Page 3 - Gun Dog Department

T

THE
////////////////////////////////////////////////// DOGS OF //////////////////////////////////////////////////
SCATTERGUN

While ScatterGun Lodge has justifiably
➔ THE FIRST earned a reputation as a great pheasant-
THING hunting destination, it is clearly, first

YOU’LL and foremost, all about the dogs...

NOTICE
WHEN

Unlike a lot of lodge dogs, which
ARRIVING spend much of their non-hunting time about the lodge, operated by owners ably earned a reputation as a great that work at the lodge today. as regular pets until the hunting season
pheasant-hunting destination, it is clearly,
Chuck and Sheila Ross since 1999, is a
They are all great in the field, from
rolls around again. Foster families are
AT in kennels, these two meet you inside long row of portrait photos of dogs—all first and foremost, all about the dogs— what I saw during a three-day visit last given a list of rules to follow—no letting
the dogs run loose, for example—and
year, but they are also very well social-
and a testament to Chuck’s lifelong love
Labs—along one entire wall of the well-
with wagging tails and looks that defy
SCATTER- you to pass by without petting them. stocked bar. If you step out onto the affair with Labrador retrievers. He ized and show a strong desire to please. are schooled in the basic knowledge of
grassy lawn at the rear of the lodge,
bought his first Lab in 1962.
That’s because Chuck has never believed
what the dogs have been taught.
In my case, it worked, and I soon found
GUN myself unashamedly sitting on the floor you’ll see a monument to a dog named Chuck. “He loved to retrieve. I did some in the old adage that a great hunting dog says Chuck. “It’s been a very positive
“Outside of that, it’s very simple,”
“I think I paid $40 for him,” says
Max—Chuck’s personal dog before he
petting a five-year-old yellow Lab named
can’t also be a great pet, and that’s
LODGE, Sophie, while she pawed at me playfully, built the lodge—and it doesn’t take training and took him to a field trial, reflected in his novel “foster-home” experience for both the dogs, and the
program for his dogs.
people who have them. They value them
forcing others to maneuver around us.
and I’ll be darned if he didn’t win.”
much prodding for Chuck to show you
located in the heart of pheasant a video tribute to a dog named Bear. That dog, Duke, was the grandson of All but a couple of the dogs only stay as much as we do, and they take won-
country near Pierre, South Dakota, ALL ABOUT THE DOGS Fair warning: There won’t be a dry eye a national field-trial champion named at the lodge for the duration of the derful care of them.”
Chuck says the dogs seem to know
is a pair of Labrador retrievers Apart from the ScatterGun’s five-star by the end of it. Cork of Oakwood, and the start of a hunting season. During the rest of the when hunting season is approaching,
lineage that extends to the 30 or so dogs
amenities, another thing you’ll notice
year, they go to foster families and live
While ScatterGun Lodge has justifi-
stationed just inside the
front entrance.

56 GUN DOG MAGAZINE | November 2019 gundogmag.com gundogmag.com November 2019 | GUN DOG MAGAZINE 57