design for small smoker

[sparkysy]

Forgot to say the chippings want to be embers to smoke properly. That smoker Magnet posted looks cool too may have to copy it too for some cheese and things!

 

[Kent]

they are smoked after being salted and worked a few times. I have used air dried ones and they are worthless after a few dips in the river, or get muddy. once they have been salted and smoked they can be sewn into pouches, filled with safe fillings then tied up, when they get dirty they can be put in the wash in with the laundry and used again. I have 2 done this way and they are still like brand new. smoking helps soften the skin up, kills of bacteria and thickens the hide up a bit, makes the skin side softer and stops the fur falling out. also makes it a lot easier to sew up without tearing it

So your using them for training dogs? Frankly there are thousands of hobby people and hundreds of professional gundog trainers doing what I suggest "air drying" fur down pinned stretched flat on a board held vertically out of the wet but in an airflow area over winter. Take a std canvass training dummy damp it slightly and apply the foaming gorilla glue or similar. Now wrap a skin around the dummy and secure down with a few cable ties till cured, trip and use.
I am not guessing at this, I have not read it on the internet I have been at it and similar for many decades with lots of dogs . They handle mud and puddles fine as long as you hand them up to dry if well soaked with mud, water, animal dung etc. and don't leave them in a sealed bag to rot! Admittedly I don't use rabbit skin dummies in rivers because I only remember sending a dog for a floating rabbit once in my life (it fell down the bank into the stream last year). Water dummies? I don't like canvass and prefer to use the American type plastic on these I add dried duck and goose wings via cable ties on a hinge, often whan a dog is swimming with a bird in mouth the wings will cover its vision and some dogs get a little nervy over this so its good they get to practice it in training. A cheaper water dummy is pipe lagging around a thick stick covered in an old sock, wings attached as previous (handy when teaching a dog to intercept in current as losses can be expected).
I shouldn't wash a dog training dummy as 1. I want it to resemble the scent of the real thing 2. the wife would go bananas if she caught me 3. I am only going to chuck them in the mud and dung in the fields again. 4. the actual reason we use skins is to break the dog from chewing or eating as a pre-curser to cold dead game then warm dead game (later on when experienced gained live but wounded in the case of a gundog "as they happen in the field NO intentionally wounded ever). With a running dog you pass from warm dead to field ( areas with mixi rabbits are ideal )

 

[BrokenBiker]

So your using them for training dogs? Frankly there are thousands of hobby people and hundreds of professional gundog trainers doing what I suggest "air drying" fur down pinned stretched flat on a board held vertically out of the wet but in an airflow area over winter. Take a std canvass training dummy damp it slightly and apply the foaming gorilla glue or similar. Now wrap a skin around the dummy and secure down with a few cable ties till cured, trip and use.
I am not guessing at this, I have not read it on the internet I have been at it and similar for many decades with lots of dogs . They handle mud and puddles fine as long as you hand them up to dry if well soaked with mud, water, animal dung etc. and don't leave them in a sealed bag to rot! Admittedly I don't use rabbit skin dummies in rivers because I only remember sending a dog for a floating rabbit once in my life (it fell down the bank into the stream last year). Water dummies? I don't like canvass and prefer to use the American type plastic on these I add dried duck and goose wings via cable ties on a hinge, often whan a dog is swimming with a bird in mouth the wings will cover its vision and some dogs get a little nervy over this so its good they get to practice it in training. A cheaper water dummy is pipe lagging around a thick stick covered in an old sock, wings attached as previous (handy when teaching a dog to intercept in current as losses can be expected).
I shouldn't wash a dog training dummy as 1. I want it to resemble the scent of the real thing 2. the wife would go bananas if she caught me 3. I am only going to chuck them in the mud and dung in the fields again. 4. the actual reason we use skins is to break the dog from chewing or eating as a pre-curser to cold dead game then warm dead game (later on when experienced gained live but wounded in the case of a gundog "as they happen in the field NO intentionally wounded ever). With a running dog you pass from warm dead to field ( areas with mixi rabbits are ideal )

all well and good, and I don't doubt your experience in any way, however my experience is different, and as such I am using a different method.

the OP is about making a smoker, not training dogs, I have my methods and you have yours. mine get the results I want and I am happy with the dog, simple as that

 

[Gareth0123]

Here is a link to a clever home-made alternative to the ProQ cold smoke generator, http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=6869

 

[Kent]

all well and good, and I don't doubt your experience in any way, however my experience is different, and as such I am using a different method.

the OP is about making a smoker, not training dogs, I have my methods and you have yours. mine get the results I want and I am happy with the dog, simple as that

Hey your the OP and I am just saying how it is for real away from internet hunting forums ( I should love to hear who came up with this treasure gem BTW) if you look there are hundreds of books, video and DVD etc out there on training dogs to retrieve game well many being written or demonstrated by very respected people and frankly besides level of correction and canine psychological understanding improving vastly in the last decade nothing is very new and the last move in this direction was perhaps frozen hard game for hard mouthed dogs. I have never heard tell of any using smoked skins though if you actually wanted your dogs to bring smoked game to hand it might be an excellent place to start though I just don't know anyone who needs that .

 

[BrokenBiker]

You appear to merely be reply in order to have the last word. Good luck with that. I have the answers I need for the smoker, I don't currently feel my dog needs attention for the worlds best gun dog trainer, my training methods have worked for me and its as simple as that. I am done with this thread now so have fun

 

[Parm]

Any way, BB, great thread. I got some good info on smokers. This weekend I'm gona have a go at the air pump smoker jobbie in the video as it looks ace and then a home made ProQ when I can source some mesh.

Happy smoking

 

[BrokenBiker]

Any way, BB, great thread. I got some good info on smokers. This weekend I'm gona have a go at the air pump smoker jobbie in the video as it looks ace and then a home made ProQ when I can source some mesh.

Happy smoking

I showed it to the guy I work with (who ran his field trial champion in the IGL last month) and he loved it, so I will likely end up making him one at some point. he likes smoked fish and bacon, and likes the idea of smoking pheasant and partridge meat too which I thought was quite interesting

 

[Parm]

Sounds very interesting, shame I don't have a source of any wild game

 

[Kent]

I showed it to the guy I work with (who ran his field trial champion in the IGL last month) and he loved it, so I will likely end up making him one at some point. he likes smoked fish and bacon, and likes the idea of smoking pheasant and partridge meat too which I thought was quite interesting

A proper use for a smoker that (smoking food) Yum!