up in her mouth and shook the living crap out of the little ground squirrel, killing it. First time I had ever seen her kill anything that she caught -- every other time she caught something alive, she’d just play with it. I guess she was just protecting her younger cousin.
Bugling Elk at Archery Range
One morning, I was testing a replacement mouthpiece on my combination elk bugle/cow call as I walked to the first target. About half way to the target, I got a bugle response, so I gave several cow calls and a single, weak, monotone bugle. Got an immediate response from the bull. The bull was still out of sight but I could tell he was circling trying to wind us. Played this game for maybe 15 minutes while moving slowly towards the cover of the first target butt. There was no wind, and plenty of human scent around, and although cautious, the bull never spooked. I was hiding behind the target butt and finally spotted the bull (a real nice 5 point), about 80 yds out and moving toward our position. Both dogs were sitting right next to my position. Willow spotted the bull the same time I did. She will bark at anything that is out of place. This time, she just gave a couple of muffled woofs and waited to see what would happen next. The bull came within about 50 yds before figuring out something was wrong and disappeared into the ravine on our left. The range is a no hunting area and I had no intention of shooting the bull but it sure was an adrenalin dump for those 15 or 20 minutes.
Cotton tail catch on neighborhood walk.
When we first got her, my wife and I would walk Willow around the neighborhood several times a day to “wear some of the rough off”. Lots of cottontail in the hood. One day coming back and close to home, a little rabbit darted out of some shrubs heading across the street to the next available cover. Willow took off at an angle to intercept the wascally wabbit. She actually managed to catch it in her mouth, for a fraction of a second. It squealed, screeched and kicked so hard that it must have surprised Willow and it was immediately dropped.
Duck at warm springs ponds.
Took both dogs duck hunting at some settling ponds that had been part of an EPA mine site reclamation. Ducks weren’t flying that day, so we just walked around the edge of the ponds enjoying the day and being outside. Willow disappeared down a bank and into some bull rushes. Several minutes later, she appeared up over the berm with a freshly killed duck in her mouth. Some hunter must have shot the duck just before we arrived and was unable to retrieve it.
Break up fight in back yard.
Was babysitting the neighbors golden retriever in the backyard when Sadie and Penny (neighbor’s dog) started scrapping over a bone. Willow ran in between them growled at both and stood her ground until things settled down.
Wood rat while elk hunting.
My son and I took Willow on an evening elk hunt. It was rifle season and the son was out working the timber while Willow and I found a likely vantage point and settled in against some timber. It started to get dark and was getting cold fast, so Willow and I started working our way back to the truck. She was 20 yds in front when all of a sudden she jumped into the air and pounced with her front feet on something in the snow (just like a coyote). She came up with a large rodent (wood rat or some such) and started flipping it into the air and chasing it down when it landed and tried to run. I watched for several minutes until it disappeared under a log.
Pheasant in a sack.
Wanted to see if Willow had any natural hunting instincts, so my son and I took her to nearby bird hunting preserve. Only thing she had ever retrieved were gophers and she was a natural. Made arrangements for the owner to put out a couple of pheasants and several chuckers. Asked to let Willow smell the birds. The chuckers were pretty easy. The pheasants were in a gunny sack and when they put it on the ground, Willow went to smell the bag and the pheasants went nuts. The gunny sack was bouncing all over the place – we had to get between Willow and the sack or the pheasant hunt would have ended right there.
They had a flat area covered with juniper and sagebrush leading up to a canyon that was maybe ¾ of a mile long. The bird boy went out a half hour before us and planted the pheasants in the flat area and the chuckers at various locations in the canyon.
The first pheasant was a runner. Willow was gave chase and flushed it. My son wounded the bird and it hit the ground running. Willow was on it immediately and if a dog could look proud, that was her when she brought the bird to us.
When we went to check out, they were amazed that we came back with all birds but one, a chucker that we could never get a shot at. Willow crawled under a juniper to flush one chucker and bum rushed a runner to flush another with a couple of points in between. All in all, she did great and we had memorable outing.
Elk calf at Manney lake
The wife and I were walking with Willow at a small, nearby lake. There are three little feeder streams filling the lake. One side is along the access road with three separate public picnick facilities. The whole area is surrounded by national forrest interspersed with some private ranches. Great place to retrieve sticks thrown in the lake and chase gophers. Willow was sniffing around some sage brush when she almost stepped an elk calf. The calf wasn’t much bigger than Willow and I guess she thought it was a playmate. I called her off before she got to close.
Pepi Le Pew
Willow needed to go out one night. Herd her bark to come in. Still groggy with sleep I opened the sliding glass door off the back deck. Willow came in. Thought I smelled something weird, but still groggy with sleep, so it didn’t’ register. Went to the kitchen for a drink of water and headed back to the bedroom the weird smell getting stronger and stroner. Willow had taken up her position on the foot of the bed when it hit me – she had an encounter with Pepi La Pew while outside. She must not have taken a direct hit but it still took several weeks to purge the smell from both the dog and the house.
Sampson
A local fireman/paramedic used to walk Sampson, his Great Pyrinese at the Archery Range. Willow and Sampson had been playing together since Sampson was a pup. Watching them together was hilarious. Speed and agility vs bulk and clumsiness, kind of like Christian Maccafery vs a sumo wrestler. Willow would run up to Sampson, nip him on his jowls, circle around and do it on the opposite side. Then she go into high speed, rear end down tail between her legs and run figure eights around the huge dog. Next came the typical k nine shake and bake with her front end down, rear end up taunt – you could almost hear her saying “come on big guy let’s play”.
Out of state hunters
Used to take the dogs, for mid week, fall bow hunt in the mountains just south of town. We worked our way up a small drainage to one of our favorite spots. Wasn’t trying to be subtle, just seeing if I could locate any Elk activity. I did a series of cow calls and a weak, single note bugle. Moved another 20 yds and immediately hit the big bull bugle (a low growl, a strong, multi note bugle, followed by a chuckle. I knew there was a dirt road on our left, but didn’t pay it much attention, being the middle of the week and all. A couple of minutes later, I heard a door shut and a truck start up. It turned out that a couple of out of state hunters had been camped along the dirt road. They didn’t waste any time trying to locate where those noisy elk were. The truck guy parked on the main road below us and was working his way towards our position. The other guy was making his way directly toward us from their camp site. I could hear them coming a long way away thru the timber. Made the dogs sit next to me and waited until the other hunters were in hailing distance to make my presence known. Had their heats pumping pretty good there for a while.
Paul
