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Close Encounter
With my apologies, the Gear Giveaway is taking one week off, and will return next Friday with another great prize from Filson. But no worries, a week off now just means it will last a week longer later!
In the meantime, I thought I'd post these comments from Paula, our first gear winner of the year, who had a recent and unexpected run-in with a neighbor's dog. Something like this happen to anyone else? -K.H.
Before entering woods to go to my tree stand, I sprayed my boots
with fox urine, I then hunted all day without any success. When I came
back in, my friend (who owns the farm) asked me to come in as she
wanted to show me something. I walked in the door as I had a zillion
times before and her Alaskan Malamute
chomped into my thigh. I screamed and backed out the door, she started
to come after me and was ready to chomp on my calf but luckily her
owner got a hold of her in time.
I have known this dog for years, I have been in their home with
her and have dog sat her lots of times and have had her in my home
sometimes as well. Couldn't figure out why she attacked me. Turns out
she bit another hunter on the boot the week before, the hunter who
taught me to spray my boots with fox urine.
I got the bottle of fox urine out and read the back; it reads: WARNING - do not spray on clothing or body as you may be attacked.
Now, if I had read that before Saturday, I would have thought it
was part of their advertising or something. I even might have thought
it funny, attacked by what? My boyfriend will find it arousing? that
could be a good thing! the coyote I'd been hunting?
I take hunting safety very seriously and thought I was over careful. A few stitches, antibiotics and tetanus shot later, I will read all scent bottles and take their warning seriously!
Paula, if I were you I would stay away from the Tink's 69 Doe in Heat Buck lure... although you may get an extremely close shot at an overexcited buck.
Posted by: Dr. Ralph | October 24, 2008 at 03:19 PM
Yikes! Hope your leg heals quickly, Paula. Although, I do have to confess, I did laugh a bit too. Maybe it's because I can see the same thing happening to me.
I'm a huge dog lover and have two of my own, but I had a scare with some dogs last spring while turkey scouting. My husband and I were on some state land trying to pinpoint a tom's location. When Joe used his locator crow call, an Airedale came snarling and barking from a nearby house. And it quickly went running into the woods towards us. We could see the dog pick up our scent trail and follow it working through the woods towards us. All the while it was still growling and barking. It was rather unnerving watching that dog get closer and closer and I have to admit I'd never been so worried about a dog attack before and I quickly found a big stick. "Just in case." You know?
On our way into the woods, before Kujo had appeared, we had walked through a spot which had smelled very strongly like skunk, and thankfully the dog lost our scent in that. Whew! I don't think I've ever been so thankful for a skunk before. The strange thing is, as we continued scouting that day we ran across a pack of three wild and/or stray dogs. They however, ran the opposite direction, instead of running towards, as soon as they saw us. Funny how that I've never run into a stray dog while hunting or hiking and in one day that's the only animals we saw.
Posted by: Shannon | October 24, 2008 at 04:15 PM
LOL Kujo? Sorry Shannon, but that there just made me laugh! ;D
Very Sorry about your incident Paula! Get well soon! I can't say that I've heard of something like that before, but I'll be sure to pass it on to anyone in need. I've heard of people being attacked by rutting Bucks while using scent, but that's after they sprayed it all over their clothes.
I've never had a dog problem, in or out of the woods, but this is something to keep in mind.
Posted by: Laura Bell | October 24, 2008 at 09:29 PM
Funny you should say that Ralph. Last night I was squirting Tink's 69 into the orange scent bottle and got it all over my hands, being in the woods, naturally I wiped my hands on my pants! Then I realized what I possible set myself up for! - I couldn't get to and climb my tree stand fast enough. I'm thinking I'll stick to fresh earth and rotting leaf scents in the future :)
Posted by: Paula | October 25, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Thank you for the get well wishes everyone!
Posted by: Paula | October 25, 2008 at 10:26 AM
That's terrible! I've never had anything like that happen to me before, but I like to think I'm usually pretty careful about that kind of stuff.
Hope you get well soon Paula!
Posted by: Katie | October 25, 2008 at 12:24 PM
That would make a great NCIS show - junkyard dogs attack seaman at some mysterious scrapyard. I can picture Tony saying, "What IS that smell?" And Abby telling them it is fox urine, but not all from the same fox, mixed with some other interesting chemicals ... and it was all over his clothes. Kind of chilling that this could actually happen, though. I'll stick with the Tinks - been bit by too many dogs already.
Posted by: Mike | October 25, 2008 at 02:28 PM
I hope you fell better.
Posted by: Brenda | October 26, 2008 at 07:57 AM
Paula, love how well you write your stories.
I gave up on using cover scents, we used coon piss, after we seemed to have just as much luck with rubber boots and scent killer spray. It only takes once spraying into the wind, duh!, to make you want to re-think that one!
The only dog problems we've had were when a neighbor had beagles and let them run the country side, they would often run the deer. Luckly the dogs went away, and we now have quieter woods in which to hunt.
Posted by: Lou Alexander | October 26, 2008 at 05:18 PM