Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs All the dogs I've loved before

On another thread a member was reminiscing about dogs he's owned and that got me thinking about the varied dogs in my life. It's been quite a mix but it's sure has been fun.

Starting when I was about 3 or 4 years old...

A boxer named Doc (a protective gentle giant)
A chihuahua named Spot (thought he was a rottweiler and lived to be 18)
A treeing walker named Sadie (died way too young)
A black and tan hound named Preacher (lived to roam)
An airedale named Buck (very proud and the 2nd best dog I ever owned)
A border collie mix named Barker (had an IQ of about 140)
A GSP named Rocket (he just turned 14...everyone should have at least one dog as good as Rocket has been)

Pal a rat terrier who liked to ride in the truck when I was a kid
Pamper, a pointer who loved to heard cattle...???
Buster a heinz mix who was the toughest dog around
Rambler a Black & Tan with an enormous appetite, great 4 squirrels
Jocko a schnauzer, yard escape artist.

...Jackie, a screwtail bulldog who died defending and repulsing a burglar who was coming in a window of our family home.....Birdbrain, an english setter, and his mother, Ladybird, both super bird dogs!....BoJingle, a Decker Rat Terrier, a great squirrel dog,with rabbit, and coon thrown in. JingerBelle, Bo's daughter (Decker Rat Terrier) an absolutely great squirrel dog, and a wonderful companion..

First dog was Minnie (Spaniel mix of some sort) when I was 2.
Reina (Chihuahua mix who was no match for a '66 Dodge).
Ginger ('nuther Chihuahua mix) she lived to be 17.
Falstaff (one of Ginger's pups) yup, he liked his namesake.
Fred (Engish Pointer/GSP mix) gave him to my uncle and he (Fred) hung himself.
Casey (Chesapeake Bay Retreiver) best dog I ever had.
Kody (one of the pups from a litter propagated by Casey) dumb as a rope.
Pella (English Springer Spaniel) dumb as a rope and hyperactive.
Pete (Border Collie/Lab mix) as with FB's dog Barker, has an IQ of 140, maybe more. He's still with us.
Millie (mom was a nice dog and dad was from a good neighborhood) inherited her from daughter when daughter graduated from college and booked.
Katie ('nuther itty bitty dog of questionable lineage) just got her a couple month's ago, so the jury's still out.

Sombra, a black lab I brought home from college. She chewed up about everything my parents owned but was hell on ducks geese and quail.

Shalako, a yellow lab with a heart as good as gold and a pheasant/grouse hunting goddess. She did good on ducks and geese but excelled on upland birds. I miss her and she has been gone for years...

Dasi, a black Lab who has found ways to piss me off more than any dog I have ever had, but a dream on ducks and geese. That dog just flat retrieves. She is nearing the end now and I am not looking forward to the day she is gone...

Shonto, a yellow lab that is laying here at my feet right now. She is probably the best all around dog I have ever had, and hunts like a dream. She never needed much training and has always known what to do. I would not trade her for any other dog...Flushes grouse and pheasants with the best of them, and retrieves everything...Besides that she is the kind of dog that makes you proud to have her around. A dog that just plain has it going for her...

There have been others, but those dogs stand out for one reason or another....

A mutt/mostly lab mix male puppy named Troubles who ran in the road at the wrong time.

A lazy mutt with personality named Jet, who took off many times in the neighborhood siring scads of puppies with the neighbors...lived to an old age.

A cute black female cock-a-poo named Rosie, who died in infancy during surgery.

A cute black male cock-a-poo from the next litter, named Rosie (Roosevelt!), who lived to an old age but died suddenly, probably the result of the food poisoning episode of December 2006.

The dogs I have owned were Tasha, a black lab who was great on ducks but somewhat too far ranging for upland. She developed this after catching three sharptails in about five minutes. I ended up with my limit and never had a shot. She was stolen from our backyard aged 5.

Missie, a red Cocker that loved to hunt. The first time she got a whiff of hungarians she ran to the spot each bird had sat and inhaled so deeply I heard her from 20 feet away. She shook all over in excitement. She never broke the skin of a wounded bird she retrieved. Her bad habit was loving to hunt so much she would take slightly wounded birds back into the heavy cover so she could find and chase them again. SHe developed cancer on her eyelid and I had her put down at age 5.

Shadoe, a Weimer that I got last year. So far has been very good at pointing and retrieving. Her nose is unbelievable. Her short coming is that the family I got her from had a 4 year old girl who played fetch with her and taught the dog "catch me , catch me." She will refuse to give up a bird or dummy unless she gets a treat every time. I refer to her as my little Hoe as she does nothing for love but must be paid. Once again a dog who never crushes a wounded bird nor breaks the skin.