The Ugly Dog Podcast

Marc Musselman joins the show this week to share how he got his start upland hunting and how a passion for making professional grade audio equipment for musicians led him into the hunter hearing protection market. Marc runs Alclair Outdoors, in addition to Alclair Audio (the music side), where his mission is to make hearing protection part of everyone's regular hunting kit, no different than boots or a shotgun. Marc and Mike discuss hearing loss and why it's better prevented than dealt with. Additionally, Marc dives into his journey with bird dogs, starting with labs and discussing his latest transition to a bigger running setter. Enjoy! 

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Autumn and Casey Koback join the show this week to detail how they went from a mandate for zero dogs to a house full. The husband and wife team dive into their journey of not joining things to leading a local chapter and how opportunities to help others fuel their passion. They also share how they've fallen in love traveling with friends to chase birds with their dogs. Additionally, they break the news about their newest edition coming soon! 

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Ryan Sparks is the Editor of the Quail Forever Journal and a life-long quail hunter. In this episode he shares about his upbringing bird hunting the family farm in Nebraska, why pheasant hunting deserves more credit than Mike gives it, and why he is and always will be a Pointer guy.

Ryan also shares his tips for writing from an editor's perspective and takes a dive into why cooking your wild game closes the circle on the point of hunting in the first place.

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Bob St. Pierre joins the show this week to share about his journey with 5 German Shorthairs, including just recently adding a pup this summer. Bob is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and the host of the On The Wing Podcast. He and Mike take a dive into why opening day is so important and meaningful, why Bob finds the Boundary Waters so special, and how he's learning to let his new pup develop at her own pace.

He also shares his experience in the grouse woods thus far and gives some insight into where else he's headed this season, including the upcoming Rooster Road Trip!

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Mindy Brown joins the show to share how she grew up with bird dogs following her dad afield to getting her first Weim through an ad in the paper. She discusses her commitment to breeding better Weimaraners with her co-breeder Camille of Timberdoodle Weims and how they make decisions to help the breed move forward. Mindy also shares honestly about the risks we take on when we go afield and how she navigates those risks having lost a dog in a tragic accident.

Mindy is also preparing for the 2025 NAVHDA Invitational and her and Mike discuss her strategy for training in the year ahead.

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

This week's episode features Mike answering questions submitted on our Facebook and Instagram pages. He covers his run with Mack in the NAVHDA Utility Test, things to come with Ugly Dog, goals and dreams ahead, gear folks must have in their hunting vest, and more. He also tells the origin story of Mr. July, how he feels about prepping for next year's NAVHDA Invitational, what he thinks the meaning of life is, and lots more in-between.

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Mike Krantz lives and hunts in southern Minnesota. He is an avid member of the Southern Minnesota NAVHDA chapter, and spearheads a weekly training group in the summer.

One thing is for certain, if Mike's around jokes will be told and this episode is no different. Mike shares about transitioning from Weimaraners to a Slovakian rough haired pointer, getting his wife involved in hunting, learning to ask himself 'is this for the dog, or for me?' when training, and so much more. Mike is an absolute hoot to hang and BS with, and this episode brings that to life. Be prepared to laugh. 

Enjoy!

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Tamara Champagne is a working dog trainer who has fallen in love with sporting dogs. She recently began the journey with a German Shorthair and now is qualified for next year's NAVHDA Invitational. Tamara and Mike sat down at this year's Invite to share how she got into bird dogs, crossover between working dogs and sporting dogs, maintaining attitude and confidence in dogs, and so much more. Tamara is a wealth of knowledge and will certainly be a repeat guest.

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Check out this special bonus episode as a follow up from Episode 22 with Jake & Brooke about their road to the NAVHDA Invitational! 

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Nick Adair is the host of the Gun Dog It Yourself podcast where he discusses all aspects of gun dog training with his guests.

Nick recently came through Minnesota on the way to Montana and we recorded an episode swap. This is the first installment, Mike's chance to interview Nick, and the second, Nick interviewing Mike, will come out in a few weeks.

This episode includes Nick's backstory, how he got into upland hunting and bird dogs, and why he focused in so much on training. Additionally Nick shares the most important things he's learned talking to some of the nations best trainers.

This just might be the episode that spurs some new training opportunities with your dog. Enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co. Shop now at UglyDogHunting.com.

Music used under Creative Commons -Two Step Daisy Duke by Mr. Smith is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.