left field

Call Atticus Finch.

We no longer live in a world where dogs are encouraged to run free (a good reason why castration propaganda is no longer relevant) so you need to contain your dog either in a compound or with a chain, and when out of your property, by lead or command. The first thing a new dog owner (pet or working) should train is a bomb proof recall and that includes calling your dog off a running animal. This will save your dog's life. Dogs are there to serve a purpose. If I had a reasonably sized livestock farm I would have terriers to deal with the vermin, a herder to move my animals and an LGD to protect my herd. The expense of food and vet care (though there really isn't any reason to take your dog to a vet past puppyhood) is minimal compared to the stress and expense of losing an animal or the shitshow when you're forced to shoot a neighbour's dog.

The best way to deal with neighbouring dogs harassing livestock is a livestock guardian dog or LGD. There are a number that come to mind, but here's a decent short list: Kuvasz, Maremma, Kangal, Anatolian and if you're experienced enough, one of the Ovcharkas. These dogs will not leave your property and will kill anything four legged that attacks your livestock. They do need to be managed around two-legged visitors.

There is no attack switch. There are behaviors or drives that may be triggered by external actions, but even those drives are not "on or off" as there is usually a myriad of things going on when a dog bites. Vets are mostly idiots when it comes to dog behavior and as most laypeople have no idea what's going on when a dog bites, their opinion is equally worthless. Add dog control officers to that list. The ones I've met usually hate dogs. Some dog bites are unwarranted, but there are many situations where I felt the bite was justified. Unfortunately, that's a tough position to argue in today's political climate.

That's not the way a dog's temperament works. At least according to this former protection dog trainer who has taken purposeful bites from hundreds of dogs. You should be able to back down 99% of the dogs that you come across.

Some have it, some don't. Mine didn't. What's the follow-up of the guys who shoot in the dark at sound? Walk over and see if anything's dead?

On the other side of the Hudson. Black Rock Fish & Game Club in Mountainville. Nice facility; good folks.

I did both the Hunter's Ed and Bow Hunter's Ed this year. The HE was a joke. I was told over the phone by the instructor not to worry because "everyone passed." The test was in the city and it was overbooked by nearly 100% - about 75 people in a room for 40. Those of us who had the voucher could take the test, the others had to sit and watch us as he wouldn't let them leave. He played a really shitty 20-minute video, then it was test time. Thank God, I had the voucher as everything I learned was from the online course. When it finally came to grading the tests, the instructor was so overwhelmed that he just put the test in a folder and handed out the certificate. Pass? Fail? Who knows? And you wonder why people get hurt. I almost got in touch with the DEC to let them know how this class was being conducted. On the opposite hand, the Bow Ed was great. I decided against the voucher and attended the daylong course at an upstate club. The instructor and helpers were fantastic. Learned a hell of a lot, had my stupid questions answered and had practical sessions of blood tracking, proper treestand safety, and shooting. I pulled a few cameras near my stands yesterday. Middle of the week on my property, but one stand is near the property line where the other owner hunts, so I did it at noon with an orange jacket, orange touque, orange gloves and whistling.

I've lived in NYC for 20 years. What you need to understand is that to the people who live here Trump is looked at as an amusement for the tourists, much like the Naked Cowboy and dirty water hotdogs. No one takes him seriously and he doesn't travel in the 1% circle nor does he associate with the "great unwashed". I think that will change to outright hatred now that he's arrogantly screwing up Fifth Avenue. My wife's office is across the street and it is a shit show. On another note it seems that Kasich's call with one of the trump kids was true. Trump is apparently refusing security briefings and deferring to Pence. So, if true, the VP will run things and the P will focus on making America great. Broadcast News.

Ask the question at The Classic Fly Rod forum. Go to the appraisal subforum and post as many good photos as you can. Alternatively, you can also ask the DEC when fees were at those amounts. Finally, I'd love to get a copy and am happy to pay a fee for the copying and postage.

Josh Gad helps you hunt? Cool.

Not a hunting book per se, but one of the best outdoors books I've ever read. Written in 1907, the advice is still relevant for anyone who ventures into the woods today. I reach for this again and again. Camp and Trail by Stewart Edward White. And for all the 15-year-old kids who dreamed of living off the land in the Catskills, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George is the bible.

By the way, why do you guys call it a fisher cat instead of fisher? Is that NY or NE vernacular?

I don't really give "likes" because I'm over 12 years of age, but... LIKE!

Not if you used them to take out any DEC officer snooping around your property. Think Willard, but with prettier rats.

Take them while they're young and train them to obey you only. Would make an excellent unholy army of the night.

I was joking. To each their own, but to me an animal that you can't really eat, a pelt only worth $35 after I have to go through a hell of a lot of hoops, and (my descriptor) a magical creature that you are lucky to see in the flesh while out in the woods is an animal worth leaving alone.

I lived in SE Asia for a number of years. You can eat anything.

Where are you guys seeing all these fishers? I've spent considerable time in ON, QC, NY and NJ woods and have only seen one. It was earlier this year about two weeks after I closed on my NY camp so maybe that's why I'm so protective. Still hoping for that wolverine before I die. $30-40 for a pelt? Live trap one and bring it to me. I'll give you $50.

A Fisher is one of those magical animals that you see once or twice in your life. Pelts don't seem to be worth much, so I can't imagine the reason for randomly shooting one.

I used to train protection dogs (including a number of Donovan Pinchers) and have taken bites from nearly every type of working dog. I've also been knocked on my ass more times than I care to remember, and lost a tooth and took 12 stitches to the face from a particularly nasty Malinois in Mexico. Most people have an innate fear of being bitten by a dog. A coyote is probably no different in that respect, but if you keep your head you can easily overwhelm a coyote attacking you.

Ah, I never read the last page of a book or menu. The tiny colour type? ** Hunting by Bow Only *** Hunting by Shotgun or Bow Only (no rifle). **** Hunting is by Bow Only and for Deer Only (no Small Game or Bear hunting). Got it. So unless there is a specific notation with colour and asterisk in the chart, it means general NYS rules apply. Thanks.

Thanks, Shawn. I guess it was a stupid question. So there are "landlocked" DEP lands? What I don't see in your link are hunting restrictions other than "yes" "no" or "bow". Is there another site with details regarding big game/small game? Can't find anything on the DEP site.

Thanks. I should have been more specific. The areas I'm talking about are in Delaware and there is evidence of working of the land. Driving along the road I see blue signs, but the field is pretty clearly being grown and cut though according to the maps it looks like the public land comes right to the road. Perhaps the DEP land is beyond the field. Maybe the question is what are the rules about crossing private land to access watershed land.

A few years ago in Cape Breton Island, NS, two coyotes attacked and took down a young woman who later died of her wounds - the only fatal coyote attack in Canada. I know the trail she was killed on and have solo hiked it a twice. Bit of a horrible story.