The Home Stretch
Warp speed. That is the only description for how fast the time flies during quail hunting season. That is not a negative statement, but a positive one. The four and a half months of our peak season are when the team here at the 4R is at its most efficient. There simply is no time to play catch-up, so time management and staying on task are essential. And yes, Jill will crack the whip if you shirk a task.
We’ve had a wonderful season to date. 0 accidents! For that we are abundantly grateful. Mother Nature has been kind to us as well. She dealt us a few warm days, and a few stretches of showers and drizzle. However, those wet days are days dog handlers dream of. Moisture on the ground and moisture in the air; the birds simply don’t have a chance on those days.
The dogs are holding together reasonably well. We have enough cockers now to hunt them every third hunt. That has proven to be great asset to our product. Having 7-8 cockers on both our strings keeps those little vacuum cleaners fresh as raw carrots.
As is always the case, we have several dogs down due to injuries, but that is to be expected. Our pointer string is deep, but it seems we could always use a few more. We have 6 full brothers and sisters of Molly, Ike and Peanut coming in April. If you have hunted behind any of those young dogs you will understand how excited we are to go back to the well on that breeding.
Ricky Bobby passed in December. RB was the fastest dog we have ever had, and possibly the fastest dog on FM 462 N. Rick was unique unto himself. He was not a social dog and rarely played with other dogs. He was uncomplicated, much like Rain Man. He lived for hunting while Rain Man lived to watch Judge Wapner. He lived a great life and we feel privileged to have hunted behind him.
Chagas Treatment Update
We retested all of our dogs for Chagas in early January and here are the results.
- Of the dogs on the treatment protocol, 88% of the dogs tested NEGATIVE. The dogs that re-tested positive are repeating the protocol for 6 months.
- Dogs that are 3 years old and younger tested 100% NEGATIVE for Chagas.
- As a comparison, in 2017 we tested 48 dogs for Chagas. Of those dogs, 56% tested positive.
The results speak for themselves. The treatment exceeded our expectations. We can’t thank Dr. Roy Madigan enough for his help during this process. The repelling and killing of the Kissing Beetle, along with the new treatment work hand in hand. We feel confident we can minimize the negative impact these little bastards have had on our kennel going forward... Sorry, but not other word described them adequately.
We will be working on additional measures this spring to kill and repel the beetle. We will keep you posted on the results.
We appreciate all of you carving time out to come hunt with us, and look forward to seeing those of you who haven’t made it out yet.
Adios for now,
Deryl
Posted in: News
