Country A Supplement to the Star Shopper
cres A Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Friday, October 19, 2018 • Edition 15
Training hunters’ best friends
PHOTOS BY LAURA HINTZEN
Jim Massmann watches as Jasmine, his French Brittany Spaniel, goes after a live pigeon during a training exercise Oct. 8 at his home in Glenwood.
Dogs provide joy, reason to live for Massmann By LAURA HINTZEN Staff Writer GLENWOOD - When Jim Massmann bought his French Brittany Spaniel, he knew she was a good dog and thought other people might be looking for this kind of dog as well. “Everyone kept saying what a supreme dog she was, so that’s how I decided to start my own business, naming it “Birddog Supreme,” Massmann said. Birddog Supreme, established in 2016, is a source of two exceptional hunting dog breeds, including the French Brittany Spaniel and the Airedale Terrier. “Our French Brittanys are very prey driven, extremely loving and come from the finest hunting lines in the world,” Massmann said. “Our Airedales make excellent hunting dogs or family dogs.” Old timers from the area often stop by and chat with Massmann, reminiscing about the times they had Airedales as kids and how well-behaved the dogs were. Massmann’s breeding program focuses exclusively on quality–not quantity– with an emphasis on intelligence, trainability, lovingness and boldness. Not only does his breeding program focus on
those characteristics, but on training the dogs, too. A dog will benefit by completing a training program, at it encourages the animal to use its natural ability to retrieve, its prey drive, bird-finding talent and great nose. In addition to training and breeding dogs, Massmann works primarily with dogs belonging to other owners and that are boarded at Birddog Supreme. “People in general don’t understand dogs at all,” Massmann said. “There’s a lot of things that will make a dog owner’s life easier if they pay attention to details.” One of his biggest dog training tips is to never feed a dog out of a bowl, but rather out of a human hand or with a Kong toy. A Kong toy is a nontoxic, rubber toy with a hollow center. When it is stuffed with food, it provides dogs with a healthy outlet for their natural desire to chew or lick. “That will revolutionize the way your dogs look at you and think about you,” he said. “I’ll throw the Kong in the freezer and when the dog is ready to eat, they’ll spend six hours gnawing at the frozen chunk, burning up energy so they are naturally a calmer dog.” Massmann currently owns five dogs of each
This month in the
MASSMANN continued on page 2
COUNTRY
Jim Massmann pauses for a photo with Jasmine, his French Brittany, during a training and retrieving session.
4
‘Twas the night before the hunt Diane Leukam Column
11 Sisters in training Greenwald
20 Offal Wildlife Watching
5
Cornfields of plenty Avon
16 Ringworm Wendy Womack Column
22 A learning experience Freeport
8
Bringing the classroom outdoors New London
17 By the busload Alexandria
21 Country Cooking