Outdoor News & Kinetic Performance Dog Food present the 2019 Huntin’ Buddy Photo Contest
Outdoor News Inc., publisher of locally written fishing and hunting outdoor newspapers in seven Great Lake States, together with Kinetic Performance Dog Food, invited people to submit photos for the annual Huntin’ Buddy Photo Contest. Click here to enter your hunting buddy now!
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This my best buddy. I like the natural vignette. We work together everyday focusing on retrieving. His eyes reflect his eagerness to please.
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This is from Gracie's first trip to Saskatchewan at 11 months old-one of many retrieves. Gracie is a fine hunting/family dog that has recently earned her AKC Sr. Hunter title.
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Shelby is dependable hunting dog who is just as comfortable on your lap, in the field or in the ring for daughter for the AKC junior showmanship program. She has an AKC and Golden Retriever Club of America retriever titles.
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Shelby and Polly are my hunting buddies. Shelby is a Golden Retriever who hunts and shows for my daughter. Polly is an Irish Red and White Setter who hunts with style and points well, just does not point for long - a work in process . Her training time is hampered by her show dog career, but just achieved her American Kennel Club (AKC) Bronze Championship, which is a step beyond Grand Champion
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One day hunting we found some unique grouse cover way back in the woods. As I snapped this picture, I realize Jarigen started to point and a grouse took off with the phone in my hand.
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Fifteen years hunting together, this was our last hunt before retirement. Jarigen posing with our last grouse.
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Jarigen posing with a late morning grouse in her last season before retirement. This old girl can still get it done.
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Luke's favorite place to be is in the duck boat. This picture captures his deep passion for the hunt. He has been my faithful hunting buddy for the last 13 years...and he is the reason I get up early on the cold wet mornings to go and hunt.
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Remi, a black lab is 1 1/2 years old in this picture. Remi came to us from Sundance Retrievers and this is her first duck hunting trip to North Dakota in October 2018. As you can see in the picture Remi is proud of her hunt.
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Piper is a 5.5 year old Gordon Setter, while we spend the first few years of her life not at all focused on bird hunting her natural instinct is amazing. We've finally made more time to get her in the field, even if it's just a day of training at a game farm. Watching her lock on point will never fail to bring a smile to my face.
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El is my 2 year old Llewellin Setter, quite possibly the happiest pup on earth. This photo was from a training day earlier this year... we're still working on retrieves.
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Like many Bella and I are best friends in the field and at home. When she was young she wasn't really connecting with me or my wife. She just wanted to do what she wanted. We worked on our training almost everyday. When she was 8 months old we went on our first pheasant hunt. She knew what to do but there was no connection still. A month later we headed for our first ND hunt. And it was amazing. She did great and it was like a switch for her. When we got home she was a different dog. From this point on we became best buds. She now wants to be petted and loved. And when I'm gone she is happy to see me come home. The bond between man and his dog is almost equal to man and wife.
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She loves to get out and look for pheasants. It will be her second year this year and she gets excited when it is time to hunt. Her nose is always to the ground.
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He's one of the favorites in a long line of wonderful grouse & woodcock hunting buddies that we have bred for the last 40 years.
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Allie is an 18 month old Brittany. She likes to do special hunts with our Pheasants Forever chapter, like youth hunts and Hunt for a Cure. This pictures was taken during our Hunt for a Cure even. She is a strong willed hunter and still learning. I am looking forward to many years of hunting pheasants.
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This picture was taken on her second hunt of her first year. Trained for about a year before I decided to get her on a real hunt and it paid off. Watching her be steady while birds work is amazing.
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Oakley is my 5 year old chocolate lab pure breed. What I love about this picture is you can see the passion in his eyes when he is out doing what he loves to do. When we are in the duck blind he is always glued to the sky!
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Rocky - 4 years old. This photo perfectly captures how focused Rocky is when hunting!
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He was a amazing hunter and a great companion who helped me overcome cancer and chemotherapy. I miss him so much, rest in peace my buddy Max
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Bear is the best dog anyone at any age for any use could ask for. Admittedly, he was a wedding gift to my wife but has turned everyone he encounters with (including me) into his best friend. He is a calm, loving dog inside but absolute business and focus outside. He flushes grouse, retrieves ducks, and as this picture illustrates; a champion shed hunter
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It was a boring morning with not much coming in but he is always aware and waiting. Bonding time at it's best!
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Reesi is an all-around great dog. She is a 7 year old Golden/English setter. She loves to hunt pheasant and grouse in the fall, tagging along x-country skiing in the winter, long walks and runs in the summer, and swimming and fishing when it gets hot, like when this photo was taken after a dip in a creek. She was gracious enough to sit long enough for a portrait with the roses and sunset along the road.
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Remi is young but what she lacks in skills she makes up for in energy. This one of her first hunts.
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Hero is Hometown Hero Outdoors mascot. He brings active duty, veterans, and law enforcement officers out hunting.
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Sage is the daughter of my first labrador named Charlie. We were actually heading out to the truck to go to tge vet because charlie had been in labor to long but on the way in the snow Sage started coming out. I caught her part way out and finished delivering Sage in the entry way of our home.
We have been together ever since. Sage and daughter who is 14 years old just got their AKC junior title together June 29th 2019.
This is a pheasant from one of our first hunts.
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Bella is my first dog, and she's taught me more about myself than I've taught her. This tends to show when we're out hunting, but she loves running around afield, constantly checking in with me and surprising me with natural talents like this photo.
She has now been labeled a "senior dog" by the vet (she's 9 this year), and I want time to slow down.
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Layla is the smartest and all around best dog my family has ever had. She's obsessed with water and duck hunting. Most importantly she knows how to stay out of the way in the boat! This picture was captured by my friend, on a beautiful fall afternoon, as we cross Swan Lake near Nicollet, Minnesota.
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This was Ullr's first duck hunt, opening day last year at 15 months old. He did amazing! Made every retrieve, great in the blind, he passed every test. If you ever go to the game fair and watch the dogs jump off the docks, some dogs run to the end of the dock, turn around, then run back to shore and swim out, and some dogs run, jump, and fly full send, Ullr is full send!
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Artemis is a two year old Brittany that never ceases to amaze my wife and myself. She will hunt up just about any game we set out for but when it comes to woodcock, she's in a league of her own. On our annual trip to the family cabin, where I started hunting as a kid, Artemis pointed and retrieved this beautiful limit of woodcock in less than a half hour, earning her the nickname of the woodcock queen.
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Fawkes first duck hunt 2018, the two of them doubled up on these geese!
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Late season limit of roosters from Lincoln County in SW Minnesota. Corky and Fern were on their game!
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Having a new pup in the field can be a challenge and intimidating for an owner and senior dog. This was one of those evenings when I could physically see Kota (11 months) learn by following Nitro(11 years) throughout the day. Watching the tricks of the trade that had been learned through years of experience from chasing wily roosters. Kota had his first solo flush/retrieve of his career to end the evening/day not a 100 yards from the vehicle. It’s hard to put into words but I’m unsure who was happier at that moment, owner or pup. Hard work, determination and patience by owner and senior dog all came together in that moment. That moment will never be forgotten and frequently revisited when looking at this picture.
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This is Sadie and Cooper, they are siblings and love to spend time outdoors in the field, in the water and their own backyard.
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For Stella's first birthday we decided to hunt a cattail pond in western MN. Her and I were rewarded a few ducks that day but what made it really special was going on our first hunt together after the prior year's training. She's extremely calm in the blind and becomes alert in an instance when ducks are flying. It was a gratifying day seeing all the hard work she put in payoff.
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Indy is our 3 1/2 year old Black Lab. She spends her days in the fall hunting ducks, geese and pheasants. Shes the first one ready to go each morning. Her eyes are always on the skies. In the summer you will find her in the lake playing with the kids and if you pick up her dummy, you better plan to stay a while. She loves the water! We couldn’t ask for a better pal!
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Arthur is Deutsch Langhaar and just a puppy! He is already showing how much he loves to hunt birds and go for a dip to cool off. This photo was taken at the end of a training session. Arthur had just gone for a dip in a nearby pond and was hanging out in the breeze when a group of cows from a nearby field wandered over to check things out. Arthur noticed them but was too tired to do anything but briefly look their way a few times.
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Not normally a field hunting dog, my Springer was very focused in his blind on an early in the season duck/goose hunt.
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This is a special moment of hunting with Halie and Jim, my eighty one year old brother-in-law, and myself last fall in the Buffalo Area. Jim and I are amazed by Halie's wonderful nose in finding and retrieving our ducks. Halie makes a great pet the rest of the year. She also loves to hunt pheasants.
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Other than the obvious gorgeous sunrise picture here with my yellow lab, Paige, what makes this photo special is that it was taken during the 2018 Minnesota duck opener on a property I've been hunting on for 30 years. My son, Kevin (photographer) has been tagging along on these hunts since he was eight years old and on this particular morning, we harvest a nice mixed bag of waterfowl. Over the years, several of our other labs and Kevin himself learned to hunt on this property. Paige, who is currently five years old, has a junior hunter title, which I trained myself. She's a great companion in the field and at home!
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This is a picture of Boomer holding a nice big Rooster from one of his many hunts last fall, at the end of the season he had retrieved 114 Pheasants in total.
Not to bad a start for a high energy puppy.
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Riley is 3 years old! She is a typical lab, her love for water will never end! She is a great dog to have when pheasant and grouse hunting.
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This is my hunting buddy of 15 years Meg and this was one of the last hunting adventures that she was out on. Patiently waiting for birds in the duck blind.
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Hilde is my 3.5 year old Deutsch Langhaar. She is registered in Germany with the Deutsch Langhaar Verband and with NAVHDA. She also recently had her first liter of puppies in June! She is a versatile dog that is a joy to hunt behind for upland birds, waterfowl, fur and even blood tracking. When not in the forest, field or water, she loves playing with our nieces, nephews and neighbor kids or resting on the couch watching TV. She is pictured in a staunch pose in Western South Dakota on a Sharp Tailed Grouse hunt at the annual DL-GNA meeting. This picture is special as it reminds me of how much joy a wonderful hunting dog can bring both to the field and the family. My wife and I love hunting behind her and having her in our lives.
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3 year old Springer Spaniel “Gus” with a limit of central Minnesota public land roosters.
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Tank is a 7 year old GWP. This hunt took place in Eastern Montana. Besides pointing and retrieving bird, he also like to shed hunt. This was the only vehicle we saw that day.
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Retta is our 2 year old chocolate lab. Playing fetch is what she loves! We never leave home without without her ball!! She also loves to chase the roosters. She now has one successful hunting season under her collar. As a first year hunter she has definitely made us very proud.
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Nick was a one of a kind hunting dog. He was loyal and friendly. He was by far the best hunting dog our family could ask for. Pheasant hunting was his passion, and he was able to point many pheasants over the years. If a rooster was shot, it was very rare for Nick not to find the bird.
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… Continuing from the previous Huntin' Buddy Chapter … I introduce to you Mr. Bandit. The successor to Mr. Elmo, Bandit got off on the right paw with his training thanks to the help and nurturing of his big brother Elmo. Straight away you knew there was something special about Mr. Bandit. He is the most tenacious and determined GSP we have had the pleasure to own. If there is an game animal within 3 miles processing fur or feather... watch out! His willingness to continue learning and adapting his skill set (ex. He has taken to the water like a fish and regularly takes casual swims while at the family cabin) has set him apart from the competition. In the attached photo you will see Mr. Bandit at just 4 months old striking a classic pointer pose while we were working the pheasant wing on a pole exercise in HIS backyard.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Cheers
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Mr. Elmo has since passed away but there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him and miss him. He was equally strong afield as he was on the Homefront. Of course I am bias, but I believe the GSP Breed is one of the most complete dog breeds an owner can be privileged to own. Mr. Elmo was a true companion/Huntin' Buddy and if I had the ability to clone him than I would have... however, we were lucky enough to obtain a GSP puppy prior to Elmo's trip to heaven and he certainly rubbed off the right traits to our next Huntin' Buddy chapter. The attached photo is after a day's hunt in Minnesota, which unfortunately has become a challenging place to fill your limit. Clearly, by Mr. Elmo's pose he is as proud and I was. Thank you for all the great memories Elmo, we all love you and miss you every day!
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Murphy is a very energetic GWP. He enjoys anything outdoors, and is a great hunting buddy! He is a strong retriever with great dock jumping/diving skills. He is also a great family dog and great with children and other dogs.
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He is a 7yo yellow lab who loves to chase pheasants. This photo was taken by my wife at a recent trip to a game farm in central MN. When hunting he will stop and look around like hes deciding where to go and just let his tongue hang out. And my wife was able to capture that moment perfectly
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I’m a deer hunter, a trapper, a turkey hunter, and an angler of all things with fins. But one thing I’ve missed learning in my life is how to duck hunt. Well, enter Gildi 5 years ago: a veritable retrieving machine! After we saw Gildi’s drive and energy, my wife and I BOTH started waterfowl hunting. We figured it would be a sin to not take her duck hunting every chance we can. Unfortunately for Gildi, one does not just pick up a dozen decoys, a box of shells and ducks start falling from the sky. There’s been a huge learning curve for us over the past five years. But just like in this photo, Gildi patiently waits for what few opportunities we get. In this photo, she’s peaking out from our makeshift blind, instinctively hiding and holding still, paws wet and cold, all day long. She doesn’t care if we shoot one duck or our limit. My wife and I cherish every moment in the blind with her.
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Here is my 8 month old yellow Lab Boomer with a nice Rooster from Pheasant Ridge , i picked up Boomer from Dokkens Kennels in May 2018 has a 7 week old fat yellow fur ball, he spent 2 weeks getting gun broke at Dokkens in early September 2018 and then after that I did all the traing myself, this is just 1 of the 114 Pheasants he retrieved his first year of hunting.
He is a great home companion and absolutely Bird crazy, can wait for fall to chase some wild birds and do a little waterfowl hunting.
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Due to our age, this will be our last huntin buddy. It shows the enthusiasm of a Brittany. This was taken at a pheasants forever youth hunt
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At only 8 months old, Winger makes one of several impressive retrieves on North Dakota ducks, during October 2018. This retrieve was of a nice drake redhead.
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Bauer is a 5 year old German Shorthair that is always working/hunting in all types of weather. This day was after a warm day of hunting in southern Minnesota. Our hunting party was all finished hunting, but he decided to stay close to the truck in case we were going back out.
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Fritz and Remi bring such a joy to our little family. They are wonderful companions both at home and also in the field. Watching them run and hunt with us is something we look forward to each fall!
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My yellow lab, Luna is a pheasant hunting specialist who has spent 11 seasons chasing roosters all over the midwest. This special image was shot in December during the last golden light on her 12th birthday. Luna goes everywhere with me, from work to fishing trips to bird hunts, shes my constant companion. My best hunting memories have been with her and hopefully a few more will be when the grizzled, lttle girl turns 13.
The annual promotion by Outdoor News encourages bird dog enthusiasts in Minnesota to submit a photo of their hunting dog, and in 2019 – for a chance to win a year’s supply of Kinetic Performance Dog Food. The winning photo will also be crafted into a custom painting of their canine companion by Outdoor News artist, Ron Nelson. The winning photo was showcased on the cover of the August 9, 2019 edition of Minnesota Outdoor News. Copies were available at the main entrance at Game Fair, which kicked off August 9th in Anoka, Minnesota and runs a second weekend August 16-18th.
Game Fair is an outdoors gathering that brings families together with hunting dog events, shotgunning, archery and outdoor seminars, and the Outdoor News Huntin’ Buddy contest celebrates that pure bond between a hunter and their dog.
This is the sixth year that Kinetic has partnered with Outdoor News in promoting the annual photo contest.
Congratulations to Mark Morrison, the 2019 winner! View the video of Mark receiving the custom artwork crafted by Ron Nelson!
To see a gallery of entries, click here.
Kinetic® PERFORMANCE DOG FOOD – features a full line of performance nutrition products specifically developed to meet the dietary requirements of highly active working, sporting and competition dogs. Made without corn, wheat or soy, all Kinetic formulas are created to meet the elevated requirements of extremely active dogs for energy, endurance, recovery and digestive health. In addition, all Kinetic dog food products are made with a common ingredient profile to enable stress-free transitions from one formula to another during periods requiring higher or lower caloric intake. For more information on Kinetic or to find the nearest store, visit http://kineticdogfood.com/.
Tips and Rules:
- This is an online photo contest and the winner will be judged on the photo quality.
- Minnesota residents only.
- Photos must be copyright free and permissible to publish in Outdoor News. Photos that have previously been displayed in other publications will not be considered.
- Profile shots are welcome but preference will be given to dogs in an outdoor or hunting scene.
- This is a dog photo contest; NO photos will be accepted that include the owner or other people in the photo.
- All photos will be reviewed prior to being displayed to make sure they are within our standards of good taste.
- A panel of judges from Outdoor News Inc will announce the winner at this year’s Game Fair.
- Winner will be notified no later than August 16, 2019 and will be published in Minnesota Outdoor News no later than December 1, 2019.
- One winning entrant will be supplied a *year’s supply of Kinetic Performance Dog Food.(*Equates to 3 cups per day for typical large bird dog per Kinetic Performance Dog Food standard feeding guidelines. Maximum 10 bags.)
- All entry submissions become the property of Outdoor News Inc and entrants agree to full usage of images, names and likenesses used for contest promotion by Outdoor News, Inc. and Kinetic Performance Dog Food/ the dealer network, without compensation.
- Winning entry will also receive one original painting done of the winning dog by artist Ron Nelson. Painting to be completed no later than December 1, 2019.
- No cash value substitutions for any prize award.
- Neither Outdoor News Inc. nor contest sponsors will be held responsible for lost submissions or damages, losses or injury related to contest participation. This contest is an online-only submission format.
- Deadline for submission is July 29, 2019.
- No purchase is necessary. All entrants are required to include their full name, address, email and phone number. Entrants under the age of 18 must have parental/ legal guardian consent.
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