The Bark: A Pet Podcast Unleashed

In this episode of The Bark, we sit down with a hunting dog owner to have an honest conversation about a topic that’s often misunderstood: how hunters actually treat their dogs.

There are a lot of assumptions out there, and we’re not afraid to address them head-on. From living conditions to training, care, and purpose, we dig into what life really looks like for hunting dogs, and separate fact from fiction.

This isn’t about defending bad behavior or ignoring real issues. It’s about getting the full picture, asking better questions, and challenging the narratives that can divide people who ultimately care about animals.

And yes… Meaghan is still figuring out how to use a microphone! So thanks for sticking with us while the message gets louder and the audio gets better. 

If you’ve ever had strong opinions about hunting dogs—or think you already know the story—this episode might make you rethink a few things.


What is The Bark: A Pet Podcast Unleashed?

The Bark: A Pet Podcast Unleashed dives deep into Tennessee’s animal crisis, exploring the real financial impact, community responsibility, and tough decisions behind the headlines. Presented by nonprofit Laws Saving Paws, this podcast connects the dots between public safety, tax payer burden, and the wellbeing of pets and people alike.

Whether you’re an animal lover passionate about advocacy and humane care, someone frustrated by the neighborhood impact, or a practical thinker concerned about how your money’s spent, this show offers honest insight.

Episodes will cover topics like:
• Why today’s pet climate demands responsible action
• The real effects of spaying/neutering—or not
• What every buyer should know about breeding
• Preventing costly, common pet health issues
• How your hard-earned money is enabling the crisis,
• And much, much more

The Bark: Raw, relevant, and unapologetic—because the truth affects all of us.

Candy:

This podcast is meant to inform, entertain and occasionally stir the pot in a good way. The opinions expressed are our own shaped by personal experience and thoughtful research. They may not reflect everyone's views, and we may even offend you. We're just a couple of humans doing our best to advocate, educate and elevate one episode at a time. Yours truly, The Bark.

Candy:

PS, please don't sue us.

Meaghan:

We are back episode 18 of the Bark. Hi Candy.

Candy:

Hi. How are you?

Meaghan:

Spectacular.

Meaghan:

I'm actually super excited because I have my friend Ryan with us today and I'm gonna start off by saying, Ryan, do you remember that time when I asked you to be on the podcast and I was like, yeah my friend's husband is a hunter And so I want him to be on my podcast. And I told you that story. And you're like, wait, I'm not your friend?

Ryan:

Sounds about right.

Meaghan:

I feel like we're friends.

Ryan:

Yeah, we're friends now.

Meaghan:

Yay. We made it.

Ryan:

We've crossed the threshold.

Candy:

How did you how did you meet how did you meet both Ryan and oh, do I not wanna ask?

Meaghan:

Actually, it makes me look like I don't go anywhere except for taphouses

Ryan:

Went to the tap house.

Candy:

Yeah. Yeah.

Ryan:

Had a laptop in front of her, so I assumed she was working.

Candy:

And then when you found out what she was working, you're like, crazy dog lady.

Ryan:

Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much.

Candy:

Yeah. But you didn't mind that to be

Ryan:

I was I was raised by a crazy dog lady.

Meaghan:

Oh, yeah. See? And he has a lovely wife, Kayla, who I've gotten to know very well.

Candy:

His mom's name we have to give her a little credit because she's gonna be sharing this.

Ryan:

Lisa. Lisa.

Candy:

hey, mom.

Ryan:

Hi, mom.

Candy:

She's gonna share this far and wide. We gotta give her some credit here.

Ryan:

The deals break through.

Meaghan:

Lisa you better share this. I met her. I can say that. But I'm so excited, Ryan.

Meaghan:

Like, when I met you, I know you have a dog named Trudy.

Ryan:

I do.

Meaghan:

Who is a hunting dog.

Ryan:

Yep.

Meaghan:

And at that time, I feel like I had started to learn myths about hunters and the way they treated their dogs when I met Candy. So then I met you and my worlds were colliding because I was like, wait, I don't think Ryan dumps his dogs in rivers.

Ryan:

No.

Ryan:

She goes into rivers by herself.

Meaghan:

Yeah, because she wants to.

Ryan:

Right. Absolutely.

Meaghan:

Yeah. So, was so like I wanted to bring you on the show because again, like, there's just so much and you can kind of verify that, right? Yeah. There's been a lot of untrue things.

Ryan:

I mean, I obviously like a precursor to this is like at my I just have an opinion. So I'm not speaking for every hunting dog owner out there.

Meaghan:

And we haven't asked to sign a release yet.

Ryan:

No, not yet. I I mean, I've

Ryan:

heard some of the myths too.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Meaghan:

Do you want me to tell you some?

Ryan:

Sure, yeah.

Meaghan:

Okay, great, because I have them right here conveniently. Okay, so number one, hunting dogs are never treated as pets.

Meaghan:

Number two, dogs are forced to hunt through cruel training.

Ryan:

Okay.

Meaghan:

I feel like I have to say it in a scary voice or it doesn't...

Candy:

You've been great at the voices like that.

Meaghan:

Thank you so much. Number three, hunters abandon their dogs if they're not good hunters or at season's end.

Ryan:

Oh, okay.

Meaghan:

Yeah. Those are the top three I have.

Meaghan:

So what's your general consensus?

Ryan:

Yeah. So I have a lot of friends that have hunting dogs. And they all pretty much sleep in bed with their owners at night.

Candy:

I love that.

Ryan:

So it's, I don't, I don't see that. I'm sure, and we've talked about this before, there's bad eggs with every group.

Candy:

Right.

Ryan:

There's bad eggs with breeders, there's great breeders, bad eggs with hunters, there's great hunters and everything else. She and you've met her, she has free range of the house and you know.

Meaghan:

She's like

Meaghan:

the most social dog. Like they bring her downtown. She goes into the tap house. Like she's so sweet.

Ryan:

She is. And she's, and it took a while for to get the sweet part because she was just so crazy. Yeah. You know, for the first like, and that's a precursor for owning any sort of high energy hunting dog. Like, you know, those first three years, you're gonna have to buckle down.

Ryan:

Yeah. I mean, it is what it is. And that's why you see so many German shorthair pointers being trying to give it away at a year old because they just weren't prepared. Yeah, it looked cool on Instagram and all these videos, they're like, Oh,

Meaghan:

yeah, yeah,

Ryan:

you're crazy.

Candy:

Yeah, I see a lot of trainers talking about read the breed before you get a dog read the breed, read the breed, breed. Read Yeah. And I think that what's his name, there is a trainer who said it best where a guy got a dog and the dog was showing a certain behavior and he's like, how do I get my dog to stop doing this? And the trainer explained to him, your dog is designed to do this. And the guy kept asking, well, how do I get him to stop?

Candy:

He's like, okay, What is your favorite Oh, it's a hobby.

Meaghan:

Here we go. The tennis reference?

Candy:

Yes.

Candy:

And he's like, I love playing tennis. And he's like, well, what if I told you Stop playing tennis.

Candy:

That that you'll never play tennis for the rest of your life.

Ryan:

Yeah.

Candy:

And the guy was like, ah, got it. You know, so like, finally. So it's the same thing.

Meaghan:

That's Candy's favorite sports reference by the way.

Candy:

Brandon McMillan.

Meaghan:

Yes. Oh, the dude with the TV show. Lucky Dog. Yes. Yes.

Candy:

He gives that

Candy:

example in his book. Yeah. He finally got the guy to understand when he's like, what if I tell you to never play tennis again for the rest of your life? And the guy was like, oh my gosh.

Meaghan:

Yeah, you need to put it into terms like that.

Candy:

Yes. And so these dogs are built for tracking, smelling.

Ryan:

Yes. And they're doing it at all

Candy:

Right. And the same thing with border collies. They're very smart.

Candy:

They can do tricks, but if you're not going to put in that time with them, instead they're going to your couch.

Meaghan:

Yep. So Ryan do you

Meaghan:

mind backing up a little and tell us like how you got into the hunting How it happened? Did you come from your mother's womb wanting to be a hunter?

Ryan:

No. I didn't.

Meaghan:

Are you sure?

Ryan:

Was raised to be a fisherman Okay. By my father for twenty plus years.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

Once I moved, I moved from Texas to like Northwest Mississippi when I was like 12, and I started meeting people that hunt around there, so I got into it. And then I went on my first duck hunt with a dog and I fell in love with it. Aw. Because it's just like seeing them do exactly what they're supposed to be doing and seeing how excited they are to do it.

Meaghan:

Did you have dogs before that though?

Ryan:

I was I was thinking on the way here, there's only been about a year and a half of my life that I did not have a dog. So I've always had, Trudy is my first actual hunting dog. Everyone else is adopted. I had a lab pit boxer mix that was sweet as can be. Yeah.

Ryan:

I spent $5,000 on her knees, Got her for 15. So I thought it was a good deal.

Meaghan:

Yeah. Wait, you got her. Wait, what?

Ryan:

Yeah, I got her for $15 from the

Meaghan:

I thought you had it. Yeah, dollars thousand. And anyway, I pardon

Ryan:

got her for $15

Meaghan:

Yeah, That's a steal.

Meaghan:

And a bottle of... oh my gosh. Fabuloso? Yeah. That's the cleaning stuff that yeah.

Candy:

You got her for $15 and a bottle of Fabuloso?

Meaghan:

No, I added that.

Ryan:

that was spayed and everything. Was $15.

Ryan:

But then I took about a two year break. In 2016, I met somebody that had a poodle pointer. Trudy is a poodle pointer, by the way. Yep. We'll get into that situation.

Ryan:

It took me four years to get her because of how guarded they are with that breed and what, I mean, it would be

Meaghan:

She's responsibly bred.

Ryan:

I would make yes, I would make a phone call, have you ever had a huting dog? No, and I mean, if they didn't hang up on me, the conversation ended pretty quickly, but I wasn't gonna lie to them.

Meaghan:

Yeah, right.

Ryan:

So,

Ryan:

I mean, that was, I finally had to know somebody that knew somebody, and I was warned by him about how crazy she was gonna be unfortunately in front of my wife.

Candy:

Usually it's the other way around. It's usually the wife and husband's like, No, we're not doing it.

Meaghan:

She's like, Good,

Ryan:

Steve told you. Steve told you it was gonna be like this. I didn't believe it, but it was.

Meaghan:

Oh, yeah. So how did you end up with Trudy? So Steve had, he was on jerk, he had the poodle pointer. He did too. He too.

Ryan:

He had to. And then I met him like dinner one night and he was like, I'll get you one. And I mean, it was a matter of a couple days.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

It was like, hey, you know, your puppy's gonna be..

Meaghan:

And you should see this paperwork. Like if you got, you can pull it out. Like, so if you're watching this, you can kind of see, but this paperwork is like, you can see the bloodline and you can see, I mean.

Ryan:

So the other thing with them is they are not AKC registered and that's by choice. We don't want them to be AKC registered. Mostly because of the show quality aspect of things. So like, you end up having show dogs and hunting dogs, and all of that mingles at some point. It's like Dalmatians, for instance.

Ryan:

Dalmatians used to be a great dog, and then 101 Dalmatians came out. Everybody wanted They a got overpopulated. They started getting all kinds of, you know, They're not actually used. Family dogs.

Meaghan:

They're aggressive, aren't they? Can be.

Ryan:

So that's all by choice. And she has her own registration, which is North American Versal Hunting Dog Association.

Meaghan:

And are they, so where are they based out of? Like where you got a

Ryan:

question. I don't know where they're, it may say on here. I don't know. I mean, it's North America would be.

Meaghan:

All right.

Ryan:

I think I've

Ryan:

got the

Ryan:

NA. I can look back all the way to her great grandparents. Every one of them is German. So that's .. It's the names, I can't even pronounce them.

Meaghan:

Well, did tell Candy a little about, I think, this paperwork and I was like, every dog that's bred should have that.

Ryan:

Yeah.

Candy:

Well, if you're gonna claim that it has an AKC or another type Yes, registration yes. This is what you're looking for versus people will go like find a dog on Craigslist or Facebook and then they go meet in a parking lot. And I had somebody report to us or they're like, by the time I looked at the paperwork, all it was was the application to fill out for

Ryan:

Right, yeah, you didn't get papers.

Candy:

You didn't get papers.

Meaghan:

Well you got papers,

Candy:

but you're literally

Ryan:

You got papers and they're just blank.

Meaghan:

Yeah. So this is pretty impressive. Yeah.

Ryan:

So yeah, I mean, and the other thing is too is we have, we have, I call them government names and call names. So Trudy's name is Another Call to Trudy.

Candy:

Okay.

Ryan:

Her dad's name is I80s deuces wild. And he goes by Cash. He doesn't even go by any of those names. The other one is

Candy:

I80 Deuces Wild?

Ryan:

I80s Deuces Wild. The other one checkmates

Meaghan:

Goes by all the time.

Ryan:

Checkmates June Bug Brown. She goes by Scout. So it's a whole thing. All think about these things. Sounds like

Candy:

the what are the people that we've talked about before, the people who don't claim to be part of the government? The

Meaghan:

where are we going with this?

Candy:

Because when they're pulled over by the cops or something and

Ryan:

Oh, they have a whole other alias.

Candy:

They have a whole Oh! That's my government name. I don't go by that name.

Meaghan:

Never Have we talked about this? Talked about

Candy:

it because like there'll be judges. Like you see these court shows where the person is being called into court because they did something wrong like that is not that is not me. That is my government issued name. But it's like oh gosh.

Meaghan:

I didn't know that was a thing.

Ryan:

Yeah. I'm sure she would use that if she could.

Candy:

If she were in court?

Ryan:

If she was able to do that.

Meaghan:

Yeah she would. Oh. So tell us how it was raising Trudy.

Ryan:

It's tough. Yeah. It's, I was told not to give her an inch because she would take 10 miles. Okay. And I say it was tough, but she is the smartest dog I've ever ever dealt with.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

She knew, I say you need to crate train your dogs. Crate training is the best thing to do. I had her crate trained in probably four days. And it's all fed her in that crate. She fell asleep in my lap.

Ryan:

She got put into the crate to where she woke up there after a while and just don't put them in there if they're in trouble. That's the worst issue that people Don't push

Candy:

them in, don't pull them Yeah,

Ryan:

Don't ever put your hand into a kennel. I've.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

I've figured that out

Meaghan:

firsthand. Oh. He does still have two hands by the way.

Ryan:

I was wondering. Yeah. So, that place training is another thing. Every dog should be taught how to relax.

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

Place training is a great thing for when you come over to the house, I'm gonna put her on her place, she's probably gonna try to get off and I'm gonna put her back on.

Meaghan:

Okay, let me ask you a question though, because we were just talking about place because my dogs know place. I wouldn't say that they're in a state of relaxation when they're in place.

Ryan:

No, yeah, and it takes a while. And it's like, almost have to just wait them out.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

It's like, it's like, you know, and all of a sudden they're like, okay, I guess I'll lay down.

Meaghan:

Was upset.

Ryan:

So it was, that was it. And then it was, I mean, I started training her at four months old. Yeah. So she was,

Candy:

I heard they have to start out young and it makes sense.

Ryan:

Yeah. Well, and the other situation with a poodle pointer is that for them to be considered a poodle pointer, this is I can go way too far into this, but the female has to go through a natural ability test, which is just kind of seeing how they do in the field, whatever, that has to be done by 16 old, which is very early. The male has to go through that anti utility test, they have to pass these.

Meaghan:

Okay.

Ryan:

That's the only way that those two dogs can breed. It's not which one's the prettiest and which one is

Candy:

Yeah, that's just what people, yes, you're right. And I'm part of some chat groups on Facebook and you get these people writing and like, I love how cute my dog is, I wanna breed them. And then you have the vet come back and say, your dog is cute, but it's actually not

Ryan:

Yeah. The hips are about to fall off or whatever else. You know? It's like

Candy:

Well, these are like little, like, Yorkie kind of dogs, and it's like your dog is actually not the right coloring. The ears are not developed the way that Yeah.

Ryan:

But my head is breed them.

Candy:

And that's what the vets try to explain to these people is, you can go through this whole process of trying to learn how to breed dogs, but you're not gonna get the money even from at least smart people who are actually looking for those breeds. You're not gonna get the money that those the top dollar because your dog is not even a good qualifier. And I've had vets say it's not that easy that you have acute male and you have acute female from separate families. They talk about I breed dogs too, and I will look for sires across the country because that's how far and wide I have to look for the right blend of

Ryan:

It's what selective breeding. Yes. And it's selecting in the correct way.

Meaghan:

Right.

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

You're looking at like their temperament, how they do around children, Health. How driven they are.

Candy:

Right.

Ryan:

I cannot stand a hunting dog that's not driven. Yeah. I always tell people you can't push a noodle. Like you can't push a rope, you can't push a noodle. It's just, it's just been, but I would rather have to pull them back, like.

Candy:

Yeah. I heard a joke recently that said something about, I can tell that you were a C section baby by the way that you avoid labor. My gosh, but yes, I get your point.

Ryan:

And they can be trained that way. I mean, but it's just so much easier. And I was this was my first one. So it was much easier for me to we were guiding each other almost. I mean,

Meaghan:

how old was she when she went on her first hunt?

Ryan:

She was 15 old.

Meaghan:

That's young.

Ryan:

It was. Yeah. And I almost didn't go. I was forced to go because I didn't trust her. I was so hard on myself that I was like, she's not gonna know what to do.

Ryan:

She, yeah, and there's gonna be, we went with six poodle pointers. And so I'm like, she's gonna mess them up or whatever else and the guy that got me hers like, just let her go.

Meaghan:

Yeah, let

Ryan:

her go. Like this is a

Candy:

click for her.

Ryan:

Yeah, it'll click and when you see that switch flip, it's one of the coolest things.

Meaghan:

Yeah, he sends me videos.

Candy:

Do you think partially it clicked because you went with other dogs, She was able to find what she was missing?

Ryan:

Yeah, we've talked about that. I don't know. Okay. I think a lot of it's just in her. You know, she was pointing at 10 old.

Ryan:

Oh, they don't know what they're doing.

Candy:

Right.

Ryan:

But they're doing it.

Meaghan:

So good.

Ryan:

And it's so cool to watch.

Candy:

And the point you were talking about just to describe to our viewers or listeners is just when that when a dog is standing off four legs, and they lift that front.

Ryan:

Correct. Tail goes up. Yes. Foot goes up.

Candy:

Right. They heads out. And they are literally kind of like a weather vane. Yeah. Pointing in the direction of whatever you have.

Ryan:

Yes.

Candy:

So what what do you hunt? You're hunting pheasants. Yeah. Okay. So is she pointing to where you need to go to?

Candy:

I'm assuming you're shooting the pests?

Ryan:

Yeah, so the bird is, they're ground birds.

Meaghan:

Okay.

Ryan:

So they don't roost in trees, they get into like really tall grasses. So she points where I the pheasant go and I start stepping around there and they'll pop up.

Candy:

And then you shoot them.

Ryan:

And then she goes and gets

Candy:

It's like duck hunt.

Ryan:

Like duck Dogs yeah, that's, I mean, for successful, it's

Meaghan:

Does your dog make that noise? No. He does. Okay. Because, like, he's the event.

Candy:

When you when you miss the duck, he goes

Meaghan:

I have, like, that game since I was, like, four.

Ryan:

It's great.

Meaghan:

Yeah. And I'm only 20, so it wasn't that

Candy:

long ago.

Meaghan:

Anyway, I'm

Candy:

just kidding. Okay. So you're you're a pheasant. I know there are people that are gonna watch this and say, oh, hunters have this bad idea. But honestly, I'm a meat eater.

Candy:

Unless you're a vegetarian

Ryan:

Yep.

Candy:

You know, I feel like hunters are in a way more connected with the food chain Mhmm. Than non hunters. Like, I think that we get off easy by saying bad hunters, but I'm still eating meat. There's still an animal dying for my diet. Correct.

Candy:

So I feel like there's more of a respect if you are a hunter.

Ryan:

Yeah, there is. And I mean, and to be honest, the pointing dogs and any dog in general, if you're gonna hunt them, they're the cool thing is to see them point. Yeah. The humane thing and the conservation side of it is if I choose to pull the trigger to take an animal's life, I want to make damn sure that bird comes back to me. And that's where the dog comes into play.

Ryan:

Can sniff out where it is, pick it up, bring it back.

Meaghan:

Okay.

Ryan:

Because then it's a lost bird. It's lost life and it can't be eaten.

Candy:

Right, so you've just left it there.

Ryan:

And that's where I'm most proud of her. Yeah. Like if we can't find something and I bring her in, I I get more joy from that than seeing her point

Meaghan:

which is

Ryan:

it's fun.

Meaghan:

And she enjoys it like we talked about before like she. Yeah. Enjoys hunting.

Ryan:

She does. She gets to choose whether she goes out or not. Yeah. And that was one of the myths.

Meaghan:

Oh So she yeah.

Ryan:

Well, the first year, first year

Meaghan:

she She writes him an email.

Candy:

Yes. I'm

Meaghan:

I'm gonna

Ryan:

say, I'm I'm

Meaghan:

gonna

Ryan:

And I think she overdid it. Okay. Because she didn't know how to pump her brakes. She was a lightning bolt out there all day. And I'm like, she's this is gonna catch up to

Meaghan:

her. Yeah.

Ryan:

And I checked her in her kennel the next morning, which her last day and she wouldn't come out of her kennel. And it's like, okay, like that's, that's all it.

Meaghan:

Yeah, yeah.

Ryan:

That's fine.

Meaghan:

Like, you

Ryan:

did good for two days. I can handle it by myself. She gets to choose that. There's been times where I think that she's gonna choose not to go and she still goes. Yeah.

Ryan:

So, don't ever pump or break.

Meaghan:

She can

Ryan:

pump or breaks herself.

Meaghan:

And she's set like, she's great around children like at home. She's, I mean, she's so sweet. She's great with children.

Ryan:

Yeah. She's

Meaghan:

great. She's socialized with other dogs too. She is.

Ryan:

She is, it's weird, but she's really good around other hunting dogs when they have a job. Whenever it's just like dogs in a house, she just stays stuck to me. She's like, what's going on? Yeah. She's not aggressive towards them or anything like that.

Ryan:

She just

Meaghan:

Yeah, she's not.

Ryan:

I'm not sure. Yeah, I'm not sure. Yeah.

Meaghan:

I always joke about trading dola. I'm like, you'll never know. You're just gonna put her over. Oh, you talk about dola hunting.

Ryan:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Candy:

Oh, really?

Meaghan:

You can make any

Ryan:

dog a hunter. I honestly believe it. The guy that owns the guy that owns her dog had his daughter brought a stray home. That was like this pit mix. And he named the pit mix gone by Friday.

Ryan:

Oh, Because he was like, this dog has to be gone by Friday.

Meaghan:

Sounds like

Ryan:

my Fast forward like a month and he's like going hunting with them. It's it's awesome. And that's yeah, most hunters normally have some sort of adopted dog with them. Yeah, the Chihuahua I know for sure is one of them.

Candy:

What? You've got to start taking pictures and sending these into us so we can see like the non hunting hunting dogs.

Meaghan:

Yeah. It's like the police dog

Candy:

that people are like, oh, they only use German Shepherds. No. Yeah.

Ryan:

German Shorthaired Pointers. I follow one.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

There's a Jack Russell that duck hunts named Gator on Instagram. It's one of the funniest things to watch.

Candy:

There's a there's a Jack Russell or something small like that in The Middle East that looks for bombs, and is not very friendly to people because they did a news story, and and the newscaster was fascinated and like, wow, this dog is and then went to pet the dog, and the dog almost like

Meaghan:

Look at the Jack Russell,

Ryan:

first of all.

Candy:

I mean But you're he is a working dog. He's professional. No.

Meaghan:

Not at all. So, okay, what does ethical hunting mean to you? Like, if you were to define that, like, what does it mean to

Ryan:

I think safe would be the main word.

Meaghan:

For Safe for everybody.

Ryan:

So there's always a safety brief that happens before the hunt. And we just kind of go over, you know, my first rule is not to shoot what we call a low bird, which comes up very low into the grass. These dogs can jump very high.

Meaghan:

Yeah. And if

Ryan:

yeah, you could shoot your dog.

Candy:

Yeah. Oh, wow. Right. Or a friend's dog. Correct.

Ryan:

Yeah. So, don't shoot a low bird. You know, obviously, keep your gun pointed away from people but then on the flip side of that, if you see that your dog is struggling

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

Or you see that it needs to take a break, the dog needs to take a break. The ethical side of the birds that we're hunting is what we already talked about, where if you're gonna shoot them, they need to come back to you.

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

That's the ethical way to do that. Obviously No bird that's fine. No poaching, you know, things of that nature.

Candy:

Right, I've learned in like deer hunting,

Ryan:

for

Candy:

some people will go out and hunt and they won't take the deer with them, and that's the whole point is

Ryan:

Or they'll just take the head. Yeah, want to on the wall. Yeah. I only have one, and it was Trudy's first point in retrieve. Okay.

Ryan:

I normally don't do it, but Yeah. That was like Yeah. I kinda need that. Yeah. Put that one in the shot.

Candy:

Does that go on your wall or her wall?

Meaghan:

Does that

Ryan:

work? That's

Meaghan:

That's a good question. She should have a trophy room.

Ryan:

Yeah. She should. Yeah. She would have a lot of things.

Meaghan:

Yeah. You're the worst dog

Ryan:

owner ever.

Meaghan:

Dogs in the whole trophy room.

Candy:

So, I've heard, you know, like going out and then also deer, like they say deer in the headlights because when you flash a light at a deer

Ryan:

Spotlight. Mhmm.

Candy:

When you spotlight them, they freeze.

Ryan:

Mhmm.

Candy:

And that's not good hunting because you're tricking or like baiting animals.

Ryan:

Yeah.

Candy:

That's unethical. And fire

Ryan:

a gun in the dark period anyways. So regardless if you saw that deer

Meaghan:

At night.

Ryan:

Didn't spotlight it and shot it, that's Is that unlawful? Yeah. You can

Candy:

do it. Throughout The US? Mhmm. Oh, so, like, when we watched Crocodile Dundee, that was

Ryan:

totally Yeah. Gotta be the first light and then, obviously Oh. Late in

Meaghan:

the evening. So I read recently a story. I think I I don't

Candy:

know if I shared it

Meaghan:

with you, Ryan but it was like this guy whose dog was shot. I think it was last year on someone's property. Yeah. Like, he claimed he was on a public road and the guy thought he was on personal property. Yeah.

Meaghan:

He just shot his dog. Yep. So do you have like, I guess what do you think landowners and pet owners should know like during hunting season to avoid that? Is it? Well,

Ryan:

so first off, you need to know where your dog is at all times.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

You need to know where they are, which is I brought

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

I brought treats, I guess. So this is, for people watching, this is her collar. Okay. So this is on her.

Candy:

That is a heavy How old is she?

Ryan:

Weighs like fifty five pounds.

Meaghan:

That's a big

Candy:

collar for 50, so it has more capability than the

Ryan:

usual Correct. This can track her for

Meaghan:

nine Wow.

Ryan:

So I can then see where she is on here. It points me in the direction that she's at.

Meaghan:

Okay.

Ryan:

I can communicate with her. Like she knows beep means you need to turn around and come back to me. Yeah. She knows that if she did not come back to me, she gets buzzed, which is just a vibration. That doesn't work, which it never has, then she gets shocked.

Ryan:

And it's like, okay, come on.

Meaghan:

Oh my gosh, sorry. I know you didn't say this, but it sounds like you said shocked.

Ryan:

No, no.

Meaghan:

Not shocked.

Ryan:

Yeah, and it's not like, it doesn't knock them down. It's like, hello, like, come back.

Candy:

It's like when you tell your kids come home before the lights before we lose before the

Meaghan:

lights come on, they don't come home. That's when kids went outside. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Candy:

Yeah. Get it. When your

Meaghan:

cell phone dies, come back home, children.

Candy:

She's had a few times where you've had to be like, hey, I said come home.

Ryan:

Yeah, I've never had to shock her to get her back. It's usually just vibrations enough for that's kind of the warning of like, hey, if you don't turn around. And the thing is, is like, this is for her safety. This is not to reprimand her.

Candy:

Right.

Ryan:

We hunt close to some roads. If a bird was to sail over to the other side of a road, I don't need her going over there and crossing traffic.

Candy:

Yeah. Or could that be somebody's property and then we're back to Correct. Where you were

Ryan:

So it's like, that's whenever you kind of pump the volume up a little bit and just like, hey, turn back around.

Meaghan:

And she wears, guess, does it help to wear like reflective gear?

Ryan:

She has an orange shirt, I guess. Just I just tried this out this year.

Meaghan:

Okay.

Ryan:

Because she it's like an abrasive. It's used for sled dogs. Okay. So the problem with sled dogs, which I learned is that the harnesses will Yeah. So they have to wear this like chafe shirt.

Ryan:

I put it on her because her her arms get really like just messed up from all the grass and everything that she's running through. So that saves her from that. I've never put boots on her. I'm kind of iffy on putting boots on dogs because you don't know how well they fit. Yeah.

Ryan:

You can measure their foot all day long.

Candy:

Yeah, and they have the pad on the bottom and then they kind of move and that pad.

Ryan:

Yeah, so then like you may just be doing more damage to their than just doctoring them up. I have a full first aid kit for her. She gets completely doctored every night. Oh my gosh. I'm like a doctor myself when it comes to that kind of

Meaghan:

stuff. Well, you do work in medical field.

Ryan:

I do, yeah.

Meaghan:

Yeah, she's

Ryan:

a great patient.

Meaghan:

Yeah, so what would you say for pet, or not pet owners, for landowners that Yeah. To be mindful of?

Ryan:

I think that first off, you need to make sure that it's, you know, I mean, this is tough, Because I understand part of it. Yeah. It's, don't want their cattle being driven away.

Candy:

Right.

Ryan:

That's a whole other issue. Yeah. And so there's part of me that I would never shoot a dog, but there's a part of me that understands why they're upset. But maybe put the gun down and find the owner because you're gonna see the owner. They're gonna come after

Meaghan:

them. Yeah.

Candy:

That's where

Ryan:

you have a conversation with them. I think that.

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

And I think it's a lot of the older generation. I don't think anybody that's farming that's I mean, there probably is one person, but

Meaghan:

And they're gonna send us an email.

Ryan:

Yeah. I've

Candy:

seen a video of a farmer, a youngish, a middle aged farmer, he confronted some hunters and said, You don't have a right to be on my property, get your dogs and I think they weren't properly collared as part of the issue. Yeah. So going back to there's there's a bad apple in every button.

Ryan:

Yeah, there is. And I mean, for you need to put a collar on your dog. Yeah. Orange collar, just to kind of show like, hey, this may be a hunting dog.

Meaghan:

Yeah. Yeah.

Ryan:

As hunters, this this is a whole other. We're about to go down another rabbit hole but we don't.

Meaghan:

I love those.

Ryan:

We don't put the names of the dogs on our collars.

Meaghan:

Oh.

Ryan:

Because there are people that will steal hunting dogs. And you don't want them knowing their name to be able to gain a trust issue with that dog.

Candy:

Do you put your name on the collar?

Ryan:

I just put a phone number.

Meaghan:

Okay.

Ryan:

Like, call. The other trick, which hopefully nobody else is listening to this, the other trick is to put underneath that needs meds daily.

Meaghan:

I've heard of that.

Ryan:

Because then they don't Yeah. Want that And they're just gonna call you. Yeah. So that's kind of the thing is just call it Look, if, first off, you're not going to be able to see what the name of my dog is until you get ahold of them anyways. Right.

Ryan:

You need to be calling me.

Candy:

Right. Yeah. That's what I like about these microchip companies. They don't just give you the other person's info. They will contact them.

Candy:

And you can't say no, no, no, I don't want you to contact them. Just tell me the dog's name. No, once you've alerted us, we're calling those My

Meaghan:

sister had a different experience recently. Oh really? Told me

Candy:

she called I don't even she

Meaghan:

oh, her new dog has

Candy:

a QR code or

Meaghan:

something else called her for

Candy:

the microchips.

Meaghan:

Yeah. So they can so

Ryan:

I think then they can they can scan that and then know that they're microchipped and then have to Oh, so it

Meaghan:

doesn't actually have the owner I know it's my sister. Was like, I don't think that that's gonna show you

Ryan:

I think that just probably tells you like a number to call.

Meaghan:

Right. Yeah. Okay.

Ryan:

Okay. And every dog should be chipped. I think it's like, it's a fail safe. Yes. Honestly, if her collar gets ripped off or whatever Do you

Meaghan:

wanna say that one more time?

Ryan:

Here's the thing, we've talked about this. It's like they do really cheap things at like Tractor Supply all other kinds of places where it's like, can come in that day and get a microchip for $15.

Candy:

The the Williamson County shelter, they'll do it for you for $15.

Meaghan:

You

Candy:

walk off the street and they'll

Ryan:

do it for you. And it's just a fail Did

Candy:

the breeder, did Trudy come microchipped to you?

Ryan:

No. You had to No, do I remember correctly, I had to

Candy:

do that. That's what makes me curious because the rescues and the shelters microchip, most of them. So I'm like, why wouldn't a because in a lot of the breeding contracts, if something goes wrong with the dog, you can send the dog back to the breeder. So I'm like, why doesn't the breeder microchip? Because being in rescue, I've had it where a few times, several times, where something happens with the owner.

Candy:

We just had this recently happen where the owner died, didn't have family. The dog ends up at the shelter and we get notified and we immediately got the ball rolling to make sure that that dog was safe. I'm like, this isn't a million dollar dog. It's not a thousand dollar dog. It's a it's a $15 dog.

Candy:

Versus these dogs and how much they cost and why aren't the breeders microchipping because if you're making money off of something that's living and breathing, why aren't you making sure that it's taken care of for perpetuity?

Ryan:

Yeah, I mean, would have been great if she was chipped before Yeah, I got out of

Candy:

well, and that way you would have backup. Like we've had it before where a gentleman, his dog ended up at the shelter, the shelter contacts the rescue. The rescue is like, I wonder because he was a guy where his family didn't live close to him. She thought something happened to him. Turns out somebody left the fence open, the dog got out.

Candy:

He had moved and changed his number, but he he got ahold of the shelter finally, but we were about to take the dog from the shelter because we were the backup on the chip. So I'm like, why aren't the breeders the backup on

Ryan:

the chip?

Candy:

Sure. You

Meaghan:

can write them an email.

Ryan:

I will. I'll talk

Candy:

to All of them. The breeders association or whatever.

Meaghan:

So you kind of touched on this a little bit, if someone wanted to get into the hunting

Candy:

world, what would you recommend?

Ryan:

I would say that, you know, first off, you need to do a reflection of yourself. How much time do you have to spend, your mic just fell off. How much time do you have to spend with this dog? Are you going to hunt the dog? And have those conversations with the breeder.

Ryan:

I think one of the best questions that you can ask your breeder is not like, know, because they're gonna tell you everything. It's like, you know, the male does this and he's great with this. The female's great at home and everything else. And then your next question should be, what do you not like about those dogs? Because every dog is imperfect.

Ryan:

They're not machines. That's something that I almost had to learn. It's like, And, you know, it just takes patience, and it's, but it's so rewarding.

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

And there's not a feeling like having a job with something that's not human. Yeah. And getting something done. That's a goal.

Candy:

I really like that. Like, what do you not like? Because something that is an imperfection to one, like, they'll say it's an imperfection.

Ryan:

Yeah.

Candy:

I might like it, you might not. Mhmm. So when the dog is not hunting, they're a couch potato. I might not like that

Ryan:

Yep.

Candy:

Because I wanna go jogging with the dog on when we're not

Ryan:

hunting. And a lot of us is with the hunting aspects. Like, they'll say they range too far out. You know, they and and be like, well, you know, it may not be bad. You may want a dog that ranges far because some people do, but you may want one that's closer.

Ryan:

This male doesn't do that. And that's kind of where you're like, okay, maybe I need to do something else. Yeah. I didn't do any of that.

Candy:

So did you just get lucky?

Ryan:

I, I, I, maybe, I don't know. But I've learned, there's a podcast that I listen to that I've become good friends with the guy and he's, it's, it's called Ugly Dog Hunting. And it's about the there's an ugly side to every dog. Every dog can't be pretty. Yeah.

Ryan:

And so, he brings people and has conversations which helped me out a lot because I thought I was on an island. I was the only person that was dumb enough to have never bird hunted before practically, and to go get a bird dog. There's a lot of people like me that

Candy:

do Yeah.

Ryan:

And then they're like, now what?

Candy:

Yes, know, yes, absolutely.

Ryan:

And so it's you worry about, and another thing I tell people is like, don't worry about ruining them. That's the it's like, oh, if I make this decision, then they're

Meaghan:

gonna Yeah.

Candy:

It's like people having babies. Well, it's like just do Yeah. The homework done. Yeah. Some homework done.

Ryan:

Do your homework. I mean, the big thing for me was getting her gun broke, means that she's not shy of the gunfire. She did it a day. Yeah. I mean, it was one of the easiest things and I was so worried about that.

Ryan:

Because you don't want them to be scared because then what good is that dog that's scared of gunfires?

Meaghan:

Ryan, do you remember when I had asked you about there? I saw this story. There was, like, a there was some organization that posted on Facebook, like, oh, we have all these beagles who hunt or stump and bull you told me something about beagles.

Ryan:

Yeah, so beagles are deer dogs.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

That's an old fashioned way to hunt deer where they pretty much let them off on one side of the field and those beagles push the deer out.

Meaghan:

To Is that

Candy:

a type of baiting, though? Is that a type

Ryan:

of No, it's a it is just an old, there's old school some states that don't allow it. Mississippi, they still do. Yeah. I've done it once. Think was wild.

Ryan:

Yeah. And it's like, but they hunt with like 15 or 20 beagles. Yeah. So

Candy:

I I have that story up, and I think what you're talking about is when all the beagles ended up in the Mississippi River.

Meaghan:

Yeah. Maybe that was it, but

Ryan:

Beagles are crazy. Yes. You told me

Meaghan:

that it could be very likely that They lost it all. They They

Ryan:

lost it all.

Meaghan:

Not that they intentionally, and that may be different.

Ryan:

Because I can't imagine, like this setup that I have, I don't know if I've ever said this yet, this was a thousand dollars

Meaghan:

Wow.

Ryan:

Me for to have this for her, but this is just insurance for me. Yeah. I can't imagine trying to get 15 dogs, some sort of system, and they make them, like, you're gonna be responsible,

Meaghan:

right.

Ryan:

And maybe don't just set your beagle off in the middle of the field and hope that they're gonna come back your way.

Meaghan:

Yeah, yeah. No, that was interesting when you

Ryan:

think that those are not dumped. I think lost.

Candy:

Yeah, these guys said that the dog there were 38 dogs that followed a deer into the water. Yep. So the deer can go off and swim.

Ryan:

Yep.

Candy:

And the dogs all of sudden a are in the middle.

Ryan:

Oh, don't think. Yes. I mean, they don't think. Yeah. It's just they'll jump off a cliff for Yeah.

Ryan:

For I mean, it's just they that's just what they the guy that got me my dog used to hunt with beagles, rabbit hunt with beagles, and he's told me stories, they're just bonkers. Yeah. I mean, you can get a good one for house dogs, people love beagles, but they're a lot too. Yeah. So

Meaghan:

I love what you said too, because we're I think I've talked about this with some people, but we get a lot of opposition from people who, and I think it's old fashioned people, a lot of the older generation who are like, Oh, the transplants are trying to make these changes. It's only the transplants who want to do things for the animals and stuff like that. You're from the South.

Ryan:

Yep.

Meaghan:

Wait, remind me Texas. Texas, Okay,

Candy:

but you seem to have a very compassionate You have structure, you

Ryan:

have Yeah! Yeah!

Meaghan:

So, I mean, I would just love for you

Ryan:

to

Meaghan:

provide an on the spot testimonial that maybe it's not just the new people moving to the Tennessee area.

Ryan:

No, and I think that I think where people think that is because I think that these people are coming into this area and seeing the epidemic that's occurred.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Candy:

Yeah, and they're willing to say something because they've seen Correct.

Ryan:

Right, maybe these people are just jaded to it. You don't know. But I think that as far as animal cruelty and everything else, I mean, the best way that I can describe it is that you are your dog's whole world.

Candy:

That

Ryan:

dog is only a piece of yours.

Candy:

I think

Ryan:

And that's hard. It's

Meaghan:

Yeah, it's so poetic.

Ryan:

But yeah, you only get, let's just say you only get ten years with that dog.

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

And it's a lifetime for that dog, Yeah. So you have a responsibility to take care of them.

Candy:

And maybe you can speak on this point. People think, oh, it's dogs, it's an animal. If it gets loose, if I lose it, it's an animal. It'll figure itself out in the wild. Can you speak to that?

Ryan:

Mine would not do well in the wild.

Candy:

Even though she's a

Ryan:

full function Yeah. Yeah. No.

Candy:

That's She doesn't know how all of sudden, like, start fire like a boy scout. You know?

Ryan:

She would she would I don't think she would starve. Yeah. But I guess just because I've seen what she can do. But she would be missing her Her family. Blanket.

Ryan:

Yeah. She has a puppy that she slept with since she was seven weeks. I got her at seven weeks old. She's had a puppy since she was seven weeks old. She carries her out everywhere.

Ryan:

I'm sure you've seen it.

Candy:

So that and your dog is more capable than the typical couch dog. So I'm just bringing us back to when people dump their house dogs. It's not like your dog, it's more like the dog that has like a Swiss army knife in his pocket. Yeah, that's what she's referred to, the Swiss army knife. Yeah, so it's just, I'm trying to connect the two of even a well, a more well equipped dog cannot just be dumped in the

Meaghan:

middle of nowhere

Ryan:

and figure it out. And I think people are dumping them. I think people are dumping them to be found. Yes. I would I would like to think that.

Ryan:

But maybe not. I don't know. But I just feel like they usually dump them around some sort of Farm. Yeah. Some sort of high traffic area or whatever else.

Ryan:

It's like yeah. I mean, you shouldn't have gotten a dog.

Meaghan:

Yeah. I'm trying my tongue is in two pieces in my mouth because I've bitten down on it so hard.

Candy:

Do you want to share?

Meaghan:

No? No, it's hard because you don't, like we approach everything with really compassion and not condemnation, so we ask people why they're doing something when they do it. There are just some things where it's hard to do that. I'm like, you let your dog freeze in 30 degree weather? Why?

Ryan:

And that's another thing, is like, I take her Kansas in December, the nights get down to 15 degrees. She's not allowed to sleep in the lodge because there's an issue that could occur if you get too many hunting dogs into a lodge, there's dog fights that can happen, there's So they have to stay in their kennel. The place that I go to has like a heated shed.

Meaghan:

Okay.

Ryan:

That you can put your dog in their kennel in that shed. I don't do that. I because I call it death row because anytime you walk by it, the dogs are just going ballistic. And I'm like, I'm like, not gonna get any rest. You Like

Candy:

Kermit the Frog with the Yeah. The jail bars,

Ryan:

you know? Yeah, so I keep her. We have an SUV. She stays in a kennel that has a cover over it that's completely like Weatherproof. Weatherproof.

Ryan:

Yeah. But she's also in that suburban. So even in 10 degree weather, I can't zip her kennel all the way up.

Candy:

Right.

Ryan:

She'll get too hot. Right. Like that's, people don't think about how much heat, and you know when they lay in the bed with you.

Meaghan:

Yes, I was just And gonna

Ryan:

so, you know, it's the ethical thing to do. Know, people are like, well, I'll just put them in a kennel in the truck. Well, is it, you know, can it handle 15 degree weather?

Candy:

Yeah. Right.

Ryan:

Because I mean, scheme of things, need my dog to get rest. Yes. Because she's gonna have to do it all again tomorrow. Yeah. So there's

Candy:

How long are your trips? Like,

Ryan:

you go? Five days. So the hunting is only three, but it takes me a day to get down there and a day to get back. So it's Okay. Three days of hunting.

Candy:

So she'll but she'll sometimes do all three and sometimes she'll do two out

Ryan:

of three? She's only done only two once.

Candy:

Oh, okay.

Ryan:

Every every other time she's done all three days. Oh, wow. Now, if it starts to get to a long day, I'll sit her. Well, we do what we call pushes, so everybody lines up. You have, like, say you have 16 people.

Ryan:

People are lined up both sides, And then the guide says go, and we just start walking. And you're just walking and you're talking and you can, you know, you can do whatever you want. You're not trying to hide. The dogs are in front and they're just sniffing so until it's wild. So that's how and then once we get done with that push, we'll move to another field.

Ryan:

If it's been a long day, I will sit her because I'm like, okay, that's enough for today. You need to get your rest for the next day. Got I mean, it's not worth it.

Meaghan:

Is that why you want a GoPro to do on your hunts, right?

Ryan:

Yeah. I've I have I did a GoPro video.

Candy:

Oh, you did?

Ryan:

Yeah. Did. It's fun. Yeah. It's a she's been a part of a lot of people's first she's first pheasant, first point, and that's like so cool.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

You know, it's so fun to see them light up and see that, you know, she's so excited and everything else.

Candy:

She's such a sweet dog.

Ryan:

She is. Mouthy but sweet. She's what? She's very mouthy.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Candy:

Yeah. So from what I'm hearing of that pattern, these dogs, like you talked about all the things you have to check for in dogs, but it sounds like the dogs cannot be aggressive. No. And they cannot be like dog aggressive because especially you're hunting with other people Yes, and other

Ryan:

we had that issue. Okay. Two years ago.

Candy:

Okay.

Ryan:

We had a dog that decided that it was not gonna hunt birds anymore, was gonna hunt other dogs. So that got shut down pretty quickly. He is a gorgeous dog. He's one of the prettiest poodle pointers I've ever seen. But he's a, and the thing is, that's okay.

Ryan:

He's just, but he's a single dog hunt dog now.

Candy:

Yeah. Okay.

Ryan:

You know?

Candy:

So you can go by yourself.

Ryan:

Yeah, can go by yourself. Okay. And I mean, that's what he's gonna have to do. And a lot of that, even as good as we are with trying with getting these dogs bred. Mhmm.

Ryan:

There are people that think I've talked to you about this, but there's people that just want drive. They get the most driven male, most driven female, put them together, do it again, do it again, do it again.

Candy:

And they're not watching for the other time.

Ryan:

And then it's like, and they're driven. Yeah. But what for at that point? Yeah. So that's why you asked the questions of like, you know what, what's wrong with this dog or whatever else.

Ryan:

So that dog, I have not hunted with him in two years. And that guide every year has asked, Where's Bullet? And he hunts with probably a thousand dogs a year. Oh, And he remembers Bullet. Oh, So, I mean, I feel bad that he was a really good dog.

Ryan:

He was a really good pointer. Just- can't. Yeah, he just had a switch and owners. Yeah. Like that was the other thing.

Ryan:

Nothing on them. They're great owners. But it's just something that happens.

Candy:

So I get the point of a pointer being a hunting dog. Can you explain the poodle part?

Ryan:

Yeah, that's a good question. So it's spelled p u d e l.

Candy:

Okay, so it's not what we're thinking of.

Ryan:

But it is poodle. Oh. So p u d e l means splash or water in German.

Candy:

Okay.

Ryan:

People don't realize that poodles are water dogs.

Candy:

Okay.

Ryan:

They are 100% water dogs. Poodles love water. Okay. In 1881, a guy decided that he wanted to make the Swiss Army Knife of Hunting Dogs. He wanted a dog that was great in the water, also good in the field, and he wanted to mesh those together.

Candy:

Okay.

Ryan:

And he did that, and that was when the Poodle Pointer was, I guess, born. Okay. In 1956, they came to North America. So they're pretty new.

Candy:

To our Yeah, recent

Ryan:

you have to be.

Candy:

Yeah, they- Like I got my paper,

Ryan:

Yeah, of so they came over and then that was when they, NAFTA picked them up, which is the North American Versal hunting dog, and then that's where this has flourished since then. A couple dogs that are NAFTA only, and Poodle Pointer is one of them. Yeah.

Candy:

It's great to see that they're organized, they're taking it seriously, and, you know, I know I don't want to be offensive to you, but I'm glad that they hung up on you a few times. They did. Did.

Ryan:

Did. And it was like, you know, I would either get thrown around and just, and I finally gave up. Was like, okay, this isn't for me. And then, like I said, I went to dinner, the guy that I was with, he was like, I gotta go to a natural ability test. I'm like, for what?

Ryan:

He was like, oh, it's a dog. You probably never heard of him. He showed me a picture. Was like, is that a poodle? And he goes, how do you know what that is?

Meaghan:

And that's

Candy:

how he is.

Ryan:

That was it. Yeah.

Candy:

So would you say, based on your experience, it sounds like the best way to get into this is like, kind of like through an apprenticeship.

Ryan:

100%. 100%. That's great. Yeah. So apprenticeship is great.

Ryan:

Steve, I would say is one of my greater apprentices. He let me come out to his field and train her.

Candy:

Would he have let you just go on hunt with him without your own dog and like, see how it Yeah.

Ryan:

Yeah, I looked into a couple other breeds and they're very opening about you coming out and seeing what they're capable of and seeing if that's something that you want to get involved with. But Steve was a great one, Ugly Dog Hunting, Mike Nedeski is his name, he's amazing. I mean, I can message him on Instagram and he's gonna- Oh, wow. You know, be like, Hey, this is the temperature outside. Like, what do I need to do to- Yeah.

Ryan:

And he'll rifle right back. And so, NAFTA in itself has their own chapters. There's one in Nashville. There was not one in Memphis when I lived there, and so I never really got into one. I really need to get into one because it's great for her because it's all of these guys together.

Candy:

What do you you go hunting together? Like,

Ryan:

It's hunting training.

Candy:

Oh, it's training.

Ryan:

Yeah, so it's training and they kind of put you into groups and kind of see what your dog's capable of, does it need to work on hay, you know, I've dealt with this before with my dog, this is what you need to do. It's a big community. Yeah. And these tests that they have to do are not competitions. Yeah.

Ryan:

It's like, it's like a driver's test. Yeah. You either pass or you fail it. So everybody's rooting for you.

Candy:

And you can come back to it. Like if you did, you failed this one this time.

Ryan:

You you

Candy:

can try again another time.

Ryan:

I mean, could do a natural ability test on her now, she's almost five. I mean, wouldn't count for anything. Yeah. Because she has to do it by sixteen months, but I can do it

Meaghan:

if Just it for you like that.

Ryan:

And I didn't do it because I was stressed out about and she got stressed about it, that was when I, yeah, I cut the cord on it, I was like, no, you know, maybe my next one.

Meaghan:

Yeah, yeah. Well, okay, so I just want to wrap this up ask you So more if someone if someone's listening to this and they love animals, but they've always felt conflicted about hunting and that side of the world, what do you want them to understand?

Ryan:

Conflicted as far as like hunting with dogs? Is that the

Meaghan:

more conflicting- I'm talking about the stereotypes maybe that exist.

Ryan:

Yeah, look, the best way that I can describe it is we do look at our dogs as tools.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

They are a very, very good tool. An expensive tool. Is our guns. We take very good care of our guns. We boil them, we clean them.

Ryan:

Our hunting gear is make sure there's not holes in it, whatever else, or boots. Why wouldn't we do that to our dogs?

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

We make sure that they're taken care of. Because if they're not, what good are they as far as hunting? She's still gonna be great at home. Yeah. But I want her to be able to continue to do what she loves to do.

Ryan:

I don't force her to do this. I've forced her to get in the kennel didn't wanna because I tell anybody that was on the fence about it if they had the ability to go

Candy:

Abserve with the first,

Ryan:

And just see, you know, because I think a lot of people with duck hunting, they're like, look, the water's 25 degrees, the dogs do great. They do fine. They put vests on them, the neoprene vest, and if you put your hand in between it, it is hot. I mean, my dog is shaking, it's because she is extremely excited. Yeah.

Ryan:

It's not because she's cold.

Candy:

You have to wear waiters when you go duck hunting. My thing would be I would I would be less worried about the dogs. Like, do I wanna stand?

Ryan:

Yeah, and the weird thing is it's actually warmer in the water than it is outside. Okay. But the other thing about this is that they're also a safety net for us. Because the problem is, is say we don't have a duck dog to go get, and Trudy does that too, but we don't have one, we shoot a duck, it goes into the middle of this pod, we now have to go get it. Yeah.

Ryan:

And the bad thing about that is if you have waders on and the waters get over the waders, You are now a sinking ship.

Meaghan:

Yeah.

Ryan:

You are going straight to the bottle. So they're a safety net for us too. Yeah. And we don't forget that. Yeah.

Ryan:

You know, it's awesome.

Meaghan:

Well, thank you so much. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've looked this.

Ryan:

I could talk about this for like hours.

Candy:

I know, but this is gonna be a hard one. Well, absolutely. For sure.

Meaghan:

But thank you so much, Ryan.

Ryan:

Absolutely. Thanks for listening. Well, got a question. Hold on. I a question.

Candy:

Sure. Yeah.

Ryan:

What do you think that us in the hunting community can do for Whew.

Candy:

I have some prepared for a question.

Meaghan:

Yeah. For what?

Ryan:

For as far as, like, with this pandemic and everything else that's going on with

Candy:

Oh, lord. I I kinda I kinda have an answer to that because I saw a big impact by the pandemic and people getting dogs, and then the pandemic was over, dumping dogs, the shelters got filled up I would say, I mean, would it work to maybe look for a hunting dog in a shelter first, depending on the age?

Ryan:

It's a good question. The other thing that you can do, and I see it a lot, is that people put them up on social media and they're like, Hey, I got this dog, and it's like a poodle pointer because I follow these poodle pointer pages, we just can't, we can't.

Candy:

Can't handle

Ryan:

it. There somebody, is there somebody, but there's, you can get great hunting dogs that do that. The problem is with shelters, you don't have paperwork. Right. Any of those things, but But do you

Meaghan:

need the paperwork? If you're

Candy:

just wanting to do it for fun, and let's say your dog, I know it's not gonna happen, somehow ended up in a shelter,

Ryan:

but

Candy:

I would want my dog to be rescued and not just come by the wayside.

Ryan:

Yeah, there's, look, there's a lot of German Shorthair Pointers, they do the same thing as Trudy does. Yeah. You see a lot of them in there just because of their demeanor.

Meaghan:

Yeah, and I think population control, like when you, when he talks about the beagles and get it I mean, if you're gonna take your dog out on a hunt, make sure they're fixed.

Candy:

Right. Yes. Because if they have Oh, that's so I would that was when fix?

Ryan:

Yeah. She's fixed. So as soon as I knew that she was not gonna do her natural ability test Yeah. There was no use. And for my first hunting dog, I really just wanna breed one.

Meaghan:

Right. Yeah.

Ryan:

The cool thing is though, is that her dad's sperm is frozen. Didn't know you could do that.

Meaghan:

Didn't know

Ryan:

that So if was I wanted another dog out of cash, whenever he was to open that up, I could get a sibling of hers. Wow. Which is pretty cool.

Candy:

Yeah.

Ryan:

That's a whole rabbit hole.

Meaghan:

That's gonna take me into this process.

Candy:

I would I would also add, if there's something that the hunting community could do, breeders microchip your dogs.

Ryan:

Yep.

Candy:

That way if they end up if that baby ends up in a shelter

Ryan:

Yep.

Candy:

You can help them. And they're the best ones to put that dog in another more responsible home. Thank

Meaghan:

you for asking. That was a responsible question. All right, I will take

Ryan:

it back. I'm sort of responsible. My wife's not here, so

Meaghan:

it's cool.

Ryan:

Hi, you.

Meaghan:

Well, thank you so much, Ryan,

Ryan:

and

Meaghan:

we'll talk to you again, I'm sure. But this was episode 18. Yeah, sweet. Catch us next time. And this is the BARC visit at lostsavipaws.org to learn more.

Meaghan:

Anything else, Candy? Bye, mom. Alright. Thanks, guys. See you.

Ryan:

See you.

Candy:

Your mom watch? No.