The Gundog - A Hunter's Best Friend

When it comes to the sport of hunting - the gundog is definitely a hunter's best friend. Gundogs have been used to assist man since the days when survival crucially depended on hunting skills, not only for food to eat, but for clothing and shelter provided by the hides of the hunted animals and to this day bird dogs still play an important role in hunting for sport.

Originally bred with the intention of assisting game bird hunting, the characteristics of gundogs have, over the years, been strengthened by further breeding with animals already displaying the necessary traits for hunting. Gundogs (also known as hunting dogs or bird dogs) are intelligent, active and alert breeds, easily trained for a variety of sporting uses such as hunting game birds and waterfowl, showing the hunter where the game birds are
located, startling the birds into the open for the hunter and retrieving the shot or injured birds and taking them back to the hunter. These hunting dogs love being around humans, and they require a great deal of attention and strenuous exercise. Some hunting dogs are used specifically to work in water, some only on land, whilst others are capable of working in both of these environments.

Gundogs can be divided into three categories, the retriever, the pointer and setter, and the flusher dog and listed below are the roles played by each of these types of dog.

The Retriever Dog

Ideally equipped with their water-repellant coat and webbed feet, the Retriever, as its name would suggest, will find the bird and take it back to the hunter. The Retriever is particularly suited to work in water. Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and Irish Water Spaniels are popular breeds for the Retriever category.

Picnic Any Time of the Year - Fall Picnic Tips

When planning a Fall picnic for your family, you want to make sure that you have all the ingredients to make the outing the best possible. You want to have everything to ensure that the entire family has a fun filled, stress free day, full of good times and laughter. So to help make this day successful I have laid out some tips to help your day go as smoothly as possible.

Tips For a Fall Picnic

1. Plan ahead: Make arrangements ahead of time to ensure that you are not running around last minute trying to figure everything out and gathering everything the morning of your outing. Being prepared ahead of time will get your day started out nice and smoothy so you can relax with everyone else without being overly stressed.

2. Pick your location: Choose a location that will ensure the family a fun filled and safe day. State Parks are a great location for Fall picnics. Make sure that you take proper precautions if you have small children. For instance... You don't want to plan a picnic on a cliff when you have a toddler in tow. You will end up spending the day trying to ensure that your child is not getting too close to the edge.

3. Be Safe: As stated above, make sure that your location is appropriate for all ages of the family members attending. Make sure that there are plenty of eyes to keep an eye on small children especially near cliffs, water and busy roads and thick wooded areas.

4. Waterproof picnic blanket: Make sure you have a waterproof picnic blanket with you because in the fall you may find that in your picnic area, the ground may be moist. If you don't have a waterproof picnic blanket, you can use a tarp instead. Just lay the tarp down on the group and lay your blankets on top of the tarp to help keep the moisture from coming through your blanket.

5. Stay hydrated: Bring plenty of liquids to keep you and your family hydrated throughout the day. Water is best but you can also freeze juice boxes and put them along side foods that need to stay cool, and then by the time that you are ready for the juice box it should be thawed enough to drink but yet it will still be nice and cold for a cool refreshing drink.

6. Keep it on ice: Keep all perishable foods on ice to avoid possible food poisoning. Perishable foods should not remain above 40 degrees for more than a couple hours at most. If in question, throw it out!

7. First Aid Kit: This is something that you should keep with you at all times because you never know when you will need it. You should always keep a full size, fully loaded First Aid Kit in your car and it is always helpful to have at least a small one on you at all times when you are having a picnic, camping or hiking.

8. Camp Chairs: Camping chairs are always a nice addition to your picnic supplies. Not everyone likes getting down on the ground for a picnic, or you may have a family member that is not able to sit on the cool ground. Camp chairs are very portable and affordable.

9. Think Ahead: If you are going into the woods or mountains, make sure you let someone that you trust, know where you are going and when you plan to return. This will ensure that if you have any problems or get injured and you have no way to contact anyone, that someone will be sent to find you if you don't return when you were suppose to. Remember, your cell phone may not get service where you are or your battery may die. FYI, if your battery ever dies on your cell phone, take the battery out and put it back in and that will give you enough time to make an emergency call. If you need to make an emergency call make sure you say HELP and state your location immediately in case the call drops.

With all these great tips, you should be set for a safe and fun filled Fall adventure. Just remember to get everything together and prepared early so you will be able to get up the morning of your outing and not have to rush about, trying to pull everything together last minute. No need to get stressed out. If you need help with the plans or getting everything together, don't hesitate to ask a family member to lend a hand.

Using Holiday Companies to Book Your Vacation

Have you considered using holiday companies to help you plan your upcoming getaway? These companies specialize in helping you get the best experience possible while away. Many of these services have special relationships with hotels and cruise lines and you may find once you get to your destination that the hotel owner upgraded your room as a favor to the company owner. This is an unexpected perk of using them. However, how do you choose a service? There are certainly some things to keep in mind when deciding which one to use.

Different Kinds of Companies

As you are looking for a good holiday planning service, you may notice that some have a general business and others focus on one or two areas of expertise. Both have different things to offer you, the customer. For example, when touring through Scotland it may be worth your while to focus on a company that knows Scotland inside and out.

However, if you tend to take many trips, you may want to develop a personal relationship with one of the holiday companies that can cover various areas. Just because a company generalizes does not mean there are not experts on staff making sure you are getting the best experience possible.

Your Price Range

Another thing to consider when booking your holiday through one of these companies is that some of them specialize in high end and luxury travel and some do not. Before you hire a company to plan your holiday for you then you will need to decide on a budget and how much you would like to spend. This way you can find the package that makes the most sense for your budget.

Organized Tours

Another type of holiday company is one that offers a set list of organized tours. You simply look at the list and see which trip you want to take and then book it. The advantage to this is that you can find a nice package within your price range. The disadvantage is that you do not necessarily get the benefit of individualized attention. However, both vacations are fun and have their own value.

If you want to go on holiday but you do not want to plan your own trip, there are holiday companies who can certainly do that for you. You can work with a company so either they can plan your itinerary in an individualized way or you can book your trip through an organized tour.

How to Get the Best Deal on Vacations

With the economy the shape that it's in, everyone is looking to save money anyway they can. But one thing is certain, no matter what shape the economy is in, people are going to continue to travel. Here are 4 ways on how to get the best deal on vacations.

1. If your planning on taking a vacation on or around major holidays, I would suggest that you book your vacation well in advance. The longer you wait and the closer the holidays get, the more money your going to pay to take that trip. Many people travel at these times, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas and rates for everything skyrocket at these times. By booking it early, you will save money

2. Try not to book a vacation somewhere during their peak season. I know this is hard (they call it a peak season for a reason), but if you can stay away from doing that, this will save you a lot of money because every vacation spot on the planet raises their rates during their peak vacation times.

3. Look for hot deals. Many travel companies offer hot deals where you can get a real good deal on a particular vacation spot usually at a resort or on a cruise. The problem with that is, those deals are usually limited to a certain place or places and they are usually a last minute thing. This works best if you're a last minute planner and it doesn't matter to you where you go to vacation.

4. Last and certainly not least, whenever you are planning a vacation and your ready to book it, try and get it at wholesale price. This is where you can save an enormous amount of money. Booking your vacation at wholesale means there is no middleman, so those fees are cut out. Believe it or not, a lot of people don't know this and end up paying way too much for their trip. By paying retail prices, you can pay thousands of dollars more for the exact same vacation compared to getting it at wholesale.

There are 4 ways on how to get the best deal on vacations. If you apply these methods, I think you will be very surprised on just how much money you can really save.

Tips on Finding the Best Cheap Ski Holidays

Going on a ski holiday is a luxury that most people shy away from especially when they think about the associated costs. When you consider the amount of money you will be spending for airfare tickets, lodging, ski rentals, and lift passes you could very well end up with a fairly large bill. Then start adding the expense of food and drinks and some sideline shopping. Now, the good news is that there are various cheap ski holidays available and just because they are cheap doesn't make it less fun and memorable.

Finding the best cheap ski holiday packages isn't that hard. It all starts with you knowing what to look for and knowing where to look. Below are some tips to get you started.

Try to get an early reservation or make a last minute booking. Some of the best deals can be found if you plan ahead for your ski holiday and make early reservations at a chosen destination. You can start planning as early as summer time. You will find that planning ahead pays off when you've scored an awesome package that can gives you a considerable amount of savings. If you are not picky with your destination, you can make reservations a week or two before your actual vacation date. It is not impossible to find a good deal even if it is last minute. Making last minute decisions are ideal for those that are vacationing alone or with a partner.

Scout for the different ski packages or discounted deals. Ski package deals are usually inclusive of airfare tickets, accommodations, lift passes, ski rentals, and sometimes food and drinks. If you pick a vacation date either late or early in the season, it's pretty easy to acquire a discount on lift tickets and accommodation. There are some resorts that leave you to decide on lodgings and air travel but they give you discounts on lift passes, ski rentals, and even ski lessons.

Choose a not so popular destination or location. One advantage of skiing at places where there aren't much people around is that you don't have to endure long lift queues. Before you make your decision, try to shop around for a cheaper ski resort. You don't have to travel so far just so you can experience some great skiing. Almost all ski resorts have information that can be found on the Internet. Doing some research on their accommodations and facilities can give you a general idea if that place will be worth your money.

3 Creative Ideas To Personalize Your Travel Luggage

Travel luggage sets have the same basic style. Those with attractive designs usually cost more than the basic-colored ones. But if you are looking for attractive luggage sets, you don't have to spend more money. Just purchase basic travel bag and exercise a bit of creativity to get the look you want.

1. Use paint and stencils to get the design you want

Painted and stenciled bags used to be for kids only. But more and more creative minds have adapted to the idea of having a unique stenciled bag that stands out from the rest of the black-colored luggage sets in the airport.

Unzip the bag and place a flat board under the unzipped front of the luggage. This will give you a good surface when painting. Before doing any design, sketch the design you want first on a piece of paper. If you are not too adept in drawing, have an artist friend sketch the design you want on a tracing paper. Trace your design on the luggage fabric.

Use fabric paint to color the design. Use gesso as a base. When applying paint, let the first coating dry up first. Do not saturate the fabric with wet paint all at once as this can seep inside the fabric.

2. Use embroidered luggage straps

If you don't have time to paint or do some serious designing to your bag, just try using embroidered straps. Have your name or the design you want embroidered on the colored strap. Choose one with 2 inches width as this is more noticeable than the usual 1-inch straps included in most luggage sets.

3. Cover the exterior of your bag with printed fabric

Vintage style travel sets are quite popular today. They have cute floral designs that work well with those who have a sweet and romantic style. But since this is difficult to find, just look for a good kind of fabric with the floral design you want.

Cut the fabric out to the shape of the front, side and back portion of your luggage. You can use fabric glue to secure them in place. To cover the seams, try lining the edges with a vintage style lace. Use the same fabric glue to keep it in place.

You can also wrap the handle of the bag with the lace or the fabric. For an additional romantic touch, tie a scarf on the handle. This will help you easily identify your luggage.