Recent content by ditchparrot19

Everybody at the veterinarian's office -- the receptionist, the vet tech and the doctor herself ? did their absolute best to make eye contact with me during my visit two Sundays ago. I made that impossible for them, however, as I never removed my dark, mirror-lensed sunglasses. I couldn't let...

Good job, Robert!

Hey fellow Californians, Here's a link to find places you can go locally to sign the petitions to give the voters the choice on the anti-gun bills recently passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Moonbeam. A lot of signatures need to be gathered in a short amount of time, so please...

I think it was right around 2000 when the season was lengthened.

In December 2010 I spent 3 days in South Dakota with former Dodgers/A's pitcher Bob Welch (the 1990 AL Cy Young Award winner) and former A's pitcher and now pitching coach Curt Young. Young's brother and nephew and a guy who'd pitched in Oakland's minor league system were also there. I drove...

I lost my yellow boy Zeke last 4th of July at age 14. My wife was going through some photos the other night and came across this one that I hadn't seen in many years. It's not like I'd forgotten what a physical specimen he was in his prime, but this picture will be a constant reminder. I think...

A puppy chasing butterflies is a very good sign, as it's often an indicator of high prey drive.

Take a pair of pliers (the ones on a Leatherman or other multi-tool work fine) and flatten the burrs before trying to remove them. I don't pull them by hand from my setter ? I use a heavy steel comb from the pet store and take several at a time if there's a bunch close together. Spraying the...

I own seven Ithaca Model 37s -- some that I inherited and some that I purchased or traded for. The oldest was made in 1942 and the newest just a few years ago. I have two 12-gauges, two 16s and three 20s. All of them see time in the field. My favorite at the moment is a newer 20. It comes up...

Labs and Chessies have an undercoat that protects them against extreme cold. Springers don't have that, and thus cannot handle anywhere near the same level of frigidity.

That's usually not how it works. I have a setter that's gotten into them on five separate occasions in Montana. It's not just the head/face, either, as she pounces on them and gets a thick stripe of quills running the length of her underside. Twice she's had to undergo anesthesia and spend the...

With gun-shyness, it's not anywhere near the ballpark of 100 percent and some dogs are, unfortunately, lost causes. It might be "doable," but it might not be, too. Whomever is trying to remedy it simply needs to know that if any attempted "cure" doesn't work, it's almost certainly not the fault...

It is not ALWAYS doable, and anybody preparing to try it needs to have a grasp on that from the get-go. There are some dogs that simply cannot be pulled through it, no matter what, and you don't want to beat yourself up because you start thinking you're not doing things exactly right. The best...

Hunter. If I never again do the drive-and-block thing, that'll be fine by me. I just like to get off by myself with one or more of my dogs. Even if I go out with someone else, I'll usually go off and hunt solo because my pace is slow due to some physical limitations. For me, bird hunting never...

They stopped doing the youth hunts out there in about 2008 and I haven't seen a pheasant since. I'd sometimes hear one crowing while fishing the Afterbay, but not anymore. There is a small private club just north of there, so I guess there's a chance an escapee could make its way out there.