The flock poured into the timber gap, the sound of their wingbeats rising loud within the nonetheless morning air. More than forty greenwings descended on our decoys and, when the taking pictures ended, eight lay on the water and the financial institution. It was the kind of sight you bear in mind years later. But I had missed the whole factor.
Instead of taking pictures, I had been crouched on the doorway to the large picket blind, one eye on the hunters inside it and the opposite on my Lab, Hatchet, within the canine field. We had been looking at Habitat Flats in Missouri, and my guides had graciously agreed to let my 18-month-old pup decide up birds—on the situation that he was quiet and “100 percent” regular. So when Hatchet popped out of the unfamiliar canine field the place I’d put him earlier than authorized gentle, I deserted my spot within the taking pictures gap and put him proper again. Now, as a substitute of killing geese at among the best duck outfits within the nation, I used to be babysitting my chook canine. But that’s the dedication you make with the intention to prepare a duck canine throughout his first few seasons.
Painful although it is likely to be for diehard duck hunters to proceed coaching as soon as the season opens, that endurance is what each gun canine coach I do know advises: Handle first, hunt second. I’ve spoken with a dozen trainers in my efforts to coach my very own chook canine, and the next suggestions are all drawn from their collective knowledge. These suggestions needs to be useful for a hunter who’s coaching their first canine, however skilled duck hunters coaching their first pup in a decade would possibly be taught one thing, too.
After a number of extra waves of geese and a few delicate corrections—and no extra breaking—I felt assured I may depart Hatchet alone within the canine field, which was separated from the taking pictures holes. When I lastly pulled up on my first geese of the day, I doubled on a greenhead and a drake greenwing that splashed stone-dead into the pond—and proper in entrance of Hatchet. He waited, silent and shaking within the canine field, for me to ship him.
Don’t Rush It
No matter how a lot low season coaching you do, a younger retriever gained’t carry out like a seasoned one. So don’t battle the method, advises Kody Reynolds, head coach of Habitat Flats Kennels in Marceline, Missouri.
“I wish everybody would just slow down and take their time,” says Reynolds, who oversees the coaching of 60 canines every year and hunts two Labs of his personal. “Enjoy the puppy stage and don’t push them so fast.”
Once you create an issue—breaking on the shot, say—it’s going to take you twice as lengthy to repair it, warns Reynolds. Whining or barking whereas looking is an particularly thorny difficulty that’s important to nip within the bud instantly. (Whining, one thing Reynolds and lots of different trainers say is troublesome to handle as a result of canines don’t know they’re doing it, is likely to be addressed early on by standing beside your canine and bodily grabbing its muzzle and issuing a verbal correction whereas looking.)
“People say, ‘I’ve got to have a hunting dog for this hunting season.’ Well, you’ve got that dog for the rest of its life—so no, you don’t,” says Reynolds. “You can make or break that dog in the first 10 to 12 hunts, especially.”
Train for How You Hunt
Before our hunt at Habitat Flats, I drilled for all of the situations I believed we’d encounter there: prolonged place, kenneling in unfamiliar hides, steadiness to shot, and water retrieves amongst decoys. All that homework helped make his first expertise looking from a brushed-in canine field that a lot simpler.
“Think through everything and prepare dogs for every situation,” says Joshua Parvin, a coach with Cornerstone Gundog Academy. “Don’t … just run headlong into this, thinking your dog is ready to roll, and then all of a sudden things go south. It doesn’t go as expected and then you’re upset. We don’t want to get there because we want to set up our dogs for success.”
Parvin accomplishes this by slowly introducing variables as looking season approaches to in the end produce probably the most lifelike looking situation doable, right down to blowing a duck name. Combining too many new parts too rapidly—as many waterfowlers do in a pup’s first season—can result in unhealthy habits or full-blown failure.
In his 52-week on-line course for DIY trainers, Parvin spends per week apiece on three totally different waterfowl situations: a small physique of water, pocket water, and a subject hunt. Practice the way in which you hunt most frequently, he advises, however put together for all situations. That’s particularly necessary whenever you get an invite from a buddy or go on an outfitted hunt the place you may’t simply management your setup.
Plan Your First Hunt
When you do hunt your duck canine for the primary time, convey one buddy. Make positive he’s a superb shot, too, advises retriever coach Tom Dokken. Your job is to deal with your canine, and your buddy’s job is to kill geese as rapidly and cleanly as doable.
Choose a setup that means that you can stand beside your canine. You ought to be capable of see your canine, restrain him with a leash or by hand, and difficulty quiet instructions. Think of a excessive financial institution over a small farm pond, the place your canine can simply mark geese and attain cripples. Resist the urge to ask extra hunters, don’t hunt different canines, and don’t shoot except your buddy is able to dealing with your retriever.
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“It’s always about the dog,” says Reynolds. “Hunters have to learn to put the gun down and worry about the dog. You always want to make sure that dog is set up for success in a way that you’re paying attention to it and not the hunt.”
Keep your hunt quick and candy—half-hour is a lot if the looking is gradual, says Dokken. Finish the hunt whereas your pup continues to be engaged and, above all else, make sure that he has enjoyable. You wouldn’t prepare for 2 hours straight, so don’t hunt your pup for that lengthy.
Pack a Doggy Bag
It is likely to be a trouble to hold a pair bumpers and a half-thawed teal in your blind bag, however you’ll be glad you introduced them. When you propose to coach a duck canine through the season, make sure that to convey the next gear on every hunt:
- A leash or collar tab. No matter how assured you might be in your canine’s steadiness, restrain him till you’re positive he’s bombproof in each situation. I made this error on my canine’s fourth hunt, by which era I had grown complacent about his steadiness. As my looking associate tried to complete a diver on the water, Hatchet couldn’t take the taking pictures and flapping anymore—and leapt off his platform. The duck was nonetheless alive, my buddy wouldn’t shoot with a canine within the water, and we needed to hope Hatchet would attain the duck earlier than it dove. He made the retrieve, nevertheless it was an unsafe scenario that additionally strengthened unhealthy conduct: Breaking had earned him a duck. If he’d misplaced the chook, it might have been a important early failure in cripple retrieval (on prime of breaking). Avoid this pitfall altogether by leashing your pup till he can sit by the whole lot from a number of sloppy shooters to delayed sends.
- A neoprene vest. Even if it doesn’t appear that chilly, convey it. Young retrievers don’t but have the fats or muscle to remain as heat as an older canine and a depressing morning shivering on place gained’t endear your canine to duck looking. If he wants it, you’ll be glad you introduced it.
- A pocket stuffed with rocks. This is an outdated trick, however a superb one. Sooner or later, your pup will miss a mark on a downed duck and also you gained’t but be capable of deal with him to it. Toss a rock close to the floating duck, and the splash will draw his consideration.
- Snacks. You don’t wish to feed your canine earlier than or throughout a hunt, however you don’t need him getting hypoglycemic, both. On longer or colder hunts, come ready with snack cups of peanut butter or a squeeze bottle of honey. The morale increase from the deal with gained’t harm both.
- A bumper. If the looking is gradual—and it is going to be some days—give your canine a break with just a few enjoyable retrieves. It’s good apply, too.
- A frozen or not too long ago killed chook. When doable, I’ll tuck an actual chook (a lifeless one, clearly) into my bag. This is a trick I discovered from Dokken, who stresses that irrespective of how unhealthy your hunt goes, younger duck canines should be rewarded with, properly, geese. Hunt for an hour with out killing a single chook? You can nonetheless finish the hunt with a sensible retrieve. Put your canine on a cripple that by no means turns up? Plant the lifeless chook for him as a substitute. Just have in mind looking rules and bag limits if you happen to pack an actual duck into the sector.
Be Honest with Outfitters (and Yourself)
Many waterfowl outfitters are cautious of purchasers who wish to hunt their canines, and for good purpose. Their job, as they see it, is that will help you kill geese. If your canine is breaking or splashing within the decoys—a frequent drawback with consumer canines—it’s troublesome to kill geese. So the perfect factor to do is be up entrance with an clothing store whenever you’re planning a hunt. When reserving, clarify that you really want a part of the hunt to be about coaching a duck canine. Then, be trustworthy about your canine’s capabilities—and limitations.
The largest drawback with purchasers is easy obedience: Their canines gained’t keep of their conceal, and even reply to recall instructions. “It’s usually just the basics of obedience for the owner working their dog” which are missing, says Reynolds. “Put in that little extra effort to make sure the dog’s ready.”
Well earlier than the hunt, clarify to your information what your targets are on your canine (a number of retrieves), and what you’re prepared to sacrifice to perform them (taking pictures geese your self). Then ask the appropriate questions to ensure your canine can efficiently hunt the setup your information has deliberate. What sort of conceal is on the market on your pup? Will he should kennel in a canine field or can he sit on his MOMarsh platform? Will he be capable of simply see birds? Can you stand beside him? Will the information be looking his canine? If so, will he honor your canine and let your canine get a lot of the retrieves?
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One of my guides at Habitat Flats introduced his veteran retriever on our hunt as backup. It was the right introduction to looking with one other canine: His Lab honored my pup and picked up a duck that required dealing with in cowl, along with selecting up one of many eight teal. All informed, Hatchet retrieved two-plus limits and earned excessive reward from the information. “If everyone hunted their dogs the way you did,” he mentioned as we packed up, “everyone’s dog would be welcome.”
Troubleshoot Problems as They Arise
The subsequent morning, Hatchet and I proceeded to burn almost each scrap of excellent will we had earned. He didn’t break and he stayed quiet, however he began dishonest across the financial institution as a substitute of taking a direct line into the water, inflicting him to lose his marks. My satisfaction from the day earlier than turned to puzzlement, then frustration, and at last embarrassment. I desperately wished I had completed his “back” command, one thing we’d practiced on land however not but in water.
When Hatchet began blindly looking for geese I felt positive he ought to have seen fall, I attempted clearing away brush from his canine field. When that didn’t work, I put him on the information’s canine stand, hoping he’d have an unobstructed view of the pond. After that failed, I began heeling him to the pond edge, then sending him on retrieves. That labored just a little higher, however he continued to cheat and lose marks most of the time. The finest answer was the final one: to cease looking earlier than I did extra hurt than good.
How to Train a Duck Dog for the Next Hunt
Mercifully, we had a veteran retriever with us to assist decide up birds. Another information whispered to me, “I don’t understand—he did so well yesterday.” But I did: We had extra coaching to do.
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While most professional trainers I spoke with advocate looking your duck canine as soon as he’s regular to shot and might retrieve at hand (together with Dokken), Reynolds prefers to coach a duck canine on blinds earlier than their very first duck hunt. “They’ve got to be steady, and they must be able to handle and stop on a whistle,” he says. “That’s the absolute must-have.”
That morning I paid consideration to Hatchet’s strengths and I took particular notes on the place he was weak so I may develop a coaching. It had been enjoyable to observe my chook canine succeed, however his failures—which had been actually my failures as a coach and a handler—motivated me much more.