Got out with my good friends and hunting buddies, Jason and his wife Fran, to check on the trail cameras Jason and I set up the weekend before to watch for signs of wild turkey on the farm we hunt near Spencerville. We brought your dogs, Hera and Nos, along so they could enjoy a run. Nos bumped a grouse on the walk in to the trail cameras and Hera got her first scent of grouse. We found turkeys had been by the cameras one morning during the week that passed. Encouraging, but we want to wait a few more days and see if turkey traffic picks up before Jason and Fran set out for a turkey hunt. A porcupine was seen during the run and destroyed, regrettably, but we cannot risk Nos attacking and getting a face filled with quills again. Jason used the shock collar in conditioning Nos to refrain from attacking porcupines. Later in the run, Nos found a porcupine kid, it was tiny, and did not attack. The porcupine kid was left unharmed, which is what we want. If Nos can be conditioned not to attack porcupines, we will leave them alone. Hera went for a dip in a wooded pond without hesitation. She is fine in the water. She is coming along nicely in her training as a hunting dog. Hoping when we return there will have been more turkeys caught on camera.

Posted by Geoffrey