Ducks Unlimited Podcast

Chris Jennings: Hey everybody, welcome back to the Ducks Unlimited podcast. I'm your host, Chris Jennings. Joining me today on the DU podcast is Sean Stahl. Sean is currently with Rich and Tone, but he is joining us in the capacity as a Purina Pro Plan ambassador, and we're going to have some conversations about his field trial slash hunting dog. But before we do that, Sean, welcome to the Ducks Unlimited podcast.

Shawn Stahl: Hey man, thanks. I appreciate it.

Chris Jennings: Yeah, man, we're excited to have you here and you come highly recommended from the Purina folks for sure. But, you know, I think before we get into, you know, talking about your dog and other things, you know, I kind of want you to introduce yourself to our audience. Just kind of who you are, what you do, and even maybe a little brief introduction about, you know, your specific retriever.

Shawn Stahl: I'm the co-host, co-producer for RNTV, which is our TV show for Rich and Tone, and we air on the Sportsman's Channel. And I primarily run most of the goose hunting stuff, some duck hunting, and then John does most of the duck hunting stuff and some goose hunting. We kind of overlap a little bit. I've been with Rich and Tone probably 18 years now, former world goose calling champion, dabbler in the dog games as well. And I have a, well, he's a now 11 year old. We just wrapped up his 11th season. His first season was at seven months of age and he's still going strong. He looks just as surprised as he ever has, but he's an 11 year old field champion. His name's Carl with a K. That's his actual registered name and we call him Carl and we spell it with a K. He's a field champion. I didn't run him in a bunch of amateurs. I did quite a bit of training with him, but just timing-wise with waterfowl shows and hunting season, just didn't have a lot of time to do that. Probably only ran him on a handful of amateurs. But he spent nine years on a pro truck, qualified for a couple of nationals. Uh, he was on the national derby list, uh, also. Um, so yeah, uh, been a fun dog. He's, he's, uh, uh, very accomplished in the field, field trial games, but, um, he's my hunting buddy. Take him everywhere.

Chris Jennings: Now that's awesome, man. And that's great to hear. He's still going strong at 11. You know, that's, uh, that's pretty, that's pretty old for, for hard charging working dog, you know, it is when you consider the miles and stuff that, you know, they, they have on them.

Shawn Stahl: I mean, he. He would literally be on a pro truck for nine months out of the year, running field trials from coast to coast. And then I'd pick him up in September and October, and then we'd hunt from the top of the flyway to the bottom of the flyway and start over. But that's it. I guess it's a testament to just good quality genetics for starters, but keeping him in good physical condition and having the right, feeding him properly, a proper diet. And he's been on ProPlan, his ProPlan performance his entire life. And it keeps his weight just right, keeps him physically fit, he's still muscular. At 11, he looks like he's probably about seven.

Chris Jennings: Wow. Very, very cool. Before we get into, you know, just kind of that conversation of how, you know, you use this field trial dog and then, you know, transition to hunting and what the difference is and how that all works. Uh, one thing I wanted to talk to you about was, you know, the same thing that I talked to pretty much every guest I have on here, um, is how was your hunting season? Because I know, you know, this past season was rough for a lot of people. Um, and I have quite a few contacts up in your area, up around Michigan. And, um, I know that some guys really struggled for ducks, but everything that I heard on the Canada goose side of things was very positive. Is that pretty much how your season shook out up there? Yeah.

Shawn Stahl: In general. I mean. Yeah, in general. But as I traveled across, I think I ended up hunting eight states and three provinces last year. So I got to see quite a bit around the area. And I guess it's all relative to how you look at it. Any day you get to go out hunting, that's a good day. I tell people all the time, it's not the size of the pile that makes the smile. So if that's what we're after, then it probably wasn't a very productive season for a lot of people. But just getting out there, meeting new people and new faces and new places, I call it all the time, getting out on the road, seeing some different stuff, learning some new techniques. And the weather for, no pun intended, but it kind of stalled out a little bit. And it made things difficult. And I just, more or less, we just kind of picked our spots. And if it was going to be sunny and 70 and no wind, we didn't go hunting. I mean, it's just not going to be super productive, wait for a day with some wind, go out. Also, mallards were hard to find. There were still… I mean, there are guys up in Alberta near Christmas shooting limits of mallards still, which is highly unusual, but we would target other species. Sometimes we would go diver hunting, shoot bluebills. just, you know, buffalo heads one day or something like that. Just take advantage of the off, you know, the off species, I call them, I guess, you know, everybody else that thinks of marriages as the only duck, but, you know, went wood duck hunting, chased that kind of stuff. So I had, honestly, I had a tremendously fun season. This was probably as much fun of a season as I've had in a long time and made a lot of cool memories. And I think, Sometimes these seasons that we deem as harder actually are more memorable. We just remember that the, the, the struggle is a little bit more, I guess.

Chris Jennings: Yeah, that's probably true. You know, if it was that easy and you go out and shoot a limited Mallards every day, you'd, you'd, you'd get bored with that.

Shawn Stahl: Oh yeah. And you know, as much as people down South were, were struggling and wondering where the ducks were. you know, getting upset and claiming this and that. Listen, us, everybody up north was looking for geese too. You know, there was like an initial push of geese, the molt migrants come down and, you know, everything was good and fine and dandy, September, early part of October. And then all of a sudden, everything that's here was never replaced with anything. It just kind of stalled out. And it was tough. It was tough Canada goose hunting in a lot of places around the country too. for a significant amount of the fall. So it wasn't just exclusive to the ducks only, as far as what people were struggling with. And that's why I said, we just kind of pick our days and pick our spots and go out. And that's one of, like up here in Michigan, at least here, we get 107 day goose season. So you can pretty much, between 107 days of goose and 60 days of duck, and the way they're kind of staggered out into different zones. And then there's a, Matt Goose management zone here by the house. Pretty much from September 1st to February 12th, outside of about a two-week period split all the way through there, you can hunt waterfowl somewhere around my house, which is pretty darn nice. So you can kind of pick your spots and pick when you go.

Chris Jennings: Yeah. Were you able to take advantage of that, uh, mid January kind of, you know, Arctic vortex or whatever they were calling polar vortex or, you know, that the big weather system that came in, you know, especially, I know it really hits you guys pretty hard up there. Um, were you able to take advantage of that?

Shawn Stahl: We sure tried and yeah, we did. Uh, we ended up, we had intentions of, of taking the boat. I got a 24 express boat and we were going to haul it down and got a big blind on it. And he had six guys out of it. We're going to try to. do like Nebraska, Kansas, and Tech Polar Vortex kind of pushed that way down. We were down in South Oklahoma, North Texas, snooping around, and we had fun. We had a great time. We probably should have hauled our goose rig, but We went primarily after ducks, and we got into them for a couple of pretty good days. And boat hunting, I mean, it's a little different than field hunting. You spend a lot more time looking, scouting, and then getting on a hunt. And we had a couple of good days where we had some mixed bags, and shot a bunch of spoonbills, and green-winged teal, and stuff like that. And to me, that's fun. I grew up in Michigan. We raise ducks, but most of them are wood ducks and mallards and a few teal and stuff, and I don't consider myself a mallard purist in any way. I'm a duck hunter, and if it's buffalo heads and golden eyes one day and wood ducks and greenling teal the next, I'm happy.

Chris Jennings: Awesome. Well, you're in the right place there. I think everyone on the show here from DU, we're certainly not mallard purists by any means. I'm from Indiana. So we, you know, we shot a handful of mallards growing up, but you know, it was always a mixed bag and everything from ringnecks to, you know, wood ducks. And so, you know, it was, it was just all about hunting and not necessarily about a specific bird ever. Um, so I guess that's just a little bit of a different mentality for sure.

Shawn Stahl: Yeah. I'll take advantage of it. We got into the ringnecks one, one day down there in Oklahoma too. That was fun.

Chris Jennings: That can be a good shoot. That can be fun.

Shawn Stahl: Yeah. They come in kamikaze, it's like they don't care.

Chris Jennings: And then they come back around after you shoot into them the first time. Everybody's trying to reload.

Shawn Stahl: Yeah. Yeah. There's some big guys took a beating on them. Yeah.

Chris Jennings: That's awesome. Well, let's talk about Carl a little bit here. And, uh, you know, I think one thing for me as someone who's always had a lab and, and, um, always say that, you know, I've, I'm a. very, very amateur, probably not very good trainer, which reflects in my dogs typically. Um, but you know, what, how did you kind of get to the point where, you know, when you got him, when you got the puppy, how were you like, all right, I want him to be in field trials. I want him, you know, to put him on that trailer and let him travel. Is that something that you went into knowing that you wanted to do?

Shawn Stahl: So interestingly enough, he is the intention of, of him was never, it was just to be a gun dog. Um, I had, you know, I had been in the dog games. I started out running contest, um, went through that and the natural progression of I'm, I'm just competitive by nature. And you know, the, the, the, the contest and stuff, you're just kind of going against the standard and you get judged against the standard and you get a ribbon pass, you know, pass fail. But in field trials, it's, you know, it's win or go home basically. And you get first, second, third, fourth ribbon. And I had my first dog, Deuce, and we kind of did hunt tests and then jumped into running some qualifyings. And then my next dog was Trace. That's a natural progression, right? Deuce Trace. He was a well-bred dog. My first dog, Deuce, was kind of backyard buck and Sioux bred together, but he's just one heck of a hunting dog. and just kind of got it and was great at anything he did. And then the next one was, well, I got him on a NFC chopper in a qualified all age female and had him and got him to the field trial game, you know, and just liked that competitiveness of it. And then as he was getting older, I had a buddy that he had bought it. He was in well into the field trials and he bought a couple of puppies and he had me raise one and he raised another one just cause, You can spend more time individually if you only have one puppy, and I've raised puppies for him in the past. So I raised a puppy for him, one of my best friends, and when he got about four and a half months of age, the puppy that I raised was Carl, and he had another dog named Frank, and he put them both with a trainer, and the trainer had them for like two months, two and a half months, and Carl had just like a little funny swim, he kind of puppy swam, like he'd swim along and kick his foot out, swim along and kick his foot out. And he had to make a decision at six and a half months of age, you know, which puppy he wanted to put money in, They chose Frank, and he says, hey, do you want Carl? You can have him. And I was like, yeah, I like him. He's a cool little dog. He just got everything you threw at him, every little thing you tried to teach him, he got. And easy around the house, I think he piddled in the house like two or three times before he was body trained. And then you could just leave him in the house at four months of age and go to town and come back, and he didn't chew on anything, didn't go to the bathroom. And so anyway, I got him back at six and a half, seven months of age, and I started monkeying with him, you know, playing around with him. And I was talking to a trainer, another trainer buddy of mine, and I said, hey, you know, I might wanna, you know, finish his basics, you know, send him out over the winter and get his basics done, get him force-fetched, all that stuff, and then get him back. But I wanna hunt him this first season, you know, as he was seven months old when I got him. And so we did that, and I sent him down there. He went down there in January, just about his first birthday, to go through the yard basics and transition. And about three months later, he called and said, hey, we might want to try to go a little further with this dog. He seems like he's got something. And he was showing promise. He could mark and catch on to the things. Next thing you know, I pick him up in October and he's got 14 derby points and he's 21 months of age. And anybody that knows what derbies are, 21 months of age is when they're just starting to get good. So he'd already had 14 derby points at 21 months. I pick him up, everybody's looking at me like I got three eyes and I'm taking this field trial dog home to go take him hunting. So that's what he was for, you know. So I got him, took him hunting, and then back in January, sent him back south. And that spring, he got qualified to Ledge. And then by that fall, he had, you know, I think he jammed a couple of opens or something by that fall. So, and then from there on out, it was, you know. Yeah, go, go, go.

Chris Jennings: Now for some of our audience that doesn't really, you know, follow field trials that much kind of explain the Derby points and how those are accumulated and how that kind of adds up.

Shawn Stahl: Yeah, so Derby points is Derby's are for dogs two years of age and under. And it's basically up to four series of either land or water or land water combos. And they throw doubles at them. And most of those guns are standout guns. They're not retired, which they start doing in the in the all age stakes. So they do that, and then it's five points for a win, and then it goes down points-wise, three, two, one, to fourth place. So five points for a win, and he had, like I said, he ran 11 derbies and had 14 points, so he's a little over a point a derby average. In 10 points, you get put on the national derby list, Nowadays, they didn't, when he ran Derby, now they have the National Derby Championship. Um, which they've had now for, I don't know, five years now, maybe they've been doing that. And actually Carl, uh, sired the national, sired a national derby champion. So yeah, I think it was, uh, the 22 national derby champion. I think he sired.

Chris Jennings: Now what's the, uh, you know, why would, and this is just kind of for our general audience, um, you know, why would people look at you weird that you're picking this dog up and taking it for hunting season?

Shawn Stahl: Well, it's kind of a misnomer in both sides of the aisle. Field trial people say you can't hunt a field trial dog because it will teach them all kinds of bad habits. And then the other side of the aisle says you can't make a field trial dog out of a hunting dog. So that's why they kind of look at you funny. But I mean, in reality, these dogs are just doing what they love to do. And they're doing it 12 months out of the year. a dog like Carl, you know, he gets. put on a truck, he gets to run field trials, he gets live flyers all off season, and then he gets put back in the hunt world and goes. And there is a difference, and not every dog is capable of handling it as well as I think he does. He's pretty level-headed. He knows the game on both sides. He's not a maniac, a lunatic, and that's a misnomer with field trial dogs. is people, they see dogs at a hunt test, and they see this dog kicking dirt and snot coming out of its nose, and just wild Indian, and that dog ought to run a field trial, that dog ought to be running field trials. Well, any dog can sign up to run a field trial, but the ones that do good are the ones that sit there and watch the birds and pay attention, they don't make a noise, they take off and go. Like in an all age open stake, in the four series on the water, they'll throw up to a quad and it may be a 30 minute test where the dog's got, it takes a dog 30 minutes to go out and get four birds. I mean, he may have to do a 400 yard swim to one bird to get it. And obviously some are longer, some are shorter and whatnot and different concepts. But yeah, you cannot have a lunatic dog be successful in field trials these days.

Chris Jennings: Do you think that misconception of field trial versus hunting dog, do you think that's changed over the years or do you think that it's always kind of been there? Do you think maybe that's getting better as far as people are a little more accustomed to it these days?

Shawn Stahl: I think it's always been there. I think more and more people are starting to do more hunting. with their field trial dogs because there's a lot more successful amateurs out there. You're not just putting them on pro trucks and leaving them there 12 months out of the year. These dogs are actually living at home with them and driving with them and do hunt quite a bit. You know, hunting per se erodes control. So all the training and everything and all the tools you put in them, if you're just out there hunting every day and shooting birds and shooting birds and shooting birds, you erode some of that control and they start getting a little wild. Even Carl, on occasion, will need a friendly reminder. And I always try to mix in training during hunting season. I don't just get them off the truck from running field trials and then hunt them all fall and think some of the pieces aren't gonna fall apart a little bit. So if we go out and hunt and we shoot eight, 10 man limit of birds, I want to try to go and with that setup and decoys out there, I'll go run some long blinds through the decoys, through all that scent, all the birds that have fallen down. And just to put some of that control back in, I'll maybe go back to wherever we're staying, do some wagon wheels, some ladder drills, some lining drills, maybe have somebody throw uh, a poison bird and run a blind off the backside of it. Something to just get their head back in, in focused and that we're a team and it's not just a free for all kind of deal.

Chris Jennings: Yeah. I was going to ask, like, what are some of the most common, um, bad habits that they would pick up? You know, is it steadiness? Is it marking? Is it, you know, what, what is it during hunting season that, um, really sticks out to you that, you know, dogs have an issue with when they come back to the trail?

Shawn Stahl: Yeah, and this goes for any dog. Like I said, hunting erodes control and most of it comes back to being steady and just sitting there and paying attention and watching the birds and working as a team. Dogs, they go hunting and they see a bunch of birds fall and they just get that glazed look, just same thing we do. We pull up on a big fog. We start flock shooting instead of picking a bird out. They get the same clays look on there and they get out of control and just taken off into the wind and start creeping, start breaking. Some dogs get noisy, stuff like that. That's just, those are common, common problems that if you Just take an extra 15, 20 minutes after a hunt, run a couple of blinds, go back, try to do some teamwork type stuff, some wagon wheels, ladder drills, stuff like that, just to, you know, kind of get refreshed in your mind that, hey, you know, we're still, we're still a team here. It's not a, it's not a solo shot here.

Chris Jennings: Now, is that difficult, you know, putting him on the truck and sending him now, obviously you're not the one going with him and doing these field trials. Is that difficult for you to do that after the season?

Shawn Stahl: It is difficult because, I mean, for me, it's difficult because I have a pretty strong bond with all my dogs. I put a lot of road miles out in a year and they're right there with me. If they're not a co-pilot, they're in the kennel in the back, but it's just part of my everyday routine. We're buddies. So that's difficult, you know, putting them on that truck and, you know, the end of January and I'll see you in nine months kind of deal. That's, that's tough. And yeah.

Chris Jennings: Yeah. My wife would be like, no, you're not doing that.

Shawn Stahl: But you know what, given the fact, like it's a, I justify it to myself that I'm giving him his best life. Oh, absolutely. He probably loves it. They, they honestly, you know, people think, labs love the one they're with. They really do. We think they're just so attached to us and it doesn't take them long to get into a routine and figure out where they're at and like what they do. Now, not all dogs do like going to a trainer, but most of them, if it's a good trainer and a good situation and a good scenario and they get They get worked all the time. They, they excel at it. They, they thrive in that environment. Um, and you know, he really does like, you know, it's funny. I'd pull up and he'd kind of look at me like, you know, and just go on doing his own business when he's been to train for nine months and then about five minutes later, figure out who I was and then, you know, Oh, okay. All right. I guess it's hunting season. All right, well, let's go to Canada.

Chris Jennings: That's right. I guess it's duck season. We're heading North. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's awesome. So how did you, uh, how did you go about picking, you know, the trainer and the field trial or like, how did you do, is that someone you knew or was that something that you kind of researched?

Shawn Stahl: No, it's just somebody I knew and the circles that we all kind of ran in and, um, yeah, sure.

Chris Jennings: No, that's awesome. Um, who is it that does your field trial?

Shawn Stahl: Uh, well, I don't have anybody anymore cause he's, uh, he's not doing it. Okay. Yeah.

Chris Jennings: Okay. So what's, what's the next step here from, you know, you go from field trial to duck season, what, what's basically in between there as far as, you know, anything that you work on when he's specifically with you?

Shawn Stahl: Oh, you're talking about the dog? Yeah. When he's here with me, it's now at 11 years of age, you're not really teaching a dog. Once a dog gets through the basics and transition, starts doing the field work, that kind of stuff, when he's two to four years of age, you've pretty much showed him most every scenario and everything they need to know. And you've put all the tools in them to be able to handle any situation that would come up. Basically from then on, that point on in their life is just about maintaining that level, maintaining their conditioning, maintaining their mind, make sure their mind's in a good place, because sometimes you could Like, if you take a dog and you run blinds all the time, blinds, blinds, blinds, they get a little bit, like, they just don't care to do it. Yeah, they get bored. You know, you got to mix in some flyers, mix in some live birds, some happy stuff, bring their, you know, their… But that's pretty much, once they go through that initial stage of training, it's more just getting out in different areas, you know, different terrain, different cover, and keeping their conditioning up, and then the teamwork aspect of it. So they don't lose that and try to go rogue on you.

Chris Jennings: Yeah. What is, what is one thing that you would tell someone who is like, I want to, this is basically is what I want to do. I want to get a retriever. I want it to be in field trials, but I also want it to hunt. What would you tell that person right off the bat?

Shawn Stahl: Um, I tell him good luck No, it's it's no I mean I think hey man, everybody should try a field trial game even if it's not field trials just on test It's just it's a good thing to do because it gives you something to do in the offseason. It gives you you and your retriever bonding time 365 days out of the year So, whatever it is, if you want to get into field trials, try to get into a club, join a club, go watch field trials, see what they're all about, see if that's something that you want to get into, because they do require a lot of time and money, which a lot of us don't have a lot of either or at times. Um, you know, check it out, um, try to get in a training group and, and try to better, you know, um, you know, better your, your, your skills as a handler and a dog. And, you know, like I used to do the calling contest circuit and used to run around and my primary focus for that was. It was something to do outside of the 60 day duck season or the whatever the gift season was. It was something to push yourself into the sport, something you love doing, and it kept your, you know, kept your skills sharp. And that's the same thing with the dog games, you know, it's the same concept with it, you know, just It's, it's total immersion, 365 days a year. And, and anything you do is going to help you and your dog be a better team.

Chris Jennings: Oh, that's awesome. The, um, so I think, you know, before we get you out of here, I just got one more question for you. Uh, I was gonna, I'll give you the opportunity to kind of give us a little preview, uh, for RNTV. I know you guys will probably be kicking that off fairly soon, a new season, kind of give us a little preview and what timeframe people should be looking for that.

Shawn Stahl: So we're just like most of the waterfowl related content out there on TV. We air the third and fourth quarter, which basically, uh, is the last, you might as well figure July 1st to December 31st when we'll start airing 13 original episodes and John Stevens and I kind of split those up. So you'll see me, uh, you'll see me do something, um, like from Canada all the way down to Oklahoma. I'll be duck hunting from Ontario down to North Texas area in my express boat. And then John, you'll see him chasing mallards, green heads. and speckled bellies and then interspersing some history type stuff in there. John does a lot of, he likes to focus on history a lot, which is, which is awesome because there's, I mean, there's anything, you don't know where you're going if you don't know where you come from. So, um, I think, you know, as, as much as the sport advances, we still got to know, uh, know where our roots are.

Chris Jennings: Yeah, that's right. And what channel are you guys on? We're on the Sportsman's channel.

Shawn Stahl: That's right. Yeah. You can also catch us on MOTV too. That's the, we're digital. Um, platform.

Chris Jennings: Okay. Awesome. So at 11 years old, again, I said last question, but something else popped into my head at 11 years old. Once the duck season gets over, what's Carl doing right now?

Shawn Stahl: Uh, right now he's outside my office wanting in here, but, um, if I start talking, then he wants to be petted. So, uh, he's out there, but he's just kind of hanging out and we are doing stuff, uh, as weather permits today, it's, we're finally getting some snow and hopefully the stuff. kind of goes all the way across the Canadian prairie and dumps a couple feet of snow on it. So we try to get out, run a few marks. I'll do some standalones with the four-wheeler I've got. about six and a half acres here, so I can do, you know, 250 yard marks with them all. Just sit them down, I'll drive the four-wheeler out, I'll throw a mark, he'll run and get it, and then I'll sit him down, drive to another spot, and then do that just for exercise, and, you know, keep his marking sharp, and then I'll run a few blinds here and there.

Chris Jennings: That's awesome. At 11, that's very impressive.

Shawn Stahl: You know, it is, like, and that stuff can, I was talking to Gunzer about that, it can You know, I mean we might not get another hunting season and I looked at this one is this thing on 11 I'm I was blessed to have the last probably two or three actually. Um, based on my last few dogs, but, um, so everyone's, you know, every, every hunt, every season's a bonus. So I, and good Lord willing, I think we're going to get, we'll get another one out of them.

Chris Jennings: Awesome. Yeah, I hope so. That's, that'd be fantastic. I know just from my experience, you know, my lab that I have now, she's getting ready to be 14. Um, she hadn't hunted since she was 10, but really that's because of injury. And so, you know, hearing about Carl at 11. Um, you know, still just getting after it. That's awesome. She just couldn't stay healthy. You know, it was one of those deals where she had, you know, a foot issue and then she, you know, like you, you mentioned, sounds like Carl's genetics really, you know, carried him along and, and that was pretty impressive.

Shawn Stahl: We, uh, yeah, this right here at the, we had a February, uh, due season here in. And it doesn't happen like I probably one time in the last 15 years where the ice has been off in February here it's normally guys are ice fishing but yeah we're water hunting one day and me and another guy and we shot her 10 birds it's five bird limit shot her 10 birds come home and I had to run in the house and he was watching. Carl's got a bumper that he just leaves in the yard and he'll grab it and he'll run around and throw it in the air and play. It's just his form of exercise if we're not training. And I come out and he's like, buddy says, hey, he's got blood on his leg. I was like, what? Like, look, I looked down right above his right rear foot. He had about an inch and a half gash and it was right down, kind of like how you'd skin a rabbit kind of deal. Yeah. Yeah. He cut it and we're out hunting. Yeah. Five stitches later, I had to call the vet. Five stitches later, $400. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, but luckily it didn't get any tendons. It didn't cut any meat. It just cut the, cut the hide is all it did. Yeah.

Chris Jennings: You know, that's, that's pretty lucky because that's a very delicate area right there, especially for, you know, a hard charging lab like that. And you know, you're lucky.

Shawn Stahl: It sure isn't. I didn't ever know. Like, I'm colorblind, so I don't see that red. And, you know, I mean, it just, it just blended right into me. I just never known until like, we didn't know when we were hunting. It happened when we got home and he sure didn't act any, you know, worse for the wearer. But, but that's why, you know, like I carry, I got one of them gun dog, first aid kits. And I carry one in my truck, one in my boat, and one in my trailer. Because invariably, when that stuff happens, it's on a Sunday, and you're three hours from a vet. So, you know, I carry that with me. It's got everything in there you need. And I'll usually have my vet, you know, first thing before season starts, write me a prescription for antibiotics. So that if something happens, you know, something stuck in their forehead or something like that, and it swells up, blows up, and blows out, and you can throw them antibiotics and patch them up enough to at least get you a couple of days so you can get, you know. back to a vet kind of deal.

Chris Jennings: Yeah, no, that's a great idea for everyone. All of our listeners here, you know, take note of that, especially with you traveling around, going out of the country, long ways away from your home vet. It's a good idea to have multiple, you know, gundog first aid kits handy. And, you know, there's lots of different resources to find, you know, kits that you can put together. We have some on ducks.org if you want to check that out. But, Yeah, that's always a good thing to have.

Shawn Stahl: It comes in handy for dogs or people. Yeah, that's right. It's just a good thing to have, you know.

Chris Jennings: Absolutely. Well, Sean, this has been great. I think it's super interesting to hear about Carl and his accomplishments, you know, over the years. I'm sure I could only imagine, you know, how many ducks and geese he's probably retrieved. Some people keep track of that, I don't know if you do, but I'm sure it's a very, very impressive number, spending time with you guys. But no, I think it's very cool and I appreciate you sharing the story.

Shawn Stahl: Yeah, man, I appreciate you having me on.

Chris Jennings: Awesome, we're gonna have to get you back on here. you know maybe here in a month or two and we'll get you back on the podcast and we'll do some Canada goose calling tips and maybe have you bust a call out here we'll do some different different clucks and groans and moans and you know really kind of walk through you know really having you as a resource for you know Canada goose calling.

Shawn Stahl: Yeah, man, anytime. I'd love to do it.

Chris Jennings: Awesome. I'd like to thank my guest, Sean Stahl with Rich and Tone for coming on and really speaking to, you know, the capabilities of Purina ProPlan as a Purina ProPlan ambassador and his dog, Carl, being successful in field trials and in the duck one. I'd like to thank our producer, Chris Isaac, for putting the show together and getting it out to you. And I'd like to thank you, the listener, for joining us on the DU Podcast and supporting wetlands conservation.