A Gentle Giant

If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be teaching a puppy the difference between speak and whisper while doing homework, I would have laughed.  To my surprise, that is exactly what I have been doing.  On June 2, 2010, a tank of a black lab puppy - now named Jack - came into our lives.

Today was one day after his fourteenth week birthday, or at least that's what we were calling it.  Nearly three weeks ago, Jack was waiting for us on one of our random trips to Gander Mountain.  On that day, the only thing on my shopping list was a turkey mount - I thought.  As you may have read in my last post, I successfully filled my spring turkey tag earlier in the year.  I wanted to buy a mount that would match the other fans on my wall, and the only store near us that had one in stock was in Flint.  Because we didn't have other obligations that evening, my girlfriend and I decided to take the 45 minute trip to pick up the mount and get out of the house.  When we pulled up in front of the store, I saw that something was waiting for us.  As we walked up, our hearts melted as there were three lab puppies sitting in a shopping cart looking for new homes - two black and one golden.  After a few moments, two of the puppies were on their way to starting a new life with two nice families.  While talking with the owner, and petting the last black pup, we were informed that there were actually two labs left.  The owner said there was another puppy in the back of his truck, and that he was giant.  We walked to the truck and discovered a handsome black lab puppy with monster paws and a big bark.  The owner's daughter pulled him from the crate and set him in the cart with his brother.  After a side-by-side comparison of the two, it was obvious that the puppy from the truck was going to be much larger than the others.

We talked for nearly an hour, getting a brief history of the owner and his dogs.  It didn't take long for us to decide that the time was right to finally get the puppy we had been wanting.  Now came the hard part - trying to pick between the two.  As we looked the puppies over, trying to get an idea of their personality and disposition, the giant from the truck proceeded to place the weight of his head in my hands and gleam up at me.  I picked him up out of the cart to take a better look, and he took it a step further by resting his head on my shoulder.  At that moment, I realized I had blindly stumbled upon the dog I had been waiting for.  It just seemed right, plain and simple.  All the fear of buying a dog seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye.  It was all down hill after that.

Three weeks and eight pounds later, and I couldn't be happier with our choice.  Jack is very well behaved and is great with other people and dogs.  We're still working on the cats - they don't seem to want to play with him as much as he does with them.  He weighed a little less than 29 pounds when we brought him home and is now topping out at nearly 37.  My girlfriend and I are having a hard time picturing what he's going to look like when fully grown.  We've narrowed it down to something roughly the size of a horse.  As for his intelligence, all the rumors are true.  He is very smart and already knows sit, stay, come, down, up, shake, bang bang, speak and will ring a bell when he needs to use the little boy's room.  I'm sure he'll have whisper down by tomorrow night - if not sooner.

If you're thinking of getting a dog, do yourself and the dog a favor by doing your research. Make sure the breed you choose is right for your lifestyle and theirs.  Take your time in deciding, and be aware that they are a lot of work.  You will need to put in a huge amount of time to help them learn what is acceptable behavior, so plan for that.  If you can provide what the puppy - or dog - needs, it will be a great experience.

2010 Michigan Spring Turkey Hunt

Earlier this year my girlfriend and I decided we would try to take a couple of tom turkeys with our bows.  For me, this was my first attempt at shooting a turkey with a bow.  I had called turkeys into decoys well within range for a bow in the past so I figured it would be a piece of cake with a pop-up ground blind.  We scouted the property we would be hunting and knew there were several nice sized birds in the area.  In early April there was a group of three mature longbeards that seemed to be hanging out close to our trail cameras, and with a little luck, we managed to get some nice trail pictures of them.  This really had us excited for the start of our season.

When opening day arrived, the weather forecast was solid rain for the remainder of the first week, and with classes and other obligations, we made the choice to stay out all day.  Unfortunately, we realized the birds were not roosted in the woodlot we were set up in.  The morning produced nothing but hens and jakes, but we were determined to stick it out and give the toms some time to move. In the early afternoon, we left the blind for a much needed lunch break.  To our surprise, when we returned, we made a big mistake.  The three toms were no more than 50 yards from the blind moving through the field.  After a few moments, they actually made their way toward the tree line and walked off into the woods.  We quickly ran to the blind and started calling.  About 15 minutes into our calling sequence the toms returned to the field, but hung just out of bow range.  16 hours after we first entered the blind, our first day of hunting was over with two unfilled turkey tags.

To make a long story short, two weeks had passed out of our three week season and neither one of us could coax a tom close enough to kill with a bow.  Being the late season, well after their breeding period, this is not an uncommon occurrence.  I knew the season would be tough, but this year had been brutal.  Even so, we managed to keep our spirits up and enjoy the time we spent in the woods.

I made the decision to personally change weapons and switch to the shotgun for the last week.  I had a couple of encounters during the first two weeks with gobblers well within gun range and had been unable to fill my tag with the bow.  Knowing that these birds had already been exposed to my calling and didn't bite, I switched tactics and made a conscious effort to leave the woods early to locate and roost this group of toms.


Late into the hunt, I found the flock - who had recruited a forth longbeard - on another piece of property I had permission to hunt.  I watched the birds roost and planned my setup for the following morning.  The field layout was such that they only had one real place to land.  I made the choice to sit on the edge of the field where they had flown up the night before.  Even though my cover was bad and the sun was in my face, I knew the birds would fly down on either side of me because of the long grass surrounding their roost, which was directly behind me and the tree I was sitting against.  I made it to the base of the tree well before daylight and prepared for their departure.  Almost immediately after the sun began to light up the sky the birds sounded off.  My plan was looking good.  I waited to hear the unmistakable sound of a turkey leaving the roost, and when I did, my heart began to race.  One by one, I watched the toms land 40 yards to my left.  They had landed in the exact spot where they had flown to roost the night before.  Now my only problem was waiting for the group to spread out and allow me a shot. 

I had my sights set on the dominant bird, who appeared to be much larger and have a notably whiter head than the others.  As he strutted behind the group, it seemed like an eternity - when in reality it was probably only a few minutes.  After considering taking one of the smaller birds on the outside of the group, a shot presented itself.  With only mere feet between the birds, and being confident in my choke tube and the yardage, I lined up my sight and squeezed the trigger.  As the thundering boom of my shotgun rolled across the fields, my 2010 spring turkey tag had been filled before the sun had a chance to rise above the trees.

I learned a lot about myself as a hunter this spring, but even more about myself as a boyfriend and mentor.  I found the same enjoyment being in the woods with my girlfriend - sharing experiences and making memories - as I did taking this beautiful Michigan tom turkey. It goes to show, you never know what you'll find in the woods.