Mosby
Well-known member
Spent the last two weekends volunteering and working at local AKC hunt tests for pointing dogs. Those hunt tests were sponsored and run by local dog clubs and both had nice turnouts with well over 120 dogs at each. The main issue I saw was the lack of help...especially from younger hunters and dog owners. I spoke with a guy with hunting dogs in his truck, who was driving by and stopped in to ask what was going on. We had a nice conversation and I encouraged him to join our club. I've had those types of discussions before and most of the time, people never follow up.....which is unfortunate.
We have a great sport with more breeds in the field than ever before....but a lack of involvement or local support from the majority of hunters seems to be a trend. A lot of the volunteers running these events are older and honestly probably need to start turning these things over to the next generation but can't.
So I thought I would start a thread to encourage people to seek out local hunting dog clubs and join them. Get involved. Most cost less than $30 a year and offer a lot in return. Your dogs will benefit and our sport will benefit. Our local clubs offer training sessions and seminars with access to breeders and professional dog trainers, who offer a lot of free advice. As an example, we're going to be doing snake aversion training(prairie rattlesnakes) this year. Huge opportunity for local hunters who travel and hunt out of state but if more hunters and dog owners don't step up, these types of clubs aren't going to exist 5 years from now.
If you live around the Kansas City area or don't mind driving and would be interested in getting more information about our local hunting dog club....feel free to pm me. Regardless of where you live, if you have hunting dogs and like to hunt.....join and support your local hunting dog clubs.
We have a great sport with more breeds in the field than ever before....but a lack of involvement or local support from the majority of hunters seems to be a trend. A lot of the volunteers running these events are older and honestly probably need to start turning these things over to the next generation but can't.
So I thought I would start a thread to encourage people to seek out local hunting dog clubs and join them. Get involved. Most cost less than $30 a year and offer a lot in return. Your dogs will benefit and our sport will benefit. Our local clubs offer training sessions and seminars with access to breeders and professional dog trainers, who offer a lot of free advice. As an example, we're going to be doing snake aversion training(prairie rattlesnakes) this year. Huge opportunity for local hunters who travel and hunt out of state but if more hunters and dog owners don't step up, these types of clubs aren't going to exist 5 years from now.
If you live around the Kansas City area or don't mind driving and would be interested in getting more information about our local hunting dog club....feel free to pm me. Regardless of where you live, if you have hunting dogs and like to hunt.....join and support your local hunting dog clubs.
