Has your wirehair dropped hints about needing a trip to the spa for a bikini wax?

 When your setter pants, does its tongue dangle lower than an abandoned long lead on an unruly giraffe?

 Do you find your vizsla loitering around the refrigerator ice dispenser or stockpiling cooler packs?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time to acknowledge that summer is upon us and we need to give extra thought to keeping our bird dogs cool.

Seriously…Dogs have higher body temperatures than humans, and it takes them longer to cool down than it does us. Although they can shed heat by panting, the only surfaces that “sweat” on a dog are its nose and foot pads. On warm days, other than when there is an early morning dew, the temperature down at a dog’s running level close to the ground can be much hotter than up at our breathing level. If the air temperature around is us 80 degrees, by afternoon, in thick hot grass, it could be over 100 degrees at dog level. What is tricky is determining whether the dog is approaching heat stroke or is simply panting as is normal when it is warm.

There are two types of panting. Controlled panting is a natural cooling mechanism. Uncontrolled panting is not. The way to determine the difference is to call, whistle, wave or do something to distract the dog. If the panting is controlled, the dog will close its mouth and look to see what’s going on, showing the ability to regulate that panting. Not responding – not pausing the panting or momentarily closing the mouth – can indicate distress. Then it’s time to intervene and cool the dog down by rinsing thick saliva out of the mouth, immersing in cool water (never ice!), and applying rubbing alcohol soaked pads or cloths to the dog’s armpits, legpits, underbelly, and under ear flaps.

Besides that heavy panting, symptoms of overheating include excessive thirst, dark red gums, heavy salivation, and poor coordination. You can test for dehydration by pinching a roll of skin on the back of a dog’s neck. If it “sticks” up, hydration probably is needed.

Further symptoms of heat stroke include glassy eyes, weakness, vomiting or bloody diarrhea, increased pulse and heartbeat, collapse and seizures.  Typically, a dog’s temperature should be 101 – 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. When a dog’s temperature hits 109 degrees or higher, its cells literally start to deteriorate. Within minutes, heat stroke can cause critical damage to the dog’s brain, liver, heart and nervous system as the brain swells and kidneys shut down.

Cooling an overheated or hyperthermic dog must be done carefully. The first thing to do is to move the dog to a cool place—shade, creek, fan, air conditioned building or vehicle. Again, never put ice on the dog or immerse it in ice. Place cool wet towels or pour cool water over the dog, concentrating on the head, neck and underside of the dog’s legs.

The cooling process must be gradual, so the temperature drops slowly. If a dog’s temperature drops too quickly, the risk of damage to internal organs increases. If the temperature gets down to 104 degrees and the dog can keep its head up, offer small drinks of water; too much water can induce vomiting. Once the dog’s temperature reaches 102.5 degrees, stop the cooling process (it might be smart to keep a canine rectal thermometer in your first aid kit).

Having plenty of water is priority one—gallon jugs in the truck and squirt bottles in the bird vest. That being said, we don’t want to turn our dogs into hippo-sized water balloons, so we need to watch and monitor input and output. Some dogs don’t like to drink in the field or while hunting. Adding a gravy or beef bouillon to the water bottle can help.

Priority two is making sure there’s a cool down spot nearby. Shade, vehicle AC, stream, water, canopies, etc. Consider keeping one of those reflective silver mesh shade tarps on hand. Draped lean-to style over a raised hatch, open truck back window, or tree branches, these tarps reflect sun but let in the breeze, considerably dropping the temperature underneath. 

We have to be smarter than our dogs. Some of these bird-seeking-missiles have an override switch when it comes to self-regulating in the heat. To prevent your dog from impersonating a burnt fajita left flat out on the griddle plate, a little planning, a lot of observing, and some prompt responding can go a long way.

Most of us know not to let our dogs near antifreeze, chocolate, and grapes. Unfortunately, those are just a drop in the toxin bucket when it comes to substances dangerous for dogs to ingest.

While the Ugly Dog canine staff prefers to live by the “my lips are the litmus test” rule when it comes to scarfing down dubious, risky, and sometimes downright astonishing substances, we human staffers know better.  Levels of toxicity can depend on the poison, amount eaten, size of the dog and other factors, but the adage “better safe than sorry” is the best rule.

Here’s a basic list of things that can be poisonous to your dog. These are just a few of the more toxic ones. For complete lists, an online search will give you several reliable websites for more complete listings.

Food: Onion/garlic, chocolate, macadamia nuts, avocado, coffee/caffeine, grapes/raisins, alcohol, marijuana (cannabis), mustard seeds, sweeteners (particularly Xylitol). And don’t forget foods that aren’t toxic but can easily cause blockages, such as corn cobs and peach pits.

Home and Yard Products:: Antifreeze, cocoa mulch, insecticides, mouse bait, ice melt, mothballs, fertilizers.

Plants: Mistletoe, thorn apple, English ivy, castor bean, dieffenbachia, hemlock, oleander.

Symptoms of poisoning may include difficulty breathing, profuse salivation, stomach pain, irregular heart, seizures/convulsions, rigidity, extended legs, bluish mucous membranes, and shivering.

What to do? Don’t make your dog vomit if you don’t know what was ingested. Don’t make your dog vomit if it ingested a caustic or alkaline substance.  Do make your dog vomit if  you know what was ingested (foods, plants, antifreeze glycols). Use hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting, giving .05 – 1 ml per pound of dog’s weight. Consult a veterinarian and/or animal poison hotline asap. You might be advised to give activated charcoal as well.    

Ugly Dog Hunting has always carried a variety of training bumpers. The Avery Hexabumper — an all around “go-to” bumper — comes in a choice of colors all with easy-grab ridges and strong throw ropes. The Avery Perfect Hold also has the Vgrips but adds dumb bell ends to thwart cigar-style holds. Dokken’s classic Dead Fowl Trainers appease handlers’ imaginations with a selection of bird types while teaching young pups the heft of a dead bird. Our inventory has several other smart, purposeful bumpers, but the dogs on staff here have their own ideas.

Assistant Director of Inventory Reclamation, Riviera Rugertoes, announced at the last management meeting that she is tired of picking up bumpers strewn across the headquarters’ property by Shorthair Emeritus Scratch ‘n Sniff. Unfortunately due to his advanced age and daily dose of hallucinogenic medications, Scratch tosses his bumpers aside every time a whiff of tasty rabbit turd assaults his nostrils. He then promptly forgets where he threw them. To fix this, Riv has created the Magnet Mama homing bumper. Shaped like a ball peen hammer, the Magnet Mama contains a patented boomerang magnet system that, if thrown aside, sends itself back to its source with a substantial bonk on the head. Offering him a bottle of buffered aspirin to relieve bonk-induced headaches, Riviera has conned Scratch into beta testing the Magnet Mama and is bribing the local rabbits with bib lettuce and carrot souffle to establish reliable excremental parameters for evaluation of the new product.

On the bumper aesthetics front, our VP of Looking Good While Wrecking Havoc, PDog Fieldsprinter, has demanded glitter studded training bumpers that not only glow in the dark but also squirt beef bouillon on long retrieves. Her rationale is that beauty is only fur deep, and while a bumper can’t counter that by saying it’s got a nice personality, it can redeem its inner value by amusing other senses.

The third bumper in production by Ugly Dog’s staff – clearly designed by committee – is the U Wantit U Fetchit bumper. Cleverly crafted for use by creatures without opposable thumbs, U Wantit U Fetchit is launched by your dog via a mechanized tail catapult (adjustable for those with cropped tails) for you, the handler of all commands, to fetch in a brilliant game of Trading Places. We have had long debates, however, over optional accessories. The beer-seeking sensor was approved immediately given the rationale that humans are more likely to be compliant in a training session if beer is involved. The ecollar electric arc generator intended to furnish payback to heavy-handed trainers is still under review. U Wantit U Fetchit should be on the market by late spring, assuming the Ugly Dog Research and Development team will stop repeatedly binge-watching all eight seasons of Dexter.

Chronicles of a typical two week period in a New England ruffed grouse season…

One dog ran into an electric fence three times within two minutes. Fortunately it wasn’t live, the fence that is. Big dog bounded into it, bounced back out of it. Looked around confused, then charged it again. This time he stumbled with one foot caught in the lowest wire. Then he backed away, ran to his left and charged right into it again. All hunters present agreed that dog’s IQ is questionable.

The other dog dragged his hunter companion through what seemed like 20 miles of thick dogwood and buckthorn – the  kind that grabs ankles, wrenches knees and makes arms look like refugees from a cat fight…with a cat. After the dog pointed and tracked, pointed and tracked, a bunny raced through the underbrush. The dog’s owner bellowed “Rabbit, bad!” cursing the allegedly experienced bird dog. Then a lovely plump woodcock zoomed out of the tangle in front of the dog.

Never have so many chipmunks materialized in one region, however. Understandably no one knows where they come from or where they go, but a shockingly large population appears during grouse season. Probably due to global warming.

So far this season these two hunters have shot maples, dogwood, alders, black locust, sumac, oaks, cedars, beechnut trees and hemlocks. They’ve shot air, mist, leaves, rain, saplings, bark and inadvertently one abandoned squirrel’s nest.

Nevertheless, the magical chaos – and calm – of grouse season proves again and again that hunter and dog hunt as a team with communication fine-tuned over the years. Ugly and not-so-ugly bird dogs tell us we need to hunt more and need to hunt again, and that it’s okay if we run out of 7½ shot – 6’s will be just fine.

Terry Wilson – Election for Vice President of NAVHDA

NAVHDA BACKGROUND  – I have been an active NAVHDA member for 16 years on both local and International levels. As a longtime member of the Yankee Chapter, I volunteer regularly as a gunner and bird planter. I have trained and tested my German wirehairs to multiple NA and UT prizes and Versatile Champion titles. I am a NAVHDA judge and an Invitational volunteer.  

Over the years I have helped many chapters through fundraising and donations for their programs, equipment, and other major purchases. I arranged and underwrote the Wingshooting USA filming of the 2015 Invitational. I was co-designed and underwrote the large display panels used in the NAVHDA Pheasant Fest booth, the annual meeting, and elsewhere.

My company, Ugly Dog Hunting, has been a NAVHDA International corporate sponsor for 16 years and an event donor for the Annual Meetings and Invitationals.

Seven years ago, I co-founded the NAVHDA Youth Endowment Fund – the catalyst for two out of the three NAVHDA youth programs today.

 

PLATFORM – I am running independently, not aligned with anyone else running for a NAVHDA office.

• Corporate Sponsors – We have four corporate sponsors. There is no reason why we cannot add three or four more. An organization with 11,000 members offers significant impact to potential sponsors in terms of exposure and reach. Additional sponsors would not only bring in funds but would also broaden NAVHDA’s visibility. As VP, I would use my industry contacts in the wingshooting and hunting dog community to help bring in more corporate sponsors.
• Conservation Partners – Many of our members hunt waterfowl and support Ducks Unlimited. I would work hard to create a partnership with DU and more conservation organizations. As with our current partners, sharing support and chapter connections would be a win-win situation for all.
• Invitational – Due to the increase in yearly participants, the Invitational faces tremendous pressure to meet its needs for staffing, grounds, and funding. I have heard many feasible options for relieving that pressure. I would work with the EC, Invitational Committee, chapter leaders, members, and the Managing Director to develop a fair, balanced plan accommodating more than one event per year and making the Invitational more accessible to members in different regions.
• Apprentice Judge Scholarship Program – With local chapter support and International’s program combined, our ability to attract and retain new apprentices will be substantial. Several chapters offer their own apprentice judge scholarships. I would help other local chapters set up similar programs.
• Anti-Hunting Dog Legislation – Every year, a number of states propose legislation that would inhibit or outright ban hunting with dogs. These bills usually address the “low-hanging fruit” such as bear or coyote dogs, acknowledging that rabbit and bird dogs would be next. I would set up a network reaching out to other dog clubs and hunting organizations to share information on pending bills and collaborate in the fight for our right to breed, own, train, and hunt with our dogs.

 

THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MOVING FORWARD

The dramatic growth of NAVHDA’s membership necessitates growth in its leadership. If I’ve learned one thing on the RGS/AWS Board, it is that the member-volunteers are the backbone of an organization like ours.

The Executive Council has led NAVHDA well over the years in many ways, but given the size and diversity of our current membership, the EC should evolve its leadership style into one with far greater trust in the perspectives and skills of both our Managing Director and chapter leaders.  

According to NAVHDA Bylaws, each newly elected or re-elected President appoints the Directors with approval by vote of the officers. Thus, just four people pick the rest of the EC. In the past, individuals from the general membership have not been encouraged to apply for these directorships. I hope many of the talented and experienced members across the country will step up and ask to be considered for these positions. NAVHDA has a terrific untapped resource there from which to draw its very best leaders.

What would I bring to the EC?

With well over a decade on the Board of Directors of RGS as well as involvement with other conservation and wingshooting organizations, I am skilled at solving problems based on input from the membership rather than solely through the perspective of the board. I also know a board is most effective when it works in a spirit of mutual respect and collaboration.

Having worked my entire career in the corporate world, I understand the reciprocal value of sponsorships. I know how to talk to potential sponsors, and I have insider’s knowledge of the different sectors of our sporting dog community – merchandisers, habitat organizations, legislative groups, and, of course, hunting dog organizations.  This gives me a unique view of NAHVDA’s place in this community as we continue to evolve as one of the best hunting dog organizations in the country.

BIO

 NAVHDA Life Member

 Business Owner

• Founder and owner of the Ugly Dog Hunting Company (20+ years), wingshooting and hunting dog supply retailer
• Before Ugly Dog, I worked in several different industries including ten years as Purchasing Director for the Rossignol Ski Company. In 1990, I formed Carts Vermont, manufacturing big-wheel wooden garden carts. Upon selling the company in 2000, I launched Ugly Dog, crediting its inspiration to Scrub, my first German wirehair.

Conservation Advocate

• Former chair and current member of the Board of Directors of the Ruffed Grouse Society / American Woodcock Society
• Life member of Ducks Unlimited
• Life member of Pheasants Forever
• Life member of Quail Forever
• Chair of the Green Mountain Chapter of RGS / AWS

Co-Founder of the Track2wing Project

• Track2wing grants Action trackchairs to individuals with mobility challenges who currently hunt or train with hunting dogs or would like to do so. Since its inception in 2020, Track2wing has granted 19 trackchairs to hunters across the country, many of whom are or have become NAVHDA members.

Is your dog suffering from CFS – Chronic Fud Syndrome? Also known as Insatiable Meal Lust, CFS has impeded the progress of many fine hunting dogs. From the embarrassment of rushing back to shore for a quick bite of grass during high action waterfowl hunt, to all-out post-Thanksgiving-dinner trash bin raids, CFS has brought disgrace to hunting dog owners worldwide. Fortunately, there’s a cure. “Sirloinsia,” developed by Phidoze Labratories, taken in pill form, reduces canine cravings by simulating the constant taste of a fine sirloin. Dogs will think they’re eating, thereby dulling the neural pathways that make them lurk around the pantry in the wee hours of the morning with visions of cheese doodles on their minds.

 

“Lapsaluck Spray,” another virtual beef pharma wonder, has been developed for the treatment of hyper-active lickers. If your bird dog too often relishes a good paw slobber or under belly slurpathon, lightly  spray this odorous beef mist into the air. Body lapping will be instantly abandoned in favor of air licking, distraction guaranteed, drool piles evaporated.

 

Another problem common among hunting breeds is Parlorretchitis, which manifests itself by the upchucking of feathers, beaks, hairballs, and various unidentifiable avian and varmint body parts. This typically occurs in the middle of the night in the middle of the living room. While the canine medical community recognizes the fact that this purging syndrome is in itself a cure for the problem – eviction of unwelcome gastrointestinal contents – the increased use of household chemical rug cleaners is cause enough for mitigation of the retch habit. “Binge BeGone,” manufactured by Griffonguts Ltd., breaks down the ingested wild game body parts, so the tidbits can ride on the next load of kibble processing by and pass through the dog as nature intended.

 

Due to overzealous breeding, many gun dogs with strong prey drive find themselves suffering from RPD – Repetitive Porcupine Disorder. This can develop when a strong lineage of happy hunting genes is crossed into lines with the extra hellbentforleather chromosome. The result is a dog that perpetually confuses porcupine quills with toothpicks. Besides showcasing a snout full of quills on an average of three times annually, other symptoms include handlers with calloused thumbs (from tweezer abrasions during quill extractions) and veterinarians taking extravagant Caribbean resort vacations thanks to the extra office visit revenue. To avoid the pain and suffering of RPD, Rover & Rover Pharma, Inc. created “Leaveitalone,” a mild narcotic that when properly administered will make RPD dogs totally uninterested in porcupines. Caution: If recommended dosage is exceeded, handlers may find their dogs lying in a heap, gazing at a lava lamp, playing old records backwards and giggling uncontrollably.

 

Note: It’s still a good idea to keep a comprehensive hunting dog medical kit on hand. We recommend the Sport Dog First Aid Kit and the Ready Dog Professional Trauma/Aid Kit.