Gundogdoc.com

01/12/2025

Nine years. How did they disappear so fast? It feels like yesterday I got the message that the litter had hit the ground, yet somehow, it also feels like a lifetime ago. Since then, Boomer and I have covered a whole lot of miles and lived a whole lot of life together.

There are clips in here from a video we filmed when he was just a puppy and I was stepping into my 40s. Now I write this on the cusp of my 50s, beginning another new chapter. It took time for Boomer and me to find the depth of connection I’d had with the dogs before him, but somewhere along the way, it became just as strong, maybe stronger.

He was named after the booming call of male prairie chickens on the spring leks, and he’s still the hardest-charging shortgrass prairie dog I’ve ever cut loose… at least on spot number one. But as social media has changed those western places, and as life has limited my long, roaming trips, he’s grown into one of the best pheasant dogs I’ve ever owned.

The great dogs mark the chapters of our lives like guideposts, and Boomer will forever mark some of my best ones. Happy Birthday, buddy. Here’s to many more.

03/11/2025

Two years ago I was asked to co-author the nutrition chapter in the gold standard textbook in the field of canine sports medicine and rehabilitation. That alone would have been a career highlight as it allowed me to once again work with one of my veterinary heroes, Dr. Joe Wakshlag, who also served as one of my key mentors on the path to board certification. Not only did I get to author part of this amazing contribution for veterinary medicine…my image, of the dog that taught me so much about sports medicine, will live forever on the cover of this edition which recently was released.

As part of the chapter I wrote a case study around exertional hypoglycemia and when the editors asked if I had any images, boy did I have images. Not only did they select one to use in the chapter, they also chose one to grace the cover of the book. For those of you that have seen my field emergency seminar in person, have purchased my courses or followed me for any length of time you probably have heard me say Maggie is the dog that taught me sports medicine, and I mean that. She was a train wreck of a dog, but also the reason I have had a setter in my life my entire adult life. She was responsible for so many major first for me in this field — corneal foreign bodies, migrating foreign body in her chest, compartment syndrome, Grade 3 mast cell tumor, nasal foreign body, countless lacerations….the list goes on and on.She had so many near misses in the first decade of her life that I thought she’d live forever. I’ll never forget the call that her kidneys were failing. My wife, also a veterinary specialist, had to deliver the news while I was away at a practice owner’s meeting in Nashville. For the first ten years of her life I had mentally prepared myself to lose her but when that news hit at 13, as I stood looking out at Music City from my motel room, I could not fathom losing the little dog. She had managed to overcome so much in her life that it seemed like cruel irony that a progressive disease of old age would be what finally got her after dodging so many bullets. Now, all these years later this special little dog will serve to be the dog students, practitioners and canine athlete enthusiasts also see when ever they crack open this book to learn about the wonderful world that is the canine athlete. Seeing this dog on the cover of the textbook that defines the field I have devoted my career to….this is truly one of the most meaningful career milestones I have ever had.

17/10/2025

Would you know what to do if your dog suffered a serious injury in the field?

Hunting dogs push their limits every time they’re in the field—and injuries can happen in an instant. Knowing how to prevent, recognize, and treat these issues before you can get to a vet could make all the difference.

Join me for a free live Q&A on October 22 at 7:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM CT / 5:00 PM MT / 4:00 PM PT, where I’ll cover real, practical field emergency strategies every hunting dog owner should know.

Learn more:
https://www.gundogdoc.com/oct-webinar/

13/10/2025

It’s been a long, hot stretch here, and getting back into the field reminded me that even the most seasoned dogs feel the miles. Watching Boomer show his age after our first hunts of the season hit me with a mix of pride and realization, he’s not a pup anymore. This month’s story is about what that means for all of us who hunt behind gray-muzzled friends.

When your gun dog slows down, it’s not the end—it’s the next season. Learn how to keep older dogs healthy, active, and in the field longer.

20/09/2025

Here’s a confession: I despise click-bait headlines like that. Too often, they only have one worthwhile item buried in the list. I wrote it as a bit of irony because I didn’t think “Stuff Joe Still Forgets After More Than a Quarter Century” had the same ring to it.

The truth is, even though these dogs are my career and my hobby, life sometimes gets in the way and small things slip through the cracks. Those seemingly minor omissions can turn into disasters if not addressed, or if they start to pile up. The five topics I chose here are all fresh from the last couple of weeks with either my own dogs or client dogs. Click the link below to find out more.

Get your hunting dog ready for the season. Discover 5 key tips on foot care, weight, vaccines, and conditioning for healthier hunting dogs.

26/07/2025

Heat stroke and heat related illness are some of the most devastating conditions we see in dogs. Sometimes the best answer is to just not exercise in the heat. In this video I talk about when I take time off with my own dogs as well as the formula I use with temperature and humidity when making decisions whether to run the dogs or not.

Heat stroke and heat related illness are some of the most devastating conditions we see in dogs. Sometimes the best answer is to just not exercise in the hea...

20/07/2025

Too often owners think they will see the benefit from switching to a performance diet once they start feeding it. It will deliver more calories; however, to actually fuel performance and deliver optimum results the body needs to adjust to the new levels of fuel. In this video we will discuss the timing of this change in order to optimize performance.

Too often owners think they will see the benefit from switching to a performance diet once they start feeding it. It will deliver more calories; however, to ...

03/07/2025

Sometimes our cooling measures start before we ever put the dog in the crate to go training or hunting. We examine that in this post.

Too often we don't take into account the things we could do prior to running a dog in the field to keep them cool. We will cover a few of those in those post.

11/06/2025

“Up-to-date on shots” doesn’t mean done with vaccines, and dewormed doesn’t always mean parasite-free. Here’s what to expect (and bring!) to your puppy’s first vet appointment.

Bringing home a new puppy? Learn why that first vet visit is so important—from vaccines and parasites to breeder records and early health checks. Get your pup started on the right paw.

09/06/2025

I've now been practicing veterinary medicine for half of my life, and I still get as excited for a puppy appointment as I did at the beginning. There is just something about the innocence, the potential and the pure joy that they bring with them to the exam room. In this video we talk about the important points to cover with your veterinarian at that first visit.

I've now been practicing veterinary medicine for half of my life, and I still get as excited for a puppy appointment as I did at the beginning. There is just...

19/05/2025

Two and a half years ago I helped a stranger on the internet with a paralyzed setter. He asked if there was anything he could do to help me out and I half-jokingly asked if he knew anybody in digital marketing. As luck would have it he did and introduced me to . Over the last two years Tim has become a very dear friend. We talk several times a week but had never met in person. Earlier this month I had a workshop out in Montana and the stars aligned and we were able to spend a day doing photography in Yellowstone. Tim has a world class photography guiding business . If you ever want to do photography in Yellowstone I cannot recommend Tim enough. Everything about the day was perfect. We road in comfort, ate well and spent almost an hour with this grizzly. 

Recently I’ve seen people comment that the house decision to sell off public land didn’t affect them because it was not in states they live. As a northwest Iowa boy now living in South Dakota I can certainly tell you we need every bit of western public land we can get. I’ve been fortunate to have numerous close encounters with grizzlies over the years and every single one has been on public land. We have hit the tipping point and we can no longer remain silent about this one.

10/05/2025

This might be a good time to revisit an older video ...

So often we fall into a routine when it comes to feeding our dogs and with today's premium nutrition that can result in dogs yo-yoing in weight. In this vide...