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The snake avoidance "trainer" we use allows "re-tests" if you put your dog through his program, at no cost. As long as the dog negatively avoids the snake no shock or stimulus. If anything it adds a little assurance that the original training worked and is still working. Both our labs smelled...

Unfortunately, with rain comes (fairly often) hail. A large cell moved through a couple of nights ago generating hail in NW SD all the way to Kadoka and south. It also generated a major tornado. Some areas reported golf ball sized hail, which is lethal to chicks. The birds are tough, but that...

There are a few ruffed grouse in the aspen stands but that time of year there likely will be snow as well. You have to get out on the plains for sharptail and by November they are wilder than March hares. The sit on ridges and watch for you! A few pheasants north to the North Dakota border but...

We lost several dogs on the ranch. It was 50 miles to the nearest vet. The dog would get hit on the face and the swelling would suffocate him/her.

We are on our 6th generation of yellow labs. Four of the six (including the current pup) were diggers. The only thing I've found that comes close to working is a shock collar set on "stun" and catch them in the act. Don't say a word. Don't let them see you. Light them up. They think the hole bit...

I hunt New Mexico all winter with my two labs. I never boot them because the majority of the cactus are large enough for them to see and they quickly learn to avoid it. The issue I encounter in SD (I live here) is with small prickly pear and another even more malevolent cactus that I don't know...

Try a "slow feed" dog bowl. There are a bunch of different designs, but the bottom line is that they keep a dog from gulping their food. I've used them for my labs for years. Once they get the hang of it they can still eat a serving pretty fast, but it does slow them down and seems to help with...

I live in SD and have hunted here since 1989. The bottom line for me is that 2024 was a very good year for pheasants in SD. We can only hope that 2025 is anywhere nearly as good.

Blaine is in Dodge City, Kansas. Not sure if he has contacts in Iowa.

Good rain in NW SD. Unfortunately hatched chicks may suffer as it is also cold, near snow temps. I'm always surprised at how well the birds survive in spite of everything man and nature throws at them.

I looked up the pay scale for these positions. They vary by location but an entry level GL-5 appears to start in the low $40K/year. Not much higher than a Walmart employee. Agencies are struggling to fill "game warden" type jobs across the U.S. because the pay is not competitive. The jobs may...

We are in NW South Dakota. The whitetail here are loaded with ticks which means lots of ticks to go around. I took the dogs out for a short run yesterday and picked 9 of the little S.O.B.'s off my pants legs even though I had sprayed them with bug dope. This wet weather really seems to agree...

Lots of good cowboys (and cowgirls) in South Dakota. Many world champions call SD home. The little town of Belle Fourche is a hotbed for good cowboys/girls and great horses.

My vet recently told me that NexGard has some repellent properties. Not sure if that is true or she is just trying to sell me NexGard as I currently use Credelio, but it is worth a try. This time of year I use bug spray around my boot, ankles and pant legs which helps "repel" them. It would be...

I use an e-collar to break them from digging. Set on a high shock. No voice command - at all. You want them to think the shock came from the hole they are digging. Ideally, you also shouldn't be visible. The shock has to come as they are actively digging, not at any other time. At no point do...

I'm on my 6th generation of Labradors. As far as I know, none suffered hearing loss. A couple sat in my truck while we shot skeet or sporting clays, with the windows down. All hunted ducks, geese and upland game. Often setting right beside the gun in a duck blind. The oldest lived to be 14 and...

The 28ga version I have are boxed as your lower photo. No idea if/how they are packaged now.

A friend gave me 4 boxes of the "Federal Blue Box" in 1 oz #7.5, 28ga a couple of years ago. I have no idea where he found them but I use them for desert quail and they are lethal. If I could find them in #6 I'd buy a case in a heartbeat. Entirely subjective, but my experience is that they far...

The best British labs and the best trainer is Blaine Winans, Winans Retriever Kennels in Dodge City Kansas. He has the finest kennel and training grounds I've ever seen. Look him up, give him a call. Worth the effort. Worth the drive.