DOG STORIES

[Neil]

How about sharing some of the funnier things you have seen afield.

Once when snipe hunting with my Boykin trained to hup on shot and flush, he was being tested as three of us were shooting often into a large flight in a flooded rice field. My son said he looked like a jack in a box, he would sit in stubble and then jump up when sent to refrieve. Then as he was jumping a ditch, he hupped to the shot in mid-air, he came down to go underwater. He just disappeared. I waited several seconds that seemed like 30 minutes before he leaped out to higher ground, shook off, sputtered, and gave me a dirty look like only a dog can, as though it was my fault.

Do you have one?

[rinker]

One of the places that I used to hunt had a place where someone had dumped some junk along a fence row. In the middle of this overgrown fence row was a white porcelain toilet that had been dumped (no pun intended) there. My dogs would go down that fence row and back that toilet every time that we hunted there.

[deke]

We were out goose hunting when my pup was 6 months old, we shot at a flock that came in un noticed over the decoys and ended up killing six in the decoys, but winged one that sailed a hundred yards out into the field. Being the hyperactive pup he was we decided to find out just how big his cods actually were, we lined him up and sent him after the very much alive goose. He took off like a shot and was on the goose in seconds, although this goose did not cooperate like he thought. Everytime he tried to grab the goose it would turn on him and give him a beating. After five minutes or so of us all laughing we decided we should go help the pup out. We start walking over there and about halfway we hear him let out a bark, and we can see the goose has the dogs lip in its beak. Finally the dog breaks free and runs away from the goose and back towards us, I figured he was gonna hide from the giant bird, but instead he rounded us and got some speed up and tackled the fleeing goose. He then grabbed it by the head and shook it until the goose was no longer a "threat". From that day forward every goose that hit the ground has gotten the grab and shake treatment before being returned.

[Neil]

Deke,

I had a similar thing happen with a very soft mouthed golden, after a canada kicked her butt, she went in with fangs barred. The Boykin I mentioned above, Blue Duck, was as tough as his namesake, lost the first round to a cockbird, he came staggering out, bleeding without the phez, I sent him back, he went in growling and a heck of fight ensued, he retrieved a partially plucked bird.

The golden continued to treat all geese the same way, the Boykin did not hold a grudge.

[stlgsp]

Years ago we went on a rabbit hunt with my husband's family and my father-in-law's beagles. The first rabbit was retrieved by the older dog Jo Jo who would always bring rabbits back to the person who made the shot. The first rabbit was brought to my husband however it was wounded, jumped out of his hands and ran. Jo Jo chased it down and brought it back but once again it jumped and ran. Again Jo Jo retrieved it, trotted back to my husband, gave him the evil eye and delivered it to my father-in-law. They shot quite a few rabbits that day and every retrieve was brought to the shooter unless it was my husband who got dirty looks as Jo Jo took them to my father-in-law.

[Neil]

Years ago we went on a rabbit hunt with my husband's family and my father-in-law's beagles. The first rabbit was retrieved by the older dog Jo Jo who would always bring rabbits back to the person who made the shot. The first rabbit was brought to my husband however it was wounded, jumped out of his hands and ran. Jo Jo chased it down and brought it back but once again it jumped and ran. Again Jo Jo retrieved it, trotted back to my husband, gave him the evil eye and delivered it to my father-in-law. They shot quite a few rabbits that day and every retrieve was brought to the shooter unless it was my husband who got dirty looks as Jo Jo took them to my father-in-law.

Now tell me dogs are not capable of higher level thought.