What do hunting archers do in the off season other than building and maintaining their equipment? Answer...have fun.
The following are excerpts taken from recent E-mail exchanges between hunting archers. Last fall I had promised both Daryl Harding and Dean Torges a hunting beagle pup. I picked out a nice little female for Daryl and Dean got...well, Dean got Haggis. It was Daryl's first and Dean's upteenth. I fall somewhere between the two. The inexperienced houndman had several questions on the care and training of his pup and sought the advice of the experienced.
Dean- Hope your weary bones have recovered in part from the grind of running off all those books on the mimeograph machine in time to staple them together and THEN get down to Cloverdale to sell out the first edition! WHEW!
Tom- Are you "powered up" again by now? You are a hero here at my
house. Sophie is being well loved and is enjoying all the attention a
new puppy could ask for. We'll take some pictures, but I wish you had
seen the W-I-D-E smiles when the kids knew she was coming home with us!
Thought I'd ask the old beagle masters a little about your prescibed tactics in dealing with a new pup. If this aspect of your life is consistent with other areas, I would assume you do a goodly amount of shadetree vet work, as has been my habit from a lifetime of livestock production. Still, I want to do my best for beautiful, little, sweet, smart, talented Sophie (OK, so she's growing on me!).
What are your thought on the topics of:
1. Shots
2. Worming
3. Dew Claws
4. Food and Feeding
5. Flea and Tick control
6.General-tips-destined-to-make-these-the-best-goll-durned-huntin'-dogs-in-the-whole-wide-world (Is that too general?)
We're getting along famously so far. With all my dog resources already in use for 200# of black labs (who I hope to give away), I'm into my free puppy for about $300 so far for kennel materials, doghouse supplies, and food. It's been well worth it, though. Soph is doing well. She hates to be in her kennel, loves to be with us, cries when put in the pet carrier for a break-time inside (until she falls asleep 2 minutes later), and wants to befriend the cat and 6 kittens (who in turn want to make HER look like shredded Whitewater documents). She's a brave little explorer, and finds every scent to be of great interest, just as you'd expect with the breed. The kids love her. My wife loves her. If I weren't such an incredibly macho he-man.... well, I think she's... "all right"!
Tom, thanks again.
Dean, tell Haggis hello from the Harding clan- all 4, I mean 5!, of us. Wipe the guts off his nose, and give him a kiss from Sophie. I smile everytime I think of him and his "handle".
Until next time...
Daryl
Hello Daryl,
I've given shots, cut claws, and bobbed tails (Brittanies) but do none of this myself anymore. Youngest has worked for vet hospital for couple of years and is leaning that way towards a career. I never had the stomach for it anyway. Your call here, if you can do it, do it. Vets aren't cheap.
We have our dogs on garlic and yeast pills daily and works at least as good, if not better, as the sprays and lotions and dogs prefer it also. Still have to pull a tick off from under collar occasionally but even this spring when both ticks and fleas are bad, dogs pick up very few.
Pups had a few hook worms which can be eliminated within two weeks with pills. Most pups I see get these, must come from nursing.
Don't know proper feeding requirements but I feed my dogs once a day of an evening. Less in summer than winter and lower protein in summer than winter. Let'em run or they will get fat quickly. Had a couple get heavy on me this past winter as I was not able to run them as much as they should due to my injury.
I think #6 was trick question and I have neither answer or opinion on it.
Daryl I have seen those wide smiles when new pups arrive...from both sides of face. Keep in mind pup was for youngtser. If you want your own pup we can do that next spring if you like. :-) I am going to breed TomBoy one time if I find me a good female that will give me the heavy ticked dogs I like.
Dean is considerably older and more experienced than myself so probably has some good tricks for raising and hunting beagles. Let me know if he passes on any of this wisdom to you. I suspect one day to be running dogs with the ole man and I do not want my dogs to be at disadvantage because of lack of knowledge of owner.Enjoy pup Daryl. One of the big advantages to owning beagle is that no matter how shitty your day has been, when you come home pup will always be glad to see you and ready for whatever you want to do, play in yard, run you a rabbit, or just lay in lap and keep you company. Much in same way wives did before they got the right to vote. ;-)
Enjoy,
Tom
Daryl,
1. Shots
Buy 7-way shots from a supply house like Happy Jack for about 5 dollars per year and administer them yourself, subcutaneously.
2. Worming
Use IVOMEC, which you have in solution for pigs, right? Same pds. per cc for dogs as pigs. Give orally once a month in the mosquito season. Takes care of all worms (hooks, rounds, whips), including the dreaded heart worm, except for tapes. These you deal with after dog puts face into rabbit gut pile and lingers there before you can retrieve him.
3. Dew Claws
Tom shoulda done this at birth. Still not too late, but will hurt dog
for a while. Should be done as is a painful injury when torn on adult
dog. And it happens when hunting. Use sharp scissors and lay alongside
as close to leg bone as possible. Snip. Puppy will lick, so be careful
of antiseptic you use. Alternative is to pay vet 50 dollars to do same
thing. When first born, you can bite them off. A good idea to do it this
way as you can actually feel for the joint with your teeth and the claw
almost falls off with no perceptible healing time following.
4. Food and Feeding
Puppies should be full fed. Moisten food at first till it turns soft. Keep as much in front of them as they will eat. Fresh water, too. Do not leave extra food around as attracts flies, etc.
5. Flea and Tick control
I just sprinkle rotenone on the bedding. Sevin works, too--better even.
6. General-tips-destined-to-make-these-the-best-goll-durned-huntin'-dogs-in-the-whole-wide-world
Let him run loose as long as you can. Humanize him as much as possible (shouldn't be any trouble with kids). Never call him to you to scold him. Stay out of his way when he is running rabbits (he knows more from the start than you do). Do not be afraid to scold him for jumping up on people, etc. He needs a boss. Dogs do. Don't let them become the boss. You may like that, but your friends will detest you for it when they visit. Teach him that male littermates are inherently superior.
If Tom tells you differently on any of this, let me know. He is probably right. Being younger, he knows the knewer, up-to-date ways.
Dean
Daryl, as suspected Dean knows his stuff on beagles. Probably part hound hisself. Pups should have been clawed at birth, better on dog and owner, but were not my pups. I got them couple days before delivering. Haven't decided if he yanking our chains or not on his method of removal. If he bites'em off he better man than me. If you bite'em off now at pups present age you better man than both of us. I do wrap leg rather than allow dog to lick but will heal either way.
One other thing you might run into is if dog tends to be quiet while running. Never saw any big advantage in running dogs with others to "learn the ropes". As Dean says they do it on their own. However, if you have quiet dog, putting her behind a good howler will get it started. We get together this fall and put Sophie with Brandy and let'em go. Maybe talk Gentleman Jerry into coming down.
Dean, have you ever used cedar chips for flea control. Never went to that much trouble myself but those "young" guys you talking about say it works.
Tom
Tom,
Think cedar is more for humans than for fleas. Masks doggy odors, ya know.
Dean
Dean
Don't understand this. Nothing smells nicer than clean beagle. What are they trying to cover up? Course you gotta catch'em before they roll in something dead. Daryl's pup will never do this but yours??? Good luck
Tom
You are correct, Tom. But you must remember, this advice came from "young" guys. As for Haggis, I am sending measurements to Marc Barger for a scent-lok suit for the little booger.
Dean
Daryl
PS, like Tom sez, my feeling is that young dogs become better dogs by learning on their own than by being taught they can't keep up, don't know which way the track turned, etc., etc., by older "teacher". They only lack experience. Can't get it on a chain.
Dean
Thanks to both-
Dictating this note from the hospital, where I've just been upgraded to "Serious" condition, which is considerably better than the "Critical" of a few hours ago.
You see, as I finished snipping off Sophie's vestigial dew claw earlier this afternoon, she inadvertently snapped at the pain, just catching the tip of my earlobe with her needle-sharp teeth and causing me to inhale sharply in surprise. The flow of air in the direction of my lungs dislodged the dew claw, which I still held between my teeth (having had no time to spit), and I sucked it, bug-eyed, into my trachea. The little claw is sharp, of course (as you undoubtedly know well), and the pointed tip lodged in my throat, right behind that little hangy-ball thing, and in the flap that separates food-tube from air-tube (hope I'm not being too technical, here). Have you ever tried to do the Heimlich manuveur on yourself??? It was most unsuccessful, although I dislocated my right shoulder in the attempt. Rotator cuff surgery is scheduled for Friday. Still choking, and turning a particularly interesting shade of blue at this point, I knew I needed to find help.
I picked myself up off the ground, where I had been writhing in pain from the shoulder injury, and ran to the porch in something that might have appeared to be sheer panic, although I was, of course, quite calm. Jerking the door open, I hit myself full in the face with corner of it- shattering the priceless stained glass window in it along with my upper and lower front teeth. I would have settled for the embarrassment if only the blow had knocked loose the oxygen-depriving dew claw, but could I be so lucky? Dental reconstruction will take place a week from Thursday, if I'm out of the hospital.
On my feet once again, my world spinning from the minor concussion and the lack of air, I stumbled into the living room where my loving family sat doing their home schooling (today's lesson: watching Jerry Springer on- "I'd slept with my cousin, but why do they call it 'sleeping'.") They were aghast! I was wild-eyed, bleedy profusely from the mouth, and something approaching a very dark purple. They were my last hope. As one they rose to their feet- wife, daughter, and son leaping to assist, expressions of concern and compassion were evident on every face. Though consciousness was fading, I heard their angelic voices calling. "Poor Sophie!!" they cried to the beagle pup which I had unknowingly failed to put down outside. "What happened to 'ur poor wittle, itsy-bitsy foot!!!"
Skull fractures aren't nearly as painful as you may have heard, and the news wasn't all bad, you see. As I went over backward like a yew felled for billets (and the kids took the puppy from my arms so she wouldn't get hurt), I struck the back of my head on our quarry tile floor. The resounding "whack" is difficult to describe in tone... something between the sound made by a 40# watermelon hitting when thrown from a railroad bridge and the noise Jim Thome makes when he smacks a bowling ball with a railroad tie (I'm sure you know what I mean). Still, I was.... LUCKY! The 900 foot/pound impact on the back of my skull broke it into a fine-meshed gravel consistency, but FINALLY knocked loose the life-threatening dew claw (I'll probably be in orthopedic surgery for skull reconstruction by the time you read this- I've requested Resorcinal and strips of Osage if normal bone grafts can't be done).
You would have thought I'd be unconscious, but I distinctly remember opening my eyes widely as I FINALLY drew air into my starving lungs in loud, wrenching gulps. Yes, my eyes were wide open, and I watched helplessly as the now-expelled dew claw described a gentle arc, accelerating at 32 ft./sec./sec. as it fell toward earth. No, skull fractures don't hurt all that badly, but a torn cornea and perforated lens is almost delicious in its indescribable torment. The opthamologist assures me he can match my other eye perfectly with one of the new colors of glass if the post operative infection continues to spread through my body.
Finally, I passed out. OK, so I'm a wimp. Not EVERYONE can have Mediterranean blood flowing their veins. When I awoke a St. Francis hospital, I had a DEVIL of a time convincing the priest that Presbyterians don't take the Last Rights.
Did I mention the torn ligaments in my left knee and the ruptured spleen? Well, I don't want two fine friends like you to think I'm a chronic complainer, so I'll just skip that part. After all, the ambulance driver didn't mean to hit that school bus (or so says my attorney). In spite of it all, if the liver transplant is done in time (don't even ask), and the anti-rejection drugs seem well regulated, I hope to see you both at the GLLI. I'm hoping that Hungarian chap will let me try shooting from his horse. Some how, at this point, it doesn't seem so dangerous.
Thanks for all your advice, some of it was very helpful. I thought I should let you know, though, that the Harding's now have a family vet, and I suspect we may use him from now on.
From your friend, and one fortunate dude....
Daryl
Daryl
Nothing amuses me more than another man's pain and anguish. Only way I can really divert attention from my own. You were a very successful diversion, trumping me in every category.
Dean
