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Jesse's Hunting > A Gun Dog's Life > Articles > When a Gun Dog is More than a Gun Dog
When a Gun Dog is More than a Gun Dog
Bryce Mann - JHO ProStaff
- Somewhere near Visalia, CA
September 03, 2007
More than just a hunting companion
Reno was a natural, so with a little work she's become a great service dog as well. |
I have RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy) as a result of an injury to my left leg. This is permanent nerve damage which results in loss of muscle and movement accompanied by pain and swelling. Usually I just deal with it but occasionally it becomes too much.
I was out with a friend and his dog, each of us walking up either side of a rather deep but narrow canyon in search of the quail which had been pressured up the mountain by hunters the weekend before. We had just begun to find a few coveys when the RSD cut my day short. I tried to sit and wait it out but no good. My leg was beginning to swell and left me no choice but to head for flatter ground and the truck.
Somehow Reen knew I needed some help. She positioned herself to brace my knee and let me make small side steps holding her collar until the ground was less steep. Since she was so willing to help I have trained her as a service dog for mobility assistance, purchased a harness to help make her job easier, and there you have it… a gun dog / service dog who accompanies me just about everywhere. She also helps me in the training field serving as a mentor to young dogs and puppies. As anyone who has had the opportunity to hunt quail with Reno will agree, she’s quite a dog.
These are a couple of ways that keep her in shape for the upcoming competitions when season opens, and these are things you can apply with your own dog too.
Off-season training and workouts will help prep your best friend for the upcoming season. Try some light road work. Does that sound like training for a boxer or some other athlete? Well it is. These gun dogs are just that, athletes!
Reno backing the point
A great gun dog doesn't always have to be in front. |
Be sure they have plenty of water during exercise, and if it is hot out even more water will be required. Don’t feed three hours before exercise, to prevent bloat. Then get out and practice your retrieves, but keep it fun. This is an excellent form of exercise, and sharpens the response time making for quick snappy retrieves in the field.
Practice some track and trail drills, again a good work out which pays off big time in the hunting field. In keeping with the spirit of the hunt, track and trail drills help sharpen your dog’s nose. They also help to recover otherwise lost birds, cripples and put the stop on those running birds as well.
Keeping them in shape during the off-season is a great way to ensure peak performance when the guns come out this fall.
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