New pup on opening day

[ChadEde]

Looking forward to opening day of duck season here in California. I have two new lab pups that are 9 months old. I want to take them opening weekend but I wonder if it will be a good thing. They both have progressed really fast in training. The male is just so darn hyper for about 15 min prior to training. What are your guys thoughts about taking new dogs on opening weekend. I also will be shooting in a club and that's my main concern. I know there will be a lot of screaming and whistle blowing for the first few hunts. I know he will do fine on the hunting part just don't know how others would feel about someone training a new dog.

[Steele22]

I bought a 8 month old male last December. Well let me start from scratch. I had a choc female since 8 weeks old, had trained her by a buddy and myself. At a year and a half I took her to arkansas on her first hunt which was last year. First 2 volleys I held her collar they shot and she got 5-6 ducks and brought them back perfect but acted nervous. Next bunch came in and I shot and and she took off across an 80 acre rice field and into her crate in the bed of my truck. So when I got home after figuring out we fucked not shooting around her enough and or close enough I started my search. Found jet he was from burnt oak Kenneks in Carson Virginia. He was born 4-11-13 and was being sold as a started dog running 100 yard triples ff and cc been thru obedience. Anyway I picked him up the following Wednesday and had him in my pit back in Arkansas on sat, we had 6 guns and lots of hollering and shit going on and he never missed a duck. The only one he had trouble with was a cripple still swimming and flapping around he was nervous with it and slapping at it so I made him sit in the pit and I got it which must have pissed him off or hurt his pride cause he never did it again. I would not be a bit afraid to take a young dog unless there will be several dogs really close. Hope that helps

[Weston81]

If you won't be able to concentrate on working with your dog I would probably leave him at home. Opening day can be a lot of action packed shooting. My trainer told me three years ago that I may just want to leave my gun at home the first several hunts and be prepared to concentrate on just the dog. I was fortunate enough to not have any major issues and correct any I saw. It has made for enjoyable hunting since. Best of luck to you and your new dog whatever you decide to do. To see all the work pay off and that light bulb click for a dog is awesome.

[Flightstopper]

At 9 months you still have a very young dog and I definitely wouldn't take both. I would make sure and keep your focus on the dog and not shooting for most of the first hunt.

[firstflight]

At 9 months you still have a very young dog and I definitely wouldn't take both. I would make sure and keep your focus on the dog and not shooting for most of the first hunt.

I am no expert but I have had 7 and have trained my last 4 dogs over my 37years of duck hunting , if your dogs not ready you know . If it doesn't have the training it need You know .and will start bad habits it much better to teach the right way first , make sure you leave your gun at home for a while . You have to make the choice pass up a few ducks or mess up your pups . and remember there just pups .

[Rick]

I know there will be a lot of screaming and whistle blowing for the first few hunts. I know he will do fine on the hunting part just don't know how others would feel about someone training a new dog.

Reads like a good way to find yourself shunned, if not eased out of the club. Know I've seen some ugly breakups of long time friendships over dogs screwing up long awaited hunts at our camp. So I'd want to be very sure those hunting with and around you are as enthusiastic about introducing a pup to hunting as you are.

[ChadEde]

Thanks for the information guys. I know there will be a lot of up's & downs with hunting with a new dog. So far my male has had a really good dove season. By the third hunt he was already retrieving 100% by himself. I never even left my chair. He completely amazed me on how well this guy learns. I have had many dogs but these two seem to be born with the incredible hunting sense. I’m hopeful they will keep progressing. Everyone tells me that the keys to success are to just hunt them as much as possible. The only thing he hasn’t been introduced to is tulle’s. That’s the only thing that has me worried. I know he will have too much fun rummaging through them. Where I live its very difficult to reproduce this environment for training. I guess time will tell me whether he goes or stays. I appreciate all the input. I hope you all have a great season

[ChadEde]

Well today was my pups first duck hunt. I waited out opening weekend to let the zoo clear a little. I was pretty nervous for this hunt. I knew my dog has the drive but I was afraid he had possibly too much. Let's just say all my doubts were silenced with my first bird to hit the deck. Before that bird had landed the dog already had it on radar and was in the water before I could even give a command. Throughout the day his confidence kept growing as well as mine. He retrieved a total of twelve birds amongst two of us hunters. He even did great with one crippled that kept diving on him. He figured it out pretty quick and before I knew it he was back to the blind. I'm soo proud that the hard work is paying off. Im no professional trainer but I know how I want my dog to hunt. Let's just say he is way better of a bird dog than I have ever been.

[Rick]

Good on you for waiting until things had settled some at your club before introducing Pup to hunting. And good on him, too, sure sounds like he's got the right stuff. But you may want to rethink letting him go before being told to do so.

[ChadEde]

Thank you Rick. I have trained him to hold until he is given a command but all the people I have hunted with have told me that they want that dog on the ducks a** as soon as possible. I kinda questioned that advice and was told that our tullies are soo thick and ponds are soo big that if you dont kill the duck dead with your shot it will get away and get to the tullies where a dog has a hard time getting it. I believe that I shouldnt let a dog out of my sight until all shooting has definitly stopped. I know I hunt with a bunch of old school guys and they have experienced far more things than me. I am definitley still going to make him HOLD until given a command from here on out. I appreciate any and all advice.

[Weston81]

Good on you for waiting until things had settled some at your club before introducing Pup to hunting. And good on him, too, sure sounds like he's got the right stuff. But you may want to rethink letting him go before being told to do so.

X2, Glad to hear your dog did well!!! I do however agree with Rick on this one, many dogs have been shot on accident because they break early. It usually starts with the dog breaking when the guns go off or when the duck hits the water, but it will likely get to the point that the dog becomes conditioned and will break as soon as you stand up to shoot. You get one low group of teal buzzing through the decoys and your dog is in the water and it’s a recipe for a disaster. Your dog will learn to use it's nose for anything it can't find and it's amazing how good they will become at it.

[firstflight]

Great Job on the pup. only thing i would offer up is stop that pup from breaking now or you will have a life time of it . That's how I messed up my first dog .

[Rick]

Thank you Rick. I have trained him to hold until he is given a command but all the people I have hunted with have told me that they want that dog on the ducks a** as soon as possible. I kinda questioned that advice and was told that our tullies are soo thick and ponds are soo big that if you dont kill the duck dead with your shot it will get away and get to the tullies where a dog has a hard time getting it. I believe that I shouldnt let a dog out of my sight until all shooting has definitly stopped. I know I hunt with a bunch of old school guys and they have experienced far more things than me. I am definitley still going to make him HOLD until given a command from here on out. I appreciate any and all advice.

You've been given bad advice by folks looking for excuses not to go to the trouble of steadying their dogs. Never mind the safety aspect and even that most dogs I know of being shot were actually shot jumping in front of their owners' guns, not by some careless guest with no stake in the dog. Staying put until the bird is down will improve the dog's mark on it and improve the odds of recovery, as pursuing dogs are dividing their attention between navigation and the bird's path and more likely to suffer depth perception problems or lose track of it altogether due to navigation issues or intervening cover - even if they're concentrating on the right bird in the first place. Have seen the proof of that time and time again in literally side-by-side comparison. The breaking dog is more apt to get lost along the way and start hunting short, while the steady dog with a solid mark is more apt to actually get to the area of the fall first. And it's not the dog that leaves first that has the best shot at recovering cripples but the dog that finds its scent trail first.

As for tules or other high, dense cover, once again the steady dog's perception of how far back into or beyond it a bird fell will be more accurate than a pursuing dogs. And you'll find that birds falling in heavy cover are a whoooole lot easier for Pup to track than those hitting the water, plowed ground or sparse cover in any case.

[firstflight]

Thank you Rick. I have trained him to hold until he is given a command but all the people I have hunted with have told me that they want that dog on the ducks a** as soon as possible. I kinda questioned that advice and was told that our tullies are soo thick and ponds are soo big that if you dont kill the duck dead with your shot it will get away and get to the tullies where a dog has a hard time getting it. I believe that I shouldnt let a dog out of my sight until all shooting has definitly stopped. I know I hunt with a bunch of old school guys and they have experienced far more things than me. I am definitley still going to make him HOLD until given a command from here on out. I appreciate any and all advice.

You've been given bad advice by folks looking for excuses not to go to the trouble of steadying their dogs. Never mind the safety aspect and even that most dogs I know of being shot were actually shot jumping in front of their owners' guns, not by some careless guest with no stake in the dog. Staying put until the bird is down will improve the dog's mark on it and improve the odds of recovery, as pursuing dogs are dividing their attention between navigation and the bird's path and more likely to suffer depth perception problems or lose track of it altogether due to navigation issues or intervening cover - even if they're concentrating on the right bird in the first place. Have seen the proof of that time and time again in literally side-by-side comparison. The breaking dog is more apt to get lost along the way and start hunting short, while the steady dog with a solid mark is more apt to actually get to the area of the fall first. And it's not the dog that leaves first that has the best shot at recovering cripples but the dog that finds its scent trail first.

As for tules or other high, dense cover, once again the steady dog's perception of how far back into or beyond it a bird fell will be more accurate than a pursuing dogs. And you'll find that birds falling in heavy cover are a whoooole lot easier for Pup to track than those hitting the water, plowed ground or sparse cover in any case.

Plus 1

[ChadEde]

I DEFINATLY appreciate the advice. I actually did notice him stopping short of the bird by at least half way and circling around trying to find the scent. Even when the bird was in clear view. Although this only happened twice it was somthing I reconized then. This was great advice and makes a ton of sence.

[Rick]

I actually did notice him stopping short of the bird by at least half way and circling around trying to find the scent. Even when the bird was in clear view. Although this only happened twice it was somthing I reconized then.

Been meaning but forgetting to get back to this. On the closer falls, he may not have gotten lost because of breaking so much as just have been inadvertently conditioned by hand thrown training bumpers to expect the fall to be at their distance. Don't know that's the case, but it's likely if you haven't made a point of varying the length of his training marks well beyond the distance you can throw them.