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For more than a month, our dogs have come up on the short end of the deal. They usually run free, hunt, explore, and follow my wife and I around the farm when we are driving the Mule or going for a walk. During hunting season, their activities are severely restricted.

It is not that they would not be a lot of help, but hunting deer with dogs is illegal in Iowa, even if the dog you have is a retriever. Duke, the Mastiff, would be more than happy to go hunting with anyone that would take him. He will not chase, but has been known to retrieve a deer, even when we do not want it retrieved. One day last summer he came dragging a deer down the driveway that must have been hit on the road nearby. It probably weighed almost as much as he did, but it was his deer and he was taking it to his pen. My wife or I can do anything with Duke, except mess with his food. Sometime in his life, he must have been hungry. He never wants that to happen again. If there is food, he is going to eat it. If he can not eat it all in one setting, he is going to protect it until he can finish. He is big enough, nobody will argue the point with him. It would not be good to let Duke run loose during deer season. If someone got a deer, it would be Duke's, and he will not share.

Coty, the Lab, cannot be let run during deer season, because he loves to go with anyone, doing anything on the farm. It does not matter if a person is going to fix fence or just go for a ride; Coty is glad to help. If that person has a gun or a bow, Coty goes absolutely crazy. He loves to hunt and does not care what it is we are hunting. He is happy to retrieve sparrows, clay pigeons, or paper targets. He will run out looking for what he is sure we shot. He does do a lot for a person's ego because whenever I shoot, he runs out to retrieve, sure that I never miss. It is hard to attract deer to one's tree stand when a really happy Lab is waiting patiently at the bottom of the tree.

Louie, the Boxer pup, is exactly the same color as a deer. He has been more restricted than the other dogs. Not only could he be mistaken for a deer, he loves to eat anything left when a person cleans a deer. This gives him an unbelievable case of flatulence which is totally unacceptable for a house dog.

With bow and the main gun seasons for deer past, my wife and I were finally able to take the dogs for the run they have been craving since the end of October. A few hours of freedom each day cannot be matched by a run from one end of the farm to the other. We hopped in the Mule and headed out with three very happy dogs. Crossing the dam, Coty thought we should stop and shoot some geese that had stopped on their migration south. He would gladly swim out and get them and I am sure Duke would eat them before we could stop him.

Five bald eagle flew out of the oak trees by the top gate and circled the lake as we passed. They watched us with interest and settled back in by the time we returned. We saw several deer and turkey on the trip across the farm but the dogs did not chase them. They all seem to have learned they have no chance of catching one. That is a good thing.

When we returned, crossing the dam, both big dogs ran to the lake, broke through the thin layer of ice, and went for a swim. By the time we got to the house, all three dogs had long forgotten their time of not being able to run free.[[In-content Ad]]

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