Final Prep for Opening Day

Final Prep for Opening Day

Hunting success usually hinges on preparation. These tips from top gun-dog trainers around the country will help you and your dog get ready for Opening Day. SPONSORED CONTENT No matter what you hunt, where you hunt or whom you hunt with, Opening Day has a special kind...
Dove-Hunting Doodle

Dove-Hunting Doodle

If you’re looking for a family-loving, energetic, highly trainable pet that can also be helpful in the field, a Doodle may be right up your alley. These days, when we hear of the poodle breeds, we may imagine tall, slim, pampered pups with questionable...
Traits of the Pheasant-Hunting Dog

Traits of the Pheasant-Hunting Dog

The relevant and meaningful question isn’t “Which breed is best for pheasants?” It’s “Which breed is right for me?” No upland gamebird engenders so much disagreement, disputation and plain, unvarnished discord as the ring-necked pheasant. Other gamebirds are rarely...
The Cocker World’s Dog Whisperer

The Cocker World’s Dog Whisperer

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...
What My Daughter (and My Dog) Gave Me

What My Daughter (and My Dog) Gave Me

It started with a puppy and an adventurous little girl. Every fire needs a catalyst and for me it was that orange-and-white ball of boundless energy and a daughter with an interest. Mesa was not my first Brittany—I’d had two before, but even with dreams of days in...
An American Water Spaniel in Grouse Country

An American Water Spaniel in Grouse Country

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...
A Little Known Disease that Can Affect Man and Dog

A Little Known Disease that Can Affect Man and Dog

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...
Good Dogs Buried

Good Dogs Buried

How many good dogs you gonna bury before one buries you? Blue weighed 90 pounds, with webbed feet big as biscuits, long legs and a deep chest, the biggest Lab bitch I ever saw, out of Tomahawk, Wisconsin, from a kennel of field champions. An undertaker gave her away....
McCracken Joins Sporting Classics

McCracken Joins Sporting Classics

Emma M. McCracken has recently joined the Sporting Classics team as its new Assistant Editor – Digital and will oversee production of Sporting Classics Daily e-newsletter, along with other aspects of Sporting Classics’ digital channels. McCracken is an MA of English...