A Couple Of Kansas Quail Hunting Trips

Posted on November 16, 2024 by windypointsj1s@aol.com

Before anything else, I want to apologize for the pictures I will put in this post. I don’t know if it’s my camera, the setting I have it on or just a really bad run of pictures but over two hunts they are really dark. Someone that knows cameras and the app I have them on, could probably fix them. I don’t really know cameras, I just point and click, and I’m really not high tech.

Abby on point.

Boss pointing a single quail.

Sally pointing a single quail Abby honoring..

To hunt in Kansas most of the time I have to drive across the whole metro area. When I start on I-70 it’s 45 minutes to go all the way across the metro area if I can maintain about 70 MPH. Well that didn’t happen. I had two stretches that were bumper to bumper at about 12 MPH. But usually I build in a little extra time but I was still a few minutes late meeting Don and Linda in Kansas.

We drove to the area we wanted to hunt and started getting the e-collars and GPS collars on the dogs. I had Abby and Boss in the box near the tail gate and put their collars on first. Mann and Sally were in the box right behind the cab. I put the collars on Mann and then did Sally. Don wasn’t ready yet and I waited a minute then looked at my GPS to make sure the dogs were all going in the right direction. The GPS showed Mann on point about 150 yards away.

Don and I started to him. Don hadn’t got his dog, Goofy, ready yet. By the time we got close the GPS showed my other 3 dogs honoring or at least showed them all close to Mann on point. When we got there, Mann was on point in a little cluster of trees and shrubbery. I saw Boss first and he was pointing, I thought. I thought the birds may have run away from Mann and Boss had them. When I got close the birds flushed from behind me where Mann, Sally and Abby were. There was a bunch of brush between me and them and Don was on the other side of me. Neither of us got a shot.

But that is a great way to start a hunt. Linda and Goofy joined us and we went after the singles. One bird flushed from in front of us without a dog being close. We only shoot at pointed quail. We worked most of the cover without finding any more and started on around the property.

In just a few minutes the GPS handheld showed Boss on point along the edge of a soybean field about a hundred yards ahead. When we got to him nothing flushed but all of the dogs were really birdy. We continued along the edge and Don saw Goofy on point with Sally and Abby honoring. When we got to him nothing flushed but again all of the dogs were really birdy.

Sally pointing, Boss and Abby honoring.

We got to a hedge row and started down it when the GPS showed Boss on point on the other side. When we got to him Goofy, Sally and Abby were honoring. I started in front of him and Mann showed up and honored. As I started in front of Boss I thought I heard a bird flush. I turned to Don and asked him if he heard a quail flush. He said yes and he also saw it. Again no shots fired.

I believe Boss had a covey pointed that ran out and flushed earlier. This bird and the one where Goofy had pointed were from that covey. We never came up with any more out of this covey as we circled the soybean field.

It was about lunch time as we got back close to the truck but the area where the first bunch had flushed was close so we decided to cross it one more time. There was a deep ditch that ran along the area and I was on one side and Don on the other. He yelled about a dog on point. I checked the GPS and it was Abby on point. It would have taken a while for me to get across the ditch so I told Don to go ahead. I heard a gunshot and then, “Dead bird, dead bird”. I went across to help him find it but he had it located. He wanted Abby to find it.

Sally pointing.

We got the dogs back in the area but that was the only one we found. Just down the road was another couple of soybean fields so after lunch we drove to them. We circled one field and when we got back to the truck I started to load the dogs. I put Abby in her box and checked the GPS to see about the others. Mann was on point about 125 yards from us. I had already taken my vest off so I grabbed a handful of shells and started to him.

There was a fence between me and him. Don went around the other side. Mann was in a tangle of small saplings, blackberry vines and brush. I crossed the fence and saw Boss honoring. I passed him in time to see Mann slinking through the cover. Then he went back on point. I tried to get in front of him and a big covey of quail flushed. In all of the brush I didn’t get a shot but I heard Don shoot. Another, “Dead bird, dead bird”.

I made my way out of the brush toward Don. I cleared the brush and as I crossed a little flat ditch I got my feet tangled and down I went. Don was in front of me so on the way down I threw my gun, with the barrel pointing away from Don, in front of me. The stock landed right where I placed my nose. Not a good deal. Blood flowed but not real bad but I also got mud in my barrels. I was able to clear it out but was afraid there was still some dirt left. Don is a gunsmith and said, “Don’t shoot that gun until you clean it”. Made sense to me. I put it in the truck.

Boss pointing a single.

We talked a few minutes and I checked the GPS. Mann was on point about a hundred yards away. He wasn’t very far from where the covey had flushed. We started to him. Boss honored as I got close. Don went to the other side hoping the bird would fly through the clump of brush. I walked in front of him, with my gun in the truck, and the quail flushed and swung out across a harvested soybean field. My favorite shot. Flying from my right and circling to my left. Oh well, I don’t really care about shooting quail. We need them to work the dogs on.

The next time we got close to the truck I got the dogs loaded up and headed home. It doesn’t pay to get caught in the evening rush hour. I think evenings are worse than the morning rush.

Friday morning, when I saw the weather forecast for the next week, I decided to load dogs and go back to Kansas. I wanted to check some areas close to where we had hunted our first day but not the same ones.

Boss honoring Sally.

The way my dog boxes are it’s easy to haul 5 dogs but to get to my other box I have to climb on the the wheel or crawl into the back of the truck. So I left Annie at home and took the other 5. Sally, Abby, Boss, Stormy and Mann. This will be Stormy’s first real hunt. I’ve worked her on pigeons, call back pen birds and shot some chukars over her. I think her and Annie are ready for the hunt.

I turned them all out on a farm with harvested soybeans, corn and some CRP along the ditches. It looked really good. There was a long wide draw running through the middle and we went to the south into the wind. The dogs were already running the draw as I got close. The GPS vibrated and showed Mann on point a little over 200 yards away but on the other side of the big draw. It took me a long time to get across the draw and the deep ditch in the bottom. I got within about 40 yards of Mann and he was moving.

He had been buried in some tall weeds and maybe The other dogs running the edge may have spooked the birds or someone didn’t see him on point and ran through the birds. When I got close I saw a quail flush and just fly a little way. It was a baby bird. I took the dogs on down the draw away from the little quail.

Abby honoring.

A few years ago this farm had 3 coveys but on this day I checked it pretty well and didn’t see any other birds. When we got back to the truck Stormy didn’t want to quit. Actually she didn’t want to ride again. She gets car sick. She was across the road and when I went to catch her she took off. I had a GPS collar on her so I knew where she was. She went a little over a hundred yards. I sat down on the tail gate. It’s lonely for a puppy to be that far away.

A young man stopped to talk, for a few minutes, as I waited on Stormy. As we talked I saw her cross the road to the side I was on. I looked on the GPS. She was hiding in the weeds 45 feet from me. When the young man left I went looking for her. When I got close she stood up and started away. I said, “whoa”. She stopped but when I got real close she started moving again. I sternly said, “whoa”. This time she let me catch her.

I drove to a different farm in the area. This time I left Stormy and Mann in the truck. For a young dog Stormy had done enough and Mann’s tail was bleeding from all of the rough stuff he had been running in.

Goofy pointing Abby honoring.

The wind was 19 miles per hour according to my phone and we went into it. There was some CRP before we got to a hedge row running down the side of a harvested soybean field. I was still a long way from the soybean field when Sally went on point in a clump of trees between the CRP and the soybeans. Abby and Boss honored.

When I got close, Sally moved into the clump of brush. I followed. Just as I thought they would, the covey flushed out the other side without giving me a shot. About half went straight ahead and half went to my right. We followed the ones that went straight ahead.

About 40 yards from where the covey flushed, Sally pointed. I couldn’t believe some of the quail stopped that close but when I got there a single flushed. I hit it really hard with my second shot, feathers came floating back by me, but the bird kept going. I would rather do a clean miss. Just a little farther Boss pointed. When I got to him a single quail ran to the edge of the hedge row, flushed and never got 3 feet high until it was away down the hedge row. No shot at all.

Stormy pointing a pigeon.

We went to the end of the hedge row and then came back. Back even closer to where the covey flushed, Sally pointed again. This quail let me walk past him then flushed behind me. By the time I heard him and got turned around he was out of range. As we started down the hedge row I noticed Sally laying in shady spots until I got close. It was getting too warm for my little fat girl.

The other half of the covey had flown off to the right of where they had flushed from so on the way to the truck we went that way. Sally may have just been tired of rechecking that area over and over. The GPS vibrated showing Sally on point about 125 yards in front of me. When I got close to her she jumped in and almost caught this bird. I think this was the bird I had knocked the feathers out of. Sally must have smelled some blood. She usually doesn’t move until the birds are in the air. But once again there was too much brush for a shot.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

I checked the GPS and Boss was on point. When I got to him a single quail flushed right in front of him but on the other side of some trees. I called them to head to the truck and Boss found another single. It too beat us. I had 8 points and had only fired two shots all day. But that’s okay. I had 8 points. That’s a great day. And we didn’t hurt the birds. I can come back to these places.

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Opening Day Of Quail Season, Missouri 2024

Posted on November 3, 2024 by windypointsj1s@aol.com

For fifty some years I have been quail hunting on opening day in Missouri. I wish I remembered when I started. I got my first bird dog, an English setter, in about 1967 or 1968. I think I have hunted each opener since then but I’m not sure. But in any case, I have been out there in a lot of them.

Bodie pointing a pigeon.

Bodie

Boss loves the retrieving bench. He jumped on it so I would pet him there.

For many years I had trouble sleeping the night before opening morning plus I would make sure I was sitting on the place where I was to hunt at daylight. On this opener I picked Vince up about daylight but we had a small cafe that we liked to eat breakfast at. Since we were hunting private property, we didn’t need to be sitting on it real early. We had a leisurely breakfast, then drove twenty miles or so to our hunting place.

When we got to the farm we turned all of the dogs, Sally, Abby, Boss, Bodie, Mann and Maggie, Vince’s English cocker spaniel out and started into the mild south wind. The dogs were as excited as we were, I think. We were going down a fence row and about 200 yards from the truck I saw 2 quail flying toward us. We had several dogs in front of us but we don’t know what happened.

A lot of years ago we would have emptied our guns or killed the 2 quail but as we get older it’s not about killing. Neither of us even raised our guns. We seldom shoot unless the dogs point. Plus quail are too valuable to shoot without dog work. We need them to train our dogs.

We continued on down the fence row to the south, hit the corner and went west to another fence row alongside a harvested soybean field. We turned north along this fence row. We have hunted this farm for several years and we discussed the places we had found birds in the past. I took one side of the fence row with Vince on the other.

The side I was on was about 10 feet lower than Vince’s side. I let Vince know that Boss and Sally were on point in front of him. Later he wasn’t sure who had the point. Most of my dogs look similar. Vince is going to hunt Bodie this season and he had his GPS on him so it could have been anyone of these 3. With the trees and the difference in heights of the land I couldn’t see the dogs.

Boss squatting, afraid to move.

Mann was in front of me when we got close to the dogs on point and I whoaed him. He couldn’t see the dogs either. When Vince asked if I was ready I told him to kick them up. I heard the covey flush and a couple of quail went behind me and one came in front. It tried to curl around me coming from my right and flying to my left. My favorite shot. When my Dickenson 28 gauge cracked the quail dropped into the harvested soybean field. Mann saw it fall and ran out, scooped it up and in a run, brought it to me. He doesn’t like to hunt dead but when he sees them fall, he is quick.

Vince said some had gone ahead of us and some behind. The 2 that had gone behind me had flown down the fence row we had just came up. We decided to go on ahead and then come back in a few minutes to check for the ones behind us. Not far from where the covey had flushed from, Boss pointed in some CRP, according to the GPS. There was still a large terrace between Vince and me. I told him about where Boss was. Before he got close Sally honored.

Bodie pointing a pigeon.

Before Vince got to Boss, Maggie flushed a quail. Vince thought since the dogs were still on point he didn’t want to shoot. But the quail that Maggie flushed must have been the bird Boss was pointing and it ran toward Vince instead of holding. We went on around the edge and started back toward the singles that had gone behind us.

Bodie came in front as we were trying to cross a fence into some CRP along a creek. He went on point but his tail was ticking just a little. He acted confused or at least uncertain. The other dogs honored. Sally was close to him and she wasn’t real rigid either. As Vince and I started to them a bird flushed out of the fence row. Too far for a shot. Then we recognized a woodcock. We don’t see a lot of woodcock on our hunts, so the dogs were uncertain. Plus I don’t think quail dogs really like woodcocks.

As we came through some tall CRP Sally and Mann were on point in front of me. I waited a short time for Vince to get closer but before he got there both dogs were moving. They both came by me and looked to be trailing something. A few years ago I killed a rooster pheasant in this tall CRP. Maybe some pheasants had run out on them.

Abby honoring Sally.

We came over the top of a hill and Sally was on point in a small draw with just a few trees. All of the other dogs honored. Some were close but some were 40 yards or more away. I waited on Vince to get around on the other side before walking in front of her. Nothing flushed. I kicked a few times then tapped her on the head to relocate. When she moved the other dogs came in. Several of them pointed for a few seconds but we never found anything.

When we got back close to the truck we went on to the south past it. The first two quail we had seen this morning should have been just to the south of the truck. As we came down the fence row we saw Sally on point. When we got close we saw that she was honoring Bodie who had pointed under a cedar tree. There were 3 cedars right next to each other. We knew the bird would beat us but Vince stood on one side and I went to the other. I went in front of Bodie and nothing flushed. I released him and Abby came in and pointed almost where Bodie had been.

Sally

On down the fence row we had another point or two with nothing found. Something was staying ahead of us. Vince crossed the fence to walk back to the truck and I moved over into the tall CRP. I hadn’t gone far when the GPS showed Mann on point across the road and south of me. I moved to the fence but couldn’t see them but I heard Vince talking to the dogs.

Later he told me that when he went ahead of Mann nothing flushed. He told him, “okay”. but he didn’t move. He had to go back and tap him on the head to get him to move. He thought there was a bird right there.

That evening a friend called that was hunting about 30 miles from us. When I told him about all of the unproductive points we had he said his dogs did the same thing. Although it was opening day most of these ground dwelling birds have been chased by coyotes, bob cats and every other predator out there. The know how to escape or they wouldn’t be alive.

The tall CRP had taken a lot out of the dogs but we wanted to check a conservation area. It was several miles away and by the time we drove around a little the dogs got about an hour of rest. The Conservation area had soybeans mixed with some kind of sorghum. There were some draws running through it.

Mann honoring the backing dog.

We made a big circle around one field and then crossed the road. As we went across a soybean field Bodie was on point along a hedge row to the south of us. When we got close he moved about 25 yards and pointed again. We continued to him but he left this point, too. There was a small draw that ran into the soybean field between us and the truck. We ran the dogs down it without finding anything. We went on to the truck and loaded dogs. The dogs were tired and so was I.

Another opening day in the books. A lot of years ago we usually had a limit of birds early on opening day. I haven’t killed a limit of quail in several years now. I’ve had a few chances, not as many as years ago, but I quit shooting after about 4 or 5. Shooting a limit isn’t important. Having quail to work my dogs on is very important to me.

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More October Training Of The Puppies

Posted on October 21, 2024 by windypointsj1s@aol.com

With the bird hunting seasons opening real soon I needed to shoot over the young dogs. Annie and Stormy are doing well on their training but I am always really careful about shooting around young dogs. Most dogs are fine but occasionally one will show some sensitivity to gunshots. It’s really easy to go too fast and create a problem that takes a lot of time to fix. It’s much easier to do it right and not have a problem.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

Stormy pointing a pigeon.

Bodie pointing a pigeon.

A lot of years ago I worked 3 dogs, getting them used to a blank pistol. I worked all 3 the very same way and one turned out gun shy. I really think the one dog was wired a little wrong, but I don’t know for sure. Since then I have gone a lot more slowly and I’ve never had a problem. I read a lot of dog training books and the last one I read was, TRAINING WITH MO, by Martha H. Greenlee.

My training grounds are inside the city limits with a lot of trees. The Mo Lindley way of introducing the gun uses several acres of open land. So I started trying to find a spot. I have one place close that is a hay field that is perfect for it but I don’t want to wear out my welcome. I need a couple of back up spots.

Just down the road from me is a large county park. It’s not mowed often or taken care of in any way. About once a year they mow some of the areas. I drove around it looking for a spot. I saw a park ranger pull into a shooting range and stopped to ask him. When I asked if they had an area that I could work my dog on he said that dogs had to be on a leash and I couldn’t shoot a blank pistol at all. But he told me of another area that had a dog training area where I could shoot a blank pistol.

I drove out to look at it. When I got close without seeing any signs saying dog training area I saw a couple of people who worked for the new park I was driving by. I asked them about the dog training area. They told me, in vague terms, where it was at. When I mentioned the blank pistol they told me I couldn’t shoot a blank pistol in any of the county parks. Well, now I’m back to square one.

The Mo Lindley way of introducing the blank pistol is using carded pigeons. Tie an 8×8 piece of heavy card board to one leg of the pigeon. This makes the bird off balanced and it can only fly 35 or 40 yards. Let the pup chase and shoot when it’s about 30 yards away, chasing hard. The first few times don’t shoot but let the pup catch the pigeon. His idea is that the pup points the pigeon and then when it’s flushed and goes down it doesn’t stop the young dog from pointing, as jumping in and catching one that is pointed will.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

I did 4 sessions with the pups on carded pigeons with no shooting. Stormy was fine and really aggressive with the pigeons. Annie was more laid back. Annie would chase but when the bird landed she would stop and point. I kept trying to get her to grab the pigeon. She, after the third time, grabbed the pigeon. She didn’t pick it up and run around with it as Stormy does. She held it to the ground for a few seconds then left it.

But that was better than not grabbing it all. So I decided to try the blank pistol. I took them to a farm close to the house and hid 2 pigeon in release traps with card board tied to one leg. I turned Annie loose first. She crisscrossed the field and pointed when she hit the scent cone. I flushed the pigeon and it flew to the east fairly low. Annie was right behind it. When she got about 35 yards away and was right behind the pigeon I shot the blank pistol. The pigeon hit the ground and she stopped and pointed then jumped in. She didn’t seem to hear the pistol.

Mo Lindley says to not shoot except on the first bird but watch to see if the pup chases the next pigeon hard or peels off at about the distance that you shot the blank pistol on the first bird. Annie pointed the second bird and when I got close I flushed the bird. She chased hard. When the bird hit the ground she ran circles then grabbed it. When I got close she had feathers in her mouth but didn’t try to carry the pigeon. I led her away.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

I reloaded the release traps and turned Stormy out. She has never been reluctant to grab a pigeon. She raced through the field and pointed the pigeon. I flushed the pigeon and she was right behind it. When it hit the ground she pounced on it and I shot the blank pistol. Stormy never even heard the gunshot. She had the pigeon and wasn’t letting go. I picked up her check cord and started leading her away. Most of the time dogs won’t chew while they are walking or running. As I lead her she wanted to stop and put her feet on the bird so she could chew.

I stopped and held her head up and petted her telling her what a good girl she is. As I petted her I flipped her ear over and blew a strong puff of air into her ear. She turned loose of the pigeon and I petted her some more then turned her loose to find the next pigeon.

She pointed the second and I walked past her and flushed the second. It too, flew low and she was right behind it. When it hit the ground she ran in and the bird flew again but only a few yards and went down again. It didn’t get a chance to fly. Stormy had it. I was close so I knelt down and called Stormy to me. She came and I petted her for 20 seconds or so. This time she dropped the pigeon and I took it from her. I had not shot on the second bird.

Stormy pointing a pigeon.

That was the first time I shot the blank pistol for them. Saturday, I took them to the conservation place that is about 50 miles from my house. I found a harvested soybean field of about 40 acres or so. I hid the two release traps, with a carded pigeon in each, as far as possible from any trees. Having a carded pigeon fly into a tall tree is a pain.

I turned Annie out first. I held her check cord and more or less led her to the pigeon. She was confused on whether she should point or remain in heel. That was my fault. I should have just turned her loose. Both puppies are pointing their birds real well. But she did point. I waited a few seconds and flushed the pigeon. With the cards they don’t fly very high and it makes the puppies more eager to chase. She was right behind it. I shot the blank pistol and she didn’t even seem to hear it. When the pigeon landed she held it for a few seconds then went back to hunting.

She pointed the second bird without me holding her check cord and did a much better job. I walked in front of her and flushed the pigeon. This one flew toward a hedge row but went down before it got there. When Annie got close it flew to the hedge row and landed in a tree but only about 4 feet off the ground. Annie pointed it for a few seconds then went back to hunting.

Stormy pointing a pigeon.

I got the pigeon out of the tree and looked for Annie. She knows the routine. I work her on two pigeons and put her in the truck. She wasn’t having any of that. She was 1/4 mile down the hedge row and was still going away from me. I reloaded the traps and she was coming back. I stepped on her check cord when she got close and put her in the truck.

Stormy was ready. I had learned a little on Annie and just let Stormy run. She wanted to run the hedge row but came in front of me as I crossed the harvested soybean field. She pointed the first pigeon from a good distance. I watched her for a few seconds then walked in front and flushed the pigeon. The bird went with the wind fairly low. Stormy was right behind. When it landed she grabbed it. She was mouthing it when I got there. I took her check cord and led her a few yards then knelt down and called her to me. I petted her for a few seconds then blew in her ear. She released the pigeon.

She stayed in front of me as we went toward the next pigeon. After she established point I watched for a few seconds then walked in front. I flushed the pigeon and this one only flew a few feet and landed. Stormy grabbed it maybe before it’s feet hit the ground. I was close so I knelt and called her to me. She proudly brought the pigeon. But she wasn’t ready to let me have it so I just petted her and told her what a good girl she is. After about 30 seconds I blew in her ear. She dropped the pigeon.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

After church Sunday I took the puppies to a friends place. He wanted to work his dog on a couple of pigeons and I wanted to shoot the blank pistol again over the pups. My friend was busy so I went to the hay field and started working the pups. He would join me later. I hid the both pigeons in some tall weeds in the hay field.

Again I turned Annie out first. This time I just let her run. There was a pretty good breeze but it kept shifting around. She pointed at a pretty good distance. I walked ahead of her kicking the tall grass. I flushed the pigeon and she took off after it. About the time it hit the ground and she was about to grab it, I fired the blank pistol. She didn’t pay any attention. But she only rolled the bird around a little and went back to hunting.

I picked up the first bird and when I looked she was on point on the second bird. As I started to her she took a step and I flushed the pigeon. I was a long way from this bird. I flushed it and as it flew the card came off and the pigeon flew away with an orange cord hanging down. Annie is smart. She didn’t come close to me. Instead she was circling the large hay field.

I waited a while but she wasn’t coming near me so I turned Stormy loose. He made a big circle and pointed the second bird instead of the closer bird. Before I flushed the pigeon I checked to see where Annie was. Not in sight. So when I got in front of Stormy I flushed the pigeon. As the pigeon flew, with Stormy right behind I fired the blank pistol. When it hit the ground she had it. Annie came to see what the shooting was about, I guess. Anyway she showed up. I picked up Stormy’s check cord and led her a few yards. I blew in her ear after petting her for a time.

Stormy pointing a pigeon.

I wanted to put the pigeon in a bag and as I took the string from it’s foot Annie came close to me. I stepped on her check cord and undid the string from the pigeons foot. I took Annie to the truck. When I turned to go back to the hay field Stormy was pointing the other pigeon. I think she had been on point for a little while so as I walked to her I flushed the pigeon. She chased and the pigeon had flown toward me. I didn’t have to go far to get to Stormy. After petting her for a few seconds I blew in her ear. I took her back to the truck.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

With all of the carded birds the pups have caught, the ones with no shots and the ones where I fired the blank pistol, they have not hurt one pigeon. Every pigeon, with the exception of the pigeon that flew off with the orange cord trailing is still in my pigeon coop in fine shape. Some of my pigeons aren’t homers and I don’t think I will see the bird with the orange cord again.

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Working Dogs In October

Posted on October 1, 2024 by windypointsj1s@aol.com

October has started really well. It was in the fifties this morning with the noon time temperatures in the upper sixties. Really good weather to work dogs. During the hot weather I worry about the birds as much as the puppies. When it’s really warm and I put a pigeon in a release trap, hidden in the tall weeds, there is no air movement around the release trap. It has to be really hot on the pigeons. So on the real warm mornings we don’t use the pigeons.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

Stormy pointing a pigeon.

Bodie pointing a pigeon.

When I put pigeons in the release traps, I usually drive the side by side around my side and if I put birds on the neighbor’s side, over there. The dogs, even the puppies, will check the neighbor’s side and if there is no side by side trails they will come back to my side. This morning I tried something different, just to see how they would react. I walked onto the neighbor’s side and hid two pigeons in release traps.

I worked Annie first. I heeled her for a short distance whoaing her several times. I have heeled and whoaed the puppies enough that I can drop the Wonder lead after I say, “whoa” and walk out front or circle them. I can pick up sticks or leaves and toss them, and they won’t move, most of the time.

I had a pigeon in a release trap behind a clump that she couldn’t see as I heeled her toward the bird field. I said, “whoa” and flushed the hidden pigeon. Annie stopped and watched the pigeon fly away. I tapped her on the head and heeled her a little further. I whoaed her, grabbed her check cord and said, “okay”. I let her run dragging the check cord.

She was on the wrong side of the training grounds to smell the first pigeon. She ran all the way to the back and came back closer to me. She made a couple more passes without even trying to go on the neighbor’s side. After a couple of passes she hit the scent cone and pointed. I watched her for a few seconds, about 25, then flushed the pigeon. She chased a short distance then went back to hunting.

I crossed onto the neighbor’s side and had to call Annie over. With no side by side tracks she wasn’t interested. But once she was over there she went to hunting. She was quite aways from the next bird when she pointed. The way the wind was swirling I’m not sure she had a strong scent but she wasn’t moving. I moved up close to the pigeon and flushed it. She chased a short distance then went back to hunting.

That got her to really checking things out. She hit the scent cone on the next bird and pointed. I thought she was closer than she was. I don’t let them stand for very long when they are close. I flushed the pigeon but she wasn’t real close. This pigeon just flew into the tree above the trap. Annie stood and watched it until I tapped her head and called her away.

Stormy

When we got to the retrieving bench she jumped on without any assistance from me. I styled her up in 5 different places on the bench and fed her a chunk of hot dog each time. The pups really like the bench or maybe they like getting chunks of hotdogs. I put her back on the chain gang.

I reloaded the release traps without driving the side by side on the neighbor’s side. I heeled Stormy around for a short distance, worked her on the whoa barrel then heeled her toward the bird field. When we got close to the first pigeon I whoaed her and released the pigeon. This must have been a real young bird. It came out of the trap and landed right beside it. Stormy could see the pigeon as it walked around. She didn’t try to chase. We just watched the pigeon for a minute or so. I whoaed Stormy and started walking toward the pigeon. She stayed on point until the pigeon flushed, then she chased.

She was running with the Wonder lead still around her neck and she was dragging a check cord as well. I thought she would probably lose the Wonder lead but it stayed on through the next bird. She pointed the next bird and I took pictures. I walked toward the pigeon but well out to her side so she could see me. When I got a short distance ahead of her I flushed the pigeon. It came out low and she chased a long distance.

Bodie on point Mann honoring.

She covered my side of the training grounds a couple of times and when I crossed to the neighbor’s side I had to call her. Before we went over I called her to me and took the Wonder lead off. I didn’t need it coming off in some heavy cover where I might never find it.

She hit the scent cone on the next bird pretty quick. I walked near the pigeon and flushed it. She chased. Stormy really wants to catch the pigeons and this one came toward her as it flew out of the clump of brush. She jumped for it and almost did a back flip trying to catch it. But it flew away. We went on to the back.

She was pretty close to the next bird when she hit the scent cone. She looked really good on point but she was too close. I flushed the pigeon and it flew to a tree just a short distance away and lit. She watched it for a few seconds then went back to hunting. I took her back to the chain gang.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

Neither of the puppies had tried the neighbor’s side until I called them over. I decided to try an older dog. Bodie is just 3 years old but he’s been worked a lot on these grounds. I wanted to see if he would go next door without me calling him. I reloaded the release traps and heeled him out. I heeled him near the bird that I had flushed for the puppies and did the same with him. I said, “whoa” and flushed the pigeon. Bodie stopped and stood until I heeled him away.

Bodie is really steady on his birds so I whoaed him and tapped him on the head as I said, “okay”. The wind was really good for him. He was almost across the field from the pigeon but he pointed. And there was no doubt. He was looking right at the pigeon although he couldn’t see it but there was no doubt he could smell it. I walked in front of him, kicking the cover and flushed the pigeon. He chased.

He about wore my side of the training grounds out without even trying to go next door. I always lay down lots of tracks when I hide birds but this little trial just emphasizes the need to try to fool these pups. They learn to follow the side by side really quickly.

Stormy pointing a pigeon.

I went to the neighbor’s side and called Bodie. As I crossed, he crossed in another spot, and by the time I got over to the other side, he was on point. I walked in front of him and shook some branches on some bushes, then kicked the cover. He didn’t move until I flushed the pigeon. Then he chased.

We went on to the back. By the time I got back close to the last pigeon Bodie was on point. I stayed behind him for a while just to see if he would move if I left him on point for a while. He didn’t move so I went in front and kicked the cover and flushed the pigeon. When it was in the air he chased. I took him back to the kennel.

Annie and Stormy were still on the chain gang. I took Stormy off and sat in my chair that is close to the chain gang. Stormy jumped into my lap and I petted her for a while. On the way back to the kennel we worked on the here command. Stormy had the check cord on and I tugged on it and said, “here”. When she came to me I gave her a chunk of hotdog. We did the here command 3 times. I put her in the kennel.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

I did the same thing with Annie. Annie needs more of the lap time than Stormy, I think. Anyway she gets more time in my lap then I only had one chunk of hotdog so I only worked her on the here command one time. Then I put her in the kennel.

I knew that dogs were smarter about some things than we give them credit for and this short trial just proves it. I have watched them over the years go to the neighbor’s side and if there were side by side tracks they would hunt but if there wasn’t they would come right back on my side. Today, they didn’t even go over there until I called them.

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