The Outdoors

By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist

How many times do you hear folks say that the summer just got away from them? They cannot believe it’s almost fall already. I am getting to be a pretty old man and I realize I am most likely living in the last quarter of my life. I spend considerable effort doing my very best to not be one of those other folks.

I spend every waking moment I can outside. I hustle to finish at least part of my to-do lists every day and make time for conservation efforts and Rall Real Tree Road trips. These are wildlife rides on my Polaris ranger. As the days shorten it becomes abundantly clear that only a few weeks remain before the opening of many of the states’ hunting seasons. Dove season opens on Sept. 1 and the pheasant season on Oct. 12.

Not only do I need to start getting back into my hunting shape, but so do my dogs. It is so sad when I see a dog that is totally overweight hunting on opening weekend and after an hour it can barely walk. It is the dog owner’s responsibility to get the dog in shape before the season starts.

So just how do you do that when the temperatures are in the high 80s-90s? Water is the key. Instead of exercising the dog in the back yard, exercise them at the lake. Swimming is great conditioning for a dog. Beware of blue-green alge and if there is any present on the water you want to use, go to a different lake or pond.

Remember when the dogs come out of the water, they need to be dried off before they can go in a kennel in a truck or car. Dogs don’t cool off when crated in an enclosed space. I know a guy who lost two dogs in the back of his truck because he put them in the truck box with a topper on and they died of heat stroke.

Another important item to remember is toe nails. Toe nails tend to get long over the summer when the dog is not routinely exercised due to the heat. I cut my dogs nails and most other dog owners do too, but if you can’t get this done, take them to someone who can.

One of the most non-life-threatening injuries I see in dogs is a toe nail that was too long and it either broke off or was almost completely torn off. Toe nails should be short and you cannot get them that way with one effort. I trim my dogs’ nails about every week starting now until the season starts.  Once the season starts routine hunting will normally keep them short. When a nail gets trimmed the cuticle will move back towards the paw. A little trim each week for about a month gets my dogs ready for action.

Another dog injury I see often in the early season is lameness due to sore feet. The dog runs around on the carpet for nine months and then subjects their paws to all sorts of rocks, gravel, sticks and other debris. The pads on their feet are like my office hands: very little calluses to protect them. I start out slow and run my dogs on a gravel road for about a mile a day. Walking them on hot asphalt is a very poor substitute.

Each run gets a little longer, and by the middle of October they have toughened up the foot pads so they will not come up lame on opening day. It’s really hard to blame a dog for little enthusiasm when they can barely walk.

Here is another dog item few dog owners do, but each and every one should.How many dog owners carry a bottle of sterile saline in their truck or hunting vest? I do. Just a little eye wash at the end of every hunt washes the seeds and debris out of the dog’s eyes. You cannot believe just how many seeds can be washed out in one application.

Depending on the cover and other factors, I have washed out as many as  5-7 seeds from one eye. Important note: the eye wash needs to be at body temperature. I carry mine on an inside coat pocket next to my body. Getting a dog to sit still for an eye wash is hard enough, but imagine having 35-degree water gently squeezed into your eyes?  I do not recommend any container that is under pressure. Use a small squeeze bottle and refill it as necessary. I flush each eye about three times.

Make the next 60 days your time to prepare you and your dog for the hunting season. Get some eye wash, and while you’re at it, get some ear wash as well. I see a few dogs with really clean teeth, but I see darn fewer with clean ears. Just one more way to love the dog that loves you back.

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If you have any questions, reach out to me at scottarall@gmail.com.