The Ugly Dog Podcast
The Ugly Dog Podcast celebrates bird dog training, hunting wild places, habitat conservation, and the journeys that bring all three together. Brought to you by Ugly Dog Hunting Co.
Episodes
73 episodes
71. Bode Springer - College Level Questions on Upland Hunting and Ruffed Grouse
Bode Springer joins the show this week to grill Mike for an upcoming college homework assignment. He is a student at UMD and studying environmental sustainability. Bode recently got his first bird dog, a springer, an apt choice given his last n...
•
1:16:24
70. Nate Akey - How Following a Dog Led to Hunting Places Far and Wide and Working for onX Hunt
Nate Akey from onX Hunt joins the show this week to discuss his path into bird hunting and dog training, his NAVHDA Invitational run, hunting season so far, and so much more.Nate is an avid photographer who has leveraged his skill set wi...
•
1:58:18
69. Mitch Skatter - Creating the Upland Path, Starting on YouTube, and The Importance of Coaching and Mentoring.
Mitch Skatter joins the show this week to share more about his journey starting Upland Path, a new YouTube Channel aimed at sharing helpful tips and tricks for upland bird hunters. He also dives...
•
Episode 69
•
1:31:12
68. Marc Musselman & Jonny Serrano - Alclair Outdoors and Why Hearing Protection Should Be a Normal Part of Your Kit
Marc Musselman and Jonny Serrano join the show this week to talk about Alclair Outdoors and the importance of high quality hearing protection. If you do any kind of dog training or bird hunting hearing loss is an under-discussed issue. Medical ...
•
Episode 68
•
1:15:11
67. Roy Ames - A Dive Into The NAVHDA Gun Dog Test and a Montana Recap
Roy Ames joins the show again this week to share a bit about our recent trip to Montana, the sometimes frustrating learning curve of puppies, and take a look into the first year of NAVHDA's Gun Dog Test.Announced this January at the NAVH...
•
Episode 67
•
1:20:55
66. Waylon Lunn - Hunting the Upstate, The Art of Jump-Shooting Ducks, and Raising a Family Outdoors
Waylon Lunn joins the show this week to share his journey in bird dogs from New York City to the Upstate and now traveling across the country with his family for birds. He describes his journey searching for and developing a "purpose built bird...
•
Episode 66
•
1:26:32
65. Marilyn Vetter - Priorities for The Habitat Organization, Planning for Hunting Season Ahead, and Keeping Up The Fight For The Birds.
Marilyn Vetter is the CEO and President of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. She joins the show this week to share some wins for the year as well as a handful of the many challenges ahead. Additionally, she lays out a bit about how she's pla...
•
Episode 65
•
1:14:38
64. Charles Coulter - Learning to Not Care So Much, Falling in Love With Bird Dogs, and Becoming a Professional Bird Hunting Guide.
Charles Coulter is a bird hunting guide, bird dog trainer, and a NAVHDA Senior Judge. He sits down with Mike to share his journey into bird hunting, what it's like having his passion become his profession, and how he's learned the importance of...
•
1:58:24
63. Desiree Stormont - Reflections on NAVHDA Invitational Training, Mindset, and the NAVHDA Lady Gang.
Desiree Stormont joins the show for round 2 after her initial appearance on The Ugly Dog Podcast over a year ago. We recap some of our current NAVHDA Invitational training, mindset, mental hurdles and problem solving in addition to a host of ot...
•
Episode 63
•
1:10:12
62. Emily Julin - From Having a Fear of Dogs to Becoming a NAHRA and NAVHDA Judge.
Emily Julin joins the show this week to share her journey from fearing dogs as a child to having a whole pack of them now. She is now both a NAVHDA and NAHRA judge and dives a bit into the testing differences in this conversation. Additionally,...
•
Episode 62
•
1:34:03
61. Ben Brettingen - The Importance of Public Lands in Bird Hunting, Transitioning from Drahthaars to Cover Dogs and Building a Career in the Hunting Industry.
Ben Brettingen from onX Maps joins the show this week to cover the current movement in the Senate to sell public lands (speaking of, have you called your Senator yet?), and share his journey from filming hunts in college to a career in marketin...
•
Episode 61
•
1:26:03
60. Your Public Lands Are For Sale - Are You Really Going To Let That Happen Without Speaking Up?
Your public lands could be for sale soon if your Senator doesn't help torpedo a specific part of the budget reconciliation bill. Call them and let them know that CANNOT happen.Call: 202-224-3121Ask for your Senator's office. ...
•
Episode 60
•
34:41
59. Mike Neiduski - Planning a Long Distance Bird Hunting Trip
This episode is the audio of a presentation Mike did at the 2025 NAVHDA Annual Meeting in Montana. He covers his tips and tricks to plan and execute a long distance road trip including pre-planning, checklist making, and some helpful pro-tips t...
•
Episode 59
•
1:00:02
58. Tanya Caram - Her Journey With Wirehaired Vizlas and Attacking Goals Tenaciously
Tanya Caram joins the show this week to share how she fell in love with Wirehaired Vizlas, her journey to having the first VC WHV, spending extended time in Hungary, and working to develop the breed here in North America. Tanya also shares some...
•
Episode 58
•
1:15:14
57. Matt Sather and Jason Rice - Bird Hunting and Dog Training from a Track Chair
Matt Sather and Jason Rice join the show this week to share Matt's journey into NAVHDA and hunting with a versatile dog. Jason discusses connecting Matt with the Track2Wing Project and Matt reflects honestly on how much of the world has opened ...
•
Episode 57
•
1:13:49
56. Ted Wentink - The Beauty and Function of the Spinone, Walking Along in European Hunt Tests, and The Importance of Taking Things Slow
Ted Wentink joins the show this week to share his never-ending love for Spinoni Italiani. He shares candidly about his journey with dogs throughout the years, making an effort to show his dogs form and function, and his experiences attending hu...
•
Episode 56
•
1:24:38
55. Ellen Neiduski - Lessons Learned On The Journey to A Well-Trained Companion
For a little something different this week Mike sits down with his mother, Ellen, on Mother's Day to discuss their family history in pets. Ellen shares her decision and commitment to having a well-trained family dog and a variety of lessons she...
•
Episode 55
•
1:21:49
54. Christy Langston - Fighting Imposter Syndrome, Solo Hunting Shenanigans, and Lessons from a Failed Breeding
Christy Langston joins the show this week while Mike visited the Missouri Uplands NAVHDA chapter to judge. She shares candidly about fighting imposter syndrome, gives more great photography tips, and opens up about a recent failed breeding with...
•
Episode 54
•
1:44:31
53. Carey Killion - Marathons to Bird Dogs, Facing Failure Head On, and Building Better a Weimaraner
Carey Killion joins the show this week to share how marathons brought her to bird dogs, facing failure head on, and how she is committed to bettering the breed of Weimaraners. Carey is refreshingly honest about her pursuits, whether that be mak...
•
Episode 53
•
1:09:39
52. Yia Vang - Hunting and Fishing as a Way of Life, The Power of Food, Conservation, and Community, and Bringing Hmong Food to the Mainstream
Yia Vang joins the show this week to discuss his award winning restaurant and how growing up in the Hmong community presented hunting and fishing as a way of life, not just a hobby. Yia is a James Beard Award Finalist and creator and head chef ...
•
1:24:41
51. Bailey Petersen - Falling in Love with Ruffed Grouse, Her Gaggle of Setters, and Pro-Tips for Navigating Grouse Cover
Bailey Petersen joins the show this week to talk all things Northwoods, Ruffed Grouse, and her pack of setters (and one microphone loving Munsterlander). She dives into how she grew her love of ruffed grouse and woodcock, moved from a golden re...
•
Episode 51
•
1:09:13
50. Q&A with Mike - NAVHDA Invitational Prep, DD vs GWP, and The Day Everything Changed
This week's episode features Mike answering questions submitted on our Facebook and Instagram pages. He covers his mindset heading toward the NAVHDA Invitational, his thoughts on DDs vs. GWPs, answers a whole bunch of silly geese questions, and...
•
Episode 50
•
1:43:59
49. Nick Dulas - Being the Young Guy in a PF Chapter, Driving All Night To Get a Setter, and Making The Choice To Go
Nick Dulas joins the show this week where he recounts his pre-COVID journey to joining the Rice County PF chapter and why he's stayed involved since. He also shares how he developed a love for setters and the french brittany. He and Mike also t...
•
1:13:28
48. Nikki Flander - Loving Dogs So Much She Snuck One Home, Her Love of English Setters, and Diving Into The Industry and Creating Spaces for Women.
Nikki Flander joins the show this week to share her journey to working with the Minnesota Horse & Hunt Club, how she fell in love with English Setters, that one time she wanted a dog so bad she snuck one home in high school, and creating co...
•
Episode 48
•
1:08:39
47. Hannah & Kyle Peterson - A Match Made Over Bird Dogs, Diving Into Cover Dog Trials, and Wanting An Assertive Female Setter.
Hannah & Kyle Peterson are a match made with a shared love of dog training, and then bird dogs in grouse country. In this episode they share their journey into dog training in very separate realms and how they eventually met, married, and n...
•
Episode 47
•
1:28:28