3 chukar & 3 pheasant for the "newbie pup"

[andrew]

A friend and I took our dogs to the Acme Hunting Club on Sunday to give our lab pups an introduction to shotguns and birds (other than pigeons). After Jim released and marked the four chukar and two pheasant we let Libby give it a 'go' first...she stayed pretty much within 10-20 yards of us and seemed not to have a clue; which came apparent when we got to the first mark and saw the chukar dart into cover and Libby ran right by without even picking up the scent. Needless to say I threw a stick into the cover and she went to fetch it and was surprised by an explosion of feathery wings flappying away, however, she did not flinch when the guns went off (good!), but did not mark the fall well. We managed to find the downed bird in heavy cover (luckily no thanks to Libby), but since the bird was still able to run we let her chase it around and play with it...and that is all it took! Second bird happened to be a pheasant that she kicked up (which wasn't even a marked bird!), however, my shooters missed and the bird flew to another field. We gave chase and Libby 'nozed' it and flushed the bird four feet to the right of me (damn those birds can hold tight!)...my shooter baged it and Libby ran over to collect her first pheasant which I had to coax her to pick up. After which we went and got the other two dogs since Libby was slowing down due to the heat.

Libby definitely keyed into the chukar...and proved to be the 'noze' of the group...especially when it came to finding down birds that hit the ground running and diving for cover. She impressed me with her last find...a downed pheasant that was hit over another field; which had between us and the bird a barbed wire fence, a drainage ditch with a four foot dike on the other side...basically a blind retreive with grass that was 30" tall!

Overall we got our birds except for one chukar that was flushed to far away (by the older lab to boot!), however, it was replaced by a pheasant that was not picked up from a prior hunt. Need to really work with Libby to quarter a field and follow a line...and some how replace my puppy phrase "get ducky" with "get birdy" since I took a lot of shit hunting upland!

I shot twice since I really went only to 'handle' and I must say I had just as much enjoyment watching my dog work!

Andrew

[salt dog]

Fun report Andrew, get me to start thinking past the salmon and steelhead, into the inevitable colder weather to come, and some fun with the upland "duckies". :clown:

[Kaari Dahl]

Andrew, sounds like a great day had by all!!

One thing to keep in mind is that pheasant/chukar in the middle of summer put off very little scent and since it's dry out there already, it's hard for a pup to track those birds! I hope you saved a few wings and maybe stuffed a dead bird or two in your freezer for training later.

I love watching a puppy key in on birds for the first time. They get that half crazed "I have feathers in my mouth and I want MORE" look about them.

For training, try out the 10-minute retriever. Great book, very easy to follow and get results fast.

3 weeks until grouse and dove open :)

[andrew]

CWU Girl,

Thanks for the advice...It also didn't help that it was almost calm as well. I truly think that my introduction to pigeons helped with the retrieving...she had no problems with feathers...I just think the first pheasant was more feathers than used to, but after #2 she had no problem! While cleaning I noticed very little teeth marks...so she has 'soft mouth' to boot.

Septermber first...I've never been more excited to see summer go!

[fetchitup]

I heard my boss talking about the Acme club last fall. It sounds like something I should do with my 2 labs. I've been working with them on land and a water retrieves, but nothing as far as upland. I know it's not far, I work in Whatcom Co.

I pass by the smith farm release site every day on the way to work. Looks way too crowded to me.

[andrew]

Fetchitup,

The Acme hunt club is off hwy 9 just north of Acme. It is a no frills place, and compared to the east side hunting clubs may be slightly over priced in my honest opinion. However, what it offers is a place relatively close to home (25 minutes opposed to 3 hours!), good cover for birds, no distractions or other hunters (opposed to release sites), and in general good fun. I'd say I will use it every year at least twice now before the hunting season opens to give my dog a refresher. You can also brush up on shooting prior to hunting, just bring your own shells.

Contact info:

Jim Lallas, 360-595-0166

[Jeremy Wolf]

Andrew[/QUOTE]
Need to really work with Libby to quarter a field
Andrew[/QUOTE]

You should really check out The Labrador Shooting Dog by Mike Gould. With the quartering issue try hunting your dog in to a wind or cross wind, she will naturally quarter because Dogs don’t like to have the wind blowing directly in there face. Just my two cents.

[Jon Borcherding]

Andrew
Need to really work with Libby to quarter a field
Andrew[/QUOTE]

You should really check out The Labrador Shooting Dog by Mike Gould. With the quartering issue try hunting your dog in to a wind or cross wind, she will naturally quarter because Dogs don’t like to have the wind blowing directly in there face. Just my two cents.[/QUOTE]

iagree
That book is worth its weight in gold!
Because of what I learned in Gould's book my dog will work in front of me and work the area I want her to just because I am facing in that direction. No commands are neccessary. Gould calls it passive handling (or something like that) it works!

JonB

[andrew]

Thanks guys...I'll check into "The Labrador Shooting Dog" by Mike Gould

[Jeremy Wolf]

Gould calls it passive handling (or something like that) it works!

JonB

Its called Influence handling!