An Introduction to the New Crew
Posted by
Vince Crawford
|
Posted in
|
Posted on
Friday, February 11, 2011
Well, I said I was going to come back and make a better introduction last month, but that was before we ran into our dream house in the country. Now, I'm moved in and have a new internet connection, so lets get to the blogging!
My name is Vince Crawford, and I just absolutely LIVE hunting and fishing. I really appreciate Bo and Scott having me here to share my outdoor adventures.
In my spare time, I am hunting, fishing, scouting, training my new pup, or turning game calls on my lathe. Since 1999, I have been in the business of teaching Missourians about fish and wildlife for my day job. I am passionate about my teaching, and do my best to get folks, especially kids, excited about the outdoors. I am also a founding member of a not-for-profit group called Missouri Disabled Sportsmen.
My "above and beyond" passions are turkey hunting, archery hunting, pond bass fishing, flathead catfishing, shed hunting and wood working.
The calls I make while wood working are known as VECtor Custom Calls. (My initials are VEC). I make all kinds of different game calls, and really enjoy seeing them being used successfully all across the US. You can read more about them at my website by clicking the link over on the right side of your screen.
I have started the training of my new shed hunting/deer recovery pup this winter, and I will share some of our trial and error times in the woods with you here. My pup's name is Goose, and she is a little over 11 weeks old right now.
My wife Holly, and my two boys, Tristen and Kable, join me in my adventures quite often. Holly is a classroom teacher, so she is able to help me with new thoughts and techniques involved in my fish and wildlife educating.
Training Goose......
I picked up my new friend Goose in Iowa a little over a month ago now. She has been nothing but a BUNCH of fun! She is a silver colored Labrador Retriever from Pinyan Labs.
We started out her training by teaching her how to find her dinner. She gets to eat two of her meals each day out of her normal food bowl. She has to find small stacks of food around the house for her evening meal though. This helps her learn what I mean by "Search it up", "Find that bone" and "Find it". It is also an award system that gives her a good drive to work to succeed.
We have since moved forward to having her find shed antlers in the house, and just three days ago, we moved our training outside. She has done a wonderful job of progressing forward in "Finding that bone". I also integrated shooting .22 blanks while we were "shed hunting" today also, so she will not be gun-shy when it comes to our waterfowl training and hunting this next coming year. The .22 didn't bother her in the least bit. I will continue with it for a few days, and then I will see about adding shotgun shots to the mix.
With the snow on, her outdoor training facility is the gravel road infront of our house. She moves from side to side in the road, looking for anters, and trying to pick up the wind from them. I always try to guide her in a direction to where the wind is in her favor. She is very good at smelling the antlers prior to ever seeing them. Her sight on them will progress as she gets older.
When the snow melts, and she progresses, I will be placing antlers for her to find in more random locations. If she doesn't find them, that is okay too. I pick them up, show them to her, and let her play with them for a minute. She won't find every one in the woods either. I need to share my bounty with her though, so she can see we are a team.
As spring approaches, I will be finding more and more things to share. We usually have a great time bass fishing in March, and that is also when we find most of our sheds. April and May will bring on crappie fishing, gobbling turkeys and mushroom hunting.
Great post Vince!! I can't believe Goose is all ready got the nose for sheds. I really wish I would have started training my lab years ago.... Good luck shed hunting in the coming months. We really need to pick a weekend and get together and search for some bone!
Good looking family. looks like you keep then busy. I posted a blog about shed antler dogs awhile back. This link may compliment your blog post http://huntingoutdoors.org/2010/03/21/shed-antler-hunting-dogs. Again thanks for the informative post1
Mike, I enjoyed reading your article and I actually subscribed to your blog. Thanks for the info. Looks like you have some quality info on that site!
Nice Post. I'd say a formal introduction from Bo and Scott needs to take place sometime. I presume the Long Branch Wood Works comes from the name of the creek that runs through my property in Hamilton?
Yep! Long Branch Creek was where Tristen killed his first turkey a few years ago.