Training Ruby

Pygmy River Ruby

Training log

Training Weblog entries - September 2003 thru May 2005

Ruby is out of Galls BigTime Lucky and Galls BigTime Roy. Lucky is a Mable pup and Roy is a Tucker pup so there is lot's of nice local blood in her. I really love Ruby but for some reason I ended up giving her to Dale Pederson. At least I get to hunt with her a lot still. She's a pretty nice dog but is a little erratic right now. (Just the way her grandma was between 2 and 3.) She's also a little gamey and has developed a taste for fox and coyote. Dale and I will have to break her this fall (2005).

09/07/2003

Took Ruby from the farm kids Saturday. Their mom said two dogs were too much for them. Ruby doesn't know anything; I will be starting from scratch. Lots of good training left this year.

09/20/2003

Took Josie and Ruby to the easy spot with Dale & Pete. Walked around for quite a while & finally Josie wandered off. She treed in the pasture about 1/4 mile away. While going to her I heard Ruby bawling farther in. Josie had a coon & Pete led her back to the truck. I checked Ruby & she had a coon too. Pete took Josie home.

09/21/2003

I headed up to the kids farm with Dale this Saturday evening. I had Mabel, Ruby, a caged coon and a caged squirrel. I figured this would be an easy night. Wrong!

I let the squirrel go in the yard and let Ruby and Pearl go. They looked for it for a little while but soon they lost interest & started playing. We caught them up and started with the coon. I wanted to check & see what stage the pups were at so I did things a little differently. I let the coon go & didn't let the pups see. I let the pups go a little later and then put Mabel in behind them. OOPs, Mabel was all wound up and just raced into the swamp and took the pups with her. She finally lost them & they came back after 5 or 10 minutes. By then the coon was long gone & they are too inexperienced to work this out. We waited for a few minutes & then I told the kids they might as well go home. Dale and I drove around and I could hear Mabel treeing. I left for the tree at 9:30 and made it back to the truck at 11:30. One of worst times in that swamp I've had so far. I lost my bearings and ended up in some real mud. Ended up backtracking & swinging west to get out of the mud. I'm tired today. Adding insult to injury, I saw a whole family of coons on the drive home. They were right on the edge of the cornfield where I was going to drop after the caged coon. Darn! Oh well, they'll still be there next weekend.

09/23/2003

Mabel and Ruby on the river. Mabel took off and Ruby was left to hunt around by herself. I saw a coon climb a tree nearby & walked her that way. She struck before I got there and trailed out into the swamp. She finally came back after about 10 minutes. She wouldn't let me catch her though. I drove off after Mabel & found her on the other side of the swamp. She had been sprayed by as skunk. I drove back around and found the pup. She still ran around for about 5 minutes before she let me catch her. One of those nights.

09/28/2003

Met Paul & his friend Sam down on the river. We let Belle, Ruby and Nitro go at the club bridge. Nitro struck by the corn, Belle was behind him but as luck would have it, that put her ahead on the track. They ran down the creek back to the gate and lost it. They were in the corn across the road going a direction I didn't like. We rounded them up and herded them back towards the river. Nitro slipped down on the river bank & we called him back. Belle slipped down and went the other way & we couldn't catch her. We walked Nitro a little & then I told those guys we might as well not bother anymore. Some nights the river is a bad place to hunt, especially with young dogs. They took off & I caught Belle around 12:15, still on the river bank, about 1/2 way to Shakopee. On a positive note, sort of, Ruby opened by the swamp and was trying to chase something. I caught her because it could have been anything. It shows me she is ready to go right now. She treed a squirrel in the yard this morning too.

09/30/2003

Belle treed one at the easy spot. Ruby was on the other side of the swamp but came in to the tree.

10/01/2003

Took Mabel and the Ruby to the river. Let them go at the club gate; I wanted to check the late corn. Mabel raced the road & the pup came back. I drove after a few minutes & found Mabel treed between the dam & the middle field. Walked the pup in & she got more excited tonight. She won't let Mabel get away for too much longer.

10/04/2003

Took Ruby and Sam to the river and put them on a hot one. Both did well.

10/14/2003

Took Mabel, Ruby and Pearl to the middle cornfield up north. Kept the pups on a leash and let Mabel south into the corn. No barks, took Pearl home and drove around looking for Mabel. She ended up in the next section to the north. Deep in the swamp treed. I shot the coon out but it was only wounded and ran deeper into the swamp. I didn't let Mabel go find it. Made it back to the truck & took Mabel and Ruby to the easy spot. Had a quick strike and tree, Ruby opened and was at the tree but not barking. I saw another coon up a few trees away..

10/15/2003

Took Ruby to the easy spot. Walked right through the woods to the corn. I could tell she was on a track but she wasn't barking. She whined a few times & I turned on my light she was right by a tree with a coon up it. I shined around and saw a few more. I'll take her back there a few times.

10/17/2003

Waited 'til 11:30 to drop tonight. Went to the school house section. Mabel got deep & treed. I heard Ruby bawling while I walked in. Ruby had stopped barking by the time I arrived. She was standing on a log staring up into the tree. It won't be long now.

10/19/2003

Dale & I went up to Gordy's with Mabel & Ruby. Mabel looks like she's in heat so Gordy took Lucky. They struck a hot track in the corn & treed pretty quick. Ruby was treeing but stayed way back from those other dogs till we got there. With a little encouragement, she got right up on the tree with the big dogs. We sent the dogs on from there. Ruby struck on a hot track & took it across the section, probably deer. She did a fine job on it, just like Mabel would have at her age. Mabel grubbed around for about an hour in one spot & I finally just caught her. Just a coincidence, but a coon was up in the tree next to me when I called her in. She located & treed when she got to me. Lucky got out of hearing and treed, so she was the hero tonight. I brought Roy home with me. He's been slick treeing & I'm going to try to correct the problem. So I'm back to too many dogs in the house again. Luckily he's a small dog & my wife has always liked him. Mabel looks really old this morning & with Belle gone I need a medium dog for a little while anyway. Hope this works out. Nitro made NT CH Friday night. Paul really got lucky to get a dog like Nitro. I figure he was the best in this litter, but maybe he's the best out of ten litters. We may be talking about Nitro for a long time.

10/20/2003

Picked up Pete & went to the easy spot. Sent Josie and Ruby in. They struck a tough track & I caught them. Walked them to the corn, struck and treed but loose on the tree. Got in there and made Josie stay, Ruby came back in. Let Ruby try to run another we saw on the road, but caught her when she bogged down. Good puppy night.

10/22/2003

Took Ruby to the easy spot and walked her to the corn. She struck a track and took it south quite a ways. She treed on a hollow tree. I banged on the tree a little and the coon came out the top. Pretty nice job for a midget.

10/26/2003

Picked up Pete and went to the easy spot. Let Josie and Ruby go in the corn. They started a track and were moving it. They drove it to the woods located, and then left. I knew right away it was Ruby that took off. Just like Mabel when she was a pup. I caught them deeper in the woods and put Ruby on a leash. Then I walked back to the corn where Josie struck another hot track. She treed on a big oak by a slough. I walked Ruby in on a leash. I didn't see a coon. It could have been hollow but, it looked like a place where a coon would give a dog the slip too. Had some work to do so I called it a night.

10/28/2003

It's been a light rain for several days now. Took Roy and Ruby to the easy spot and walked them into the woods. They took off right away; I kept walking but never saw them. Finally I heard Roy; he opened up on a tree. I thought it might be slick just from the sound of it. I headed to him. Ruby was there but wasn't going to tree. Instead she screamed a track out in the corn. Roy couldn't take the pressure and left his tree to go after her. They ran hot for a few minutes and then Roy treed again. This time he was there to stay. Ruby tried to pull him again but finally she settled down and treed too. It was about a 25 lb coon up the tree. Ruby and Roy might make good training partners this fall. Roy stops a little too soon and Ruby doesn't want to stop. They might just balance each other out.

11/06/2003

I got a call this morning from a guy who had caught a coon in a livetrap. I guess they've been raiding his bird feeder & he's had it with them. I stopped by to pick it up around 7 pm. I guess he didn't know the difference, but that was a possum in the trap! The home owner described the damage to his bird feeder & I told him it was a definitely a coon. I put the possum in a transport cage and reset the trap for him. I drove home and let the possum go on my street. I was just settling in for the night and I received a call. I had to go back out; the trap I just reset already had a coon in it. I loaded up Ruby and went and got the coon. I drove out to a nice field in the country where I like to let city coons go. It took off across the field at a pretty good clip. I waited a little while and then let Ruby go. She was opening on the track right away. She trailed for a few minutes and then started "tree barking". This was kind of odd because there were no trees out where she was. I headed out to her and could see right away what was up. That coon had run out into the swamp grass and Ruby had cornered it. Ruby stood there and "treed" hard the whole time. She wasn't going to grab that coon & I don't blame her. It was almost as big as Ruby and it had a pretty secure position in the grass. Anyway, pretty nice bonus night for Ruby. I have been staying home because of deer hunting. Nice to be able to get a pup out for some exercise this time of year. I can't explain it, but I like this pup more than any I've had since Mabel was a pup. She makes me feel good.

11/10/2003

Put Ruby on a hot one. She chased it across a field and up a tree. When I got there she had climbed up the tree and was barking pretty hard.

11/11/2003

Put Ruby and Roy on a hot one tonight. They caught it on the edge of a field. I went in and caught them and held them back. The coon took off and ran up a tree a little ways off. I let the dogs go again and they treed.

11/12/2003

Put Ruby and Roy on another hot one tonight. They caught it in the swamp grass. Before I could get there they had killed it. I'd rather have them get away and up a tree.

03/04/2004 10:10:46 PM

Took Mabel and Ruby to the school house. They struck and treed about 100 yards off the road. Seemed a little too quick so I took them to the easy spot for a second drop. Mabel struck and the pup joined in a little. Mabel grubbed to the south and the pup came back. I walked the edge with the pup on a leash. Mabel treed & I sent the pup to her. The pup was standing a few feet away just watching Mabel when I arrived. Mabel had a coon & I called the pup over and made her tree a little. Mabel has been sleeping for almost two days now. She's getting old.

03/18/2004

I took Ruby to the easy spot alone Thursday night. I was really surprised by the conditions when I arrived. The snow was still pretty deep and crusty. It would just about hold me up as I walked. So I was really getting a workout when I walked. It was cold too, not good conditions for a pup at all. I let her go at a path at the edge of the woods. She took off pretty good, I didn't see her for quite a while. I used the tracker & found that she wasn't too far away. I figure as she gains confidence she will start to cover a lot more ground. She came into me while I walked the fence line. I cut back into the woods and she took off again. I circled around and headed back to the truck. I tracked her some more & it seemed like she was making a wider circle in about the same direction. By the time I got back to the truck she was already on the road nearby & I was able to catch her. I don't think I'll try this again until I have a better handle on where some easy coons are.

04/14/2004

Went with Dieter up north. Made a drop with Toby & just caught him after a while. Driving to the next drop we saw a coon. Dropped Ruby, she didn't look like she was going to figure it out so we sent Toby in. He struck & finally she joined in. They ran a long time & finally bogged down. Toby grabbed a tree out of frustration. Just another coon on the side of the road that turns into a bad track. I was happy with the chase Ruby gave though.

04/19/2004

Took Roy & Ruby with me to see the kids. Picked up Charlie and Pearl and headed into the south section. Roy and Ruby grabbed a tree then left. I walked into the general area & didn't see anything sitting up. Ruby barked up a few minutes later and Roy locked down. It was slick & I shocked him off. He went deeper and treed. We caught the pups and drove around. I left Charlie on the road with the pups and ran in. Slick again & I shocked him again. Dropped Charlie and Pearl off and headed to the vegetable garden. Sent Roy and Ruby north. They each barked once or twice and then locked down. It would break my heart if this was slick. I got in there & they were both hammering. Whew! They had a coon. Roy was happy & so was I. Man you should see that pup Ruby tree. I love that puppy! Anyway, a good night of training.

04/21/2004

Picked up Pete Wednesday night & headed for the vegetable garden. We walked right up to the woods and sent Bronco and Ruby north. They both struck and trailed around for a while. I think they were too excited to begin with and missed part of the track. Bronco finally came back around & seemed like he straightened it out. He treed back between young Stokel's and George's. Ruby was there but kept her distance from Bronco. When I got there she ran in and started treeing with him. Saw the coon & headed home. I made her ride in the box with Bronco on the way back to Pete's. Pretty good night.

04/26/2004

I waited till about 10:00 and headed north with Roy & Ruby. I think it was about 11:00 when I got to the vegetable garden. I walked them all the way to the north edge of the woods and sent them in on the ditch. It's a little wet in there since all of the rain. I think Ruby may have split off to the left to avoid some of the standing water. Anyway, that's where she struck. She trailed a little northeast. Roy struck and sounded like he was northeast of her. She located and I'm pretty sure she treed. Roy was there immediately and treed hard. On the way in they got quiet. I think Ruby was milling and Roy must have been watching her. I picked up the pace and turned on my light, I didn't want to give Ruby a chance to screw up. Roy started hitting it even harder when he saw my light. Ruby joined back in and was doing a nice job when I finally got there. I a little loving & headed home.

Ya' know, Roy had an ear infection when he was up at Gordy's. Sometimes I wonder if that wasn't the reason he started backtracking and slick treeing. He's getting better but he still has a little more trouble than I think he should. I may have a vet look at him some day just to see if he can spot anything. He's doing pretty well, but I remember him as being a better dog than this. He's had Bronco and 2 pups get the strike and tree on him in the last couple weeks. Now that I see his pups doing so well, I think I'd like to finish him and get a few more litters on the ground.

04/29/2004

I took Ruby to the vegetable garden alone and sent her north. She struck a track but it wasn't very fresh. She grubbed for about 40 minutes & then I just went in and caught her. I took her behind Don Eden's next and started walking the ditch. She struck behind me & something about it I didn't like. I was able to get to her quickly & I just leashed her up. Maybe it was OK but I didn't want to let her run that one for some reason. I headed home, Ruby will get plenty more chances.

05/03/2004

Took Roy and Ruby to the vegetable garden. George was out in his field so I headed to Don Eden's. Sent them both down the ditch. When I heard them they were pretty far south. I drove around and parked at the bird house. They were already treed south of there. I got in there pretty fast as they house wasn't too far a way. I saw the coon on the way in. I petted them a little & then headed home.

05/18/2004

Took Roy & Ruby to the vegetable garden. I walked them all the way to the north woods and sent them in on the ditch. About 10 minutes passed & then Ruby struck. Roy joined in and they both trailed around. Ruby was stationary but it sounded funny. I started in and Roy treed where she was. She treed more regular then. It was a big leaner & Ruby was 1/2 way up when I got there. I got her out and tied her. The coon was there. Ruby is gonna' be my girl for a long time I think.

05/20/2004

Took Roy and Ruby up to the vegetable garden late. Sent them into the north woods at 11:02. I heard the strike and a little trailing. I think it was mostly Roy to begin with. I don't know who hit the tree first. They were pretty deep. Lots of standing water in the woods on the way to them. Both were hammering good when I arrived. Leaves are getting thick but I saw the coon. Nice job. Light rain started on the walk out.

05/25/2004

Took Ruby and Roy to the vegetable garden. Sent them along the ditch instead of walking. Ruby struck in the close woods and ran for a minute or so. I wondered where Roy was. He finally opened up on the tree. While listening for him I lost track of Ruby's voice. I don't know if she located or not. Anyway they were both treeing hard. Another big leaner going into another tree. Ruby was way up there and Roy was treeing at the base. I called her and she came down. I saw the coon. If Ruby can keep striking like that she could really be something. It's too early to tell but that seemed a lot like the way Mabel used to get the drop on dogs.

05/26/2004

Picked up Pete and we took Bronco and Ruby up to the vegetable garden. It was pouring by the time we got there. Turned around and headed home. Caught up on some dog news at least.

05/29/2004

I took Mabel and Ruby to the vegetable garden about 11:50. I let Ruby loose first and Mabel right away after. No babbling. I heard Ruby first about 1/2 mile north. Mabel might have been barking too but Ruby is pretty loud & it was windy. If Ruby really got the strike in that section over Mabel, she's the 1st ever. Anyway, Ruby sounded stationary & Mabel was trailing to the left still. I tried to get to Ruby but she left. Mabel treed and Ruby backed her. The coon was there. This is an area where several ditches come together. Likely Ruby was just hung up on one of them & finally swam to get to Mabel's tree.

06/01/2004

Took Ruby up to the vegetable garden alone. It had been raining and still was. She's about to go into heat so I thought I'd try getting her a little exercise before I put her up. She took off like a rocket. She opened in the 1st woods by the ditch. I started to follow her, the ground is wet & it's like walking in oatmeal. She was moving pretty good & I wanted to keep up. She bogged down just as I got close & started locating. It was kind of a bad spot so I just went and got her. I would have liked to make her work it out but it was close to a house & somebody was outside. I took her a little further and let her go again. She took off and hunted a little swamp well. I caught her on the other side and decided to go home. It was just too sloppy to walk around in.

06/06/2004

Dale called & wanted to hunt. We met at Pete's and talked with him for a while. We finally headed up to the vegetable garden with Ruby. She's in heat so Pete and Bronco stayed home. I let her loose from the truck & she headed off fast into the first woods. I walked the edge & stopped just before the crossing between the two fields. Ruby hunted the first woods and then popped out at the crossing. I called her & she was not going to listen but head north. I gave her a light shock & she stopped. I called again & she stood and thought for about 10 seconds, turned and came to me. Very nice. We led her to the corner by the north woods. I figured that coon I've been treeing would be right there.

06/06/2004 Continued

Before I got to my usual drop spot she started pulling hard. I let her go & she opened pretty quickly. She ran along the ditch & was picking up speed. I started in to keep up with her. She located and started treeing hard. I got in there with her in a couple of minutes. It was a couple of trees running together on a small piece of high ground. There was water all around and it had been pouring just a few hours earlier. We didn't see a coon & I just don't know. It was perfect conditions for a coon to giver her the slip OR for it to be up there & not visible. At any rate, she ran that track well, had a distinct locate and changed over to a chop nicely. I'm very excited about little Ruby. Too bad she's so ugly. Looks more like a Feist than a coondog. Oh well, Mabel was never a beauty queen either. I wouldn't trade her for anything.

06/08/2004

Took Ruby up to the vegetable garden around 10:50 and sent her along the ditch. She struck in the first woods and struggled north along the ditch. I finally just caught her. There's a lot of water there, maybe that was just too much for her. Might have been trash there too. I walked her to the north woods and sent her in. She struck and ran a track for a while. She started to bog down & I was getting close to her. She located a little but wasn't treeing. I walked in and she was near the leaner we treed on a few weeks ago. She kept going and I searched the leaner. I thought I saw the coon and called as she came by again. I put her on the tree. Darn, it was a nest! Oh well. Hunting is getting to be rough in there and the bugs are coming out now in force. Maybe I'll just take it easy on the pup till the river is ready. Why screw her up now?

06/11/2004

Had a caged coon & took it up for the kids to watch. We let it go right behind their house & watched it run a way. It went to the corner of a pen, climbed the fence and took off down the edge of the field. I thought this would be a good test for the pups. I let Pearl and Ruby go and listened for a while. Roy was there too but on a leash. Ruby is in heat and Roy was definitely interested in her. Ruby was opening but not Pearl. I think Pearl is still hurting from being spayed. Ruby located on a small bushy tree just a few yards from where the coon hopped the fence. She left and went back to the fence. She did this a couple of times & I figured she needed to find the track leading out of there. I was wrong though, I saw the coon in the tree. I walked over there with Roy and Ruby was coming in at the same time. I let Ruby know she was right and I let Roy tree too. Pearl was there but didn't do much. Ruby really went nuts once she committed to the tree. She was able to climb up and get face to face with the coon. The coon started snarling and the dogs were really wound up then. I let them go on for a few minutes and then I figured this was enough. I had to pull Ruby out of the tree. The coon wasn't too far away & I was keeping an eye on him while getting Ruby. We left the coon there; I told the kids we'll probably see him again this fall. As I was loading the dogs to go home, I picked up Pearl like I always do one hand on the collar and the other cradling her belly. She let out a squeal. I had forgotten about her being spayed & this obviously bothered her. A few more days of rest and relaxation for her. Charlie made a point to tell me how good of a dog Roy was. He was very serious about this & I didn't know why so Charlie explained. He went on to tell me how Roy had gotten out one day last week & was bawling around down in Mud Lake. That's a very nasty swamp out there & it sucks if you have to catch your dog. Charlie said he just called Roy and he came right to him. Now THAT is Charlie's definition of a REALLY good dog.

06/14/2004

Had another caged coon this evening. Took Ruby and Pearl back to the farm. We let Roy watch it run off and kept the pups in the box. It took off across a corn field at hi speed. I let Ruby and Pearl go. Ruby opened and took a minute to line it out. Pearl was there but not barking. Ruby ran it hot, located and treed. Pearl opened on the tree. I led Roy in on a leash. Ruby was picture perfect on the tree. Too bad I didn't have a camera with me. I'll have to remember to bring one soon.

06/21/2004

Took Ruby to the vegetable garden hoping to get the easy coon. She hunted out good but struck in the jungle. I finally caught her because I don't want her struggling like this yet.

06/23/2004

I thought about who to take for a long time. I finally loaded Mabel and Ruby and headed for the vegetable garden. I sent them along the ditch about 11:00 pm. Ruby struck in the first woods and shortly after Mabel struck in the north woods. Ruby trailed down the ditch to the west edge of the north woods. Mabel trailed and treed in the east edge of the north woods. I had to follow Ruby to see what she was up to. She finally stopped and was barking, but it sounded funny. When I got there she was barking into a fallen tree. I pulled her away & looked in to find a huge possum. I scolded her a little and walked her to Mabel's tree. A small funny looking tree right where two ditches came together. I looked anyway & finally saw the coon. I let Ruby tree with her for a little while and headed home. At least Ruby runs her own track.

07/01/2004

Took Ruby and Roy to the river. The roads have been cleared and repaired. The corn looks a little rough in spots. I put them on a hot one in the back field. I had Roy by the collar still when Ruby struck. He bolted and took my glove with him. Dam, it was only $2 for the pair, but I just got them. They treed quick & I was sure they had it. Ruby was part way up the tree & slipped. She fell down the bank & plopped in the mud. She came back up covered with mud and started treeing again. A real mudpuppy. The tree leaned out over the river & was a real jungle. I couldn't find the coon & I finally took them back to the truck. A good ten days before any corn is ready.

07/07/2004

Took Roy and Ruby to the far end of the field beyond the dam and headed them back toward the bridge. I drove around and picked Ruby up in the corn. Roy had split off and was down by the dam. He was treed as I drove up. He got quiet when I got close and came to meet me. He was scared. I put him back on the tree, he was still a little unsure of me. I went back to the truck and brought Ruby in. They both treed hard then & Roy was OK then. He had the coon. I figure I've got my work cut out with him. We'll see if I can get him treeing good again without leaving and not picking slick ones. I don't know why I bother, but I like him for some reason.

The corn is way behind; we need a week of warm weather to bring it on.

07/09/2004

Took Ruby to the river. Walked into the corn and must have turned her loose right on top of a skunk. I caught her and scolded her, but not until after she had run it a little and been sprayed. I took her to another field and sent her in. I saw something run down the road, small but not a coon. She struck in the corn. I was trying to stay on top of her just in case it was bad. I spotted a coon sitting up and I relaxed. She made a loop in the corn and came into the tree nicely. That coon had definitely been in the corn. So had that skunk... I went home.

07/11/2004

Took Ruby to the river and sent her in by the Gun Club. She went out for about 15 minutes and came back. There was a bulldozer in the road to the back field. I could have squeezed by, but I thought maybe Seever left it there on purpose. A lot of rain last night, maybe the road was washed out by the dam. I went and checked the other fields instead. Nothing ready yet so I just went home. No reason to push it too much with a pup yet. There will be plenty of good nights coming soon.

07/12/2004

Took Ruby to the river again and let her go in the corn by the gun club bridge. I saw her go across the road and into the woods by the vegetables. A few minutes later she was back in the road rubbing her face. I got down there & she smelled of skunk again. I scolded her and smacked her once. I could tell she already knew she was in trouble. I actually think she can be broke off skunk. We'll see.

I headed for the truck & was going to go to the back field. I saw a coon sitting up. I put her on it but it was tough for her to figure out. She back tracked to the bridge, and then came back but never found the tree. In the mean time I had lost the coon in the leaves. I had to walk all the way around and look at it from the other side of the ditch to see it again. Ruby came around with me and stayed on that side when I went back around. She treed on the water for a while & then left. I started calling but she went deeper and was running something. I gave her a shock and made her come back. I finally just put her on the tree & proved to her a coon was up there. This all took about 1-1/2 hours. I was soaked with sweat. I don't know what I taught her. We both had a workout though.

07/13/2004

Took Ruby to the river. She checked the gun club and the back field without striking. Corn getting close but not ready to attract coons. Saw two skunks while driving around. Went home.

07/15/2004

Waited till 10:30 & then took Ruby to the River. Sent her in along the road corn at the gun club, she hunted out for about 20 minutes and came back. I went to the back field and sent her in. She found a skunk by the edge of the corn and was baying it. I shocked her pretty hard on this one. She was a little freaked out by this but I'm getting tired of her fooling around. I went back to the gun club and sent her down the ditch corn. She was a little hesitant about halfway down. I think there might have been another skunk down there. I walked with her, made a loop and back to the truck. She was OK by the time we got back & was hunting around in the woods pretty well. I caught her & was getting ready to go. A pack of coyotes opened up near the corn where I had been walking. I yelled at them to shut up and they did. Just for good measure I fired a round in the ground. That's all I need is a pack of them getting bold at night. No damage in the corn yet. It is really early but I've seen a couple of dead young coons down there. I suspect that a disease has finally hit the river this year. I don't expect a good summer of pup training down there. We'll know in a couple of weeks. If so, Sever will have some nice corn.

07/17/2004

Took my wife Lauri & her dog with me to the river tonight. I sent Ruby along the corn at the gun club and She and Cooper walked the road. Ruby struck by the swamp and ran a track for a while. It could have been a coon but it sounded a lot like a fox too. She quit it after about 10 minutes. I gave her a warning beep and she got back to the truck before I did. We loaded up and headed for the back field. In the road we saw three young coons playing. I stopped and sent Ruby in. I saw a coon up a tree and I waited. Ruby bawled around for a little while and then treed there. She was treeing well & I knew she had it but I could never find the coon again. We loaded up and continued to the back field. I walked Ruby along the river & Lauri took Cooper down the road. No strikes & I headed home. Good to see those little coons. They were right where a dead one was on the road. So it's probably not disease down there after all. Not many coons yet just because the corn is not really ripe anywhere. It's close now though. This coming week should be the start of good hunting.

07/19/2004

Took the wife again. She and Cooper walked the road while Ruby & I walked the corn. A little damage in the back field. Ruby was trying to run a track but could hardly bark on it. I decided to catch her. Just as I snapped her up, I saw a coon going up. Rather than let her go I just put her on the tree. I think things will be picking up from here on out. Man was it hot!

07/22/2004

Took Ruby to the river again. Lauri and Cooper came along & played on the road. I sent Ruby in the corn at the gun club. They are picking there now. She checked it and came back after about 15 minutes. Went to the back field and walked the corn. I was almost to the far end when I heard something big rustling around. I looked around and saw a large coon climbing up a brushy tree. I called for Ruby but she was way back down by the truck. I walked all the way back where Lauri had caught and leashed her. It was midnight but I decided to try her on that coon. I drove to the other end of the field and sent her down the edge. She struck immediately & headed away from the trees! (Darn, that coon must have taken off earlier when I went to find Ruby.) She crossed the road and the field and trailed in the tree line along the swamp. For a while I thought she'd tree there. No luck though, she turned back into the swamp & I lost the sound of her. I headed back to the truck and drove towards the very back field. I only got a few yards into the woods & saw that the road is washed out. I backed up and parked. I heard Ruby treed when I got out of the truck. She was a little way off the road, almost to the back field, treed on one of the giant cottonwoods. It was in the middle of jungle growth. To my surprise I was able to find a small opening in the brush and see up to the top of the tree and the coon was up there. It was 1 am when I got back to the truck. I was hot and tired but felt pretty good about the pygmy dog's performance.

07/22/2004

Took Ruby to the gun club. She struck in the corn and trailed around a little. As I was walking to where I heard her last, she popped out into a picked area in front of me. I didn't see anything sitting up so I just caught her. Went to the back field and sent her in the corn. She yipped once & started grubbing. I saw a coon sitting up. It was in a vine covered tree. There was quite a jungle between Ruby and the tree. I just waited & she finally located and treed there. Pretty good lesson for her.

07/25/2004

Took Ruby to the back field and walked, no strikes. They are picking there. Decided to go check some of the other corn tonight. As I was rounding the big curve by the trailer I saw coon run out of the corn. I stopped and let Ruby out. She went in the corn and opened once or twice. She went into the woods and located then came back out into the corn. She trailed around silent for a few minutes, went back into the woods located and treed. I saw the coon in her tree. I went in and tied her up and then I couldn't see the coon anymore. I made all kinds of racket getting her excited and looking for that coon. I finally found it again after about 15 minutes.I drove around and checked the rest of the corn then headed out. At the end of the last field my headlights caught something. I turned on my spot and saw vehicle parked down by the bridge. I kept my spot on and kept driving. When I got close I could see it was cops & they turned on their flashing lights. They had me keep my hands on the dash while they checked me out. I guess somebody from the campground was scared by all the noise I made. They were Ok once they figured out I wasn't going to shoot them.

07/26/2004

Took Ruby to the back field and sent her along the river. I started hearing splashing & heard her open a couple of times. I don't know if she fell or if catfish were jumping. She was down there fumbling around though. I cut several paths through the jungle before I finally got to a place where I could see her. I called a few times & she finally made it to the bank and tried climbing. I was just able to grab her collar and hoist her up. What a mess the river is this year! She was acting a little spooked from the experience. On the way back to the truck I saw a coon & I let her tree it. Then I headed home. The gun club and the back field are just about picked clean. I'll have to work the curve now. Those campers are in for a surprise!

07/27/2004

Took Lauri and her dog Cooper along with Ruby tonight. Went to the curve and sent Ruby in. She made a pass and came back after about 15 minutes. We loaded up and headed towards the Shakopee gate. A coon ran out of the corn as we drove up. I parked and led Ruby into the corn. She struck and made a couple of tight circles. Then she headed into the woods. It was a nice track through the jungle. After about 10 minutes she located on monster tree by a little pothole. She had the coon. I sure like Ruby.

07/30/2004

Took Ruby to the river and sent her along the corn at the curve. She barked a couple of times in the corn then nothing. She came back after about 15 minutes. I took her to the Shakopee gate and sent her along the road corn. I drove down to about where the clump of trees sits out in the swamp. Ruby came back, again about 15 minutes. I drove to the big tree and shined around. A coon was sitting up. I sent Rudy in. As soon as she came into the tree and located I was right there.

08/03/2004

Took Ruby to the river and sent her in by the big tree. She hunted for about 15 minutes and then came back. I headed for the big curve and a coon came out of the corn about halfway there. It took off into the woods. I stopped and let Ruby go. She opened and headed into the woods, then came back to the corn. It looked like she was going to backtrack but she figured it out fast and headed back into the woods. Ran a good track and then stopped barking. Finally she started chopping. When I got there I saw it was a huge leaner. She could have easily gone way up in this thing but she stayed on the ground. She had the coon.

08/05/2004

Took Ruby to the river again and sent her in the corn by the big tree. I walked around for a while and bumped into her as I was headed back to the truck. Drove up to the big curve and let her go. She hunted a little and came back and stood by me. I drove to the Shakopee gate and sent her along the corn on the road. She opened after a few minutes and started working a track. I saw a coon sitting up after a while and I figured Ruby must be on the backtrack. I let her fumble around for a few minutes and then I called her into the tree. Once dogs screw up like this down her I rarely see them recover & I don't want them to make a habit of backtracking. I was thinking, as much as I like her, she still has a long way to go. It will be interesting when I finally start hunting her with other dogs. I figure she'll be intimidated the first few times. Then the finer points, can she get there first, find her own coons, take pressure, etc..? I think she'll be OK but only time will tell for sure.

08/09/2004

Took Ruby to the river and walked the curve, no strikes. Went to the back field and walked the river. I heard Ruby behind me in the woods. I ran the road back towards the dam & got close to her. She was still trailing and I headed in. She treed by the river bank after a nice run. It was real jungle & she was treed on a very tall tree with blowdown and leaners all over. To my surprise I saw the coon. On the way out I got turned around & was walking parallel to the road. I walked almost all the way to the dam before I figured it out. I turned and finally broke out on the road then had a long walk back to the field where the truck was parked. I'll have to remember that the road runs east-west. Anyway, that was a real nice job Ruby did.

08/11/2004

Took Ruby to the river & walked the curve. She struck but it was a cold track. She did pretty good but I could tell this could go on all night & I just caught her. Went to the gun club and walked the road. She hunted out for about 15 minutes and came back. I just went home. I think I've got it under control for now.

I may wait a week and let the coons regroup down there.

08/15/2004

I met Dale and Wade & we tried to run a caged coon with some pups. The coon ran across a hay field but didn't climb so Roy caught it on the ground. Lot's of barking and was probably good for the young dogs to get used to all the noise. Later we dropped Roy at the vegetable garden. He struck deep and was grubbing out an old track. He treed but left before I got to him. It was late so I just called him in. It's still summer out there & I probably don't want to hunt Roy or Ruby too much right now. Roy needs to be hunted where he can do well & I can build up his confidence. Ruby, I just don't want her to pick up any bad habits for a while.

08/16/2004

I put Ruby and then Roy on a caged coon Monday night. They ran this thing for about 1/2 an hour in a little woods. Back and forth, back and forth. If I hadn't put them right on this I would have sworn it was trash. I finally just caught them and went home.

08/19/2004

Took Ruby to the vegetable garden and walked all the way around the corn field. No strikes. It looks about 2 to 3 weeks early for a young dog. Maybe this is my chance to get out with Mabel for a while. This is one of my favorite times to hunt her anyway.

08/21/2004

I had a caged coon & took it up to Wades. We let it go and waited a few minutes. Then we let Ruby and Rocky go. Rocky was a little spooked and stayed by Wade. Ruby ran a nice track and treed in the swamp. We walked Rocky in and let him sit a while with Ruby treeing.

08/27/2004

Had a couple of coon to pick up in Edina. I took them up to the farm and let them go. We waited a little and then set Pearl and Ruby loose. They ran all around a little swamp and finally both hit a tree. Pearl is a little rusty from sitting out this summer. Better rusty than trashy I think. I also think she might be silent. Hard to tell on a caged coon, a lot of dogs don't bark on them. Oh well, she's gonna tree a lot of coons for those kids either way. Ruby is looking sharper all the time.

08/28/2004

I took Ruby up to Ben Barthel's to chase a caged coon. She's ready to be exposed to hunting with strange dogs. We let the coon go in a field and waited a few minutes. Then we set Ruby, Hitman and another female loose. They trailed down into a junk pile by the lake and bogged down. After a few minutes I heard Ruby open and head out. Hitman joined and the two of them trailed down into the woods. Ruby located, and Hitman was right there with her. The other female was there when I arrived at the tree. We were able to get a good look at the coon and could see that it was not the one we let go. When they were bogged down in the junk pile they must have picked this coon up instead. Anyway, a nice night and Ruby acted well around new dogs. It's time to keep exposing her to strange dogs and a variety of hunting conditions.

09/01/2004

Took Roy and Ruby to the river. Put them on a hot one. I think Ruby located first but then fumbled around. Roy locked down on the tree. It was a big leaner, maybe Ruby had climbed and fallen. I had to drop down on the river bank to see the coon. It came down and jumped out while I was stuck in the brush. I didn't bother to send the dogs on in after it. I saw one more coon sitting up a few 100 yards down the road. I guess I'll have to check the corn a little more this week.

09/05/2004

I had another caged coon so I called Wade and we took Ruby and his pup Rocky out to the old mans farm. It had rained earlier & it was nice and wet, perfect for a pup. We let the coon go on a hill and he headed down into the woods. We waited a while and sent the dogs in. When Ruby opened it sounded like she had caught the coon on the ground. We headed in to her but found out that she was just trying to work her way through the swamp grass. There was quite a bit of it there and it was all wet from the rain. If we had known about this grass we probably wouldn't have let the coon go here. Anyway, I backed off and let here work. Wades pup just hung around with us. We know he can trail, but he just acts like a puppy when Ruby is there. She worked it out and treed after about 5 minutes. Really treed hard. We walked the pup in and got him to bark a little but he really wasn't interested. We left the coon & I'm glad. It sounds silly but there was something I liked about that coon when I picked him up this morning. I hope he has a nice life up on the farm. I like Ruby, probably too much. I don't know how well she'll do if I ever compete with her & I don't care. She's my new favorite dog.

09/09/2004

Took Ruby to the vegetable garden. She started a track & it finally dawned on me it was junk. It was over before I could do anything. I don't know what it was for sure. She ran two tracks exactly like this in the spring. Once ended up on a hollow log with a possum and once wandering around in a little woods. She was wandering in the little woods tonight. It's still summer hunting, rather than make another drop I headed home. I'll take it easy for another couple weeks. Why screw her up before fall? It's easier to break them when the brush is knocked.

09/11/2004

Ben Barthel called & wanted to hunt. I took Ruby even though I knew I should let her sit. Sure enough she ran junk & I didn't catch her. I'll have to shock her pretty soon. Ben dog was out for 3 hours and finally treed by a little pothole. The coons aren't in the corn yet.

09/11/2004

Had a caged coon & took it up to the farm. When I let it go it ran through some wet grass and then cut across a plowed field and into a big corn field. I let Roy, Ruby and Pearl go a little later. Ruby got stuck in the wet grass, Roy was trying to work the dirt but it was Pearl who got all the way to the corn and got the race started. Roy and Ruby caught up with her and they screamed around in the corn for a while. The coon never headed out to the trees so eventually the dogs caught it. I had to go in and catch them up. It was a good run for them all.

09/15/2004

Seever called & told me of some late corn that has been getting raided. It's by the Shakopee gate but I drove in from the north gate. As I rounded the big curve past the gun club I hit mud. It lasted for quite a ways & I almost was pulled off the road several times. I've been stuck there before & it is a bitch. I made it to the Shakopee gate & the first thing I did was look for the key. There was no way I was going to try driving back the way I came. After I found the key I walked back to where I parked. I saw a coon climbing a big tree about halfway down the edge of the woods. I must have spooked him while I was finding the key. I sent Ruby down the edge while I got my gear together.

09/15/2004 Continued

She came back and I walked by the tree, she struck and trailed away from the tree. I thought she may be backtracking but I could not find that coon so I waited. She trailed for quite some time and then treed on a big tree & had the coon. It must have been just getting to the edge of the cornfield when I spooked it and then baled and headed for home. Ruby did a nice job on this. I left by the south gate. At the first stoplight, before heading up the hill, a coyote crossed right in front of me. It stopped on the south (west?) side of the road & I was able to shine him easy. Reminded me that I have to start breaking Ruby some day.

09/19/2004

Took Ruby to the river about 11:30. We walked all of the late corn with no strikes. I loaded her and drove a little. I saw a deer out in a field and stopped. I walked Ruby out and let her go when she saw the deer running away. Ruby went for the deer and I gave her a shock. She came back & I loaded her up. She was going to run the deer but I don't think she was really interested. My guess is that the junk she has been running is fox. I should take her to the fox pen I guess. Anyway, I saw a coon sitting up by the Shakopee gate on the rivers edge. I walked into the tree and put Ruby on it rather than try to let her trail in there. It is a real jungle. There was no way to get the coon out of that tree. I headed home.

09/19/2004

Had a couple of caged coons & headed up to the farm. I let them both go at the same time; one ran west, the other north. I let Pearl out and she ran away southeast before I could stop her. I kept expecting her to come back but instead I finally heard her catch something. I ran up there, she and the farm dog Sage had a different coon caught on the ground. I leashed them and went back to the truck. I put Ruby & Roy on the trail of the north coon and then sent Pearl in to them. They all treed in a little swamp after about 5 minutes.

09/21/2004

Took Ruby to the river. I saw a couple of coons sitting up and sent her towards them. She hunted around for a while and finally located the tree. Seemed like they may have been sitting up for a while. I put her on a hot track after that. She had trouble working it across the road. She finally got it straightened out and was moving along the river. I thought she might go across 101 so I caught her and headed home.

09/27/2004

Took Ruby to the river to check the last sweet corn. I put her on a hot one & she ran a nice track to the trees on the river. On the way back to the truck I saw one sitting up by the gate. I just put her on the tree there. I didn't want to risk her getting into the parking lot or going down the river the wrong way.

10/02/2004

Gordy's daughter got married so I went up to the reception. I had a caged coon so I brought it and Ruby. Gordy was way too busy so Marne went instead and he brought a running/bear dog. They ran the track nice and then it blew up by the corn where it meets the woods. We were too far away to know just how the dogs screwed this up. Maybe Ruby treed and then left to follow the running dog, or the coon just gave them the slip in the corn, or even that they killed the coon in the corn without us hearing. I wonder if the coon wasn't just sitting in the corn too. We caught Marne's dog and let Ruby try to work it out. Ruby was just running around in the corner of the corn field, trailing a little and then once in a while just stopping and treeing like a 5 month old puppy. I gave her about 10 minutes to recover but she didn't so I just caught her.

10/02/2004 Continued

Interesting to talk with Marne about dogs. He doesn't coonhunt anymore; it's all bear, bobcat and coyote. He trains dogs the opposite of the way I do. Tries to put young dogs in bad or complicated situations, sits back and won't help them figure things out. He's looking for an all natural dog. And he goes through a ton of puppies. I will train a "pretty good" dog that "I like". I put them in easy situations, stay close and correct and help them as much as I can. At 2-1/2 to 3 yrs I start hunting more and training less. With a little luck, they will be solid by then and handle the tough situations. I think either approach is fine, but they don't mix well. If the two of us hunted together too much, we'd probably argue about how to handle the dogs a lot.

10/03/2004

Took Ruby to the river around 9:30. We walked around for about 1/2 hour with no strikes. Loaded up and headed home. A possum came out in the road and then turned back as I was pulling up to the gate.

10/05/2004

Caught a coon on my street. Took it and the dogs up to the farm. Let it go and waited a few minutes then set Ruby, Pearl and Roy loose. Ruby opens all the way, Roy and Pearl have learned to run caged coons silent. They treed after a nice run. You can feel fall in the air. Time to start hunting in the corn and quit screwing around with caged coons. But... I caught another on my street this morning. What are they doing right in town?

10/05/2004

I had two caged coons tonight. I let them both go together at the vegetable garden. I sent Ruby in after a few minutes. She treed one and then went back out on trail of the other. She came back after a few minutes and treed again. I'm not sure if this was a good lesson for her or not.

10/07/2004

I had another caged coon to pick up tonight. I took Ruby again. I let the coon out in a corn field and only waited a few minutes before turning Ruby loose. The coon had taken off on a pretty good clip but could have turned and headed out towards a road. Instead of following after Ruby I veered off to a position where I could catch her if she took off for the road. I heard her treeing after a few minutes and headed back to her. As I looked across the field, it looked like there were no trees in the area of her barking, I figured she was baying it on the ground. She stopped before I could reach her. Soon she was back by me. I walked her back into the general area and worked on getting her to go back on the track. She was hesitant, but finally took off and shortly thereafter was treed back in the woods.

This reminded me of Mabel when she was young. Not a fighter at all, if the coon wasn't running away she didn't know what to do. I thought it would be a problem the first time I saw her fumble like this on a caged coon. It turned out that it never mattered. Caged coons and wild coons are different & I've learned not to put to much thought into screw-ups with caged coons. Still, it's time to start hunting my normal spots with Ruby. She needs to move on to harder hunting and working out tougher tracks. All these caged coons are starting to be a nuisance. Anyway, I love my little dog. I'm committed now; she'll be my main dog for a long time. I can't explain why I like her so much; it's just the way it is.

10/09/2004

Had a monster caged coon from the lady down the street. I went up to Wades with Ruby & we let it go. A few minutes later we let Ruby and Rock go. Rock still doesn't want to hunt with Ruby. She ran a nice track and treed. Rock came in with Wade.

10/12/2004

Took Ruby to the vegetable garden about 9:30. All those caged coons have made her a little lazy. She hunted out but didn't go fast or deep. I actually like that right now. It's easy to be somewhat in control. By the end of the fall I'm confident she'll be firing out again. Anyway, she made it to the northwest corner of the corn and I heard her give out a funny bark. She went a little ways in the woods, located and treed. I think she might have actually bumped into the coon on the ground. Anyway she had one. On the way home I remembered I had a possum in a cage in back. I stopped, took Ruby out and let her see it. When she went for it I gave her a warning tone with the shocker. Then I let the possum go across a parking lot. I walked Ruby behind it for a while and then gave her a warning tone when she started to pick up speed. She really responds to that tone. I may never have to shock her again.

10/14/2004

Went with Pete and Dale to the vegetable garden. Ruby struck in the near woods and trailed a little then quit. Some kind of junk I suppose, maybe a possum again? Bronco popped up a coon on the north edge of the corn. Ruby went to him; I could tell she didn't exactly like covering another dog's tree. We sent them on from there along the ditch. Ruby opened in the swamp after about 15 minutes. It sounded like she was treed & I headed in. She was just fumbling around in the wet grass; I grabbed her and walked out. Bronco was doing the same a little to the east. He finally went west and treed. Pretty close to where I picked up Ruby. I guess I should have just let her work. It's a bad swamp there though & I didn't want her to get in there and waste the whole night. Anyway, time to start turning her into an adult dog. I'll have to hunt her with strange dogs and in different spots more. I've protected her pretty well so far, but I can't keep holding her back forever. This next 6 months is the part of training a dog that I hate. Darn, my camera holster got ripped off of my belt while going through the swamp. I didn't notice till I was back in the field. Another $300 down the drain. I've lost about $1300 worth of stuff in the last year and a half. 2 phones, a tracker and now the camera.

10/17/2004

Went up to Gordy's with Ruby. We sent Ruby and Lucky into the woods by the tee in the road. Ruby went about 15 feet and opened hot. Lucky never barked. I waited a few seconds as Ruby got away, and then I gave her a warning tone. She got quiet but a few seconds later she opened again deeper. I gave her a shock this time & she shut up. We backed out of the woods and walked the road towards her. As we reached the edge of the cornfield I saw something. I turned on my light and ran around in the rows & finally caught up with it. It was a big coon and he wanted to get by us. He jumped over a couple rows, ran out to the road and crossed into another big corn field. I turned around and there was Ruby coming back from her junk run. She struck in the first corn field, fumbled around on the road for a few seconds and then crossed to the big corn field. The race was on! This all happened in just a few minutes. This was a major league race for a puppy so I was glad when Lucky came in and started running the track too. There was a big strip of tall grass between the corn and the woods. The coon would get to the edge and turn back into the corn. I didn't check my watch, but I think they ran hot for somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes. Finally it got quiet, the coon must have made a break for the trees and the dogs were having trouble with the grass. We were walking the road and I saw Ruby, I figure she had lost it and was making a loop. I leashed Ruby and we walked the road towards the tree line which was about 1/4 mile away. About that time we heard Lucky open again and then she treed. I let Ruby go and she went in and treed nicely with Lucky. It was a nice big oak in open ground a few yards from the thick grass. Too bad I lost my camera; this would have been a great shot. I guess this is about the best night of training I've had in years. I couldn't have done it if it weren't for that old dog Lucky. Who would have thought that a Mabel pup could be a check dog? Guess she got that from Bud. Anyway, if I could get lucky and have a few more nights like this Ruby should turn into a real coondog.

10/19/2004

Picked up Pete and went to Lawrence's woods. I sent Ruby in and she hunted for about 15 minutes and then came back. I drove around to the birdhouse and sent her in there. She covered the corn & came back. I was really surprised not to get strikes in either spot. I could have walked her deeper but called it a night instead. Pete wasn't dressed to go in the woods so he would have had to hang out on the road. I'll hit it a little harder Wednesday.

10/20/2004

Had a couple of caged coons. One I caught over on Main Street at Evelyn's. The other I caught on my street at Mary's. Mary is Evelyn's sister-in-law. Mary also grew up in the house I live in now. Small world. Anyway, I let them both go at once and then let Ruby and Pearl chase them. They treed one & I didn't bother to send them out looking for the other one.

10/21/2004

Took Roy and Pearl to a big spot north of the kids place. Pearl barked a few times and went on. Roy opened deeper on a tough track. He just kept working it. Pearl was with him but not saying much. He finally located and Pearl joined in. They treed hard together. They had a big coon at the edge of a cornfield where it met a swamp. Nice job. We walked them around some more, they opened in a swamp. It was wet and by a road so I called them in. They both came with no trouble, very nice. Called it a night.

10/24/2004

I took Ruby down to the river & I sent her into the last corn away from the road. She chased a hot one to the end and then it must have made a u-turn. She was coming back towards the road full speed. I was worried it might keep going. Lucky it climbed the first tree it came to. I shined around and didn't see anything else sitting up. I was kind of surprised; maybe I really got most of them this year? Anyway, that was a nice hot track for Ruby.

10/26/2004

Took Ruby to the vegetable garden, cut loose at 10:45. She took off into the corn and struck right away.

I had walked around the corner by the woods a couple of times to try and stay with her. The coon must have come out right where I walked and this screwed her up for a few seconds. She got into the woods and treed. I got in there pretty quick. I didn't see a coon but I didn't shine too long because it was close to the house. Took her deeper and set her loose again. She went deep and struck by a big pothole. She grubbed around till midnight and I finally just had to catch her. It was one of those nights when it seemed like the hunting would get good late but I had to go to work the next day. She didn't want to get caught and even though she couldn't finish this, I liked her attitude on this one. Reminds me of a dog getting ready to take it to the next level.

10/28/2004

Took Ruby to Lawrence's woods. She struck and was moving out. I figured it was a deer and gave her a warning. She shut up but I gave her a mild shock anyway. She was already in the middle of the section before I stopped her. I drove around and caught her and went to the vegetable garden about 11:30 now. I cut her and she fired out and treed on the ditch. She had one coon and another was up a few trees over.

11/01/2004

Had another caged coon. Took Ruby up to the farm and let her and Pearl chase it around. They treed nice together. Getting close to deer season & they want me to take it easy for a few days.

I may hunt one or two nights but I'll mostly stay home till the 15th.

11/16/2004

Picked up Pete and we went to the vegetable garden. Sent Ruby and Bronco in. Heard Ruby after a while, Bronco may have been there too but his voice is really shot these days. I got to the tree and they were both there, Ruby was up about 20 feet in the tree. They had a big coon. Nice job.

11/20/2004

Took Ruby and Roy and Pearl out at the kids. Roy slick treed in the swamp. We went to the other side and sent them in a gain. Ruby was running something into the swamp and I called her off of it. The other dogs came back while I was calling. I dropped Charley and Pearl off and made one more drop at the vegetable garden. Ruby trailed all around about 1/2 hour in the corn & Roy only opened a little. They finally slick treed on the ditch. Just one of those nights I guess.

11/21/2004

I walked Ruby around my very best spot that I know has not been hunted. She started 3 tracks and finished none. I saw no coons sitting up or damage in the corn. I guess all I can do is take Mabel out next.

11/23/2004

Took Mabel and Ruby to the easy spot. Ruby started a track close again & didn't finish it. Mabel was trailing at the far south end. I walked the pup close enough to hear and sent her in. They treed on a den. I sent them back north along the corn on the opposite side of the section. I walked back to the truck, never hearing a bark. Tracked Mabel and the pup about 3/4 of a mile into the next section. Mabel was bawling once in a while. I tried to shock her back into me but there must have been too much water. I gave up and drove around. I caught the pup very close to where I first let her go. I like this; she has come and found me several times now. Spent another couple hours trying to get close to Mabel, walked in from 3 sides of the section. Finally left her and went home around 12:30. I'll go hunt with Roy up there tonight. Maybe I can lose him too?

12/11/2004

Went up to Ben Barthel's with Ruby. We sent her in with Hitman, she came back after a while & we heard him opening. We walked to him and I heard him tree. I sent Ruby in to him. She was a little shy at first, then treed hard with him. There was a nice coon outside. We made two more drops with not much luck. Ruby ran a couple of short tracks, some kind of trash. I think it might be rabbits. That should be pretty easy to test her on later.

02/03/2005

Took Ruby up to the schoolhouse section. She didn't hunt out very well for the first 1/2 hour but finally got lost. Walked around for 1-1/2 hours no strikes. Caught her and moved to the birdhouse. She struck by a pothole, warmed it up and treed by Don Eden's daughters house. Had the coon on the outside. Caught her and headed home.

Saw two coons on the road, 1 driving up and another while headed back home.

03/23/2005

Took Roy and Ruby to the vegetable garden and sent then along the tree line. Roy struck on the edge of the western most corn field & I started walking that way. I heard him treeing after a while & Ruby was coming in and out to the tree. When I finally arrived Roy was still treeing but Ruby was trailing close by. She located on a tree & then went back on trail. I glanced at the tree and told Roy to get off. He didn't hesitate & took off towards Ruby. They both treed where Ruby had located earlier. She was way up in the tree when I arrived. They had a coon.

03/26/2005

Took Ruby up to the kids & we sent her and Pearl south into the schoolhouse section. They hunted out well but no strikes. I finally walked Ruby up to a pasture & she struck. After a while I figured that it was some kind of junk. I caught Pearl while we were walking towards Ruby. I never shocked Ruby; she just quit after a while and came in. I'll have to shock her soon, she's running junk a little harder each time now.

03/27/2005

Took Ruby to the vegetable garden. She didn't want to go alone so I threw sticks at her & she finally got the message. She hunted out for about 15 minutes, no strikes. I took her to the next section & sent her in, she came right back. I had to threaten her, and then she took off. She hunted quite a while, but never got very deep. I walked in & she came to me. I walked deeper & she struck on some kind of junk but only ran it a little. I finally caught her & went home.

03/28/2005

Took Ruby and Roy to the schoolhouse section. They went into the first woods behind a house & Ruby struck. I tried to call them out but they just kept going. I heard coyotes after a while & tracked the dogs pretty deep. I shocked them both.

They came back & I sent them north. Roy fell treed, no track. Ruby hit it a couple of times & was gone. When I got there, Roy had a coon. I shocked Ruby in. I think she's going through the backsliding phase most of my dogs seem to go through between 2 and 3. I guess she's going to suck for a while now.

03/31/2005