I’m still working the older dogs, Abby, Boss, Mann and Sally, on retrieving then letting them run the yard as I follow on the 4-wheeler. They get a little over a mile and sometimes more than that, of exercise. This morning Boss decided to check the property to the west. I had the GPS on him so I knew where he was. I used the tone on his e-collar to call him back a couple of times then when that didn’t work I started using stimulation. Boss understood that and came back. I’m hoping that if I control them really well at home it will carry over to the field.
Bodie pointing a pigeon.
Gus playing keep away with a chukar.
Maggie the English cocker retrieving a chukar.
I had worked Abby on the retrieving bench and had her retrieving really well last fall. When I tried her with a tennis ball earlier this summer she retrieved for a while then quit. I’ve had her back on the bench and have made her retrieve several different kinds of dummies.
When I first started back on the bench I had to walk each time beside her as she went down the bench. I also had to use stimulation to get her to pick up the dummy. Finally she would slowly walk down the bench, slowly pick the dummy up and slowly come back. I don’t know why but I started tapping on the bench and she went faster and I no longer had to walk with her.
This morning when I put her on the bench I had to tap the bench for the first couple of retrieves. After that she ran down the bench grabbed a dummy and ran back. When I set her on the ground I had her hold the Dokken dove dummy for a few seconds. After I took the dummy from her I threw it just a few feet and said, “fetch”. On the ground she is back to walking but she brought it back. I’ll take that for now. It’s nice to have her retrieving without me having to stimulate her.
Vince Dye and I decided to check out some CRP properties that he has permission to hunt. We are having cool mornings but it warms fast so we got there about daylight. And as luck would have it someone was parked on this place. They were bow hunting deer. Vince made a couple of calls and found us another place to run the dogs.
The place he found was about 300 acres of CRP. Along with the grass and weeds there was wheat, clover and alfalfa. The friend of Vince’s told him as he mowed some strips in this place he had jumped 4 coveys of quail. We drove along some of the mowed strips and it looked really thick. As we drove in we probably saw 20 deer feeding in the CRP.
We decided we would walk the mowed strips and let the dogs hunt. I had brought the young dogs. Bodie, Boss and Gus. Vince had Maggie, his English Cocker spaniel. We started to the south around this place. The dew was really heavy and we thought the quail would come out to the mowed strips to dry off. Boss and Bodie were hitting the thick stuff really well. Gus was staying in front of us but didn’t really know what he was supposed to do.
Gus pointing a chukar.
We made a big circle to the east and found a couple of sunflower food plots. We worked the dogs through these. I checked the GPS and it showed Boss on point just about 50 yards to the north. He was standing in a sumac thicket and when I got close he started moving. He trailed to the east then came back still moving slow and went to the west. Bodie came in and he was excited by the sumac thicket, too. Boss probably spent 10 minutes working that thicket back and forth and the CRP next to it. He never came up with anything but I’m sure a covey beat us some way.
The way the strips were cut we had to back track to get to the truck. The temperature was getting up there and Vince needed to meet a guy at 10:00 am in town so we headed back. We were about 150 yards from the truck with Bodie acting birdy in the thick stuff. As we watched him he went on point.
Sally
Because we were just running dogs I had brought a camera and no gun. I watched Bodie for a few seconds then walked up beside him in the thick CRP. When I got about even with his head a nice covey of quail flushed just a few yards ahead of him. When you don’t have a gun they are fat and slow. This covey with 12 to 15 birds flew across this open grass with not a tree close. Vince said, “Did you get some pictures”. No. I forgot. It still thrills me to see a young dog point birds and I never even thought about the camera.
Each dog is a little different on their retrieving. Boss really doesn’t want to retrieve and I only toss a tennis ball a short distance for him. I throw it 3 times and then put him on whoa until I get on the 4-wheeler, start it and put it in gear. I say, “okay” and he takes off.
Sally and Mann retrieve a Dokken quail dummy. I throw it as far as I can for them 3 times each. But they have to hold it until I reach for it. I give each of the dogs a chunk of hot dog when they retrieve. Mann is fast enough that the dummy has bounced up and hit him a couple of times. Now he runs out but makes sure the dummy hits the ground and stops moving before he picks it up. I don’t blame him. That Dokken quail is hard and probably hurts.
Sally retrieving.
As I write this the temperature is 91 degrees. There are only a few hours of the morning to work dogs before it’s too hot. Hopefully, mid week next week it will cool down. I’m ready for a road trip.