Wild Birds Make Good Bird Dogs!

Tim and I made a trip up north along the South Platte River to air some dogs and enjoy a beautiful Colorado Sunday! Birds were a bonus...as we found 3 decent coveys of quail and 2 pheasants and saw some white-tails and a coyote. It was a great day, and a blast watching the dogs enjoying life. As I've said many times...wild birds make bird dogs!

Tim's Doc Holiday...all Elhew dog


Gep with Gretchen Backing
Gep on a Covey
Tim...Loving Colorado! Tim just moved here from MI

Blue Grouse Dreaming

Only six more months until September...the caddis flies will soon be hatching on the Arkansas River, but give me blue grouse country in September--Colorado style. Blue grouse country was made for big going pointing dogs. It's not for the faint of heart...as many of the family coveys will be found at greater than 10,000 feet above sea level where oxygen can be scarce. Most coveys can be found on public lands where the limiting factor is your stamina and dog power. Make sure to bring a lunch and enjoy God's Country. When you finally find a family group after hours of hiking, remember to limit your take instead of taking a limit. Don't let the weight in your game pouch determine your level of satisfaction.


Below are some of my favorite photographs of Colorado Blue Grouse Country! When I'm in that phase between sleep and being awake each evening, Colorado Blue Grouse Country is the place I visit.

Uncle Charlie Tales: Introducing Uncle Charlie Tales

Uncle Charlie Tales: Introducing Uncle Charlie Tales

New Website for Birddogdoc

I wanted to inform all my readers about my new website that I've developed to give bird dog owners one more site to get veterinary related information strictly tailored to hunting and sporting dogs. I appreciate everyone's friendship and support over the past couple of years! The internet does have some positive attributes...and we can get great information at the tip of our fingers! I would love any feed back or questions! The website will NOT replace my blog, but will replace Tattered Collars and Covey Dogs Blog. Please Click Here to check out my new website.

Future Bird Hunting Buddy

I wanted to share some 3-D images of my grandson that is due in May. My daughter Kyli and her wonderful husband Kevin are expecting...and I'm excited to be a grandfather! I'm not sure yet what they're going to name my future hunting buddy yet!

The Boys are Headed to Kansas 2009

Walter and I are beginning to make plans to chase birds (of course...birds meaning quail) in Kansas this coming Fall! I can't hardly wait for November to roll around...well at least September will be here in < 6 months, but who's counting??? Below are a few great memories from the field!

Excellent New Addition to the Upland Equations

I wanted to inform my readers about our newest edition to the Upland Equations Blog...Scolopax is from Scotland, and we are very excited to read his posts about the upland life over yonder. I told him that I'd love to live vicariously through his writings! His post entitled The Isle of Woodcock 1 is an excellent read, and I look forward to many more!

SPRING TREASURES

I'd much rather be chasing pointing dogs across the prairies of this great country...waiting for that intoxicating staunch point on wild birds...the echos on rim rocks crossed scree covered slopes...the explosive rush of a covey of bobwhites or the thunder of a ruffed grouse lifting out of an aspen-chocked draw on the Royal Mac Nab...these are the things that are on my mind as I doze off to sleep each night! I believe it was Steve Smith or Gene "Hilly" Hill who called this time of years"in-between-the-crazies"...I couldn't agree more! Thank Heavens that we have fly fishing and spring gobblers to chase! But...I'll still be dreaming of pulling the back trigger on my Spanish Beauty! Until Autumn...


Dr. Shawn's home near the ARK...as in Arkansas...River!

Chukar Memories and a New MacBook

This post is actually a testing post today from my new Apple Computer... MacBook. This will be the very first time I've ever used an Apple Computer! I was supposed to go shoot sporting clays this morning, but ended up finding myself at the local Best Buy getting a new home computer so that I can write blog posts...Karen and her girls keep telling me that I'm a computer hog at home!

I dread this time of year...I love to ski and bike and fly fish, but I'd much rather be in the woods or prairies chasing wild birds with my bird dogs! So I've decided to try and be more productive and write some veterinary articles for bird dog magazines and work on a new website for my new LLC...hence the new MacBook.

This picture is from a great memory I have of my two favorite girls...Ginny Girl and my girlfriend Karen...in Idaho chukar country! Ginny Girl had 30 plus points that glorious day!

In the Company Of a Gentleman...or Pavlov's Dogs

Robert Ruark once wrote that a person can learn a lot about life while watching dogs and that it never hurts to be in the presence of a true gentleman...it might just rub off! With all the woes and throes about stimulating the US economy, I decided to take Ruark's advice and headed east along Colorado's beautiful South Platte River...to see if I could engage with a true gentleman...Mr. Bobwhite!

It was a blue bird afternoon...45 degrees and a slight westerly breeze. There were thousands of red-winged black birds fluttering to and fro...at times blacking out the sun and deafening my ears. The dry grasses crunching under my feet as we sauntered along the Platte's river bottom. Hoping all the while for one last encounter with the resident birds and that gustatory stimulation, like Pavlov's dogs, of a bird dog suspended momentarily...fixed with her tale-tail sign that we're in the presence of a gentleman.

Our neighborhood birds were there alright! Gretchen had two very nice covey finds and was able to follow up on several of the singles. For a few hours, the economy woes never crossed my mind and I learned something valuable about life while watching my bird dogs!

On a side note...my brother Andy's first article was published in this months Pointing Dog Journal about his first bird dog. Andy also has a book at the publishers that should be available in the near future! Congrats Andy...I'm very proud of you!