How has the economy affected you?

[beaglechase]

How has the economy affected you? Has the fuel prices affected your ability to run as much as you like? Or have you found a hound you would like to purchase, but can't possibly afford it, due to the latest situation? Or found a puppy that has real good breeding,but you haft to turn down, or maybe cancel a commitment you have made to purchase one?

[DIXIEDOG]

I run more, the cost of gas has me leaving my bass boat in the driveway and grabbing the hounds to go running instead. At 15 gallons per hour with my boat driving my truck at 20 mpg to the club seems cheap

[upperlimits]

I am blessed to have my running grounds 1mile away.I have also been running more than normal.I used to perch fish almost everyday during the summer,but with the high fuel costs,now I only fish when they are really biting and then I stock up on them.and spend more time running.Not quite sure what is going to happen once gunning starts and I travel more,I think I will be doing more running and less gunning.

[arkyhunter]

Running more here also- i have some private land and some ditchbanks and fencerows just about anywhere within a few miles of home, so i run the hounds more than usual. The farmers around have been very kind to allow me to hunt or run on their land. Most people around here could care less about rabbit hunting and know i love it so they don't object. Just a little gas, a couple of jugs of water for the hounds, and some cold drinks is all i need for a fun late afternoon or evening.

[hunter31]

"I run more, the cost of gas has me leaving my bass boat in the driveway and grabbing the hounds to go running instead. At 15 gallons per hour with my boat driving my truck at 20 mpg to the club seems cheap "

I agree with you I leave my boat at home now, I am also thinking about selling my silverado for a Subaru Forester to save on gas
Bryan

[PBJ]

Its not just the gas. The grocery store has me thinking of tillin up the front yard and planting a garden.

[tinymwoods]

I have cut back to running 3 times a week from 5 or 6. It has also made me sell pups I wanted to keep and an adult dog or 2. Dog food prices are jumping again within 2 weeks I hear and groceries are tough. Add $100 a week in gas, and it hurts alot. Not gonna be doing much traveling this fall to hunts it looks like either.

[beaglehandler]

I TOLD YOU SO

[denny606]

I am lucky to have good running close by,where I can ride the ATV an Leave the vehicles home,and as far as the economy hurting my lifestyle ,My own decisions have always caused me more grief than any thing else and I can't tell whether I,m making big money or little money it never manages to stay here very long

[eaglebeagler1]

i guess it hasnt effected me to much just went out and bought a new F-150 4x4 extended cab the salesman said well the gas mileage wasnt very good and i told him if i was worried about gas mileage i would be buying some little 4 cylinder car not here buying a truck

[bigdogpace]

im retired on afixed income has cut out some of my driving luckly my running grounds r 5 miles away .told the wife she was going 2pick up some extra work 2pay 4 rising cost of dogfood.i kinda miss her at night on 2nd shift. i have 2feed dogs now shes on 2nd job cant have everthing i guess.

[Nor' Easter]

Regular gas just went up today here in Canada, it's $5.58 US. gallon in Can. or Us funds. They predicted it would hit this price many months ago.
Field trials average 375 miles round trip. Can't afford that kind of cost, unreal without buddying up to get there etc. Even then, it's just too much coin.

[Catfish]

I run about the same as I did before. All my running areas are really close. I have just over a Dozen running grounds. The Fariest one is only 8 Miles away. If I had to Drive any distance, I wouldn't be running as much. Don't fish any more to far to go, and with Fishing Licenses being so High Price, and Gas Prices, the dogs get more ATT.

Catfish:

[Jay Schrader]

Here in southeast Michigan, where our economy is based on the auto industry, times are tough. The newspapers are filled with stories of global outsourcing and forclosures. The new housing construction has all but ceased. I have never seen so many houses in forclosure in my life.

I have been very fortunate that I have been able to stay working through this turmoil. I have quite a few friends that also do what I do, die design for automotive body panels, that have left the state to find other work. It isn't so much that foreign car makers are grabbing market share, the big issue is that the american auto companies are sending more work, both engineering and manufacturing oversees to Brazil, India, China and Korea. I fear that the american auto industry will go the way of the american textile industry.

It has forced me to think of the changes that I am going to have to make. I need to decide if I should go back to college to learn a new field or to move to where other industries are or to try to ride it out. I've invested 23 years into a career that is evaporating before my eyes. Especially in the last two years.

As far as the beagles go, I'm probably running as much as ever. I'm just staying close to home.

[Chief Long Hair]

We don't run much in the summer but when we do, we'll run about the same amount. Ours running grounds are within a mile of us. We will most definitely reduce the number of field trials we'll attend. We won't go down south for Southern Large Pack Asso. hunts. We might even cut out going up north to Wisconsin and the U.P. We'll probably reduce the number of breedings to studs that are miles away, sorry Reggie. Looks like our top Turbo dog will finally get him some.

As far as any changes I have made in my daily life, one is I now do the speed limit on interstates and I now support all interstates adopting a national speed limit at 55 mph as the did in the late 70's, early 80's. Nobody who drove in that era can dispute the gas that was saved. Anybody remember gas stations that closed because they were out of gas or waiting in line a block or more away just to get some? My truck that I drive now, an extended cab Silverado with a 305, use to get 20 mpg when driving as fast as I dare go to 23 mpg at 55 mph and that's with the air on. I drive 30 miles one way to work and an extra 3 minutes is all I lose.

One other thing that I have done as well as others here is I have reduced my fishing in my big boat. I now fish more in my bass buggy with an electric trolling motor in small farm ponds and strip pits and I now own a kayak that I now fish for smallies in rivers. I do the same things just differently.