Blind Ambitions

I am pretty sure this will be the last entry to the Blind Ambitions blog. I want to thank everyone that has visited on a frequent basis to read my ramblings. Over the past two months or so it has become difficult for me to keep the blog updated on a daily basis, and since the beginning it has not been a very active blog as far as hits are concerned, which leaves me feeling it’s not worth the time and effort to continue. I may try and change the format of this blog some in the near future to make it appealing to a wider range of readers, but for know I bid you all a sincere thank you and goodbye.

Avery Hexabumpers

Product Description: The first training bumper innovation in years! The HexaBumper’s design eliminates many of the disadvantages of traditional round bumpers and holds up to the daily routines of pro trainers!

• Six flat sides for easier hold
• Raised VGrips promote superior hold
• Valveless design will never take on water
• Firm bumper reduces chomping tendency
• Flasher produces hi-vis strobe effect
• Throw rope included
• 2″ & 3″ diameter models

My Review: In my opinion, the best bumper made period. These are great, thye have no valves top fail or leak, theya re balanced and the weight is great to get a good long throw. I have used them for quite some time and you cannot destroy them. The shape has helped with dogs that have mouthing issues, I cannot say enough good things about them. The only negative I cna say about them , is like most quality equipment, thye are expensive. Most places they run between $5 and $6 per bumper. The initial cost is steep, but they do hold up and last longer than any bumper I have used before. There are some volume discounts for kennels and clubs, if you buy 5 dozen you can get them for $200, which is about $3.33 per bumper, a pretty substantial discount. They come in 4 colors, white, black, orange and black/white flasher. There is a “Pro-Pack of 6 bumpers, which is pictured above, you get three white, on e balck, one orange and a flasher. Give these things a try, you’ll be happy you did.

Armadillo Foam Midi-Mallard:

Product Description: Roughly 2/3 the size of our life-size birds; floats well in the water; excellent for use with wingers; combination of size and balance encourages the dog to properly grip the bird in the middle; appropriate coloring to simulate the real thing; accepts scent; foam body helps to maintain a soft mouth; Range Extender Grip as standard equipment.  Designed for working with grown and adolescent dogs.

My Review: I got 5 of these to try out, and must say I am very pleased. They feel great, they throw good, and the dogs really seem to like them. They are much tougher than I thought they would be, and I believe they will hold up as advertised after using them several times. The paint seems to hold up pretty well considering it is painted on foam. My only complaint is that the midi-mallard doens’t come with the range extender grip liek the full size Armadillo Foam products do. It can be overcome by tying some knots in the rope however. You can find Armadillo Foam products at www.armadillofoam.com I will be buying more of their products in the future.

Now that duck seaosn has ended most places, guys without a dog start thinking, “Man I need a dog for next year”. If this is you, that is great, you are in for one heck of a journey.

There are some previous psotings I did on picking out a puppy and reading pedigrees that may be helpful as well as what to look for in health clearances. You cna click on the training tips icon to get to those articles.

What I wanted to discuss here is what someone needs to get their puppy started off right as far a retriever goes. You don’t need a thousand dollars worth of training gear with a young puppy. In fact if you search the net, youc an find puppy trianign kits sold at many of the dog supply places I mentioned yesterday.

Some of the things you want to make sure you have are as follows: a crate, a 4-6 ft. lead, a choke chain or pinch collar (puppy sized), small canvas puppy bumpers, a whistle, heeling stick (won’t need it right away though) and a cap gun. This will get you from the time you bring your pup home up until around six months, at which point you will need a variety of bumpers, check cords, blank pistol, and an e-collar.

In some coming articles we will look at why a dog should be crate trained, choke chain vs pinch collar, and some gear reviews will be coming soon as well, so please check back often.

This is the Avery Pro Trainer’s Bag Kit available form Mack’s Prairie Wings

http://www.mackspw.com/Item–i-AVEPROCB

Yesterday, I had to place an internet order for some new bumpers and other gear I need. I spent an hour before dawn looking at different sites to find the best deal. Being a small one man operation I have to try and save where I can. So I figured I would share some links for places I like to use to order dog training gear.

 Lion Country Supply: www.lcsupply.com

They have just about everything you can imagine for retrievers and upland dogs. Good prices, excellent quality on their house brand stuff (Better LCS brand). Ususually my first place to check when I need something. Also has good sales from time to time.

Gun Dog Supply: www.gundogsupply.com

Another large retailer with a huge selection. Prices are in line with everyone else. Probably my second choice when I need to order something.

Dixie Dog Supply: www.dixiedogsupply.com

Limited selection of stuff, but great prices and if you are an HRC member you get a discount. Mainly deals with Avery, Bumper Boy, SportDog, and Hallmark. If you are looking for something from one of the mentioned companies, this is a great place to check.

These are the places I buy most of my gear like bumpers, pinch collars, choke chains, leads, collars, vests, blank pistols, blanks, etc. I would encourage you to check these guys out when you need to pick up some new gear.

If you are looking to buy a new SportDog collar, I am now a dealer so please check out http://www.averycreek.net/SportdogE-Collars.html

Here are a couple photos taken by moose over at Moose Droppings toook last weekend while we were hunting tundra swan. I’ll post more as the week goes on, but these were some of my favorites.

I have recently had the honor of being named to the SportDog Brand Pro Staff. This is an honor for me, and I hope it will benefit SportDog as well. I have been using SportDog brand products for several years now, and truly believe there is not a better value out there as far as electronic collars go. Along with being a memeber of their Pro Staff, I am also a dealer for their products. If you visit my kennels website (www.averycreek.net) you can find out information on what products I can get and prices. I hope this is a long and mutually beneficial partnership. You cna check out information on some of their staff members here.

When trying to figure out what dog food to feed to keep your dog lena and healthy, you must learn to read a food label. Two things you want to look for on a bag of dog food is the guaranteed analysis and the ingredient list.  

The guaranteed analysis lists the minimum levels of crude protein and fat and the maximum levels of fiber and water. The guaranteed analysis can be helpful but only when coupled with an ingredient list. When you read an ingredient list, all ingredients are listed by weight. In a good quality food the first ingredient will be a meat or meat by product.

There is a very good tutorial for how to read a label at Pet Education.

The main thing I tyr to explain is that I don’t want  a food that has corn as the numbe rone ingredient or one that has corn listed several times (such as ground corn, corn gluten, corn bran). The other thing to remembr is if the main ingredient says chicken, that it is the pre processed weight of the chicken, so after processing, water loss will lower the meat weight. Chicken by product will not lose weight during processing and is a great source of protein.

Just take some time and search around for info on dog food labels and familiarize yourself with some of the information out there to help you make the best decision possible for your dog.

As I have mentioned before I feed Diamond dog food to all the dogs in my kennel.

Got in late last night after 5 days of guiding tundra swan hunters in Washington County, NC. We had a great time, and had were 100% with folks getting their bird. The weather was crazy and made it interesting, but in the end everyhting worked out. My wife killed her second tundra swan last Friday, and I took one down shortly after. I’ll be working to get some stories and pictures up about some of the hunts as soon as I can get unpacked.

I got some sad news last night, a buddy of mine lost his lab on the operating table yesterday.

As I understand, the dog had eaten some mulch and a piece had punctured her intestine. They couldn’t find anything on an X-Ray, so the decision was made to cut her open and take a look.

Once they found the mulch, the doctor removed 9 inches of intestine, and began to sew her back up. She never made it through the surgery.

I know how badly it feels to lose one, and Lil’ Bit was jsut an year and half old. I had Lil’ Bit to train her for a time, and she came into heat so she went home and we planned to get her back this spring.

Sometimes I think the world would be better if dogs outlived their owners.

You will be missed little girl: “A Little Bit of Duck Action”