Three weeks from today some of the prairie states will be opening their grouse seasons. While right now, the weather is still hot, hopefully, it will be a lot cooler by September the first. I will be watching several different state’s weather to see if it will be conducive to taking the dogs safely, for a few days. For the dogs to be comfortable, in the dog boxes, the day time weather must be fairly cool.
Sally center, Mann on the left honoring Ally on the right.
Vince with Abby honoring Sally.
Boss honoring.
Yesterday Vince Dye and I took some of my pigeons to a friend of his farm, to work the dogs. This was a large farm mostly in CRP. About a third of it had been mowed leaving some strips to walk through and some taller stuff to hide the birds in. The taller grass could not have been any wetter if it had just rained 2 or 3 inches. I had taken my rubber boots to keep my feet dry but found out before I got the first bird hid that my left boot was leaking. By the time I got back to the truck to put the e-collar and GPS collar on Abby my feet were both drenched. Both boots leaked.
With the first two birds we didn’t use the release traps. I thought it would be more realistic for the dogs to put the birds to sleep and just hide them in the grass. Vince went to a strip of tall grass to the right front and I went to left front of the truck.
When I got Abby ready we started toward the birds. Vince was a little way in front of me and I could see he was already wet to his knees. He said his boots were leaking too.
Abby knew that there were birds in front of her and she was not leaving anything unchecked. She made a couple of unproductive points long before she got to the birds we had hidden. With all of the moisture and a slight wind the scenting conditions were excellent, I think. She didn’t stay on her unproductive points long but moved ahead. When she got close to the first bird she pointed, and stayed. As we got closer she took a step. I whoaed her and set her back. I took a picture with my phone then walked in front of her. I woke the pigeon and it just took a step or two and stopped. I bumped it with my toe and it flew about 5 feet and Abby had it before it could land.
I called Abby but she was excited and playing with the pigeon. She did pick it up and carry it a short distance but not to me. I let her play for a few seconds then called her but she paid no attention. It was her bird. She found it and she caught it. After a few seconds she left the bird and went back to hunting.
Boss pointing Abby honoring.
I picked up the pigeon and followed her. She pointed the next pigeon but took a couple of steps. I set her back and whoaed her then told Vince to flush the bird and shoot it while I held Abby. I had my shot gun in one hand and I held her collar with the other. I have had Abby her whole life. I should know her. She’s close to 60 pounds and extremely strong. I thought she wouldn’t try to get the pigeon with me holding her collar. Vince flushed the pigeon and it flew about 3 feet and Abby had it. I flew farther than the pigeon did. She rolled me completely over in the grass. My gun and I both were wet from end to end, from the dew.
But Vince was nice about it. While I was still on the ground he patted my shoulder and said, “You did a really nice job holding that dog”. I think what I said was, “Thanks, Vince”. Vince may have thought I said something different but that was probably what I said.
I had brought some release traps so our next birds were placed in those. I had caught these birds before daylight and most of them were really young. I didn’t know how young but most weren’t good flyers. We worked Allie, Vince’s short haired pointer, next.
Boss
Allie was checking everything as she went in front of us. She was well off the bird when she pointed then she moved. Vince whoaed her but she moved again. Vince picked her up and set her back. She looked really nice and didn’t move again. I took a picture of her with my phone. I had another camera with me that I could have put the pictures on the blog but I never pulled it out. When I flushed this young bird, out of the release trap, it tried to light on Vince’s gun barrel. He had to pull the gun back and the bird tried to fly away but he dropped it with a good shot.
Allie scooped the pigeon up and started back toward Vince but stopped short. I was close and knelt down and called her. She didn’t come to me, either. That seemed to confuse her. I shouldn’t have tried to call his dog. After a minute or so she quit playing with the bird and went back to hunting.
Allie went around the field until she hit the scent cone on the next bird. She pointed then moved circling the bird. She pointed several times before we got to her. She never tried to move in she was just moving in a circle around the bird. Vince set her back in the original spot. Then he walked back and forth in front of her kicking the cover. Once he sets her back and styles her up she doesn’t move. I flushed the pigeon when Vince nodded at me. This bird went my way and dropped at my shot. Allie scooped it up and dropped it just a step or two in front of Vince.
Abby pointing a pigeon.
We reloaded the release traps and turned Boss out next. Boss is really fast. He went over the hill in front of us and I just knew he was on point. He was but he had not got close to the bird in front of us but had crossed to the next bird and was pointing it. He was well off the bird and when I got close he took a step. I whoaed him then set him back.
After I walked in front of him for a few seconds I flushed the pigeon but it landed right beside the trap. Boss stood taller and more rigid. He didn’t try to move. Vince tried to get the bird to fly but it just ran in the tall grass. Boss couldn’t take it. He ran the bird down and grabbed it. Then he let it go but followed it in a circle in the tall grass. I knelt down and when the bird got close to me I grabbed it. We went after the other bird.
When we got close Boss pointed but he was quite away from the bird. In fact I wasn’t sure exactly where the bird was but when I went in front of him I didn’t see it. I tapped him on the head and he moved to the side, about 20 yards and pointed again. This time I saw the release trap. I stroked him a few times then walked in front kicking the grass. I flushed the pigeon and it lit right beside the trap. Again, Boss just stood a little taller and more rigid. I stroked his sides then tapped his head. He grabbed the bird and played with it for a few seconds then went back to hunting.
Mann after the pigeon had flown.
We picked up the release traps and drove to another area of the CRP patch. This time I drove the edge of the tall grass and when we saw an area where we thought was a good place we stopped the truck and hid a bird. After we placed both release traps with a bird in each I turned Abby out again. As she ran through the tall grass she was almost on top of the first bird when she hit the scent cone. I set her back from the trap a few feet. I styled her up then kicked the grass around the release trap. I flushed the pigeon and missed my first shot but with a lucky second shot the pigeon tumbled from the air. Abby grabbed the bird but only played with it for a few seconds before going back to hunting.
We went on down the hill and Abby pointed again. This time she was quite a way ahead and moved before we could get close. Then she moved two more times before I got to her. I had whoaed her but she did what she wanted instead of minding me. I set her back then walked in front kicking the grass. I made her stay on point while I kicked for a minute or so. I flushed the bird and Vince made a good shot. Abby pounced on the bird and took it away from me. She finally dropped it and went back to hunting. I had to call her in and have her hunt dead to find the bird.
Mann on point Sally and Abby honoring.
I had to put Abby up but there was no reason for Vince to walk all the way to the truck. I told him to wait for me and I went to the truck, put Abby in the box then drove to where Vince was. He put a pigeon in the release trap and we drove back to the other trap and reloaded it. Then we drove back to the starting point. If we had of thought of this earlier we wouldn’t be as wet as we are.
Vince turned Allie out. We had moved the first bird down the hill a little way to take advantage of the light breeze we had. Allie made a nice stylish point on the bird. Then she took a step. Vince set her back and styled her up. She didn’t move again. Vince walked in front of her kicking the cover. When he was ready I flushed the bird. He missed with the first shot but scored with the second. Allie ran to the bird, scooped it up and brought it close to Vince. Not all the way but she’s getting closer. She went back to hunting.
These dogs almost seem to know where we hide these birds. Abby had done it and Allie crossed out of this patch of tall grass to the next patch where we had hidden the next bird. We were still quite a way back when she pointed. Then she moved. Then a couple more times. Vince picked her up and carried her back. He kicked quite a while with her standing real steady waiting for us to flush the bird. When he nodded I flushed the bird. He made a good shot and Allie grabbed the bird. She ran close and then away before dropping the bird. Vince picked the bird up, tossed it a few feet and said, “fetch”. That didn’t work either. She grabbed the pigeon but didn’t bring it all the way back.
Abby really concentrating on this honor.
Vince said she does really well in the yard with bumpers but it takes a little while for them to realize that they need to bring birds to us.
Since Vince had to put Allie up I waited for him to drive down to me. I reloaded the release traps and when we got back to the start area I turned Boss out again. Boss pointed the first bird without moving. I stroked his sides, telling him what a good boy he is, then walked in front kicking the cover. This bird came out of the trap flying really well but I made a lucky shot. I had to walk through floating feathers to get near where the bird had fallen. Boss pushed it a few times with his nose then went back to hunting.
He crossed out of this patch without hunting all of it just like the other two had done. He went to the next bird and pointed. He took a step before I got there. I set him back and stroked him up. I flushed the pigeon after kicking the cover for a few seconds. Vince made another good shot. Boss went to the dead bird and nosed it around without even picking it up. He went back to hunting.
John and Vince.
We went back to the truck, took the e-collars and GPS collars off the dogs and headed home. The last two times we have used the pigeons the dogs have moved on their points. I thought maybe it was the release traps. That’s the reason I wanted to just put the birds to sleep. But they wouldn’t fly. They didn’t fly real well out of the release traps but it was better. We may work the dogs here at the house on some birds and try to steady them some but we’ve also got some chukars coming next month. Most of the time the chukars don’t need release traps. But Vince, the dogs and I really enjoyed the day we had.