Pro guide and trainer: desert quail strategy & tactics, let a pup be a pup, trust your dog, and where to find chukars and an alligator in Arizona

Our featured guest is Rashawn Gordon, Gordon’s Gun Dogs and Guide Service, Wellton, Arizona. Rashawn, a new guide and seasoned dog trainer, shares his experiences and hard-won advice. Plus public access ground, and news you can use.

First, listeners’ advice to new hunters, from expectation management to what not to do, to how to train the retrieve, and where the heck is the Owyhee River?

Then, Rashawn’s advice: Gambel’s quail strategy and tactics … do hawk calls really work? Let a puppy be a puppy, and a dog be a dog … trust his nose.

Critical training commands, chukars in Arizona? Best dog breeds and why. A rabbit hole is gone down, talking about Bodo Winterhelt (R.I.P.). How his advice changed Rashawn’s life … and many others’ as well.

Rashawn covers developing a pup’s natural abilities, introduction to birds, range, his two most important commands. He likes “wing on a string,” but not for the usual reasons! Rashawn outlines the most common “re-training” problem we dog owners create, and defines the two kinds of dogs he trains: hunting dogs, and competition dogs.

Rashawn shares early on-the-ground observations on Arizona quail populations for this season, a hunting dog that outdoes Lassie when it comes to alerting its owner, tells us when a dog is right to road in on birds, and where to find chukars – and an alligator – in Arizona. We debate 28 gauge vs. 20 gauge, ballistics, and the value of giving away shotguns.

There’s news on the Vermont woodcock opener and when you can get your duck stamp, and our public access segment covers pheasant ground in Minnesota.

And it's all brought to you by:

Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, RuffLand performance Kennels; HuntHuronSD.com, UplandNationDeals.com, Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.