Skunks...are you "prepared"?

Sorry for the long absence....lots going on in Brown Dog Land, all of which I hope to catch you up on soon, but sometimes something happens that just presents an opportunity to share some valuable info...even if I hope you never need it.

I have always heard there are two types of dogs, those that learn from their first experience with a skunk, and those that never learn.  It would appear I have the latter, or I just have a very unlucky dog who just "encounters" them accidentally.

Last night right before bedtime, Roux had just such an "encounter", so my wife and I had that to deal with in the romantic glow of the outdoor floodlights at nearly midnight.  It least it wasn't 20F like the last time this happened.  Thankfully, I long ago assembled a "skunk kit" that made dealing with it at least quickly accomplished, albeit still unpleasant.  The key to getting rid of the stench is dealing with  a spraying event as quickly as possible with an appropriate concoction....forget the tomato juice, it doesn't work, and just leaves you with a skunky dog that looks like a Bloody Mary.  There are commercially available de-skunking solutions, and they work reasonably well.  However, I assembled my kit for less than $15 and it goes with me wherever the dogs go.....

Skunk Kit Components:
1 small bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid
1 small box of baking soda
1 large bottle of hydrogen peroxide
1 pair dishwashing gloves (you don't want the skunk smell on you, also the peroxide can irritate some people's skin...sure does mine)
Disposable Handi-wipes
Drying towel
Plastic container with sealable lid (wash basin and storage container all in one that takes up little room)

Enough supplies to deal with 2 skunking events (God forbid)

Fits in container with room to spare!

Compact and Portable!

Procedure:
Identify if possible the areas directly hit by the skunk spray.
As quickly as possible, lightly spray your pooch with water to get the fur wet.
In the plastic bin, empty one box of baking soda and add several healthy squirts of Dawn.
Put on your gloves and empty the peroxide into the soda/detergent mixture and mix thoroughly with the disposable wipe.
Begin washing/scrubbing your dog with the wipe soaked with the solution.  Work as quickly as possible while the peroxide solution is fresh.  Avoid getting solution in eyes and wash out thoroughly if occurs.
Once you are satisfied with your work, allow mixture to sit for 5 min or so.  Rinse and repeat.  If you are efficient you will have enough liquid to do 2-3 washes.  Rinse completely and allow dog to dry, preferably confining to his kennel to prevent spreading the odor and to think about what he has done.

You may find you need to repeat the next day to further decrease the odor, but it is generally MUCH improved from Day 1.  Be warned, despite doing everything right, you will always seem to get a little "renewal" of the odor every time your dog gets wet for a while, but it just reminds you it's best to be prepared!

Good luck and I hope you never need this information!  September will be here before we know it...

Brown is Beautiful (even if it smells a little skunky)

Blue Jets and B-52s

Roux and I got the opportunity to accompany a close friend's oldest son and his friend this morning on a permit hunt on "Public Land Ohio".  We had the longest walk in our section of the marsh, but it was well worth the effort!

We saw lots of birds of all flavors before shooting hours, and the action was reasonably steady throughout the morning.  Lots of shooting on the private marshes, and I have to believe we did as well as anyone on the public marsh. We managed 6 teal, including 1 GWT.  Mid-morning a small flock of geese locked in on my big spread of 2 goose dekes and the boys both doubled as I "watched".  Im not really that generous, I just couldn't shoot back over their heads...but no matter, 4 geese was enough weight for the trek back to the truck!

Roux was a workhorse, as always, making it just look easy.  Im blessed to have such a great hunting partner.

Roux cleaning up the Big Birds like a Pro! (click to watch video)


Thanks for an excellent morning, Gentelmen!

No limits by any means, but for public land in a state with precious few ducks, it was a banner day.  Many thanks to these fine young men for inviting an Old Man and a Brown Dog for a most memorable morning in the marsh!  Get out there and enjoy it, OUR time is finally here!!!  Getducks!

Until next time,
Brown is Beautiful

Luck of the Draw...

I hunted Magee Marsh today with one of my best friends. This is a lottery hunt sponsored by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.  Magee is a beautiful marsh that adjoins Lake Erie and the ODOW does a great job managing the facility. You draw for your blind from a wooden box of ping pong balls and hang your tag on the map.  We drew a open hole just off the lake, that hadn't been hunted all week. We were excited as the weather has been stale, and any birds have "been there, done that" for 3 weeks now.  We enjoyed the "train ride" of boats to our hole in the marsh...

Milestones

Talk about a fairy tale story...when Bill, Seger, Roux and I settled into our spot on a North Dakota pothole on the morning of October 10, Roux was 2 birds short of 1000 career waterfowl retrieves. I shot a gadwall early that Roux made short work of, and Bill and Seger collected a fine mallard. As if God himself sent them, a pair of drake pintails worked perfectly into the decoys shortly thereafter and we dropped both. The wind carried my bird out 70 or so yards while Seger brought in Bill's drake, as Bill wanted to film Roux. He made a perfect retrieve, like so many others over the last 5 seasons, and I admit I got a little choked up. 

I have had several people ask me why I bother keeping track of numbers.  Truthfully, I guess Im not sure.  While numbers may not translate to natural ability or to learned skill, I do feel it is a yardstick of experience and opportunity.  Certainly, I don't feel he is better than any other dog based on those numbers alone, and I am sure there are plenty more skilled out there, but he is mine.  

I also realize 1000 may not compare to the numbers racked up by dogs in duck-rich states that hunt every day, but for a weekend warrior from Ohio...well, I couldn't be prouder. 

From the puppy nobody would take to the dog nobody could buy...its been a great ride, and we are just getting started, Roux-ster.

Brown is Beautiful...so getducks!

What Can Brown Do for You?

When you have a Brown Dog, the UPS slogan is a handy one to have some fun with.  However, sometimes it's even more appropriate.

Traditional goose hunting is in snow-covered cornfields, but to be consistently successful, you have to go where the geese are, even if that is a pond in a side yard.  We hunted just such a place last week.  About an hour into legal shooting time, the geese started coming to the pond they had been loafing on over the last week.  One flock came in and we dropped 7, including a lively cripple that landed well outside of gun range on the far side of the pond, swimming to the edge, and apparently expiring on the far shore.  Once we had collected the other birds, Roux and I went after the bird on the far shore.  As he got within 20 or so yards, the bird made an amazing recovery and took off, as we emptied out, with no effect at such long range.  One of my partners told me he saw the bird fly up the road and disappear.  Roux and I went for a hike, but to no avail.

An hour later, I was standing in the blind and heard a vehicle come down the road from the opposite direction.  A UPS delivery truck passed us, with the driver giving a friendly wave as he went by.  A few minutes later, I hear him coming back, and he turns into the driveway of our location.  Now, I was certain it was just a Christmas package delivery for the landowner, but he stopped even with us.  Imagine our surprise when he produced a dead goose from the truck and delivered it to us in the blind!  Seems our escapee had made it a little farther than we thought, crash-landing in the roadside ditch about a half mile up the road!

What can Brown Do for You? (ID hidden to protect the Helpful)

While it didn't make it into Roux's numbers for the season, Brown still gets the credit for the retrieve!  Merry Christmas to all and remember...Brown is Beautiful!

Las Flores...its all that and more!

I was lucky enough to fulfill a long time waterfowling dream a couple of weeks ago with a 5 day hunt in Argentina with my college roommate.  We had booked with Ramsey for his hosted hunt at Las Flores last fall, and had thought of little else since.

We arrived a few days early and spent time seeing the sites in Buenos Aires, which we enjoyed tremendously.  We met up with Ramsey and the rest of our party on Monday morning, and made the trip to Las Flores, all eagerly anticipating starting our hunt.  We arrived at the estancia to find a very comfortable and rustic brick lodge waiting on us, along with a table full of great food (a fine foreshadowing of things to come).  Our accommodations were extremely comfortable, reminding me of any number of nice hunting camps I had been to stateside.  Flocks of ducks, doves and pigeons flew by the picture windows in the dining room, reminding us of why we were there.

After a great lunch and time to unpack, it was finally time to hunt!  Ducks were everywhere, and it was amazing to see so many different species that I had previously only ever seen in books or photos.  In less than 2 hours, we had accumulated our limit and could barely believe the quality of the hunting.  Little did we know, this was just a warm-up for the morning hunts!

For the next 4 days we had the most unbelievable hunting anyone could ever imagine.  Hunting styles varied based on location and conditions, ranging from standing in head high tule grass shooting decoying and passing birds to standing blinds in the middle of large waterholes to even layout blinds on the sides of small potholes.  All were equally effective, as every hunter limited every day...a true testament to the quality of the hunt and number of ducks.  Yellow billed and white cheeked pintails, silver, ringed and speckled teal, chiloe wigeon, rosy billed pochards, whitefaced and fulvous whistling ducks, black headed ducks and of course red Ramzillas....a true duck hunters paradise.

The food was plentiful and worth the trip in and of itself. Ducks cooked every way you can imagine, Argentine beef and wine, ostrich, blackbuck backstraps....oh my.  The only thing that could top the entrees were the desserts....Certainly, I know I tipped the scales a lot heavier when I returned!

My only regret was knowing that the Brown Dog was sitting at home, awaiting my return.  To be sure, he had his head stuck to my suitcases for 2 solid days after I got back.  Thankfully, he won't have to wait long before our season opens here.

If you have been wishing, maybe its time to pull the trigger...over and over!!  Its duck season somewhere, you just have to find where!

Until next time,

Brown is Beautiful

Outrageously Good Turkey!

Much like The Old Man in "A Christmas Story", I love turkey.  Almost regardless of how it's cooked, I find it irresistible.  However, I think I am really onto something here....

Spicy Smoked Wild Turkey Breast (this recipe is Roux-approved)

Marinade ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

several shakes of Tabasco

1/2 teaspoon of cajun seasoning

1/2 teaspoon of coarse ground black pepper

Take boneless, skinless turkey breast and tenderize lightly with a meat hammer or a press tenderizer.  Marinate in a ziplock bag or other container for at least 4 hours (overnight is even better).

Place the breast on a cutting board and lightly cover with dry barbecue rub.  Wrap with thick cut bacon and secure with toothpicks.

Place in smoker preheated to 220F.  I like to use Mojo brand marinade in the water pan, diluted with water, but you may find something you like better. 

 Smoke until internal temperature reaches 165F (app 4.5 hours for a typical sized turkey breast).  

Slice and serve with BBQ sauce for dipping (you may find it doesn't need any dipping sauce!!) Enjoy.