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Pup's First Dove Hunt: A Recipe for Success
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September 08, 2009
Pup's First Dove Hunt: A Recipe for Success
My dog made me look good on Saturday. We were at her first dove hunt in Abbeville, S.C. In short, Pritch was alert, steady, responsive, and she used her nose well. There was some room for improvement but that will come with time. I was given some good advice before the hunt and learned plenty during it. Here’s a rundown:
Bring the dog. Leave the Gun: Your pup’s first dove hunt should be about pup, not you. Leave the gun at home and have someone else shoot for you. Sit with your dog just behind the gunner so that the pup learns to follow the swing of the shotgun and hopefully associate it with a falling bird. It wasn’t hard to get my brother Bob (below with Pritch) to volunteer for this job.
Water and Shade: It was 89 degrees and sunny on Saturday. In other words, it was hot enough to give a dog heat stroke. At the start of the hunt we set up in some shade until the birds were really flying, and then moved out into the sun. I also brought two big soda bottles that I had filled with water and frozen. I let Pritch lay or sit on one and used the melting water to fill her foldable bowl. I also occasionally doused her with water.
Set Up For Success: We chose a corner of the field that wasn’t loaded with other hunters so we could keep Pritch’s attention. We also initially set up so that the first bird would fall short of the heavy sunflowers in a clear patch of ground. Thanks to a deft shot by my brother, our plan worked and I whooped with delight after Pritch’s first retrieve. On a few others birds I did need to get off my seat and encourage her to come back.
Know When to Say When: I did not send Pritch after every bird. Some were too tough, and some she didn’t get a good mark on. This also helped keep her cooler in the heat and raring to go when I did send her. And before the afternoon was over I watered Pritch down and put her up. Then I took my own gun out and caped off the day with some poor shooting.
Bring a Mojo Dove! The fellows with Mojo Doves at our dove hunt had birds practically dive bombing them. Besides the absolute action a Mojo provides, it is a great way to bring birds right in front of the pup’s nose, making it a perfect tool for a first hunt.
One other thing, watching my dog work after months of training was one of my most fulfilling outdoor experiences. Can’t wait for the next dove hunt…and duck season. Here’s hoping your hunt went well, too.
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Comments (15)
go pritch!. it's amazing to watch all of their training and natural instincts come together. can't wait to get out there myself. thanks for the advice!
Congratulations! Nothing like watching that first real retrieve on a real wild bird instead of a bumper or a planted bird.
And very good advice on putting down the gun to concentrate on the dog. It's awfully hard to do both at the same time, and virtually impossible to do both well at the same time.
chadlove- Thanks. And your absolutely right--for a long time to come I'll be able to close my eyes and see Pritch making that first retrieve. Man, what a cool feeling.
pinopolis- You're spot on about the natural instincts. When Pritch hit that dove field she was on fire. Like she'd been there a dozen times. -D
Congrats on the great first trip. It sounds like we had a really similar experience. It was a really gratifying feeling to see Hondo doing retrieves to my hand at 8 months, and he was actually seeing the birds really well considering it was his first hunt. I wish that I would have left the gun in my truck, but i could not resist. Hondo broke a couple of times., but the instincts and drive were really impressive.
I was in a crowded field and was really proud when Hondo found 3 birds that the 4 labs in the field could not find. I was amazed at how well he was locating birds and some diehard lab guys that participate in field training made some comments about how impressed they were with the "lap" dog. Boykins are few and far between in Texas and not a lot of folks know about them. As I was leaving 2 of them asked for the breeder's information.
I take that as a blockbuster 1st hunt!!! Early Teal season starts Saturday and I hope to have an equally good result this weekend.
Good Luck in the field!!
Thats awsome Dave!What a great hunt and great tips.
Good job Pritch, I also had a great first week of early goose season as well as blue grouse.I took the whole week off and we hit it hard. Charlie 9 month old Boykin was definatly ready to go. Even tho we were hunting geese as big as he is. Little freaked at the 3 1/2 magnums blasting in the boat next to him, I have been working with 22 cap gun. He was still very birdy and was ready to go every morning. He swam out to one goose five times,bit the neck once but didn't retrieve.Oh well he was into it and come duck season he will think they are small. We also did a alot of grouse hunting only bagging three, but he worked great in the feild following his older sibling. He was doing good and it is great to watch them hunt. Good luck everyone! Sage grouse in two weeks, then duck season.
Thats Great News Dave. Jaz did great at her first hunt also. Sat still, didnt break until released and had a blast doin it. She learned to getup and sit on the hay bails and also learned to watch the sky and the gun barrel.
I dont know what I did to deserve such a great dog but I will take it! and shes only 6.5 months old!
Thats Great News Dave. Jaz did great at her first hunt also. Sat still, didnt break until released and had a blast doin it. She learned to getup and sit on the hay bails and also learned to watch the sky and the gun barrel.
I dont know what I did to deserve such a great dog but I will take it! and shes only 6.5 months old!
My pup Jill did a great job of finding and retrieving doves. There was only one problem. If the bird was still alive she would chomp to kill it. The result was a bird too mangled to clean. She's a regitered GSH Pointer.
My wife and I are heading into the Adirondacks here in New York for the opening week of the Ruffed Grouse season.I hope it goes as well as your hunt did with great dog work.
Hey Sports Fans!!
You got to see this!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1qIzxFZDhU
Clay Cooper-- Funny stuff.
Kelmitch-- Go get 'em this weekend. Keep us posted.
And big ups to Hondo, Charlie, and Jaz.-D
congratulations, dave great to watch pritch progress in time.
Congrats on a successful dove hunt!
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go pritch!. it's amazing to watch all of their training and natural instincts come together. can't wait to get out there myself. thanks for the advice!
Congratulations! Nothing like watching that first real retrieve on a real wild bird instead of a bumper or a planted bird.
And very good advice on putting down the gun to concentrate on the dog. It's awfully hard to do both at the same time, and virtually impossible to do both well at the same time.
chadlove- Thanks. And your absolutely right--for a long time to come I'll be able to close my eyes and see Pritch making that first retrieve. Man, what a cool feeling.
pinopolis- You're spot on about the natural instincts. When Pritch hit that dove field she was on fire. Like she'd been there a dozen times. -D
Congrats on the great first trip. It sounds like we had a really similar experience. It was a really gratifying feeling to see Hondo doing retrieves to my hand at 8 months, and he was actually seeing the birds really well considering it was his first hunt. I wish that I would have left the gun in my truck, but i could not resist. Hondo broke a couple of times., but the instincts and drive were really impressive.
I was in a crowded field and was really proud when Hondo found 3 birds that the 4 labs in the field could not find. I was amazed at how well he was locating birds and some diehard lab guys that participate in field training made some comments about how impressed they were with the "lap" dog. Boykins are few and far between in Texas and not a lot of folks know about them. As I was leaving 2 of them asked for the breeder's information.
I take that as a blockbuster 1st hunt!!! Early Teal season starts Saturday and I hope to have an equally good result this weekend.
Good Luck in the field!!
Thats awsome Dave!What a great hunt and great tips.
Good job Pritch, I also had a great first week of early goose season as well as blue grouse.I took the whole week off and we hit it hard. Charlie 9 month old Boykin was definatly ready to go. Even tho we were hunting geese as big as he is. Little freaked at the 3 1/2 magnums blasting in the boat next to him, I have been working with 22 cap gun. He was still very birdy and was ready to go every morning. He swam out to one goose five times,bit the neck once but didn't retrieve.Oh well he was into it and come duck season he will think they are small. We also did a alot of grouse hunting only bagging three, but he worked great in the feild following his older sibling. He was doing good and it is great to watch them hunt. Good luck everyone! Sage grouse in two weeks, then duck season.
Thats Great News Dave. Jaz did great at her first hunt also. Sat still, didnt break until released and had a blast doin it. She learned to getup and sit on the hay bails and also learned to watch the sky and the gun barrel.
I dont know what I did to deserve such a great dog but I will take it! and shes only 6.5 months old!
Thats Great News Dave. Jaz did great at her first hunt also. Sat still, didnt break until released and had a blast doin it. She learned to getup and sit on the hay bails and also learned to watch the sky and the gun barrel.
I dont know what I did to deserve such a great dog but I will take it! and shes only 6.5 months old!
My pup Jill did a great job of finding and retrieving doves. There was only one problem. If the bird was still alive she would chomp to kill it. The result was a bird too mangled to clean. She's a regitered GSH Pointer.
My wife and I are heading into the Adirondacks here in New York for the opening week of the Ruffed Grouse season.I hope it goes as well as your hunt did with great dog work.
Hey Sports Fans!!
You got to see this!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1qIzxFZDhU
Clay Cooper-- Funny stuff.
Kelmitch-- Go get 'em this weekend. Keep us posted.
And big ups to Hondo, Charlie, and Jaz.-D
congratulations, dave great to watch pritch progress in time.
Congrats on a successful dove hunt!
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