Dan’s Journal

Absolute’s new boarding kennel is coming soon!!

Click image for full view Last Fall I posted a journal entry announcing the purchase of one hundred and sixty acres of rolling CRP land southeast of Bismarck, titled ‘11813 Lincoln Road.’ The piece began with the famous quote from Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu: ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.’  Well, [...]

11813 Lincoln Road

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.                                                                                                 Lao-tzu  Given my affinity for Chinese Ringneck pheasants I should perhaps be a little more familiar with Eastern philosophy. Oh well. I like their birds well-enough. That’ll have to do for now. We’re busy training dogs! But the quote above describes well the [...]

Spaniel trials?

I’ve been thinking a bit lately about the idea of competing the English Cocker against the English Springer in field trial events.  I know there are hundreds of reasons why clubs shouldn’t have the ability to offer trials with both breeds(especially after being refused a special use permit in ND, with one of the reasons [...]

Max is on his way to rehab!!!

I used to be the life of the party on New Years Eve, but as you can see Uncle Max took over the reigns this year. His age started to show this year and even though he’s a great hunting dog whether it be retrieving ducks from the blind or chasing down the wiley roosters [...]

2010 Cocker National

I didn’t see the incident in question. But I got the story from a number of people who did. Apparently, the winning dog spit out a bird at one of the gun’s feet and had to be handled to, or coaxed back to the bird, in order to finish the retrieve, and eventually to win [...]

Will The Pup You Pick Be The Dog You Want?

There are eight or nine of the cute little things. You’re thinking maybe the big-boned black and white male with the long ears and domed head, perfect for braving the cattail thickets and a foot of snow on a raw December morning. Your daughter, a little small for her age, wants the tiny little liver [...]

FC Oahe One In A Million “Millie”

On our family vacation to Yellowstone National Park in August of 2006, my wife, Jennifer, brought up the subject of my Anniversary present. I was sure it was a pair of walking shoes and was preparing myself to feign wild enthusiasm. But fortunately for me Jen is not only a very patient and forgiving woman, [...]

Summer Scenting Conditions

Summer is upon us and the heavy and unusually long Spring Walleye bite has ended. What to do? What to Do? How about plenty of marked retrieves, in particular, short ones; the shorter the better. This is always a great thing to do when scenting conditions are poor. This time of year it doesn’t matter [...]