NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/604047
46 NEBRASKAland • DECEMBER 2015 F or many, the next hunting dog, or family dog, must come in the form of a puppy. They want to pick the best dog for them, make that early bond and ensure it's trained as they like. Too often, those responsibilities and the rest that come with a dog are more than some people can handle. Overwhelmed, they quit on the dog, which then finds itself in a shelter on "death row," hoping someone will give it another chance, or worse yet, roaming the countryside hoping it can find its next meal. These dogs are the leftovers. Some people are happy to give them a new home. In most cases, they find the problem was with the people who last owned the dog, not the dog. That includes the hunting dogs that supposedly can't. Often, they can hunt. And they come without the price tag and training hurdles that a puppy sometimes does. Shorthairs German shorthaired pointers have a bad rep. Yes they are more high strung and have more energy than other dogs. But they are fine pets, family dogs and hunters. Sean Conaway has two, Sadie and Coco. For the past two years, he's often added a third as a foster home for the Great Plains Pointer Rescue. The rescue is where he found and adopted Sadie in 2014, who has turned out to be a fine bird dog. And Coco, who was a great hunter but retired after she began suffering from seizures, now is happy to jump in bed with Conaway's wife, Dana, when he and Sadie head to the field. "To me, they're the best family dogs I've had," he said. And when it's time to hunt, Conaway said it's humorous watching Sadie tap dance around the house, "smiling from ear to ear." Conaway had no idea what to expect from Sadie when they headed to the field the first time. "Right away you knew she knew how to work a field," he said. "She covered every inch." Sadie pointed birds, honored other dogs' points and even reminded herself that she could retrieve after another dog beat her to a bird, all of which told Conaway "She's a trained hunter. She does everything a shorthair should do. I thought that was hilarious. That was the easiest training session I've had." Pit Bulls Not long ago, T.J. Yoakum had no use for pit pulls. He stereotyped the dog the same way that many others do: they are bred to fight and bite, and usually owned by thugs. That all changed on a fishing trip on the Loup River near Columbus in 2011 with his uncle and cousin. While driving along the river, they came across three pit bull puppies running down the road. They stopped and when Yoakum sat on the ground, one of the puppies jumped in his lap and "claimed" him. Before they got up, the dog had a name: Little Bear, for his grandfather, Harold, who was nicknamed Bear. "I already had a bloodhound named Harold," Yoakum said. "They were in pretty rough shape," he said of the puppies, which were about 8 weeks old, emaciated, and their bellies bloated. But they were adorable. So they drove to Columbus and bought some dog food. The puppies inhaled it and then got sick … in the back seat of T.J.'s car. T.J. and his uncles had planned on staying for the weekend but packed up and headed back to Lincoln. Yoakum's uncle kept the female in the trio and his cousin the other male. "They're both just awesome dogs," he said. While mushroom hunting the next spring, he was amazed at both the ability and determination of Little Bear when he tried to jump a ravine and, with no urging, tried again. Yoakum had seen dog jumping events on TV, so he took Little Bear to Pawnee Lake and soon had the dog flying off the end of the dock to retrieve a bottle. They entered a jumping competition in Omaha shortly thereafter and Little Bear won. He's since won several other competitions, and even placed second at a national event in St. Louis in 2014, with a jump that still ranks second in the world. Yoakum and his uncle are even training their dogs to hunt pheasants. And on occasion, Little Bear, who is out-of-his-mind crazy at jumping events, calms down, dons a sweatshirt and makes hospital and nursing home visits. "He's the best dog I've ever owned, and truly my best friend," said Yoakum. "Every pit bull I've met has been the nicest dog ever. My prejudice toward them is totally gone." That Dog Don't Hunt Conaway doesn't understand why anyone would abandon their dog. He's heard what they call reasons. He calls them excuses. Some are harder to understand, and stomach, than others. "For whatever stupid reason, these people would rather just dump them off at the pound," Conaway said. T.J. Yoakum of Lincoln takes a rooster retrieved by his pit bull, Little Bear, on a hunt at Pheasant Haven near Elkhorn. Yoakum found the dog abandoned on the Loup River.