Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/433799
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 1 8 4 I'm pretty sure he lost his shirt on it. But he never regretted doing it, not for a second, and it's something I'm terribly proud to have been associated with. If ever a person was generous to a fault, it was Jack Cowin. Every year at Christmas he'd send me an oversized envelope containing two or three new prints. I couldn't display all of them, but a couple hand-colored images of great-horned owls were so whimsically irresistible that I couldn't not display them. One of the first words my granddaughter, Aubrey, learned to say was owl— and her grandpa taught it to her while holding her in his arms in front of Jack's etchings. Many of Jack's prints remain available through his longtime representative, Collectors Covey of Dallas. Go to collectorscovey. com and navigate to the Jack Cowin page. If you're unfamiliar with Jack's work, you're in for a treat—although you're sure to kick yourself for not discovering him sooner. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ I subscribed for a number of years to a magazine whose founding editor was legendary for waking up at the crack of noon and working (when he chose to work) in silk pajamas. Apparently he's still around, although from the photos I've seen it's hard to tell if he's alive or very skillfully embalmed. Anyway, I think we all know the magazine I'm talking about. (It goes without saying, of course, that I only got it for the articles.) In the January issue, which came out shortly before the holidays, the editors always included a gift guide, "The 11th Hour Santa," for last-minute shoppers. In that festive spirit, here are a few items you might want to consider for the dog man, or woman, on your Christmas list: Stowaway Dog Kennel from L.L. Bean ($99) The moment I saw this item in the Bean catalog I thought, I gotta get me one of those. Designed on the same principle as the collapsible camp chairs that have become ubiquitous over the past decade (raising the question of why someone didn't think of it sooner), the Stowaway is the answer to the prayers of everyone who's struggled to lug a rigid dog crate in and out of a motel room or hunting cabin. The unit sets up in seconds—positive locking indicators tell you when it's secure—takes down just as quickly, and is spacious enough to comfortably quarter the biggest Lab, chessie, or drahthaar. The walls are constructed of a rugged canvas-like polyester, with mesh side panels for air circulation and zippered access at the front and top. Collapsed and compressed (a compression strap is attached to the frame), the Stowaway slides into a storage bag with a shoulder strap for easy carrying. This product gets my highest recommendation. Visit llbean.com/hunting. Quick Start Dog Obedience with Tom Ness ($20) I'm not sure whether to call Tom Ness a crank, a curmudgeon, or a mad genius. But whatever you want to call him, the longtime proprietor of Oahe Kennels in Menoken, North Dakota, consistently produces some of the finest working gundogs in the country. In this DVD, the first in a planned multi-volume series, Ness takes you step-by-step through the obedience program that every dog in his kennel goes through before graduating to field training. When I say "every dog," I mean it, too. Cocker, Lab, pointer—if it comes to Ness for training, it goes through this program. And while Ness is the first to admit that it's based on principles established by legendary K-9 Corps trainer W.R. Koehler in the 1940s, what makes it radical in 2015 is that it uses the simplest of tools: a plain leather collar, a choke chain, a 30-foot check-cord, and a 6-foot lead. That's it. Could you achieve the same results with an e-collar? Sure, and Ness shows you how. The point is that you don't have to. Send email to thomasness@hotmail.com. Purina Pro Plan Sport Bars It's as simple as this: Feeding these nutritional supplement bars—as directed, of course—will improve your dog's stamina and enhance its performance afield. Intended for feeding 30 minutes prior to hunting, the protein-rich, calorie-dense Prime bar is formulated to activate protein synthesis and offset the muscle fiber breakdown that occurs during strenuous exercise. The Refuel bar, on the other hand, is intended to be fed after the hunt, as soon as your dog has cooled down and is breathing normally. Within 30 minutes is optimum; it's during this window that the dog's ability to uptake and absorb nutrients peaks. The Refuel bar capitalizes on this by delivering complex carbohydrates that help replenish glycogen, an important but easily depleted source of energy. One caveat regarding the Refuel bar: It has the consistency of very sticky caramel, so be sure to break it into small bites before feeding. The size of a piece of Chex-mix is about right. Both the Prime and Refuel bars are available individually or in 12-packs at specialty pet- and farm-supply stores, and I think you'll find that they fit perfectly in your dog's Christmas stocking—if you're the kind of person who hangs a Christmas stocking for your dog, that is.