by Tom Davis | Aug 25, 2020
Gundog handler and trainer, Jordan Horak, is known as the “dog whisperer” of cocker spaniels, beginning as a young up-and-comer to becoming a national pro. A few years ago— late-October 2015, to be precise—I had the pleasure of hunting woodcock in central Wisconsin...
by Tom Davis | Aug 13, 2020
When it comes to gundogs and snakes, know your enemy and be prepared. For many of us, September means the first hunting of the season: doves, teal, prairie grouse. September also means warm if not downright hot weather—and the need to be aware of the health risks...
by Tom Davis | Jul 30, 2020
He owned an American water spaniel—the state dog of Wisconsin and one of just a handful of AKC-recognized sporting breeds of North American origin. It’s never a good sign when you begin a day of hunting pacing a veterinary clinic parking lot waiting for the place to...
by Tom Davis | Jul 10, 2020
Two days after winning an 82-dog open all-age stake in the summer of 2016, Labrador retriever Stinger was barely able to walk… We’re all suckers for a comeback story, and one is, of course, Tiger Woods. Crippled by multiple injuries, his career in limbo and his quest...
by Tom Davis | Jun 23, 2020
No dog, to anybody’s knowledge, has done what Heidi did and racked up all the upland birds and all the migratory birds. In the late 1990s, on a beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, George Calef’s eye was caught by a smallish chocolate Lab. The dog was retrieving a...
by Tom Davis | Jun 15, 2020
Legendary dog trainer, Al Brenneman, promoted a simple, straightforward, common-sense approach to starting a puppy in the field. The best part of doing what I do is the cast of characters it’s allowed me to rub elbows with along the way. In other words, it’s the...
by Tom Davis | May 26, 2020
The practice of neutering at an early age may increase a dog’s risk for developing a laundry list of serious health problems. In terms of wisdom-per-page, a slim little paperback called Common Sense Grouse and Woodcock Dog Training by Roy W. Strickland as told to John...
by Tom Davis | Apr 28, 2020
This has been a big season for books. You’ve undoubtedly caught wind by now of the Sporting Classics book on famed outdoor illustrator (and Hemingway pal) Lynn Bogue Hunt, Lynn Bogue Hunt: Artist, Angler, Hunter. It just so happens that I scribbled the text for it,...
by Tom Davis | Apr 27, 2020
My pro trainer friend Bob Olson had been raving about the Switchback Dog Blind/Kennel Crate, and when I finally made it up to his place (River Road Kennels in Lena, Wisconsin) for a look, I immediately became a believer. While the Switchback has a lot to recommend...
by Tom Davis | Feb 26, 2020
An angel at home and a demon in the field, the French Brittany packs maximum ability in minimum volume. In the 30 years or so that I’ve been scribbling about gundogs, the biggest “breed story” has been the renaissance of the cocker spaniel. Finding a decent hunting...
