The Dog Rocket

Today's free fishing and dog owner advice:

If you own a hunting dog (even if he's never been trained to hunt) and you take said hunting dog fishing in your boat, keep these things in mind:

1. Hunting dogs hunt. All the time, even when it looks like they're asleep.
2. When you fish near reeds and other heavy vegetation, said vegetation might appear to the aforementioned hunting dog to be solid ground.
3. Ducks, geese, swans and other birds congregate in reeds and thick, dense aquatic vegetation.
4. An angler easing around said aquatic vegetation using a trolling motor is really quiet and can inadvertently flush out water fowl that have gathered in a concealed pocket of vegetation for cover.
5. Birds being flushed out of a hiding place make A LOT of noise.
6. Noisy birds being flushed from their hidey-holes immediately garner the rapt attention of any hunting dog you might have on board - even if said hunting dog is lazing around, licking himself.
7. A chubby, aging beagle who hates the water but insists on fishing with you can get from one end of the boat to the other with startling speed.
8. Remembering point #2 above (water vegetation may very well appear to be solid ground to a recently awakened beagle) your resident hunting dog might decide to launch himself from the boat in pursuit of the fleeing water fowl.
9. Dogs chasing water fowl - even portly ones that sleep on pillowy beds - are fearless and will launch themselves right off the bow of your boat.
10. A maladroit angler with a really bad back can snare a dog rocket being launched from the bow of the boat provided that he doesn't mind blowing the last good disc he has in his back. How said clumsy angler didn't end up doing a header off his boat while holding a beagle that was running in mid-air is a mystery for the ages.

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