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It's go time...
After nine months of yard and field work, it was time to see how Hank was going
to handle himself. To say that I was just a bit nervous before the season is
the understatement of the year. I had so many doubts about myself and about my
dog. I felt like I had not spent enough time with him in the field. I felt like
I had not spent enough time with him in the water. I felt like I had not spent
enough time working with actual ducks. I was truly worried that he would chomp
down on the first shot duck and immediately spit it out, never to go for
another again. At some point I even realized that I had never actually hunted
ducks with a dog! It is hard to imagine that I could overlook such a thing. In
hindsight I think I would have at a minimum talked to someone that had trained
and hunted with their own retriever. I needed to know what was expected from a
water dog.
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| So, with great trepidation I anticipated the first time Hank and I actually
hunted together. The plan for the season was to hunt in Tennessee and Missouri.
Without a doubt we were going to be attending opening day in both states.
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| November 22st, 2003 Morning Hunt
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| Hank's first day of hunting. There were more than a few buterflies in my
stomach. After spending almost an hour fighting Murphy's Law we were
finally able to settle down and attempt to hunt. Conditions were
definately not ideal, a lack of water in the spot we were hunting prevented us
from putting many decoys out. As the sun began to rise and the ducks
started to work, I set my shotgun down and took ahold of Hank's collar so that
I was sure he would be steady. Within a few minutes the first duck was
down. Hank had seen the duck drop and I could tell he had a good mark on
it. This wasn't too remarkable since the duck fell 20 yards in front of
Hank in the open 'water'. I released him and he ran out into the bar pit
and made the retrieve. When he delivered the bird to hand, I didn't
require him to heel. Instead I gave him plenty of praise since he was now
officially a hunting retriever.
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| A few minutes later he made a similar retrieve and was succesful. My pup
was now two for two and I was starting to swell with a bit of pride. Cue
the humbling moment. The next two ducks that hit the water weren't dead
and knew how to dive. Guess what? Hank didn't have a clue that
ducks did anything other than float on the water. My pup went from
batting 1000 to 500 in just a few moments and it wasn't his fault. The
only other notable retrieve that day was another muff. Someone shot an
approaching Shoveler and it landed on the bank less than 10 yards in front of
us. The bird wasn't dead and Hank just sniffed it and looked at me.
Before I could jump up and grab the duck it bounded back into the water and
swam off. Once again this miss was my fault as I had not worked with Hank
on live birds since he was a young pup.
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| All things considered I was marginally pleased with Hank’s performance that
first morning. He behaved fairly well considering it was hard for him to not be
proud of himself and to seek some attention from the 12 year old boy that was
hunting with us. The retrieves that Hank muffed, three out of seven, could be
directly attributed to a lack of training on my part. I recognized this fact,
licked my wounds, and joined Tim and Phil in strategizing for the afternoon
hunt.
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| Training Note
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| The use of live shackled birds throughout the early training is critical.
I dropped the ball in this department. Hank's good obedience paid off in
spades, it is the single most important factor in having a good started
retriever. How to deal with diving ducks is something that can only come
from experience.
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| November 22nd, 2003 Afternoon Hunt
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| Much slower pace than the morning hunt. We shifted our hunting to a
makeshift blind and I had to constantly work with Hank to get him to sit
outside of it, and away from me, so that he could mark. Hank made two
easy retrieves on two Gadwalls. Both fell behind the blind, one in the
water and one on land. The water retrieve was somewhat of a blind since
he didn't see it fall. However it was only fifteen feet out in the water
and he could see it from where Tim had him sitting. I made Hank sniff out
the duck that had landed on the bank. Hank was two for two in the
afternoon and six for nine on the day, five Shoveler hens, one Gadwall drake,
and a Gadwall hen.
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| Training Note
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| Don't allow someone to handle your dog if they don't know how. It wasn't
Tim's fault but it confused Hank. Teach the dog to feel comfortable
sitting at a position away from you so that he can do a good job of
marking. Very seldom will the dog be leaving for a retrieve while sitting
in the heel position. The introduction of actual hunting scenarios is
something not covered in the books I read and the videos I watched.
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| November 23nd, 2003
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| Hunted from the same makeshift blind as the afternoon before. Hank did a
fantastic job of sitting in his spot outside of the blind. It was the
first time that I noticed him watching the working birds. He made a
retrieve, via a dirt clod, on a drake Canvasback. Later on he retrieved a
drake Mallard and ran down a wounded Mallard hen that we had to search
for. It was obvious that his instincts were kicking in on this date and
that he had hunting in his blood. He was totally in to it! |
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| Training Note |
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| Not only should you use decoys during training, you should use a number that is
typical of what you will be hunting over. Use dead birds in order to
train the dog how to track. |
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| November 29th, 2003 |
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| First hunt on Woods Reservoir and Hank's first hunt out of a true blind.
Hank had trouble figuring out how to enter and exit the blind, and he couldn't
see to mark. I had to direct him on his lone retrieve of a Mallard
hen. The first duck I killed in the state of Tennessee. For the most
part Hank did well and behaved nicely. It was good to have his first time
in a blind happen when nobody else was on board. |
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| Training Note |
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| During the course of training, be very creative in imagining the conditions in
which you will hunt your dog. Think ahead, if you will be hunting from an
elevated platform in a flooded field, practice it. If you will be hunting
from a blind with a dog port, simulate it. If the dog will be sitting
outside of the blind on the bank, practice it. |
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| December 6th, 2003 |
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| Hunted blind #4 at Woods with three other hunters. For the most part Hank
wasn't a bother. Again Hank couldn't see to mark. One of the other
hunters did a 'water swatter' on two Bluebills. I couldn't get Hank past
the decoys in order to retrieve either one of them. Later on I was able
to send him on a blind retrieve for a Common Goldeneye that was laying in the
'pocket' of the spread. A Greenwing Teal was wounded and swam out into
the lake. I didn't even send him to try a retrieve on it. |
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| Training Note - Ditto the last one! |
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| December 12th and 13th, 2003 |
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| Went to Camden Bottoms in West Tennessee to hunt with Bryan Cunningham.
We didn't fire a shot either day. Hank sat patiently in the boat the
entire time. |
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| Training Note |
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| Foster patience and demand obedience. The dog's time with you in the
field will not always be filled with excitement and activity. |
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| December 17, 2003 |
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| Hank and I hunted alone in blind #4 on Woods. I brought a table for him
to sit on so that he could mark. Worked well as he marked a drake Wigeon
I shot. I had to coax him down the ramp and by the time he swam to the
area he had marked, the duck had drifted off about 30 yards. I casted him
out to the duck and he delivered to hand. He behaved well and was
somewhat at ease on the table. |
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| Training Note |
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| Handling is a must for a finished retriever. The sooner the dog is
introduced to the concept the sooner you will have better hunts. Losing
what starts out as a simple mark can be very frustrating. |
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| December 20th, 2003 |
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| Afternoon hunt with Tim at blind #4. No retrieves. Hank rode with
me in boat to chase down Greenhead that Tim shot. |
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| Training Note |
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| If you are going to use a boat for hunting, have the dog spend plenty of time
in and around it. |
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| December 31st, 2003 |
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| First duck hunt with my Dad. I didn't bring the table that morning so
Hank was not able to mark the first duck that my Dad shot. I got him out
of the blind and he watched me finish it off with a couple of shots. I
was able to direct him out to the bird. The shotgun splatter on the water
doesn't register with him yet. Later on I shot a drake Gadwall.
Hank exited the blind on his own and I was able to direct him to the
duck. He returned through the dog port. Good day! |
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| Training Note |
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| Use shot splatter on the water in training to direct the dog to a downed
bird. Also, just like the dog is expected to execute retrieves during a
hunt, the handler must remember what is required of him and be able to execute
it during the excitement of the hunt. Make sure the dog understands the
verbal cue 'dead bird'. |
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| January 3rd, 2004 |
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| Hunted in Missouri on the bank of another bar pit. Hank was PERFECT the
whole day. He is really starting to mature as a retriever. Only
three retrieves but he was awesome on all three. Simple mark on a
Shoveler hen at first light. He was sitting next to me on the bank and
was very steady. Later on he had a similar retrieve on a Greenwing Teal
drake. His last retrieve was a long mark (80 yards) on a Greenhead.
He went three for three and behaved well while sitting away from me during the
slow parts of the day. |
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| Training Note |
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| Improve the dogs marking skills by training them in low-light conditions.
I'm thinking all the time I spent throwing marks for Hank at night helped. |
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| January 10th, 2004 |
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| Hunted the AF2 blind. Hank had to sit outside of the blind on the bank, I
think he liked it better than sitting on a table. He had a blind retrieve
on the ugliest duck I've seen, a Merganser hen, that Tim 'water
swattered'. Later in the day he had the same retrieve on a drake Gadwall
that Tim shot in the same fashion. This time I threw a rock at the duck
instead of handling him because our hunting time was running short. Two
other ducks went down but swam out into the lake and dove, a Greenhead and a
Bufflehead. |
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| Training Note |
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| A rookie handler needs to learn when to take advantage of a training
opportunity presented in an actual hunting situation. Sometimes you must
swallow your pride on how you initiate the execution of a retrieve for
expediencies sake as you don't want to comprimise the hunt. Other times
you need to recognize a good opportunity to get the dog some experience.
I should have attempted a blind retrieve on the Gadwall. Pulling off a
blind through a huge decoy spread is something that Hank needs more experience
with. |
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| January 17th, 2004 |
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| Awesome hunt with Dad at blind #4 on Woods! Hank sat on his table and
marked all but one of the six ducks we shot. The one he didn't see was
one of two that Dad and I shot at the same time. He exited the dog port,
retrieved the duck, and returned via the dog port on four retrieves. I
took him to the bank and sent him on a blind through the decoy spread for the
fifth. The sixth duck was only wounded and swam out in the lake and
dove. Hank showed more maturity this day. Awesome job! |
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| Training Note |
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| As soon as the dog's enthusiasm for retrieving is set in stone, demand that he
be steady. Stick to this and make it second nature. The upland game
hunting habit of sitting upon a gun being fired will work equally well for
waterfowl. This leads into my next note, which is multiple marks with the
guns blaring. If the dog doesn't hold steady when birds start dropping
then he stands little chance of being able to mark more than one bird.
Demand steadiness and work on multiple marks. |
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| January 18th, 2004 |
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| Back at #4 with Dad, Tony, and Ben. First duck down was a drake
Ringneck. Hank marked, exited, retrieved, and re-entered. Second
duck down was only wounded and the boat had to be used. The third duck
down was a wounded Greenhead. Hank left before I released him and his
presence in the water prevented follow-up shots. He ended up swimming
down the duck after 150 yards and treaded water while the duck tried to
dive. Awesome retrieve, best of the year! To bad he wasn't steady. |
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| Training Note |
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| A steady dog is a good dog. Shotgun blast should equal SIT and
STAY! Plenty of experience in actual hunting circumstances is as
important as time spent training. There are some things that you cannot
teach a retriever. They have to experience doing it. Diving ducks
isone of those things. |
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| January 22nd, 2004 |
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| Hunted #4. No shots fired. |
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| January 24th, 2004 |
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| Hunted #4. No shots fired. |
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| February 7th & 8th, 2004 |
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| Hunted Snow Geese in Missouri with Tim and Dad. Only one goose was shot
and it was only wounded. I tried to send Hank on a blind through the big
Texas Rag spread but he got confused. When I shot at the wounded goose on
the ground he saw it and I released him again. He chased the goose for
almost 100 yards and succeeded on a 150 yard retrieve on a wounded goose.
He tackled it! We had litttle concealment for both days. I need to
get a dog blind for the field. |
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| Training Note |
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| When field hunting geese the dog must be still and be willing to lie down for
extended periods with loud geese working overhead. Practice the
situation. |
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| February 28th & 29th, 2004 |
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| Hunted Snow Geese in Missouri. Hank hunted while sitting in the layout
blind with me and did a great job, with a caveat. During the course of
the two day hunt he retrieved 17 out of the 25 Snow Geese that we shot.
The remainder were jump-shot and Hank either wasn't needed, busy, or wasn't
around. He developed a bad habit of breaking on the shotgun blasts, but I
think it was mostly due to the layout blind 'flying' open just before I
shot. Other than that he did fantastic. Several multiple
marks. One blind retrieve of a wounded goose that was 400 yards
away. He tackled many a goose during the hunts! He really watched
the working geese. Their honking really drives him nuts. |
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| Training Note |
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| Work with the dog in a layout blind. Mimic the exact hunting situation as
closely as possible during training. Shotgun blast MUST bea signal to
SIT! |
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With Hank's first season in the books, I have to say that I couldn't be prouder
of the way he handled himself and with the rate in which he matured during the
season. I might be a bit biased, but I can't imagine how he could have
done much better considering he had a rookie trainer and handler.
I am returning to 'training mode' for the off season with plenty of confidence
that he will be seasoned and ready to rock come next Fall. I definately
have a clearer picture of what I need to teach him and how I need to teach
it. I'll be looking for some books and videos that cover the more
advanced subjects. Here's hoping that Hammerin' Hank will truly be a
hammer come September and October!
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