Dove Hunt OK For First Hunt?

12guns · Post by **12guns** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:06 am

Dumb question I guess, but I have a good friend of mine that says he doesn't ever dove hunt his dogs before duck hunting them when they are young. Something about the dove loosing feathers and turning the pup off of birds? Sounds like a load of hog wash to me, but I honestly don't know.
Wilson is 10 months old and is quite the smart puppy. He LOVES to train/retrieve and he's been around my .45 pistol and my 12 gauge. He also has worked w/ frozen Teal and doesn't have any problems retrieving real birds. I plan on taking him Saturday and sending him on some close marks at first. I also will keep away from everybody else until I'm sure he's ok w/ the gun fire. The little turd already uses his nose to sniff things out, and he'll take casting hand signals for "over" about 50% of the time, we're still working on that as well as "back". He sends fine for blind retrieves, which I've seen other young dog struggle with. At least I've done something right! He may not know where it is, but he knows he's going for something!

Anything wrong w/ taking a farily young dog dove hunting for his first real exposure?? Any tips are great, thanks!

quailrunner · Post by **quailrunner** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:31 am

It's kinda like coffee-grounds in your coffee, some people just put up with it and some will dump out the cup. I plan on bringing a few birds home to throw for my pups before I take them out with me just to see if they are overly sensitive to the feathers. My last American Brittany hated them and wouldn't retrieve them, but we have one of his son's and he will retrieve anything and everything.

12guns · Post by **12guns** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:59 am

So far Wilson will retrieve anything and everything with no problems. I don't have any dove's available this week to work with, but if I see one in my backyard I might break out the .22 Colibri! Thanks for the response, good analogy. I have also been told plenty of water to rinse their mouth can help too.

Post by **Greg Jennings** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:24 am

This is a retriever and not a pointing dog?

Post by **Sharon** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:58 am

young retriever - yes with reservation

pointing breed- only confuses a young dog.

AzDoggin · Post by **AzDoggin** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:10 am

I'll be the bad guy.

You only get one first hunt with your dog. You know that some dogs find doves aversive. Why take the chance?

(other than being anxious and wanting fall to get here - I definitely hear that!!)

Good luck.

12guns · Post by **12guns** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:27 am

He's a lab, not a pointer.
Good tips, guess I have some thinking to do. I'm still leaning towards taking him mainly for the experience. If I were to not want to "chance it" than I might NEVER get to hunt him due to cold water, boat rides, other dogs, and other things that may or may not turn a dog off to hunting. Thanks for the replies thus far, and keep them coming. I guess my main concern is the feather loss of the dove. If that were an issue, I would guess it would be a problem w/ sensitive dogs. Wilson is well manored, but far from picky. I think if I threw my shoe covered in cayanne pepper he would bring it back and sit waiting for the next one! Not really, but you see my point. If I do take him, I will be sure to handle it properly. Like I mentioned before, I'll start him away from all the shooting, then I'll tease the crap out of him with the first bird. He should catch on and not be worried about the feathers. Any other reasons NOT to take him??

daniel77 · Post by **daniel77** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:56 am

So ducks don't lose feathers?

Sorry for being a smart alleck, but if he's ever had a dead bird in his mouth at this point, I'd take him. I must admit that I'd never heard of this aversion to doves until coming to this site. Not saying that it doesn't exist, but I sure haven't seen it. I'll add that I'm in Louisiana where we don't have the quail/pheasant/partridge populations that most of ya'll enjoy, so 98% of our bird hunting is either duck or dove, so I'm not clueless about dogs and dove hunting.

Biologically speaking, there is NO difference between a dove and a pigeon. A pigeon is simply a larger dove. They do constitute different species (within the same genus), just as ring-necked doves are a different species than white-winged doves or mourning doves. Nearly everyone on here uses pigeons to some degree, so where's the problem?

It is good that you are being careful and picky about your dog's first hunt, but I wouldn't worry whether or not my lab would pickup a mallard, but not a teal. Would you?

12guns · Post by **12guns** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:32 pm

I agree 100% but I've been told Dove have feathers that are small and tend to fall out in the dog's mouth causing issues. Regardless, since he's been on ducks and has a VERY high drive to hunt/retrieve, I'll be taking him. Thanks again guys!

jimbo&rooster · Post by **jimbo&rooster** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 2:59 pm

12guns wrote:I agree 100% but I've been told Dove have feathers that are small and tend to fall out in the dog's mouth causing issues. Regardless, since he's been on ducks and has a VERY high drive to hunt/retrieve, I'll be taking him. Thanks again guys!

those small feathers are pin feathers and ive shot a ton of pen raised pheasants and quail that molted them bad, and have killed several teal in early season with the same results. I have no trouble taking a young dog along on a dove hunt for its firs outing.... however, i will say that if there is anything that will go wrong with a pup it will happen in a hot dove field. I like to take a buddy along when i take a dog for the first hunt. I let my buddy do alot of the shooting early and I handle the dog and make sure that they are steady because I can tell you from experience that if you dont nip a breaking dog in the bud then you will regret it, and remember just cause a dog does well on training day doesnt mean the wheels cant come off the first time in the field. have fun and good luck
Jim

Post by **Sharon** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 3:22 pm

12guns wrote:He's a lab, not a pointer.
Good tips, guess I have some thinking to do. I'm still leaning towards taking him mainly for the experience. If I were to not want to "chance it" than I might NEVER get to hunt him due to cold water, boat rides, other dogs, and other things that may or may not turn a dog off to hunting. Thanks for the replies thus far, and keep them coming. I guess my main concern is the feather loss of the dove. If that were an issue, I would guess it would be a problem w/ sensitive dogs. Wilson is well manored, but far from picky. I think if I threw my shoe covered in cayanne pepper he would bring it back and sit waiting for the next one! Not really, but you see my point. If I do take him, I will be sure to handle it properly. Like I mentioned before, I'll start him away from all the shooting, then I'll tease the crap out of him with the first bird. He should catch on and not be worried about the feathers. Any other reasons NOT to take him??

Are you going by yourself? 2or 3 guys banging away is not always good for a young dog.

12guns · Post by **12guns** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 3:23 pm

I plan on taking my gun, but doubt I'll do much shooting. I'll have Wilson on a short lead tied to my belt so he won't break. Once I'm comfortable w/ him around the other guys/guns than I'll have him by my side ready to be corrected. Thanks again!

zzweims · Post by **zzweims** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 3:54 pm

A dove shoot is different than other types of hunting. Other than explosive feathers, difficult marks, and brutal heat (I've never seen a lab last more than 45 minutes on opening day here in Georgia--we mostly use boykins and versatiles), you have to consider that your pup may be exposed to either long periods of boredom or the sound of 30 other guns going off at once. That's a lot of pressure for a first hunt. That said, I've got several folks shooting my fields on opening day with young dogs. All have been informed to bring plenty of water and a stake out, and to be aware that many folks will not be bringing dogs and do not care to have a dog running around the field. If your pup gets bored or frustrated, do him and your fellow hunters a favor and remove him from the field.

Aline
http://zzfarms.com

12guns · Post by **12guns** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:16 pm

Agreed. If he's in the way, I'll go to the Bayou to work on some retrieves.
There probably will be 10-12 other guys there, but it's also a large field. If nothing else I can work him from a distance on a couple easy retrieves before hanging it up. On the other hand, if he does great and is having fun, we'll stick around a while. We'll see how things go!

sjkennels · Post by **sjkennels** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:02 pm

i would suggest taking one of those squirt water bottles so you can wash out his mouth. my old lab would spend quite a while trying to get dove feathers out of his mouth.

nitrex · Post by **nitrex** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:19 pm

Has the dog been properly introduced to guns? Not just a 22 crimp, but ALOT of shooting?

Nitrex

Fish 4-5 · Post by **Fish 4-5** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:24 am

I plan on taking mine out for the first time on Sat. But it will be a small place 4 guns total. They all know about my pup and won't get to crazy with the gun fire. I wouldn't take him to a large field first time out. I think my dog would be bouncing off the walls.

12guns · Post by **12guns** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 7:45 am

He has been around a .22, then .45, then 12 gauge. Last time, I would throw the bumper and shoot while he ran after it. Didn't bother him at all.
Oh, and I started shooting w/ him still in my 4runner. Then moved outside.
I know shooting can be problematic for some dogs, but being trained and exposed the way he has I'm not concerned w/ the gunfire. IF I get out there and find out I'm wrong, I'll remove him from the field. He's my first dog to raise and train, but I have a pretty good understanding of what to do and what not to do. I know the first hunt will leave an impression on him. Wheather it's good or bad is up to me.

Dave C · Post by **Dave C** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:53 pm

We have the same problems with UK dogs retrieveing our Wood Pigeons, they have alot of small feathers that get everywhere and alot of dogs dislike them.
Its all about the way you intrduce your dog to them but i have found most Labs are OK, I always introduce other cold game first like Pheasant, Partridge, Duck and rabbit, when your dog is comfortable with them, then i introduce Pigeon / Dove and i have never had a problem with a Lab and some of mine have retrieved over 100 in a day.

Good luck.
Dave.

Fish 4-5 · Post by **Fish 4-5** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 7:40 pm

Interesting, My buddys lab would not pick up doves but would retrieve anything else. He said the the dogs first dove retrieve was his last. After that he would find it and stand over it but would not pick it up. I hope this weekend I don't run into that problem. The squirt water bottle suggestion sounds like a good idea.

tommyboy72 · Post by **tommyboy72** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:22 am

My 9 year old setter and my 3 year old pointer won't even touch a dove but they retrieve quail and pheasant just fine. Those down type feathers that come out of dove really stick in their wet mouths and I think that is what they don't like. Bring along a bucket of water or water bottle.

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Dove Hunt OK For First Hunt?

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