Posts
I know sometimes money can get to be an issue in the care of our dogs and certainly dog food and everything else seems to be going up in cost. So for many families the budget can get tight at times.
Several puppies I sold were lost in the last year because the buyers couldn't get into the vet for vacccinations and worming. Now I don't know if they couldn't get in because of time restraints or money, but there is an alternative that is a lot cheaper and much more convienent.
If you can't afford to go to the vet, consider doing it at home.
Most vets recommend doing wormings every two weeks, and I say once a week with Panacur(fenbendazole). And... if you see your puppy passing worms do a power dose: meaning worm them three days in a row. Warning: do not power dose(overdose) with anything but Panacur, because anything but Panacur can cause your dog harm.
Most vets recommend doing a 7 way vaccination at 6 weeks, and I say my pups get the first 7 way at 3 1/2-4 weeks.
I found a great tutorial for administering vaccinations at home.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?d=155&articleid=84
Doctors Foster and Smith also sells vaccines through the internet and offers on the phone help to walk you through the procedure if you are a novice at vaccine administration.
Below is a portion of the info from the link above.
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It's Easy
While you may feel a little nervous the first time, it gets easier every time you do it. Most vaccines are given under the loose skin over the shoulder.
It's Guaranteed Fresh
Because we sell so many, we receive fresh vaccines every week. All of our vaccines are shipped with ice packs in an insulated carton and in strict accordance with federal regulations. We also recommend that you request Next Day or Second Day Air service when you order vaccines.
It's Less Stressful On Your Pet
The comfortable surroundings of your home are the most natural and relaxed place to vaccinate your pet. And it's convenient to you.
We're Here To Help You
If you ever have any questions about vaccinating your pet and want us to walk you through the procedure, please feel free to call one of our representatives at 1-800-381-7179. Or if you would like more information about vaccines, please visit our Pet Care Center
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HERE IS THE LINK TO THE SAME SITE FOR THE PAGE ON WORMS AND PARASITES:
http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=2+2107
AND FEEL FREE TO CALL ME @ 337 298 2630
I am Marcus de la Houssaye
www.catahoula.ws
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
What Your Dog Can Teach You About Relationships
As I speak to the old timers about hog dogs, we always seem to discuss the importance of relationship. As I asked them about dogs through the years they told me things I did not believe at first, and later, I observed the dogs doing exactly what they said they would do and then it made sense, in light of my understanding the pack instinct in the dogs. This is especially true about Blair bred catahoulas because they have more wolf in them than most.
This is an article predominately about RELATIONSHIPS and how tracking collars can help you build a stronger relationship with your dog. If your dog knows it can count on you to be there when he bays, he might hunt harder and further out. Not only does a tracking system allow you to know where your dog is at all times, and keep up with your dog when they are on the move, you can find them when they get cut and are bleeding and laydown, and you can intercept them before they get too close to a highway, or property line, and in our case down here in the swamp and marsh, if there is a gator hole that the hog may go to and stop so that gator can get the dog off of him.
Ohhh...you don't think a hog is that smart. OK, guess again.
I will make a number of references to punks, numb nuts, etc in this article and please don't take it personally if you at not a novice hog hunter. There are many people just getting into hog hunting who think they know it all, just like I did when I first got into this. In fact it has only been a couple of years that I figuired out the dogs are smarter than me. As yet, I am still struggling with the concept that a hog is smarter than me too. If the shoe fits wear it. But... I am a stand up comedian and to quote Steve Walker: "A natural smart ass."
Here is a point in my case: Have you ever seen a dog or a hog smoke a cigarette?
Well there, who do you think is smarter, us or them?
Not ready to be published yet, but I am also writing an article about a hunt last weekend where Whiteboy, a son of Bob and Angel, fired off on a hog and got lost. I found him about 5 miles away from where he jumped the hog. A lady caught him in her yard, got my cell phone number off the collar and called me. I usually hunt with people who have tracking systems and use one of their collars. I need to get my own tracking system, because I will be on my own too many times in the near future, and these dogs are getting out. Without a tracking system, I may lose my dog. With a tracking system, it is hard to lose a dog and you don't waste time looking for them, you know where they are or better yet, where they are headed so you can get on the move to be at the bay as soon as possible.
It even tells you which road to take to get to them quickest if they are miles away.
In fact, I got a call from Mr. Mike Duggan yesterday about Buster, a son of Jessie and Sweet Peas, at about 18 months old who went and found him a big one and put on a show! Mike has been calling back to me with progress reports periodically, and giving me data like this young dog finding and catching at about 8-9 months and then as Mike broadened the dogs horizons and took him into big piney woods up around Leesville, according to the tracking unit, the puppy was getting out about 1500-2000 yards. That is a mile+ if you don't know your mathematical conversions.
If your dog is getting out and you don't have a GPS tracking system, and know how to use it, you may wonder why the dog is checking back with you. If he has made a round out over a mile or so and there is nothing there, it is time for you and the dog to move up. The dog, especially if it is young dog, may not range out any further, unless you move up too. A GPS tracking system gives you knowledge of where your dog is at all times, and where he has been.
Now why is this young dog of Mike, getting out so far by himself, with no other dog to lead him out and teach him to hunt? Because he was bred to hunt and he knows he can trust Mike to back him up, no matter how far he goes.
I will be talking a lot about the pack instinct in future articles, and a lot of times that is what I am referring to, if I say, "Let's get back to nature".
Here are puppies from four different litters laying down at my feet and being submissive to me as leader of the pack. Does this reward them for being at my feet, and then they won't hunt when we get to the woods? No, just the opposite.
MANY PEOPLE WANT TO BUY A HUNTING DOG AND ARE DISAPPOINTED,
BECAUSE IT WON'T HUNT FOR THEM, OR GET OUT FAR ENOUGH,
AND THEY THINK IT IS THE DOGS FAULT!
They spend a lot of money on a finished dog and expect it to just go and hunt for them the day they buy it and they think if it don't go out and hunt as soon as it hits the ground it ain't no good.
They want to invest money, but not time, and there are other things you need to put into a dog like love, trust and devotion. OK, and you say if it is a good dog it don't matter. Talk trash all you want punk, but dogs are constantly watching and analysing your every move. If they can't count on you to be there when they finally stop these running hogs why should they run their ass off, and
hunt for you? Hunting hogs requires teamwork between you and your dog, and if you think you are such a great hunter, just go try to kill hogs without your dog and lets see how it goes.
You can't buy love, trust and devotion, you have to earn it! Earning your dogs love trust and devotion takes time. And too many of us are like a little baby sucking on his mommy's titty, we want what we want when we want it and if we don't get it now, we get mad! Getting mad at your dog and abusing him will not cause him to trust you. It will cause him to distrust you. And he won't hunt for you if all the elements of the wolf pack are not in place. To understand how a dog thinks, you have to get back to nature, and understand how a wolf pack functions.
A couple of years ago, I watched a young man keep kicking a dog he brought on a hunt because it kept hanging around his feet. He wanted it to go out and hunt for him. The more he kicked it, the more broken hearted the dog became. This was a grandchild of Two Diamonds Cutter. And all of Cutters children, grandchildren, and great grand children hunt, if they are raised properly and allowed to be a puppy, just like descendants of my dog Patch. These are foundation bred dogs and if the right name is on them papers it does mean something.
I could tell by the dogs body language what was on it's mind. If that dog could have shed tears, it would have cried right there, because he loved the boy. Dogs don't talk English, and about 95% of what they communicate to us is being "spoken" in their body language, and can be understood by us, if we want to understand.
I interview a lot of women about their relationship problems with men and almost always ask them why they don't tell men what they tell me. They almost always tell me the same thing: Because men aren't listening.
Let me translate: Men aren't listening, because men do not want to relate and understand what women are thinking. They just want to use them. And this is kind of like they do with their dogs. They want the dog to put out, but don't care about the relationship. And like women, the better the dog, the less likely it is that she will "put out" and your selfish goals be achieved and in the end you will be satisfied. Now is that her fault?
Can I get an Amen?
Men aren't listening because half the equation of communication requires listening. It is a two way street. For two people to communicate, at bare minimum, someone speaks and someone listens. And women are constantly telling me that men are not listening, so why bother telling them? OK, seems logical. Now I am not here to bash men, because I know too many women who are all mouth and no ears! But for a relationship to grow and function there are some elements that are critical. And communication is at the heart of any relationship, or it does not last, meaning it does not work.
This is really interesting to me how relating to dogs and women are so similar.
Thank God, no one has invented a program to stab someone through the Internet as yet, because I am sure as soon as I publish this post the feminists will want to kill me! Ever hear of the Feminazi Gestapo?
So, what does this have to do with hog hunting? Catahoulas are part wolf, and the survival of a wolf pack depends upon relationship and teamwork. Communication builds trust, and you must read your dogs body language to communicate with them. If you don't understand what your dog is thinking, based upon what it is communicating by body language, you don't have a relationship that leads the dog to trust you. And if you are doing things like kicking your dog because it won't hunt for you, I don't blame the dog for not hunting for you, I blame you!
With a tracking system, you don't have to wonder if your dog is hunting if you can't see them visually, you can "see" what they are doing on the tracking system.
I observe many men wanting to have a dog filled with confidence, and be big and proud and tough. It appears most people expect too much from a puppy too soon. And when the dog rolls over and submits to them, they get mad. A dog is a puppy for about two years. And during those early years they are trying to figuire out who they are based upon their place in the hierarchy of the pack. If a dog rolls over and is shy, they are communicating submission to you as the leader of the pack, and bowing down to your dominance, power and authority, and they should be rewarded and encouraged by affection and praised for being submissive. They won't always be that way, especially when someone or something challenges you, like a stranger or a wild boar.
Here is a photo I took of Tanya being submissive to me.
Believe me she was well rewarded for being submissive. And... because I don't kiss and tell, that is as much as I can tell you.
Sometime, I will have to tell you the whole story about Jerry and his puppy, Pork Chop in the bay pen. Neither Jerry nor his dog had ever been in a bay pen with a wild boar, but this dog saved his life that day. And it was the pack instinct that kicking in, and not experience which caused the dog to turn the hog when it charged. And the pack instinct kicked in because Jerry's pet, had a relationship with Jerry, and in spite of no experience with a wild boar, he protected Jerry.
Below this dotted line is an article I found on the Internet in the MSN.com site and it has five lessons. Each of these lessons are so deep as far as I am concerned, I could write a book about each one.
Now this article is written by a lady about learning how to relate to another human being by learning from your dog, and what is really interesting is that I don't see a whole lot of difference.
As I was writing this article, I was trying to help guys relate to their dog and create a relationship whereby the dog would serve them. And I did this by comparing mens relationship difficulties with women as being similar to the difficulties men have with dogs. I am not too proud to admit I am learning about my relationship difficulties by learning from a woman, who I listen to.
Here is an article writen by a woman trying to help people learn from dogs way of relating to us and other dogs.
I am aware that personal growth for most men ended at potty training, but maybe there are some real men out there who like me are still learning and trying to grow. Have you ever noticed, just when we know all the answers they change all the questions? You better be open minded, and quick to learn if you want a Blair bred dog to hunt wild hogs for you, because whether you know it or not they are smarter than you are. I am talking about the dogs and the hogs, numb nuts!
If we are so smart, how come in spite of these smart dogs helping us, the wild boar population continues to grow and is reaching epidemic proportions?
Hmmmm.....
Think about it, and now go pet your dogs head
and praise him for giving you bragging rights.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is Chelsea Kaplan's article.
Love Lessons from Dogs?
Believe it or not, your pet knows the secrets to achieving a successful relationship. Here are five love lessons that man's best friend can share with you.
Though dogs have been labeled man's best friend, when it comes down to it, Fido is probably more the type of buddy you'd seek out for a game of catch, not love advice. According to Harrison Forbes, professional dog trainer and author of "Heart of a Dog: What Challenging Dogs Have Taught Me About Love, Trust and Second Chances", you might want to reconsider the notion that your canine knows nothing about matters of the heart. "Dogs do the types of things we should do more often, and the things they don't get involved in — well, we should really skip them, too, if we're looking for love," he asserts. Puzzled by the notion that you may actually be able to get some romance pointers from your Pointer? Read on for five love lessons you can learn from dogs.
1. The reassurance of forgiveness
In order to have a successful partnership, letting bygones be bygones is crucial. An inability to get over issues and move ahead is a key roadblock to happiness. Dogs, Forbes notes, are always in the moment and therefore don't hold grudges or hang onto resentment. "Dogs wipe the slate clean many times a day," he explains. "If you are grumpy and yell at your dog, but then wait a minute and act like you never did, he will forgive you — many times over. If humans could let the little things go as easily as dogs do, their relationships would be better for it."
2. The security of unconditional love
Forbes says that as a rule, when a dog loves his owner, that bond is lasting and real. "It's interesting to note that celebrities are over-the-top pet lovers," he says. "This is because their dogs really love them for who they are, not their A-list status; a dog will always treat you the same. Dogs offer truly substantive relationships in a way most people don't," he notes. When it comes to romantic relationships, humans should strive to emulate a dog's focus on what a person really offers in terms of love, kindness and warmth, he advises.
3. The comfort of consistency
In a romantic relationship, consistency can be quite comforting. What's not to love about a partner who is never moody or capricious? "We as humans understand there are different types of behavior, yet we crave consistency," Forbes says. "With dogs, regardless of your animal's personality, you pretty much get the same behavior unless he's ill. A lot of people take comfort in that aspect of pet ownership, so you can only imagine how much similar behavior could add to a romantic relationship."
4. The need to be playful
Forbes notes that most dogs want to have a good time, keeping things light and not so serious all of the time. "The easiest way to burn out a working dog is to work him all the time — that pretty much goes for relationships as well," he says. In police-dog training, Forbes explains, training is balanced with play and fun. "The harder you go at it in a training phase, the more you have to counterbalance it," he says. "It's the same with a relationship — you have to relieve the pressure through play and good times."
5. The importance of effective communication
While communicating with your partner is important in a relationship, it's not merely the act of communicating that will ensure your relationship's success, but finding the way to do so that best matches your partner's needs. This is a skill that you can easily learn from working with dogs, Forbes says. "The different ways in which I communicate with my three dogs are suited to what works best for them … and for me with them," he explains.
You have to be willing to experiment and find the best way to communicate with dogs, and the same goes for your romantic interests, he says: "Just as a hot-tempered dog won't respond to yelling and lots of commands, neither will a hot-tempered person. At the same time, some more sensitive types may need a gentler approach. Essentially, no one person or dog communicates the same way — each individual has a unique style, and taking the time to learn about your partner's needs is the key to a strong bond."
Chelsea Kaplan's blog, "The Momtourage" can be found at www.themomtourage.com.
This is a smart lady.
I am not putting a link here, because this is a ladies site, and I assume I have a predominantly male following of readers. Maybe that will change, and hey, my kind of lady puts on hip boots and gets out in the marsh to hunt and help out. Teamwork!
Queen Tanya is back in Belgium, but when she was here she went everywhere I went.
This is an article predominately about RELATIONSHIPS and how tracking collars can help you build a stronger relationship with your dog. If your dog knows it can count on you to be there when he bays, he might hunt harder and further out. Not only does a tracking system allow you to know where your dog is at all times, and keep up with your dog when they are on the move, you can find them when they get cut and are bleeding and laydown, and you can intercept them before they get too close to a highway, or property line, and in our case down here in the swamp and marsh, if there is a gator hole that the hog may go to and stop so that gator can get the dog off of him.
Ohhh...you don't think a hog is that smart. OK, guess again.
I will make a number of references to punks, numb nuts, etc in this article and please don't take it personally if you at not a novice hog hunter. There are many people just getting into hog hunting who think they know it all, just like I did when I first got into this. In fact it has only been a couple of years that I figuired out the dogs are smarter than me. As yet, I am still struggling with the concept that a hog is smarter than me too. If the shoe fits wear it. But... I am a stand up comedian and to quote Steve Walker: "A natural smart ass."
Here is a point in my case: Have you ever seen a dog or a hog smoke a cigarette?
Well there, who do you think is smarter, us or them?
Not ready to be published yet, but I am also writing an article about a hunt last weekend where Whiteboy, a son of Bob and Angel, fired off on a hog and got lost. I found him about 5 miles away from where he jumped the hog. A lady caught him in her yard, got my cell phone number off the collar and called me. I usually hunt with people who have tracking systems and use one of their collars. I need to get my own tracking system, because I will be on my own too many times in the near future, and these dogs are getting out. Without a tracking system, I may lose my dog. With a tracking system, it is hard to lose a dog and you don't waste time looking for them, you know where they are or better yet, where they are headed so you can get on the move to be at the bay as soon as possible.
It even tells you which road to take to get to them quickest if they are miles away.
In fact, I got a call from Mr. Mike Duggan yesterday about Buster, a son of Jessie and Sweet Peas, at about 18 months old who went and found him a big one and put on a show! Mike has been calling back to me with progress reports periodically, and giving me data like this young dog finding and catching at about 8-9 months and then as Mike broadened the dogs horizons and took him into big piney woods up around Leesville, according to the tracking unit, the puppy was getting out about 1500-2000 yards. That is a mile+ if you don't know your mathematical conversions.
If your dog is getting out and you don't have a GPS tracking system, and know how to use it, you may wonder why the dog is checking back with you. If he has made a round out over a mile or so and there is nothing there, it is time for you and the dog to move up. The dog, especially if it is young dog, may not range out any further, unless you move up too. A GPS tracking system gives you knowledge of where your dog is at all times, and where he has been.
Now why is this young dog of Mike, getting out so far by himself, with no other dog to lead him out and teach him to hunt? Because he was bred to hunt and he knows he can trust Mike to back him up, no matter how far he goes.
I will be talking a lot about the pack instinct in future articles, and a lot of times that is what I am referring to, if I say, "Let's get back to nature".
Here are puppies from four different litters laying down at my feet and being submissive to me as leader of the pack. Does this reward them for being at my feet, and then they won't hunt when we get to the woods? No, just the opposite.
MANY PEOPLE WANT TO BUY A HUNTING DOG AND ARE DISAPPOINTED,
BECAUSE IT WON'T HUNT FOR THEM, OR GET OUT FAR ENOUGH,
AND THEY THINK IT IS THE DOGS FAULT!
They spend a lot of money on a finished dog and expect it to just go and hunt for them the day they buy it and they think if it don't go out and hunt as soon as it hits the ground it ain't no good.
They want to invest money, but not time, and there are other things you need to put into a dog like love, trust and devotion. OK, and you say if it is a good dog it don't matter. Talk trash all you want punk, but dogs are constantly watching and analysing your every move. If they can't count on you to be there when they finally stop these running hogs why should they run their ass off, and
hunt for you? Hunting hogs requires teamwork between you and your dog, and if you think you are such a great hunter, just go try to kill hogs without your dog and lets see how it goes.
You can't buy love, trust and devotion, you have to earn it! Earning your dogs love trust and devotion takes time. And too many of us are like a little baby sucking on his mommy's titty, we want what we want when we want it and if we don't get it now, we get mad! Getting mad at your dog and abusing him will not cause him to trust you. It will cause him to distrust you. And he won't hunt for you if all the elements of the wolf pack are not in place. To understand how a dog thinks, you have to get back to nature, and understand how a wolf pack functions.
A couple of years ago, I watched a young man keep kicking a dog he brought on a hunt because it kept hanging around his feet. He wanted it to go out and hunt for him. The more he kicked it, the more broken hearted the dog became. This was a grandchild of Two Diamonds Cutter. And all of Cutters children, grandchildren, and great grand children hunt, if they are raised properly and allowed to be a puppy, just like descendants of my dog Patch. These are foundation bred dogs and if the right name is on them papers it does mean something.
I could tell by the dogs body language what was on it's mind. If that dog could have shed tears, it would have cried right there, because he loved the boy. Dogs don't talk English, and about 95% of what they communicate to us is being "spoken" in their body language, and can be understood by us, if we want to understand.
I interview a lot of women about their relationship problems with men and almost always ask them why they don't tell men what they tell me. They almost always tell me the same thing: Because men aren't listening.
Let me translate: Men aren't listening, because men do not want to relate and understand what women are thinking. They just want to use them. And this is kind of like they do with their dogs. They want the dog to put out, but don't care about the relationship. And like women, the better the dog, the less likely it is that she will "put out" and your selfish goals be achieved and in the end you will be satisfied. Now is that her fault?
Can I get an Amen?
Men aren't listening because half the equation of communication requires listening. It is a two way street. For two people to communicate, at bare minimum, someone speaks and someone listens. And women are constantly telling me that men are not listening, so why bother telling them? OK, seems logical. Now I am not here to bash men, because I know too many women who are all mouth and no ears! But for a relationship to grow and function there are some elements that are critical. And communication is at the heart of any relationship, or it does not last, meaning it does not work.
This is really interesting to me how relating to dogs and women are so similar.
Thank God, no one has invented a program to stab someone through the Internet as yet, because I am sure as soon as I publish this post the feminists will want to kill me! Ever hear of the Feminazi Gestapo?
So, what does this have to do with hog hunting? Catahoulas are part wolf, and the survival of a wolf pack depends upon relationship and teamwork. Communication builds trust, and you must read your dogs body language to communicate with them. If you don't understand what your dog is thinking, based upon what it is communicating by body language, you don't have a relationship that leads the dog to trust you. And if you are doing things like kicking your dog because it won't hunt for you, I don't blame the dog for not hunting for you, I blame you!
With a tracking system, you don't have to wonder if your dog is hunting if you can't see them visually, you can "see" what they are doing on the tracking system.
I observe many men wanting to have a dog filled with confidence, and be big and proud and tough. It appears most people expect too much from a puppy too soon. And when the dog rolls over and submits to them, they get mad. A dog is a puppy for about two years. And during those early years they are trying to figuire out who they are based upon their place in the hierarchy of the pack. If a dog rolls over and is shy, they are communicating submission to you as the leader of the pack, and bowing down to your dominance, power and authority, and they should be rewarded and encouraged by affection and praised for being submissive. They won't always be that way, especially when someone or something challenges you, like a stranger or a wild boar.
Here is a photo I took of Tanya being submissive to me.
Believe me she was well rewarded for being submissive. And... because I don't kiss and tell, that is as much as I can tell you.
Sometime, I will have to tell you the whole story about Jerry and his puppy, Pork Chop in the bay pen. Neither Jerry nor his dog had ever been in a bay pen with a wild boar, but this dog saved his life that day. And it was the pack instinct that kicking in, and not experience which caused the dog to turn the hog when it charged. And the pack instinct kicked in because Jerry's pet, had a relationship with Jerry, and in spite of no experience with a wild boar, he protected Jerry.
Below this dotted line is an article I found on the Internet in the MSN.com site and it has five lessons. Each of these lessons are so deep as far as I am concerned, I could write a book about each one.
Now this article is written by a lady about learning how to relate to another human being by learning from your dog, and what is really interesting is that I don't see a whole lot of difference.
As I was writing this article, I was trying to help guys relate to their dog and create a relationship whereby the dog would serve them. And I did this by comparing mens relationship difficulties with women as being similar to the difficulties men have with dogs. I am not too proud to admit I am learning about my relationship difficulties by learning from a woman, who I listen to.
Here is an article writen by a woman trying to help people learn from dogs way of relating to us and other dogs.
I am aware that personal growth for most men ended at potty training, but maybe there are some real men out there who like me are still learning and trying to grow. Have you ever noticed, just when we know all the answers they change all the questions? You better be open minded, and quick to learn if you want a Blair bred dog to hunt wild hogs for you, because whether you know it or not they are smarter than you are. I am talking about the dogs and the hogs, numb nuts!
If we are so smart, how come in spite of these smart dogs helping us, the wild boar population continues to grow and is reaching epidemic proportions?
Hmmmm.....
Think about it, and now go pet your dogs head
and praise him for giving you bragging rights.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is Chelsea Kaplan's article.
Love Lessons from Dogs?
Believe it or not, your pet knows the secrets to achieving a successful relationship. Here are five love lessons that man's best friend can share with you.
Though dogs have been labeled man's best friend, when it comes down to it, Fido is probably more the type of buddy you'd seek out for a game of catch, not love advice. According to Harrison Forbes, professional dog trainer and author of "Heart of a Dog: What Challenging Dogs Have Taught Me About Love, Trust and Second Chances", you might want to reconsider the notion that your canine knows nothing about matters of the heart. "Dogs do the types of things we should do more often, and the things they don't get involved in — well, we should really skip them, too, if we're looking for love," he asserts. Puzzled by the notion that you may actually be able to get some romance pointers from your Pointer? Read on for five love lessons you can learn from dogs.
1. The reassurance of forgiveness
In order to have a successful partnership, letting bygones be bygones is crucial. An inability to get over issues and move ahead is a key roadblock to happiness. Dogs, Forbes notes, are always in the moment and therefore don't hold grudges or hang onto resentment. "Dogs wipe the slate clean many times a day," he explains. "If you are grumpy and yell at your dog, but then wait a minute and act like you never did, he will forgive you — many times over. If humans could let the little things go as easily as dogs do, their relationships would be better for it."
2. The security of unconditional love
Forbes says that as a rule, when a dog loves his owner, that bond is lasting and real. "It's interesting to note that celebrities are over-the-top pet lovers," he says. "This is because their dogs really love them for who they are, not their A-list status; a dog will always treat you the same. Dogs offer truly substantive relationships in a way most people don't," he notes. When it comes to romantic relationships, humans should strive to emulate a dog's focus on what a person really offers in terms of love, kindness and warmth, he advises.
3. The comfort of consistency
In a romantic relationship, consistency can be quite comforting. What's not to love about a partner who is never moody or capricious? "We as humans understand there are different types of behavior, yet we crave consistency," Forbes says. "With dogs, regardless of your animal's personality, you pretty much get the same behavior unless he's ill. A lot of people take comfort in that aspect of pet ownership, so you can only imagine how much similar behavior could add to a romantic relationship."
4. The need to be playful
Forbes notes that most dogs want to have a good time, keeping things light and not so serious all of the time. "The easiest way to burn out a working dog is to work him all the time — that pretty much goes for relationships as well," he says. In police-dog training, Forbes explains, training is balanced with play and fun. "The harder you go at it in a training phase, the more you have to counterbalance it," he says. "It's the same with a relationship — you have to relieve the pressure through play and good times."
5. The importance of effective communication
While communicating with your partner is important in a relationship, it's not merely the act of communicating that will ensure your relationship's success, but finding the way to do so that best matches your partner's needs. This is a skill that you can easily learn from working with dogs, Forbes says. "The different ways in which I communicate with my three dogs are suited to what works best for them … and for me with them," he explains.
You have to be willing to experiment and find the best way to communicate with dogs, and the same goes for your romantic interests, he says: "Just as a hot-tempered dog won't respond to yelling and lots of commands, neither will a hot-tempered person. At the same time, some more sensitive types may need a gentler approach. Essentially, no one person or dog communicates the same way — each individual has a unique style, and taking the time to learn about your partner's needs is the key to a strong bond."
Chelsea Kaplan's blog, "The Momtourage" can be found at www.themomtourage.com.
This is a smart lady.
I am not putting a link here, because this is a ladies site, and I assume I have a predominantly male following of readers. Maybe that will change, and hey, my kind of lady puts on hip boots and gets out in the marsh to hunt and help out. Teamwork!
Queen Tanya is back in Belgium, but when she was here she went everywhere I went.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
There Are Some Bay Pens That Deserve Our Support
I am a hog hunter, I am not in the pen business, but we have an opportunity to network with other hog hunters and buy some equipment firsthand at bay pens like nowhere else, and frankly, I like to try to put my hands on things I buy before I pay for it. The Internet is good for repeat orders, but I like to talk to the people I shop with, call me old timer, I guess I am getting there.
Here I am with the grey beard driving the boat.
de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours 337 298 2630
The only hog dog field trail I attend regularly is the Uncle Earls. But, up to about ten years ago I went to a field trail every other weekend. Most events, I chose not to attend for reasons I will not mention here. But not all pens are the same.
And there a few worth mentioning, which I will support, because they are on the front line of the animal rights attacks. If they can shut down the pens, then they will attempt to ban hunting hogs with dogs. We need to stand together and support hog hunting and the pen owners who operate ethically.
There are a few bay pens out there that are up to the standard that all bay pen competitions should be measured by. I will list them as I am referred by my people, or visit them myself and evaluate and qualify them personally.
In the last year or two, several of my friends have attended events at the TNT Bay Pen in Bremond, Tx and without having ever been there myself I want to post the event info here because I have gotten nothing but good reports. Quality hogs, dubbed teeth, honest judging, and a family friendly environment. That is all we are asking for in a small, one day event.
I know this is short notice, but I will post it anyway. Please note the hogs at Bremond were some of the hogs at Fort Bayou in March.
But first, in June there will be a big two day event, with big added money.
It is an annual event with a lot of added money over the normal monthly schedule.
It is called Texas Shootout Bay Competition.
Date June 26, 27, 2010
www.tntbaypen.com is currently under construction and should be updated in a few weeks. Presently, it loads very slow and is hard to read, so it is not user friendly. That will change soon. The new webmaster will update the results monthly to post competition results, and in a few months it will be a completely new site.
So for now, let's start here:
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Puppy Bay: (up to two pups can run at a time) Entry fee is $15
(Trophy Bay 1st thru 3rd)
Old & Young: Entry Fee is $30 (Trophy Bay 1st thru 3rd)
Two Dog Amateur: Entry Fee is $30 (Trophy Bay 1st thru 3rd)
Kids Pig Chase: Free with Trophies given
Two Dog Pro: Entry Fee is $50 (1st thru 3rd 70% payback)
One Dog Amateur: Entry Fee is $25 ( Trophy Bay 1st thru 3rd)
One Dog Pro: Entry Fee is $30 (1st thru 3rd 70% Payback)
There will be a calcutta, restrooms and concessions available.
Need directions:
google maps and put in the address:
8255 FM 2954
Bremond Texas 76629
For more info: call Gilbert @ 254-746-7628 or cell @ 979-676-2388
I have copied and pasted below the content of the home page of www.tntbaypen.com
T-N-T Bay Pen is located in the central part of our great state Bremond, Texas. Here you will find good food and fun for the entire family.
We pride ourselves on running a honest and family orientated event.
T-N-T Bay Pen is a place you can bring your entire family
and know that they will be treated like family.
Our goal here at T-N-T is honesty and integrity,
while keeping a great southern tradition alive.
We are also proud members of the Texas Dog Hunters Association.
We feel that everyone that hunts with dogs should be a member,
regardless of what they are hunting.
The TDHA fights for every one's rights to hunt with dogs.
Not just hog hunters!!!
I think
we are all aware of the old saying:
"Together we stand but divided we fall!"
So everyone come on out each month and lets have fun and fellowship, while
keeping alive one of the south's most coveted traditions: Baying Wild Hogs.
God Bless,
Gilbert Thompson
Here I am with the grey beard driving the boat.
de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours 337 298 2630The only hog dog field trail I attend regularly is the Uncle Earls. But, up to about ten years ago I went to a field trail every other weekend. Most events, I chose not to attend for reasons I will not mention here. But not all pens are the same.
And there a few worth mentioning, which I will support, because they are on the front line of the animal rights attacks. If they can shut down the pens, then they will attempt to ban hunting hogs with dogs. We need to stand together and support hog hunting and the pen owners who operate ethically.
There are a few bay pens out there that are up to the standard that all bay pen competitions should be measured by. I will list them as I am referred by my people, or visit them myself and evaluate and qualify them personally.
In the last year or two, several of my friends have attended events at the TNT Bay Pen in Bremond, Tx and without having ever been there myself I want to post the event info here because I have gotten nothing but good reports. Quality hogs, dubbed teeth, honest judging, and a family friendly environment. That is all we are asking for in a small, one day event.
I know this is short notice, but I will post it anyway. Please note the hogs at Bremond were some of the hogs at Fort Bayou in March.
But first, in June there will be a big two day event, with big added money.
It is an annual event with a lot of added money over the normal monthly schedule.
It is called Texas Shootout Bay Competition.
Date June 26, 27, 2010
www.tntbaypen.com is currently under construction and should be updated in a few weeks. Presently, it loads very slow and is hard to read, so it is not user friendly. That will change soon. The new webmaster will update the results monthly to post competition results, and in a few months it will be a completely new site.
So for now, let's start here:
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Puppy Bay: (up to two pups can run at a time) Entry fee is $15
(Trophy Bay 1st thru 3rd)
Old & Young: Entry Fee is $30 (Trophy Bay 1st thru 3rd)
Two Dog Amateur: Entry Fee is $30 (Trophy Bay 1st thru 3rd)
Kids Pig Chase: Free with Trophies given
Two Dog Pro: Entry Fee is $50 (1st thru 3rd 70% payback)
One Dog Amateur: Entry Fee is $25 ( Trophy Bay 1st thru 3rd)
One Dog Pro: Entry Fee is $30 (1st thru 3rd 70% Payback)
There will be a calcutta, restrooms and concessions available.
Need directions:
google maps and put in the address:
8255 FM 2954
Bremond Texas 76629
For more info: call Gilbert @ 254-746-7628 or cell @ 979-676-2388
I have copied and pasted below the content of the home page of www.tntbaypen.com
T-N-T Bay Pen is located in the central part of our great state Bremond, Texas. Here you will find good food and fun for the entire family.
We pride ourselves on running a honest and family orientated event.
T-N-T Bay Pen is a place you can bring your entire family
and know that they will be treated like family.
Our goal here at T-N-T is honesty and integrity,
while keeping a great southern tradition alive.
We are also proud members of the Texas Dog Hunters Association.
We feel that everyone that hunts with dogs should be a member,
regardless of what they are hunting.
The TDHA fights for every one's rights to hunt with dogs.
Not just hog hunters!!!
I think
we are all aware of the old saying:
"Together we stand but divided we fall!"
So everyone come on out each month and lets have fun and fellowship, while
keeping alive one of the south's most coveted traditions: Baying Wild Hogs.
God Bless,
Gilbert Thompson
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Dog Vaccinations: Are We Causing More Harm Than Good
I am working on a post about the last two hunts I made and the fine people on this hunting club who invited me in to regulate their hogs. I will share some stories, about the two brothers who are sons of Bob, and both fired off for the first time.
You will also find out about Lulu, and why we don't call her Lulu for nothing!
This post is a follow up of the post about a month ago where I put the picture of the fine 5 1/2 month old puppy that died of parvo, for lack of a vaccination.
And I do practice regular vaccinations of puppies, but first...
Marcus de la Houssaye is not a veterinarian. The information below is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for advice from a qualified health practitioner.
So, on that note: I am not a veterinarian, but in high school it was my choice of career to pursue in college. And I did start in the university to become a vet, but had too many objections to the things I was being taught there to continue my education.
You see, I am a free thinking person, and last I checked, this was a free country.
And I am free to make my mistakes and free to admit I am wrong sometimes, better yet, I am free to protest against my government, and to point out if I think someone else is wrong.
But what I hate about this world I am living in, is some so called educated expert, who thinks they are smarter than me and trying to control my thoughts and plant fear in my mind, to manipulate my activities. Their proposals are often based upon their greed and book knowledge that is so far removed from the common sense, countrified world that I operate in, it is starting to inspire me to write books.
In Louisiana, it is a law that you are required to vaccinate your dogs for rabies every year. And it is a good thing to have your dog vaccinated against, if you are out in the wild with a bay dog, because there are critters like raccoons and skunk that carry rabies and your dog can contract this disease and pass it on to other dogs, or humans if it is not vaccinated.
Also vets recommend we give our dogs an annual booster for the 8 way to prevent viral and bacterial infections. We have all accepted the advise of our vets and followed the law regarding rabies vaccination without questioning. Right?
But we were given vaccinations as children for many things, and do we have to have annual boosters? No, we have a lifetime adult immunity. Are our dogs any different?
Below are two excerpts from a website raising concerns and opening discussion about vaccination reactions. You can go there to read the article in whole if you click the link below, but it is a lot of big medical terms and it gets boring:
http://users.on.net/~peter.hart/Over-vaccination%20of%20pets%20-%20an%20unethical%20practice%20(2).pdf
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronald Schultz provides an analogy with human measles vaccination, noting we don’t regularly re vaccinate people. Schultz notes “the immune system of a person is similar to that of an animal, and since immunity persists for the life of a person (average 70+ years), then why wouldn't immunity from canine or feline vaccines persist for 10 to 15 years? The answer is that many canine and feline vaccines do provide the same lifelong immunity”.
Nevertheless, the veterinary industry continues to cling to unnecessary re vaccination for financial motives. Re vaccination is a valuable source of income for pharmaceutical companies and veterinarians alike. It appears re vaccination is used as a practice management tool to lure clients into veterinary surgeries - “a practice is a business after all”. However, it is not ethical practice to urge clients to have medical interventions for their pets that are not needed and which may cause harm – Ronald Schultz calls this “an unacceptable medical procedure”.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A paper published in 2001 suggests long-term over-activation of the immune system may be a major cause of cancer. This research refers to cancer in humans, but given we are all mammals with similar genes,59 perhaps this possibility is also relevant to dogs? Could over-vaccination, and the constant assault on the immune system, be causing a variety of cancers in dogs and cats over the long term? It is certainly something to ponder, especially as the scientific literature records the problem of injection site sarcomas in cats. This possibility is also another reason to cease unnecessary re vaccination of animals.
Due to the failure of the regulatory process, and the unethical veterinary practice of over-vaccination, pet owners are unlikely to be made aware of the risks of re vaccination. Not only are they not being informed about long duration of immunity with core MLV vaccines, information on possible adverse effects is also being withheld. This non-disclosure means pet owners are not being allowed to make an “informed decision” before consenting to re vaccinate their pets.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So who is not sharing this information with you? Your vet, and your government.
Looks to me that they are trying to keep us in the poor house!
And don't get me started on the dog food manufacturers!
Now don't get me wrong. In my opinion, if you don't vaccinate your puppy with a 7 way it may not survive for long. And we are led to believe that there should be a series of vaccinations at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks for puppies. I have practiced this and believe in puppy vaccinations.
In my opinion, the most important one is the first 7 way, and I like to do it at 3 1/2 to 4 weeks. After that, the 12 week, 8 way and then ONE annual 8 way booster.
Some people want to minimize the the cost, and I recommend you check with your feed store, or ranch supply outlet, or order online.
Two online veterinary supply companies I recommend are KV vet supply and Jeffers vet supply.
There is a growing movement to question if we are being led to pay for unnecessary vaccinations because there is a lot of money to be made by drug/chemical companies, and the veterinarians who are often the conveyance of these vaccines.
Well my old-time country vet surprised me when I asked him about a kennel cough vaccine, he stated simply: "Mark, I don't have a whole lot of faith in them vaccines."
So, I began to research this issue and I want to share.
I have a website I want to recommend you visit and study. There is a lot of information there and I am warning you in advance, you may not like what you read.
I have been studying this for over thirty years after a very prideful doctor advised me by saying: "Young man, you have a lot to learn" And I said to him: "Apparently, I am not the only one here who has a lot to learn!" I walked away from doctors, and never looked back.
I do presently have an old time country doctor, 72 years old, and a for real cowboy who truely cares about people and their animals. He charges $5 per dog for rabies vaccinations. I can show up with 10 dogs and walk out with certificates for $50 total.
I will in the near future share some stories about people who are friends of mine who lost animals to vaccination reactions, but for now, below is a link to a site that has way too much info for me to process in one day, so before I go through it and get excepts, I will pass it on now.
This lady has done a lot of work to set up this information site and bless her heart she is a dog lover and wants to help people get a handle on what is happening to our animals. I will spend a lot more time in the near future researching this site, and share what is relevant. A lot of it is too technical for most of us, you and me included.
But for now, go here, and have a look see for yourself if you like:
www.dogs4dogs.com
and remember: This is a free country.
And it was founded by people who refused to be taxed, and exploited by a greedy government in league with big business corporations.
If you think you can trust your government: Just ask a native American Indian.
Marcus de la Houssaye is not a veterinarian. The information above is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for advice from a qualified health practitioner.
You will also find out about Lulu, and why we don't call her Lulu for nothing!
This post is a follow up of the post about a month ago where I put the picture of the fine 5 1/2 month old puppy that died of parvo, for lack of a vaccination.
And I do practice regular vaccinations of puppies, but first...
Marcus de la Houssaye is not a veterinarian. The information below is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for advice from a qualified health practitioner.
So, on that note: I am not a veterinarian, but in high school it was my choice of career to pursue in college. And I did start in the university to become a vet, but had too many objections to the things I was being taught there to continue my education.
You see, I am a free thinking person, and last I checked, this was a free country.
And I am free to make my mistakes and free to admit I am wrong sometimes, better yet, I am free to protest against my government, and to point out if I think someone else is wrong.
But what I hate about this world I am living in, is some so called educated expert, who thinks they are smarter than me and trying to control my thoughts and plant fear in my mind, to manipulate my activities. Their proposals are often based upon their greed and book knowledge that is so far removed from the common sense, countrified world that I operate in, it is starting to inspire me to write books.
In Louisiana, it is a law that you are required to vaccinate your dogs for rabies every year. And it is a good thing to have your dog vaccinated against, if you are out in the wild with a bay dog, because there are critters like raccoons and skunk that carry rabies and your dog can contract this disease and pass it on to other dogs, or humans if it is not vaccinated.
Also vets recommend we give our dogs an annual booster for the 8 way to prevent viral and bacterial infections. We have all accepted the advise of our vets and followed the law regarding rabies vaccination without questioning. Right?
But we were given vaccinations as children for many things, and do we have to have annual boosters? No, we have a lifetime adult immunity. Are our dogs any different?
Below are two excerpts from a website raising concerns and opening discussion about vaccination reactions. You can go there to read the article in whole if you click the link below, but it is a lot of big medical terms and it gets boring:
http://users.on.net/~peter.hart/Over-vaccination%20of%20pets%20-%20an%20unethical%20practice%20(2).pdf
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronald Schultz provides an analogy with human measles vaccination, noting we don’t regularly re vaccinate people. Schultz notes “the immune system of a person is similar to that of an animal, and since immunity persists for the life of a person (average 70+ years), then why wouldn't immunity from canine or feline vaccines persist for 10 to 15 years? The answer is that many canine and feline vaccines do provide the same lifelong immunity”.
Nevertheless, the veterinary industry continues to cling to unnecessary re vaccination for financial motives. Re vaccination is a valuable source of income for pharmaceutical companies and veterinarians alike. It appears re vaccination is used as a practice management tool to lure clients into veterinary surgeries - “a practice is a business after all”. However, it is not ethical practice to urge clients to have medical interventions for their pets that are not needed and which may cause harm – Ronald Schultz calls this “an unacceptable medical procedure”.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A paper published in 2001 suggests long-term over-activation of the immune system may be a major cause of cancer. This research refers to cancer in humans, but given we are all mammals with similar genes,59 perhaps this possibility is also relevant to dogs? Could over-vaccination, and the constant assault on the immune system, be causing a variety of cancers in dogs and cats over the long term? It is certainly something to ponder, especially as the scientific literature records the problem of injection site sarcomas in cats. This possibility is also another reason to cease unnecessary re vaccination of animals.
Due to the failure of the regulatory process, and the unethical veterinary practice of over-vaccination, pet owners are unlikely to be made aware of the risks of re vaccination. Not only are they not being informed about long duration of immunity with core MLV vaccines, information on possible adverse effects is also being withheld. This non-disclosure means pet owners are not being allowed to make an “informed decision” before consenting to re vaccinate their pets.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So who is not sharing this information with you? Your vet, and your government.
Looks to me that they are trying to keep us in the poor house!
And don't get me started on the dog food manufacturers!
Now don't get me wrong. In my opinion, if you don't vaccinate your puppy with a 7 way it may not survive for long. And we are led to believe that there should be a series of vaccinations at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks for puppies. I have practiced this and believe in puppy vaccinations.
In my opinion, the most important one is the first 7 way, and I like to do it at 3 1/2 to 4 weeks. After that, the 12 week, 8 way and then ONE annual 8 way booster.
Some people want to minimize the the cost, and I recommend you check with your feed store, or ranch supply outlet, or order online.
Two online veterinary supply companies I recommend are KV vet supply and Jeffers vet supply.
There is a growing movement to question if we are being led to pay for unnecessary vaccinations because there is a lot of money to be made by drug/chemical companies, and the veterinarians who are often the conveyance of these vaccines.
Well my old-time country vet surprised me when I asked him about a kennel cough vaccine, he stated simply: "Mark, I don't have a whole lot of faith in them vaccines."
So, I began to research this issue and I want to share.
I have a website I want to recommend you visit and study. There is a lot of information there and I am warning you in advance, you may not like what you read.
I have been studying this for over thirty years after a very prideful doctor advised me by saying: "Young man, you have a lot to learn" And I said to him: "Apparently, I am not the only one here who has a lot to learn!" I walked away from doctors, and never looked back.
I do presently have an old time country doctor, 72 years old, and a for real cowboy who truely cares about people and their animals. He charges $5 per dog for rabies vaccinations. I can show up with 10 dogs and walk out with certificates for $50 total.
I will in the near future share some stories about people who are friends of mine who lost animals to vaccination reactions, but for now, below is a link to a site that has way too much info for me to process in one day, so before I go through it and get excepts, I will pass it on now.
This lady has done a lot of work to set up this information site and bless her heart she is a dog lover and wants to help people get a handle on what is happening to our animals. I will spend a lot more time in the near future researching this site, and share what is relevant. A lot of it is too technical for most of us, you and me included.
But for now, go here, and have a look see for yourself if you like:
www.dogs4dogs.com
and remember: This is a free country.
And it was founded by people who refused to be taxed, and exploited by a greedy government in league with big business corporations.
If you think you can trust your government: Just ask a native American Indian.
Marcus de la Houssaye is not a veterinarian. The information above is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for advice from a qualified health practitioner.
Independence Baying Scheduled at Fort Bayou Ranch
Fourth of July weekend looks like fun at Fort Bayou Ranch. The word I got is that there was a question about the location getting a permit based upon a complaint from a neighbor which was brought before the county board of supervisors.
Well without getting into all the negative stuff, good news is the permit was issued and the baying is on schedule.
You can go to their website by clicking the link here: Fort Bayou Ranch
I especially enjoyed the Youtube video slideshow with about a hundred photos of the event. What stood out to me was so many smiling faces, lots of children, everyone was clean, respectable, friendly, and this is so clear in all the photos: the dogs and the hogs were so healthy and muscular. I got to tell you I am impressed with the baying overall.
I haven't talked to my daughter yet as to what we are going to do that weekend because we have several options, but I can tell you I would not mind being there.
I have had some technical issues with my blogs lately, so I won't put in any pictures and just go ahead and publish this post to see if it goes up and basicly use it as a test of the system.
And I plan to post some articles about vaccinations of dogs and puppies again soon because there is a lot of information I think needs to be shared on this subject.
Well without getting into all the negative stuff, good news is the permit was issued and the baying is on schedule.
You can go to their website by clicking the link here: Fort Bayou Ranch
I especially enjoyed the Youtube video slideshow with about a hundred photos of the event. What stood out to me was so many smiling faces, lots of children, everyone was clean, respectable, friendly, and this is so clear in all the photos: the dogs and the hogs were so healthy and muscular. I got to tell you I am impressed with the baying overall.
I haven't talked to my daughter yet as to what we are going to do that weekend because we have several options, but I can tell you I would not mind being there.
I have had some technical issues with my blogs lately, so I won't put in any pictures and just go ahead and publish this post to see if it goes up and basicly use it as a test of the system.
And I plan to post some articles about vaccinations of dogs and puppies again soon because there is a lot of information I think needs to be shared on this subject.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
It Is A Family Tradition
This is a post about some young dogs who are starting to get out and get lost, so I need to hunt them exclusively with tracking collars from here on.
If you are just getting into hog hunting and you think all you need is a good dog and you are hunting hogs, well yes, genetics is important. But here is a word of advise: Invest in a tracking system first. I know you are anxious to get out into the woods and experience nature and the satisfaction of being with your buddies, telling fishing and hunting stories, and carrying on the time honored tradition of putting meat on the family table.
The PRIMARY OBJECTIVE of hog hunting should be to get out and enjoy nature and feed people. Secondary to that, should be to protect the environment from wild hogs, and it is an environment that all species depend upon, including us. Tertiary to that, should be bragging rights.
Investing in a tracking system, increases the efficiency of the time, money, and energy you spend hunting hogs, and allows you greater success in accomplishing all three objectives. Ignore my advise and you may spend more time hunting for your dog than hunting hogs. And worse than that, is losing a dog for lack of a tracking system. That tracking system transmitter collar should also have a brass plate attached to it with your last name, city, state, and cell phone number.
If you have good dogs and you are hunting hogs, you need a tracking system to simplify things. If you can't afford a new GPS system, get an old radio system and a couple of collars with spare magnets.
Another handy location devise is a horn, which you blow in your yard before you ever go hunting, so your dogs associate that sound with you, and they can come when you call. A good time to blow it is at feeding time every so often. If you hunt out of a truck, use your truck horn.
Yesterday based upon reasonable estimates, we covered about twenty miles in the saddle. And oh, I better get into shape because it looks like we are going to saddle up every weekend possible and run these dogs. For where I am hunting now, horseback appears to be the best means of keeping up with the dogs. And when they are silent, like mine, it is hard to know when they are on something and follow. In the end, a lady called me miles away from where we were looking and thought Whiteboy was at. She had caught him in her yard, got my cell phone number off the collar, and called me.
When my friends first started reporting back to me about their new GPS systems telling them the dogs had covered 40 miles in one day, they couldn't believe it. And I said, "Now do you think those dogs should have at least 3 or 4 days rest before the next hunt?"
The first weekend I hunted with club, we had pictures of hogs visiting the feeders in the daytime from 8AM to 3PM, but nobody told me that until we hunted the woods in the hunting club at night and found nothing hot. Jesse got lost a few times and we had to wonder if it was a running hog or old scent. After I was informed of the daytime pattern I assumed the hogs were in the wheatfield at night, when it was safe, and in the woods of the hunting club duing the day, because it was safe and cool.
Another thing we were not privelidged of knowing before hand was that just a few hours before we went into the woods to hunt starting at sunset, someone had drove through the hunting club with a pickup and a utility trailer picking up deer hunting box stands. Meaning they drove the hogs out of the woods right before we got there.
And if you are new at hog hunting consider this: putting dog pressure on deer in these thich, dense cutover areas, and they go round and round on about a one square mile area, but hogs will often make a beeline straight out of the area and go for miles to get away from the dogs.
Last weekend, Whiteboy's brother Jesse, was the one who got on something and got lost. This weekend, it was Whiteboys turn.
We had covered about 12-15 miles on horseback, and several watering holes before we found the hogs. As we approached the last watering hole I was noticing my dogs were played out. It was getting hot and several of the more active dogs who were really rangeing out were starting to slow down and were dragging behind the younger dogs and needed a rest big time. I would have stopped before we got to the water if there were shade, but all the big trees had been logged out and I figuired I would let them rest when we got to the water, so they could lay down and cool off in the water. Well as we approached the bayou, we came straight up on the hogs, and literally jumped them in sight. Thats when Whiteboy disappeared and was never seen again until I got a call and directions and drove over in the truck to a lady's house miles away from where we jumped the hogs.
These two boys and Spider are carrying on a family tradition, generation after generation.
Just a few days before Bobalou passed away in January 2007, Angel gave birth to a litter sired by Bob. I knew it was the end for Bob and I wanted to get some pups from him mixed over the Blair bloodline, before he was gone. From that litter came Jesse, Spider, and Whiteboy.
When his father Frank was two years old, I pulled Bob out of the litter before anyone saw him because I felt it was time to raise another puppy, and he had chosen me. This was 1995, and back then, I was getting $400 per pup, and they were all gone in day, because I had a waiting list.
When I went out to feed the litter of pups that Bob was born in, there was a rush to surround the food bowl and a competition amoung the siblings for the food in the bowl. But unlike his siblings, Bob would come over and put his paw on my foot as the other pups ate, communicating to me that I was more important to him than food. I have never had a more devoted and loyal servant than Bobalou. He was a hunter and he loved to run the woods. If cows needed to be penned, he was there in tight and fierce, as was typical of my dogs and obedient to the verbal commands. When we were hunting or penning and he checked back, I could sent him east or west merely by pointing in that direction. Bob grew up running the woods and was taught to hunt by the legend known as Maurice.
I miss my old dogs that are gone now, but I can see the new generations carrying on the family traditions of getting out and getting lost in pursuit of meat.
If you are just getting into hog hunting and you think all you need is a good dog and you are hunting hogs, well yes, genetics is important. But here is a word of advise: Invest in a tracking system first. I know you are anxious to get out into the woods and experience nature and the satisfaction of being with your buddies, telling fishing and hunting stories, and carrying on the time honored tradition of putting meat on the family table.
The PRIMARY OBJECTIVE of hog hunting should be to get out and enjoy nature and feed people. Secondary to that, should be to protect the environment from wild hogs, and it is an environment that all species depend upon, including us. Tertiary to that, should be bragging rights.
Investing in a tracking system, increases the efficiency of the time, money, and energy you spend hunting hogs, and allows you greater success in accomplishing all three objectives. Ignore my advise and you may spend more time hunting for your dog than hunting hogs. And worse than that, is losing a dog for lack of a tracking system. That tracking system transmitter collar should also have a brass plate attached to it with your last name, city, state, and cell phone number.
If you have good dogs and you are hunting hogs, you need a tracking system to simplify things. If you can't afford a new GPS system, get an old radio system and a couple of collars with spare magnets.
Another handy location devise is a horn, which you blow in your yard before you ever go hunting, so your dogs associate that sound with you, and they can come when you call. A good time to blow it is at feeding time every so often. If you hunt out of a truck, use your truck horn.
Yesterday based upon reasonable estimates, we covered about twenty miles in the saddle. And oh, I better get into shape because it looks like we are going to saddle up every weekend possible and run these dogs. For where I am hunting now, horseback appears to be the best means of keeping up with the dogs. And when they are silent, like mine, it is hard to know when they are on something and follow. In the end, a lady called me miles away from where we were looking and thought Whiteboy was at. She had caught him in her yard, got my cell phone number off the collar, and called me.
When my friends first started reporting back to me about their new GPS systems telling them the dogs had covered 40 miles in one day, they couldn't believe it. And I said, "Now do you think those dogs should have at least 3 or 4 days rest before the next hunt?"
The first weekend I hunted with club, we had pictures of hogs visiting the feeders in the daytime from 8AM to 3PM, but nobody told me that until we hunted the woods in the hunting club at night and found nothing hot. Jesse got lost a few times and we had to wonder if it was a running hog or old scent. After I was informed of the daytime pattern I assumed the hogs were in the wheatfield at night, when it was safe, and in the woods of the hunting club duing the day, because it was safe and cool.
Another thing we were not privelidged of knowing before hand was that just a few hours before we went into the woods to hunt starting at sunset, someone had drove through the hunting club with a pickup and a utility trailer picking up deer hunting box stands. Meaning they drove the hogs out of the woods right before we got there.
And if you are new at hog hunting consider this: putting dog pressure on deer in these thich, dense cutover areas, and they go round and round on about a one square mile area, but hogs will often make a beeline straight out of the area and go for miles to get away from the dogs.
Last weekend, Whiteboy's brother Jesse, was the one who got on something and got lost. This weekend, it was Whiteboys turn.
We had covered about 12-15 miles on horseback, and several watering holes before we found the hogs. As we approached the last watering hole I was noticing my dogs were played out. It was getting hot and several of the more active dogs who were really rangeing out were starting to slow down and were dragging behind the younger dogs and needed a rest big time. I would have stopped before we got to the water if there were shade, but all the big trees had been logged out and I figuired I would let them rest when we got to the water, so they could lay down and cool off in the water. Well as we approached the bayou, we came straight up on the hogs, and literally jumped them in sight. Thats when Whiteboy disappeared and was never seen again until I got a call and directions and drove over in the truck to a lady's house miles away from where we jumped the hogs.
These two boys and Spider are carrying on a family tradition, generation after generation.
Just a few days before Bobalou passed away in January 2007, Angel gave birth to a litter sired by Bob. I knew it was the end for Bob and I wanted to get some pups from him mixed over the Blair bloodline, before he was gone. From that litter came Jesse, Spider, and Whiteboy.
When his father Frank was two years old, I pulled Bob out of the litter before anyone saw him because I felt it was time to raise another puppy, and he had chosen me. This was 1995, and back then, I was getting $400 per pup, and they were all gone in day, because I had a waiting list.
When I went out to feed the litter of pups that Bob was born in, there was a rush to surround the food bowl and a competition amoung the siblings for the food in the bowl. But unlike his siblings, Bob would come over and put his paw on my foot as the other pups ate, communicating to me that I was more important to him than food. I have never had a more devoted and loyal servant than Bobalou. He was a hunter and he loved to run the woods. If cows needed to be penned, he was there in tight and fierce, as was typical of my dogs and obedient to the verbal commands. When we were hunting or penning and he checked back, I could sent him east or west merely by pointing in that direction. Bob grew up running the woods and was taught to hunt by the legend known as Maurice.
I miss my old dogs that are gone now, but I can see the new generations carrying on the family traditions of getting out and getting lost in pursuit of meat.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
I Am Not In It For The Money
And I am not in it for the glory either. I have nothing to brag about. There are no trophies on my wall. But I will say this: Since Hurricane Katrina killed tourism in Louisiana and I had to quit doing swamp tours for a few years, my dogs have been my most consistent stream of income. And my dogs fed me well, so I care a great deal about these dogs welfare, because they care about me and serve me well.
I am not in it for the money, I could have sold every puppy over the last few years, and I sold more than I wanted to because I was trying to survive the loss of income due to a natural disaster which hurt a lot of people a lot more than it hurt me. In spite of the losses we suffered through 5 major hurricanes in 5 years, I am happy to report I did not lose my self respect, integrity, perseverance, generosity or character. And if you know me well, you know, I am quite a character! But, I did lose my sense of humor for a while, and I got it back!
Barbara, chocolate leopard, daughter of Bijeaux at 5 months old
Don't feel sorry for me, I am blessed. I have a lot of friends, and my Louisiana swamp tours are once again generating a decent income for me, and through that I am once again making new friends from all over the world and getting back on my feet financially.
de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours
Also, I have had for a year and a half now, a very special, new friend, who I met at the boat landing where I do swamp tours and we have a lot in common. We are both born and raised in New Iberia, about 20 miles south of Lafayette. We both want to see a world as we saw it as children growing up in the fifties and sixties when families were close, neighbors helped one another and we trusted our government to protect us.
You may never get to meet Danny Allen, unless you host one the locations of one of my up and coming hunting or fishing programs, because he works behind the scenes as my producer, camera man and editor. But I want you to know my TV programs would not be possible if it weren't for him. His vision, talent, and our growing friendship, has inspired and produced a new Cajun Country, television show that will include some hog hunts and hopefully bring the truth to the world about how important hog hunting is to conservation of the natural environment that sustains all species, and also to bringing families together in this fine sport of American dog hunting of wild hogs.
I want to share a vision with you....
Let's say you've been able to explore the world and have made connections with some amazing people. You've developed close relationships across cultures, and now have a sense you could go anywhere in the world and find friends. How would that affect your attitude towards humanity in general?
We could envision a world where everyone is inspired to help and care for each other, regardless of differences in social culture or personal ideologies. We could believe that the more we see the world as an exciting mix of unique people, the more motivated we are to protect and preserve diversity.
We live in a complicated world and there may always be conflicts over natural resources and religious or political ideologies. If enough people experience meaningful relationships with people who are vastly different, wouldn't they protect a sense of unity, even in the face of disagreement? Wouldn't our feeling of kinship across cultures also make it impossible to accept aggression - no matter whom it's directed towards?
Experiencing meaningful connections in spite of differences invigorates us to seek understanding and harmony when conflicts inevitably arise.
So what is this about? I have the red ass at certain people, but it does not overshadow my intent from the beginning of my relationship with them to form a lasting and meaningful relationship.
N.A.L.C. registration papers for C Arrow Patch
I am being invited into the N.A.L.C. because I am recognised as striving to preserve the old working bloodlines that served to feed the families that founded this great nation, protected the homestead, and penned wild livestock for centuries past. Some of the bloodlines go back to the Spanish land grants. I would not have been allowed to bring these dogs genetics into my breeding program unless, I had close personal relationships with these old timers and respected the conditions that they placed upon the dogs they gave to me. The old timers are very much disgusted with people who they treated as family, and placed dogs where they thought they would be safe, then they were mistreated by these same people who did not appreciate, value and respect the old time way of neighbors helping neighbors.
And here is where I need your help, there is a bill pending in the state of Louisiana that would make it damn near impossible for me to continue breeding these fine dogs I have on my property.
It is detailed on page 16 of the May Issue of Bayed Solid Magazine and I made a photo copy for your convenience below.
Notice #2 above states it would be illegal in the state of Louisiana to tie a dog with a chain less than 12 feet long, punishable by a fine of $300. Looks like the politicians are in it for the money! And furthermore anyone who knows anything about Catahoulas or has dogs that must be tied, knows that a 12 foot long chain is prone to getting hung up and then the dog can't reach it's house for shelter, or water for refreshment. Please call your local politicians in the state of Louisiana and protest this bill.
And here is another one designed to make it a crime to sell a dog or own more than five dogs unless you pay a kennel license fee(tax).
Lets see if I got this right, it is a crime to sell a dog, unless we buy a permit first?
And if anyone has a litter of puppies they are required to have a permit too, which costs money and having a litter of puppies without a permit is a crime, punishable by fine of $300?
People I don't know about you but I resent my government trying to tell me what to do and not do with my dogs in my yard and then heap more taxes on top of it!
I am not in it for the money, I could have sold every puppy over the last few years, and I sold more than I wanted to because I was trying to survive the loss of income due to a natural disaster which hurt a lot of people a lot more than it hurt me. In spite of the losses we suffered through 5 major hurricanes in 5 years, I am happy to report I did not lose my self respect, integrity, perseverance, generosity or character. And if you know me well, you know, I am quite a character! But, I did lose my sense of humor for a while, and I got it back!
Barbara, chocolate leopard, daughter of Bijeaux at 5 months old
Don't feel sorry for me, I am blessed. I have a lot of friends, and my Louisiana swamp tours are once again generating a decent income for me, and through that I am once again making new friends from all over the world and getting back on my feet financially.
de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours
Also, I have had for a year and a half now, a very special, new friend, who I met at the boat landing where I do swamp tours and we have a lot in common. We are both born and raised in New Iberia, about 20 miles south of Lafayette. We both want to see a world as we saw it as children growing up in the fifties and sixties when families were close, neighbors helped one another and we trusted our government to protect us.
You may never get to meet Danny Allen, unless you host one the locations of one of my up and coming hunting or fishing programs, because he works behind the scenes as my producer, camera man and editor. But I want you to know my TV programs would not be possible if it weren't for him. His vision, talent, and our growing friendship, has inspired and produced a new Cajun Country, television show that will include some hog hunts and hopefully bring the truth to the world about how important hog hunting is to conservation of the natural environment that sustains all species, and also to bringing families together in this fine sport of American dog hunting of wild hogs.
I want to share a vision with you....
Let's say you've been able to explore the world and have made connections with some amazing people. You've developed close relationships across cultures, and now have a sense you could go anywhere in the world and find friends. How would that affect your attitude towards humanity in general?
We could envision a world where everyone is inspired to help and care for each other, regardless of differences in social culture or personal ideologies. We could believe that the more we see the world as an exciting mix of unique people, the more motivated we are to protect and preserve diversity.
We live in a complicated world and there may always be conflicts over natural resources and religious or political ideologies. If enough people experience meaningful relationships with people who are vastly different, wouldn't they protect a sense of unity, even in the face of disagreement? Wouldn't our feeling of kinship across cultures also make it impossible to accept aggression - no matter whom it's directed towards?
Experiencing meaningful connections in spite of differences invigorates us to seek understanding and harmony when conflicts inevitably arise.
So what is this about? I have the red ass at certain people, but it does not overshadow my intent from the beginning of my relationship with them to form a lasting and meaningful relationship.
N.A.L.C. registration papers for C Arrow Patch
I am being invited into the N.A.L.C. because I am recognised as striving to preserve the old working bloodlines that served to feed the families that founded this great nation, protected the homestead, and penned wild livestock for centuries past. Some of the bloodlines go back to the Spanish land grants. I would not have been allowed to bring these dogs genetics into my breeding program unless, I had close personal relationships with these old timers and respected the conditions that they placed upon the dogs they gave to me. The old timers are very much disgusted with people who they treated as family, and placed dogs where they thought they would be safe, then they were mistreated by these same people who did not appreciate, value and respect the old time way of neighbors helping neighbors.
And here is where I need your help, there is a bill pending in the state of Louisiana that would make it damn near impossible for me to continue breeding these fine dogs I have on my property.
It is detailed on page 16 of the May Issue of Bayed Solid Magazine and I made a photo copy for your convenience below.
Notice #2 above states it would be illegal in the state of Louisiana to tie a dog with a chain less than 12 feet long, punishable by a fine of $300. Looks like the politicians are in it for the money! And furthermore anyone who knows anything about Catahoulas or has dogs that must be tied, knows that a 12 foot long chain is prone to getting hung up and then the dog can't reach it's house for shelter, or water for refreshment. Please call your local politicians in the state of Louisiana and protest this bill.
And here is another one designed to make it a crime to sell a dog or own more than five dogs unless you pay a kennel license fee(tax).Lets see if I got this right, it is a crime to sell a dog, unless we buy a permit first?
And if anyone has a litter of puppies they are required to have a permit too, which costs money and having a litter of puppies without a permit is a crime, punishable by fine of $300?
People I don't know about you but I resent my government trying to tell me what to do and not do with my dogs in my yard and then heap more taxes on top of it!
Friday, May 7, 2010
It Is All Good News!
If you keep up with my blog you may be wondering what is going on with me from the last few posts I have written. So before I tell you the good news about Amos, my new hunting lease just up the road, and my new status as an N.A.L.C. certified breeder, I need to explain something because you may have suspected that I have lost my mind by posting a picture of a dead puppy.
I'm sure many of you did not like seeing a picture of a dead dog at the top of my last post. And frankly, it was an ugly situation, and I did not like putting it there, but some things are about to change if I have anything to say about it.
I hope I haven't lost too many readers because of that picture, because I put it there hoping to help educate the public about the need to vaccinate puppies.
Well if you haven't figuired it out, let me state it plainly: I have the red ass!
And what is really chapping my ass is peoples failure to relate to their dogs and to me.
Or is it a failure to communicate? I know I did my part, because I have spent hundreds of hours on the phone trying to educate the public about relating to their dogs and proper care of these servants who are often doing their best to figuire out what we want from them.
So... bear with me here, because I am about to preach. Didn't you know I am a preacher?
Yes I am. Furthermore, I want to state, I did not go to school to become a preacher, and did not grow up in a church or a family that went to church or had religion.
But I did learn something along the way, it ain't about religion, it is about a personal relationship with our Creator through Christ.
Jesus clearly stated: No one gets to the Father unless he goes through Me. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Are you listening? And can I get an Amen!
I know some of you think you are saved because you got religion, a denomination, and a church. Well folks, it ain't about church either, it is about Christ and Him crucified.
And like our dogs who love us, and are willing to put their life on the line to serve us, Jesus Christ gave Himself as a living sacrifice, did the work we could never do on our own, hung on a cross, shed His blood, and is now begging for us to relate to Him personally. He wants you to do your part. He wants you to spend time with Him, talk to Him and love on Him. Just like your dog does. Ohh yah, I am comparing Christ to your dog, and I am sure gonna offend some people with that one!
Now I may have lost a few more readers here, but so be it, so if you are still with me, I ain't finished. And I ain't perfect, but I do have a new life, a new mind, a pure heart, and I have been transformed by Him, and he ain't finished with me.
Almost ten years ago, as I contemplated my service to the Lord, I was concerned that I had too many dogs and maybe they were hindering the ministry I was being called into, so I asked the Lord if I should sacrifice(get rid of) my dogs. And...He said: "No, I will use these dogs to put you on the road to tell people about Me".
OK, I am sure I have lost a few more readers and some of you are convinced I have truly lost my mind to publicly state that I talk to Jesus, and he talks back to me!
Maybe that's why he plans to use me, because I don't care what people think of me. I care what He thinks of me, and that is why I try to be a man of my word.
He further went on to state that if I was half the servant to Him, that my dogs were to me, we could really get some things done. And on that note, I looked at how my dogs worshipped me, and loved on me every chance they got.
They wanted go everywhere I went and if I had trouble with anyone such as an intruder, they were there to defend me, or anything like a mule or a hog, they were there to back me up and help any way they could. They were eager to learn and followed my lead, even into harms way and were willing to lay thier life down to serve my interests. And they listened to me, they knew my voice, and could not speak, but did very much understand English.
Beaux Jeaque a son of Maurice and Angel
Do you talk to your dogs like they understand English?
If you don't, you should. And... you should help them to understand what you want, because whether you know it or not, they live to serve and please you.
Now furthermore, if you think you are, or you want to be a great hunter, why don't you try it with out your dogs and see how successful you are on your own.
My point here is we should show some appreciation and consideration for our best friend, who gives us bragging rights and puts meat on the table to feed our family.
Relate to your dog, he may have something to teach you. I will be putting up a post soon titled: My Dogs Are Smarter Than Me.
And now to the rest of the good news.
Amos, a two year old Plott/Catahoula cross with a lot of heart, and a lot of scars for his age. Bless his heart, he is trying to become a servant of someone who will give him a chance.
First I want to announce that due to the last post I put up with the picture of Amos the Plott/Catahoula cross(as seen above), I have found him. I am happy to announce, after several really good cuts on a hog hunt Monday, from which he is recovering just fine, Amos is in a good home with a young man who is just getting into hog hunting, and very pleased with the way Amos hunts. It appears Amos went through several owners since September when Kendall bought him from me, all of whom Brian claims were not giving the dog a chance to get to know them and warm up. Amos was being harshly judged by several people, all whom sold him for laying down and hanging around the feet of the hunter. Now Amos, who in spite of his ability to find and catch hogs, was not being given the chance to be the great dog, I believe he will become, if he survives a few more years. Brian Wendle in Columbus, Mississippi called me on Monday to get some advise on treating Amos's wounds and advised me that it appeared to be the dog in the photos of last weeks post, was his dog. And I really do appreciate his interest in the dogs welfare, and allowing me to know he is in a good home and as usual, he is getting it done to the best of his ability as a young started, two year old hog dog.
Because Amos will be set up healing for a while, I will meet Brian in Vicksburg to deliver a couple more young started dogs, to fill in for Amos until he is back to finding and catching again.
Also, another positive report, is the hunting lease I am going on about 45 minutes north of my house is over run with hogs. Wildlife cameras are in place at the feeders and showing a couple of big boars and at least two sows with a couple of litters of pigs each, we will be seeing if these new recruits in my yard, can bring home the bacon!
Simon and Coco will be 16 month old and going to the woods for the first time
They will have Sheila Kate, Patch, Scarlet, Luke Skywalker, Big, and Angel to show em how to do it, in case we get there and they, the newbies don't know what to do.
This is Luke Skywalker a son of Handsome and Lady
I will be photographing the hunt when possible and will try to get some video in of some good baying if possible. The problem with videoing a bay is that hogs tend to be very camera shy and usually run when they see me coming.
Just a joke!
This is Rose, a daughter of Patch and Bebe' at four months old, but is now almost two years old and will be out trying to find her first hog on her own.
I have about 9 or 10 started dogs between 16 months and two years old who are ready to fire off and be finding their own hogs this spring. This 3000 acre hunting lease should be just the ticket, because compared to the other options I have for hunting it is really close to home, and should allow plenty of hunting to come my way in the summer months if we can produce some caught and/or dead hogs and prove ourselves as a valuable contribution to the club.
And last but not least, I spent about an hour on the phone with Betty Ann Eaves working out my invitation into the N.A.L.C. yesterday. It seems a whole lot of people are so impressed with my dogs which I do not register N.A.L.C, that that they have been contacting her to try to get these dogs registered. Betty Ann wants to have all the papers of the dogs I have bought and brought into my kennel to breed to my old Louisiana working bloodline and get them into the N.A.L.C. books. When I started mentioning names like Ray, McQuire, Camp a While, Muddy Rivers, Two Diamonds, Wagers, C.W. Crews, Alexander's Smoke, etc, she asked why haven't you been registering these dogs?
My answer: I breed for performance, not pedigree.
See ya in the woods...
I'm sure many of you did not like seeing a picture of a dead dog at the top of my last post. And frankly, it was an ugly situation, and I did not like putting it there, but some things are about to change if I have anything to say about it.
I hope I haven't lost too many readers because of that picture, because I put it there hoping to help educate the public about the need to vaccinate puppies.
Well if you haven't figuired it out, let me state it plainly: I have the red ass!
And what is really chapping my ass is peoples failure to relate to their dogs and to me.
Or is it a failure to communicate? I know I did my part, because I have spent hundreds of hours on the phone trying to educate the public about relating to their dogs and proper care of these servants who are often doing their best to figuire out what we want from them.
So... bear with me here, because I am about to preach. Didn't you know I am a preacher?
Yes I am. Furthermore, I want to state, I did not go to school to become a preacher, and did not grow up in a church or a family that went to church or had religion.
But I did learn something along the way, it ain't about religion, it is about a personal relationship with our Creator through Christ.
Jesus clearly stated: No one gets to the Father unless he goes through Me. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Are you listening? And can I get an Amen!
I know some of you think you are saved because you got religion, a denomination, and a church. Well folks, it ain't about church either, it is about Christ and Him crucified.
And like our dogs who love us, and are willing to put their life on the line to serve us, Jesus Christ gave Himself as a living sacrifice, did the work we could never do on our own, hung on a cross, shed His blood, and is now begging for us to relate to Him personally. He wants you to do your part. He wants you to spend time with Him, talk to Him and love on Him. Just like your dog does. Ohh yah, I am comparing Christ to your dog, and I am sure gonna offend some people with that one!
Now I may have lost a few more readers here, but so be it, so if you are still with me, I ain't finished. And I ain't perfect, but I do have a new life, a new mind, a pure heart, and I have been transformed by Him, and he ain't finished with me.
Almost ten years ago, as I contemplated my service to the Lord, I was concerned that I had too many dogs and maybe they were hindering the ministry I was being called into, so I asked the Lord if I should sacrifice(get rid of) my dogs. And...He said: "No, I will use these dogs to put you on the road to tell people about Me".
OK, I am sure I have lost a few more readers and some of you are convinced I have truly lost my mind to publicly state that I talk to Jesus, and he talks back to me!
Maybe that's why he plans to use me, because I don't care what people think of me. I care what He thinks of me, and that is why I try to be a man of my word.
He further went on to state that if I was half the servant to Him, that my dogs were to me, we could really get some things done. And on that note, I looked at how my dogs worshipped me, and loved on me every chance they got.
They wanted go everywhere I went and if I had trouble with anyone such as an intruder, they were there to defend me, or anything like a mule or a hog, they were there to back me up and help any way they could. They were eager to learn and followed my lead, even into harms way and were willing to lay thier life down to serve my interests. And they listened to me, they knew my voice, and could not speak, but did very much understand English.
Do you talk to your dogs like they understand English?
If you don't, you should. And... you should help them to understand what you want, because whether you know it or not, they live to serve and please you.
Now furthermore, if you think you are, or you want to be a great hunter, why don't you try it with out your dogs and see how successful you are on your own.
My point here is we should show some appreciation and consideration for our best friend, who gives us bragging rights and puts meat on the table to feed our family.
Relate to your dog, he may have something to teach you. I will be putting up a post soon titled: My Dogs Are Smarter Than Me.
And now to the rest of the good news.
Amos, a two year old Plott/Catahoula cross with a lot of heart, and a lot of scars for his age. Bless his heart, he is trying to become a servant of someone who will give him a chance.
First I want to announce that due to the last post I put up with the picture of Amos the Plott/Catahoula cross(as seen above), I have found him. I am happy to announce, after several really good cuts on a hog hunt Monday, from which he is recovering just fine, Amos is in a good home with a young man who is just getting into hog hunting, and very pleased with the way Amos hunts. It appears Amos went through several owners since September when Kendall bought him from me, all of whom Brian claims were not giving the dog a chance to get to know them and warm up. Amos was being harshly judged by several people, all whom sold him for laying down and hanging around the feet of the hunter. Now Amos, who in spite of his ability to find and catch hogs, was not being given the chance to be the great dog, I believe he will become, if he survives a few more years. Brian Wendle in Columbus, Mississippi called me on Monday to get some advise on treating Amos's wounds and advised me that it appeared to be the dog in the photos of last weeks post, was his dog. And I really do appreciate his interest in the dogs welfare, and allowing me to know he is in a good home and as usual, he is getting it done to the best of his ability as a young started, two year old hog dog.
Because Amos will be set up healing for a while, I will meet Brian in Vicksburg to deliver a couple more young started dogs, to fill in for Amos until he is back to finding and catching again.
Also, another positive report, is the hunting lease I am going on about 45 minutes north of my house is over run with hogs. Wildlife cameras are in place at the feeders and showing a couple of big boars and at least two sows with a couple of litters of pigs each, we will be seeing if these new recruits in my yard, can bring home the bacon!
Simon and Coco will be 16 month old and going to the woods for the first timeThey will have Sheila Kate, Patch, Scarlet, Luke Skywalker, Big, and Angel to show em how to do it, in case we get there and they, the newbies don't know what to do.
This is Luke Skywalker a son of Handsome and Lady
I will be photographing the hunt when possible and will try to get some video in of some good baying if possible. The problem with videoing a bay is that hogs tend to be very camera shy and usually run when they see me coming.
Just a joke!
This is Rose, a daughter of Patch and Bebe' at four months old, but is now almost two years old and will be out trying to find her first hog on her own.
I have about 9 or 10 started dogs between 16 months and two years old who are ready to fire off and be finding their own hogs this spring. This 3000 acre hunting lease should be just the ticket, because compared to the other options I have for hunting it is really close to home, and should allow plenty of hunting to come my way in the summer months if we can produce some caught and/or dead hogs and prove ourselves as a valuable contribution to the club.
And last but not least, I spent about an hour on the phone with Betty Ann Eaves working out my invitation into the N.A.L.C. yesterday. It seems a whole lot of people are so impressed with my dogs which I do not register N.A.L.C, that that they have been contacting her to try to get these dogs registered. Betty Ann wants to have all the papers of the dogs I have bought and brought into my kennel to breed to my old Louisiana working bloodline and get them into the N.A.L.C. books. When I started mentioning names like Ray, McQuire, Camp a While, Muddy Rivers, Two Diamonds, Wagers, C.W. Crews, Alexander's Smoke, etc, she asked why haven't you been registering these dogs?
My answer: I breed for performance, not pedigree.
See ya in the woods...
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