Mt. Biking with Vizsla

I have run Bailey and Chloe with my mountain bike but nothing like this guy and his Vizsla, Amber.

Can Vizslas run? Take a look at this video. No doubt!

First Pheasant Hunt of the Season

This weekend was the opening of pheasant hunting season out at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve. 

We had some rain showers that came through but it was a warm rain and still made for a enjoyable hunt. 

 Not the best of Bailey's performances, but then this was the first time out. We took 2 large rooster pheasant in the 2 hours we were. 

 I have a 20-bird card with the hunt club so we will take our time a couple birds at a time. 

Hunting with Bailey is a pleasure.  This was our first "solo" hunt, now that I am a member of the club. 
Just the two of us in huge fields out in the middle of a farming island.  Other hunters and dogs were there, but off in the distance, a half mile away or more.

Loved it.  A man and his dog hunting.  There is something primal about the whole experience. 

 We have a recipe for Blueberry Roasted Pheasant that we will try this weekend with the two birds.  Served with rice and carrots.

"So, the best thing about this method is you can use the bird whole---no cutting your fingers piecing it out.
Take 1-3 whole birds wash well, dry with paper towels, then rub inside and out with olive oil
Season inside and out with salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic and Italian seasoning
Put bird(s) breast up in oven safe pot (dutch oven) with the cover off at 400-425 d F for 30-40 mins until browned
While birds are browning,in appropriately sized mixing bowl combine a can of either condensed golden or cream of mushroom soup with a can of Marsala wine anda can of buttermilk per bird cooking and mix until smooth (since my dutch oven is a snug fit with two roosters
I use only one soup cans worth of sauce and blueberries Jim)

Add a basket of blueberries per bird and stir them in
When birds are browned remove from oven and pour the soup,Marsala,buttermilk, blueberry mixture over it (them)
Reduce oven temp to 325 d F
Cover the birds
Return to oven for about 60-90mins until tender---Good to baste with mixture when checking on doneness
Remove the bird(s) from pot and carve breasts and separate the thigh-leg to arrange on plate with the rice and veggies and spoon blueberry gravy over meat-rice
Serve with Rice, Pilaf, or mashed potatoes and bright side dish ( carrots,peas, etc.) Looks great tastes greater!
Good with either red or white wines---I like a Petite Syrah
Bon appitite---Don
PS A great condiment is "Horseberry sauce"--easy--a can of whole or regular cranberry sauce mixed with 1/3 bottle of cream style horseraddish sauce mixed until smooth

From field to dinner plate. 

Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be. -Temple Grandin

Hastings Island Hunting Preserve will release tens of thousands of pheasant during the six-month season.  Many will become wild birds as they fly off the island and into the surrounding country.

Hastings Island is about 8 miles from the small town of Rio Vista in the heart of the California Delta.

Hastings Island Hunting Preserve Website

Vizslas and Marking

Bailey and Chloe both "mark" or "over-mark" with their urine.  Bailey being an intact male more so than Chloe, who is a neutered female.

I find this a very interesting subject as I do a lot of walking with both.  In the hills, on busy city streets, on quiet roads, we walk and they both "mark" certain things along the way.


My response to a post yesterday on "Marking" that came up on Hungarian Vizsla Forum


 http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,2774.msg18406.html#msg18406

  Marking.  Interesting subject as I watch Bailey, now 3, mark or over-mark (where other dogs have urinated) on all the walks we take.


A few things I picked up from reading Cesar Milan.

A male dog will try and mark HIGHER than the last dog that had marked that spot. The higher the better. When we walk, by ourselves, and nature calls, I mark very high on the trunk of a tree. I am the big dog after all.
Whenever Chloe relieves herself, Bailey HAS to over-mark on or near that spot. Yesterday off-leash walk, she squatted while he was 100 yards ahead. He turned his head, saw it and raced back to mark HIS SPOT.


I swearer the boy has a 2 gallon reserve tank hidden somewhere on his body. 
Not as many truck wheels and tires or people's pant legs have received his scent coding as when he was around 2 years old. He thankfully, seems to have gotten past that stage. 

He marks objects that other males have marked now. I don't control it except on walks downtown. He'd pee on every downtown street tree if he could. I limit it to one per block.


Nature of the beast (or high-powered intact hunting dog to be exact).


RBD

Full article can be found by the below link:

PAW rescue article on Marking

1. Overview

Dogs gather essential social information using their sense of smell, whether smelling other dogs directly or sniffing their urine and feces. That's why dogs urinate much more than required to simply empty their bladder.

Marking serves as a way to claim territory, advertise mating availability and to support the social order. Dogs like hierarchy; it's what they understand. They communicate age, gender and status within their packs via the pheromones in urine. Both male and female animals can engage in marking behavior.

A dog uses urine marking to help make a new environment smell like home, masking the unfamiliar odors with his own scent. Humans also engage in marking behavior, though it usually takes such forms as moving in a favorite chair and hanging pictures on the wall.

In addition, marking functions as an efficient way to protect a dog's perceived space than physically challenging each interloper who approaches that space.

Animals also mark to advertise their sexual availability, which is one reason why it helps to neuter and spay dogs. The earlier, the better, since early neutering can keep young dogs from ever developing the impulse to mark.  (RBD note:  Not a good enough reason to alter a "whole" dog.  The negative physical aspects are of greater importance. See: rethinking-spay-neuter-in-2011.html )

Urinating in the house and other inappropriate areas can also be a sign of urinary tract disease, so take your dog to the vet before ruling out this possibility.

Urinating in the house can also stem from lack of house training or lack of an appropriate place to urinate, or having to hold it longer than the dog can physically wait. Consider having someone visit your dog for a mid-day walk if you work long hours.

Ode To Vizsla

Have tissue at hand before viewing.

My friend, and the breeder of our Bailey, just lost her beloved Dani last week.  Dani, was Bailey's maternal grandmother.  She passed of cancer at 14 years old.


This "Ode to Vizsla"  goes out to Kay and all the wonderful work she does for Vizslas.


Kay operates Vizsla Rescue Haven and does so much for the Vizsla breed here in America.  She takes on the dogs no one else wants.

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/01/alpha-female-of-vizsla-rescue.html

 If you ever want to donate to a great Vizsla cause, Vizsla Rescue Haven would be the best.

http://vizslarescuehaven.org/

Vizsla Club of America Welfare Foundation 2008 Health Survey

Below is a link of health information regarding the Vizsla breed.

  More information then you would think possible.

Vizsla health survey 2008 by VCA

The 2008 Vizsla Health Survey was sponsored and funded by private donations to the Vizsla Club of America Welfare Foundation, Inc. The purpose of this health survey was to scientifically research what the real current health issues are in the Vizsla breed. This survey focused on current health issues and other questions regarding current Vizsla health and research. Therefore only purebred Vizslas born from 1992 until present participated in the survey.

The use of a strictly anonymous on-line format had several major advantages over previous mailbased surveys. Because there was no way to trace any survey respondent, information bias was minimized. Because anyone with access to a computer could participate in the survey, people responded from around the world and a larger number of respondents were reached. Allowing the West Chester Statistics Institute, a research organization not connected to the Vizsla Club of America in any way, to collect and analyze the data also insured accurate and unbiased reporting of

the results. The health survey went on-line on January 21, 2008, and stayed active until December 15, 2008. A total of 2,505 surveys were collected and analyzed.

The survey marks an important beginning in establishing a starting point to spot future trends in Vizsla health issues. Future health surveys will be used to help track increases and decreases in Vizsla health and disease incidence. A major goal of this project is to assist Vizsla breeders by identifying what the most significant health issues are for the breed. Identifying significant Vizsla health problems and concerns will inform and educate breeders hence allowing breeders to make better breeding decisions.

The results will also assist veterinarians and researchers in caring for, treating, and establishing research protocols for Vizslas. The survey will help to better inform the public and future Vizsla owners and puppy buyers of what health issues they may possibly encounter when purchasing or adopting a Vizsla.

The Vizsla Club of America Welfare Foundation, Inc. also sponsors canine and Vizsla specific health and research grants and studies. Knowing what Vizsla health issues are the most significant and urgent will help the Foundation focus funding where it is needed the most.

In addition to summarizing prevalence of disorders affecting the breed, statistical hypothesis testing was conducted. All hypotheses were formulated a priori by consultation between Lynda Ruffini, representing the Vizsla Club of America, and the West Chester Statistics Institute.

All research data was collected, tabulated, and statistically analyzed by West Chester Statistics Institute (WCSI). The West Chester Statistics Institute provides statistical support, analysis, and education on projects for the academic community and for business, industry, and other research institutions. WCSI is a non-profit organization, committed to providing hands-on, supervised educational opportunities for current West Chester University students in the Applied Statistics Graduate Program. The WCSI group employs 5 Ph.D. statisticians. WCSI provides expertise in study design, data management, statistical programming, and statistical analysis. For more information about WCSI, please visit their website at:

http://www.wcupa.edu/wcsi

Hidden Treasure - Sunset Beach, Russian River

Just off the River Road along the Russian River we spent Saturday and Sunday enjoying the sunny warmth of Saturday and then the coastal fog drizzle of Sunday morning.

Sunset Beach is easy walk from River Bend RV resort.  Dogs on-leash is the official rules of the park.  We went early Sunday and had the park to ourselves. 

Don't tell any officials that we broke their rules once we got down to the river's edge.

We like to park the RV at the River Bend Resort.  It is right on the river.

Site R-11 River Bend Resort

The Russian River Pub cooks up great pub fare.  The Hilton Park is nice but not as dog friendly as the River Bend.

A great walk in the hills is "priceless"

Living in this part of California, anything can be bought for a price.  If you can afford it, you can find it.

Then again, a walk in the hills on a bright cool summer morning with my Vizslas is priceless. 

I can not buy this feeling.  I can not write a post on this blog to convey the feeling.  By the time we are done with a two-hour walk in these hills, the feeling of serenity of being is powerful and priceless.

  

No two walks in these hills are ever the same.

A deep ravine in a wild area of Briones

Came across this cow and a VERY young calf (days old) in the middle of a quiet, remote trail.  We had to walk around

Chloe and Bailey along a small trail through the woods

Overlooking the hills of the East Bay

Viewing the valley in search of ground squirrels

Bailey's Boy "Hunting" Pigeons

How is it that a video of a pup going on "point" on some pigeons in a parking lot can fill me with joy?

Fawkes is Bailey / Sophie's only boy out of this spring's litter.

"Hi Rod,
I shot this video of Fawkes hunting some pigeons in the parking lot at the end of short walk we had this evening at the Vallejo Marina. He's almost 40 pounds at 5 months. Beautiful boy--he gets compliments wherever he goes."
Aaron

Fawkes following Bailey and Chloe on a walk.

Vizsla does Appalachian Trail 2010

Appalachian Trail - 2,178 miles

These are the voyages of Daniel and his dog Kooper. His five-month mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and escape civilization; to boldly go where there is little to no internet access.

"I would also like to comment on the Appalachian Trail Vizsla accomplishment.

This is a TREMENDOUS accomplishment and to do it how it was done from April in Georgia to October in Maine is even more stunning.   Logistically the key is to walk fast enough that the snows of New England don't sock it to you. In 2010 New England didn't start getting swacked by really mean snow until nearly Xmas.

 The trip itself is a great book in itself. Many people try to hike the AT that certain comforts like rat-infested sleeping cots in small huts randomly along the way. You meet amazing personalities of AT hikers. The flora, the fauna, views and that cursedly American urge to see what is over the hill...or the mountain...or the river. An obsessive photographer could never make the trip in six months. What a great adventure. I am pea-green with envy. Write a book....yesterday."

- Diana Boggs

Daniel's website:

http://onahike.com/

Bailey and Chloe at Diamond Lake, Oregon 2009

This would be something I would love to do once I retire.  Here on the western side of the U.S., we have the Pacific Rim Trail.