Advertise on podcast: On the Dogwatch

Hello, thank you for joining us today On the Dogwatch, where we consider the natural world and the things that help us experience it. I am Michael Canfield, it is currently 10:37 on the Forenoon Watch, and this is Episode 61. We are back from a break on the podcast and have prepared some exciting new directions and a lineup of guests and topics that we think you will enjoy. Since we gathered last, the podcast has new theme music, and the Dogwatch has a new website.  On the website, which is at www.thedogwatchcompany.com,  you can check out our custom bandanas made by podcast guest One Feather Press, sundials from our guest Matt Kala, notebooks from our friends at Rite in the Rain, Damascus steel knives from the Japanese maker Mcusta, as well as the compact and stylish pens and pencils from the Japanese company OHTO. Not to overlook our canine companions, we also offer a full line of our own dog scarfs made right here in the Twin Cities. Check out the website, and we’d love to hear from you! Today On the Dogwatch we have the pleasure of talking with John Hartenburg of Knot and Rope Supply. In our conversation, we learn about Knot and Rope Supply, the differences between types of ropes, and the ways that ropes are used. We also consider splicing, knots, and even John’s work in creating solutions for ejector seats and NASA.

What can happen when you combine 4,200 dogs and 39,000 people? It turns out a lot of learning and fun. In this episode, we talk with Chuck Delaney of the Armstrong Ranch about Game Fair, a sport and outdoor show located in Ramsey, Minnesota. From Chuck’s perspective after running Game Fair for 42 years, we learn the history of the event, and how it was modeled after similar events in Britain, what happens at the fair–things like duck calling competitions, dog long jumps into a lake, shotgun and trap shooting, and dog training demonstrations. We even get a chance to talk with Chuck about what all of these experiences have taught him about people and dogs. I spoke with Chuck in July, but am releasing this episode now because this year’s Game Fair takes place the coming two weekends, August 11-13 and 18-20. Whether you can make it I hope to see you, and if not, there is a lot to learn from Game Fair.

So what is a toothpick, where did these originate, and what happens when you set out to make the finest toothpicks in the world?  Our guest today, Peter Smith at Daneson, helps us answer these questions. In our conversation, we discuss the history of toothpicks, and even their use by early modern humans, how these small slivers of wood became status symbols, and eventually fell out of favor. We move on to how Peter started Daneson to make fine toothpicks infused with flavors, why cinnamon and mint are some of the easiest choices, and then consider the challenges in the business, including how to choose flavors that work with toothpicks. We end the conversation with a discussion of Daneson’s efforts to both use northern white birch and contribute to the conservation of the forests where these trees live. In the end, we consider a lot more than toothpicks.

What happens when you both love to travel and want to take some of the comforts of home along with you on your adventures? You guess it, you turn to campaign furniture and its descendents. Today On the Dogwatch we have the opportunity to talk with Christopher Schwarz, the person who literally wrote the book on campaign furniture. Chris is a longstanding fixture in American woodworking, and even if you don’t know his name you may have seen him before given his appearances on PBS’s The Woodwright's Shop. Along with being a practicing furniture maker and woodworker, Chris has spent a significant part of his career as a writer. He has served as editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, written numerous other books, and now fosters Lost Art Press. In our conversation, we discuss the history of campaign furniture, the challenges of designing for the outdoors, and specific applications such as book cases, chairs, secretaries, and even secret compartments. In the end, we get a primer on how furniture relates to travel and adventure.

A bandana is a useful item. It can serve as a napkin, rag, bandage, drain plug, motorcycle repair tool, headwear, blindfold, flag, mask, pouch, or a stylish scarf. But not all bandanas are created equal. Many to most are stiff, paisley-printed and inked with plastisol to create a cheap and ultimately unsatisfying object. Today On the Dogwatch we hear about the other end of the bandana spectrum in a conversation with Thomas Petillo at One Feather Press in Nashville. In our conversation, Thomas describes how One Feather came to be, how he goes about sourcing selvedge fabric, and then discharge printing the bandanas. There is a shed behind his house where the process happens, a kind of Willy Wonka-like magic. There is squirting ink, a giant sandwich press, a long conveyor belt, and a precipitous drop for the bandanas into a cardboard box, all elements that stir the creative imagination. In the end, Thomas helps us learn how he creates high-quality, 100% cotton, selvedge bandanas and what can be learned from the process. As a bonus, we also discuss his work on the new and forthcoming Dogwatch Company bandanas. Stay tuned for those coming soon on a remodeled website.

When you head to the field with your notebook and pen in your hand–to either record the natural world or your thoughts while there–you want materials that will hold up to a wicked squall, a blizzard, or any combination of dirt, dung, misplaced hooves and paws, and even spilled coffee. Today we have the opportunity to talk with Sean Leacy about the ethos of the Rite in the Rain brand, the history of its parent organization, the JL Darling Company, what the Rite in the Rain factory is like, and what makes their paper and products unique and widely used. Whether you send these notebooks through the wash, or leave them stuck in the muck of a marsh for a year, you can count on them to hold their information.

Today On the Dogwatch we have the rare opportunity to talk with Nathan Hall, head of the Canine Olfaction Lab at Texas Tech. Nathan is not only a dog owner, but is also someone who studies dog behavior, has a vast knowledge of the canine literature, and does research on their behavior and olfactory abilities in the lab. In our conversation, we discuss how a dog’s nose is structured and how it works, the myths and misperceptions about how a dog’s nose functions and compares to the human nose, and the ways that we as humans train dogs to use their noses to detect substances such as explosives. We also consider the ways in which dogs can detect and mitigate human stress, and also the biases that we have on which dogs have the best noses–attention pug owners! Ultimately, we get perspective from a leader in canine research who helps us think about the noses of our dogs and their behavior.

Today On the Dogwatch we cross the Atlantic and head to the Highlands of Scotland in search of the nature of tartan, one of the most long standing and iconic outdoor patterns. Along the way, we meet Miles Kerr-Peterson, a PhD historian who has not only a vast knowledge of British history, clans, castles, but also tartan. We start our conversation with Miles by learning about his research into a buried castle under the driveway at the Keith Marsal estate in Scotland, and broaden this conversation to understand some of the history of Scotland and clans. From there, Miles helps us understand how tartan developed as a fabric, and how the patterns have changed over time. Thankfully, Miles not only understands the history of these fabrics, but works the the St. Kilda company, which has an online tartan designer, and he walks us through how tartans are designed and even helps us how we can design, register, and produce our own tartan fabric. What could be better than a conversation that touches on the Jacobite rebellion, Dunnottar Castle, the Outlander TV series, the movie Hot Fuzz, whiskey from the island of Islay, as well as consideration of plenty of Gordons, MacQueens, MacPhersons, Campbells, Camerons, and Craigs? 

In his professional context, you might find Tom Place smashing through the windshield of a bus, getting hit by a car, or in all manner of fist-fights, gun-fights, and falls from the tops of myriad buildings. One would think that somewhere in those activities we could pull on a thread of true crime. However, we have had to look very hard to explore any sinister links.  The closest we can get today, talking with Tom On the Dogwatch, is understanding his love of watches and his search for a Rolex watch he lost decades ago in upstate New York to the bottom of a lake. After Tom lost the watch during a bout of somewhat ill-advised, but not uncharacteristic, hijinks on a boat, he has spent many days and hours under the surface of the lake, methodically searching the muck for his lost timepiece. In our conversation, we discuss Tom’s life as a stuntman, his love of watches, and then how he lost the watch and has gone about searching for it.  While it is unlikely that the watch has been stolen from the bottom of the lake, whether by an unwitting fish, an unlikely fisherman, or an uncommonly well-informed scuba diver, we don’t entirely rule out any possibilities. In the end, we are left with a dramatic story of the search for a lost love.

We’ve all heard people talking to dogs like they are small children. Some people find it cute, others consider it absurd, and there are also those who understand it implicitly. So what do we know about how humans talk to dogs? Today On the Dogwatch we are joined by Bob Mitchell, head of the Animal Studies Program at Eastern Kentucky, who has researched just these kinds of questions. In our conversation, we consider where this kind of “baby talk” has been observed in humans and dogs, what we know about why people do it, and whether there is any evidence that it is more effective than other forms of communication with our dogs. In the end, we get a good sense of what we know–and even more what we don’t–about how we talk to our dogs.

When wearing a fine wristwatch, or looking at many other human-created objects of function and beauty, it is easy to forget that it was conceived of and designed by an actual person.  Looking at the Christopher Ward C63 Sealander GMT, C60 Trident Pro 300 I have this feeling, being mesmerized, but these too have a person behind them. Lucky for us, we are able to talk with Will Brackfield, watch designer at Christopher Ward. We discuss with Will how he became a watch designer, aspects of his design aesthetics, and how new watches come into being. 

What better way to celebrate the 50th episode of the On the Dogwatch podcast than to have a conversation with someone who has provided steadfast support and positive energy, and has become the de facto patron saint of the podcast, James Cox. Many listeners will remember when James joined us for Episode #28 and told the story of his relationship with Paul Newman, and how he was given Newman’s Rolex Daytona watch.  In our conversation today we pick up where we left off and talk about how funds from the sale of the Paul Newman have been used in projects such as the preservation of the Westfjords of Iceland, the ecology of salmon in the Pacific northwest, and the Kiss the Ground movie project. Listeners are encouraged to learn more at the Nell Newman Foundation, and at Myfriendjames.com. In addition, James and I also discuss the year I have spent with James’s black dial Daytona, and what can be learned when people connect through the sharing of a simple object like a watch.  In the end, James gives us plenty to think about regarding how we dedicate ourselves to making contributions and positive change.