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Commentary: You can teach an old dog to hunt
The old saying is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Yet bird hunters who’ve tried know better.
While few would argue that an 8-week-old puppy offers the greatest opportunity to shape a finished gun dog, age alone does not determine a dog’s potential. Every year, hunters adopt adult dogs from shelters, inherit family pets, or acquire started dogs that never received formal training. Many go on to become dependable hunting companions – not because they learned instinct, but because someone finally gave those instincts direction.

Behind the Scenes: Illinois native Brodie Eddington gained valuable experience as Farm Bill biologist
Western Illinois native Brodie Eddington is turning a lifelong passion for the outdoors into a

Retired couple maintains commitment to Illinois Natural History Survey’s insect collection
What began as volunteer work became something more: a family commitment to preserve one of

Commentary: You can teach an old dog to hunt
The old saying is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Yet bird hunters who’ve tried know better.
While few would argue that an 8-week-old puppy offers the greatest opportunity to shape a finished gun dog, age alone does not determine a dog’s potential. Every year, hunters adopt adult dogs from shelters, inherit family pets, or acquire started dogs that never received formal training. Many go on to become dependable hunting companions – not because they learned instinct, but because someone finally gave those instincts direction.
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Opinion
Commentary: You can teach an old dog to hunt
Steve Sarley: Keep or release? It should be up to the ‘catcher’
Gretchen Steele: The deer hunter’s annual September lie: ‘I’m ready’
Ralph Loos: Another Illinois DNR director, another test for state’s natural resources
All About Hunting

Commentary: You can teach an old dog to hunt
The old saying is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Yet bird hunters who’ve tried know better.<br

Behind the Scenes: Illinois native Brodie Eddington gained valuable experience as Farm Bill biologist
Western Illinois native Brodie Eddington is turning a lifelong passion for the outdoors into a career protecting Illinois’ wildlife resources.<br

Where do big bucks go when they vanish?
Over the course of our three-months-plus bowhunting season, seeing just one wall-hanger buck can be cause for celebration. Trophy proportioned
Podcasts
All Illinois Articles

The Olympics of Wildfowl Art: Federal duck stamp judging set for Sept. 24-25
The federal duck stamp contest: It’s called the Olympics of

Jeremiah Haas: Trail camera placement could make the difference
While the weather is still on the warm side and

Illinois’ Steeleville Ducks Unlimited chapter began rather humbly, has since raised $1 million
In the mid-1970s, a pair of southern Illinois men with
Illinois’ Outdoor Calendar
A look at upcoming outdoor-related events from across Illinois published

Illinois Cuffs & Collars: Compliance check discovers wrongdoing by shore angler
Illinois cuffs and collars are field reports from Conservation Police

Logging project halted in Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest
A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Forest Service to

Illinois EHD makes first headlines of 2026 in residential area
The typical late-summer reporting of EHD in the Illinois deer

Illinois native Trey McKinney makes Bassmaster history
Trey McKinney has spent much of his young fishing career





