Yesterday was the last day of pheasant season in the area where I live, so I took the dogs out to do some duck and pheasant hunting. Sophie and Dakota got a good workout in the cattails and brush, but this year the hunting is taking a toll on Sophie’s hips. When Sophie was 2 years old, we returned from hunting one day and found that she could not put any weight on her leg. Our vet x-rayed her and found that her hips were marginal for dysplasia; now at 5, the cold really seems to be affecting them and I wonder how many years of hunting she has left.
Our first stop was at a couple of ponds next to the river where ducks often come in, however the ponds were frozen over from the recent cold weather. We hunted the riverbank for pheasants but the dogs were not able to flush anything; there was a fresh pheasant track in the snow, but I have not yet taught the dogs to track. We returned to the Jeep and another hunter was launching his boat to hunt geese so we visited for a few minutes.
Our second stop was about 20 miles upstream. Here an occasional Whistler (Goldeneye) flew by but they kept to the middle of the river; ducks are beginning to migrate into the area so hunting should pick up. I set six decoys but there were not enough ducks flying to make it worth waiting, so I left the decoys and hunted the riverbank and hillside for pheasants. I met another hunter who had a nice looking Chessy and we visited a few minutes then continued on, where Sophie and Dakota flushed three hen pheasants.
Every time we’ve flushed a pheasant from that area, it has either been a hen if pheasant season is open, or a rooster if pheasant season is closed and today was no exception. We had lunch – Sophie and Dakota each got a can of dog food, and I had a Chicken and Dumplings MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) entrée and trail mix. I sat with the decoys another half hour or so but nothing was flying, so I called it a day.
We gave both dogs got a warm shower when I returned home – primarily Sophie who had rolled in a rotten carp. Sophie looks forward to her warm after-hunt showers, and afterwards we gave her a low-dose aspirin for her hip.
For more information on my MRE lunch, see the Tips, Tricks and Techniques page for the post “Meals Ready to Eat”.
Tags: , dog arthritis, dog health, dog hip problems, dysplasia
