Productive first day?

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getzapped
Rank: Senior Hunter
Posts: 158
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 10:51 am
Location: Lockport, IL

Productive first day?

Post by getzapped » Sun Mar 15, 2015 3:58 pm

We hit the field for the first time today I brought three quail with. I let the wife hold the puppy out of view and i went and planted the birds. We waited a few minutes and i went and got the pup and unleashed her. We started walking into thw field and i know she only will run about 30 yds from me right now. So get about 25 yds from the first bird. She runs oddly, to me and away from me in zig zig covering ground in sort or a fanning pattern. Then i see her snap to something nose down and creeping. She pointed at the first bird about 5 feet in front of her. I never said a word to her and she just held there. I didnt know what to do so i started to circle and aproach to her front to kick the bird up. When i was about 10 feet to the bird she started creeping in the birs ran a little annd flushes. She barks and takes off after it. Same exact scenarion with the other 2 birds except one she started creeping on when she was directly in front of me and she could hear me moving up. But all three flushed and chased em clear across the field.

Then i figures we would take a walk i the wooda through some real swampy stuff. At this point she is pretty intense and i can tell when the nose is starting to work. Big deep sniffs in conjunction with her little nubby ta quivering. We we just trudging throught water and she starts scenting. I am thinking its kinda strange and she must be just amped up. Then she stops and points at a puddle of water. I see nothing, she seemed pretty sure something is there. So i circled her and about 3 feet in front to her left is quail sitting on a dry potion and the bottom of a tree. Definitely not one of the quails we brought, we were in a totally opposite direction from where we released. So i circled close to it and then she saw it and it flushed.

So all in all i think we did pretty well today. I learned a few things, like i get the difference between good flyer and bad flyer. I got a good idea of how she reacts to scent. And i also learned that i am leaving my family at home next weekend!

ThreeBritts
Rank: Junior Hunter
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:05 pm
Location: Depends on the season!

Re: Productive first day?

Post by ThreeBritts » Sun Mar 15, 2015 6:14 pm

Sounds petty good to me.

I can't remember who said it but the best tool a guy can use when training a pup is duct tape,for himself. :) Seems you did that part well. Nothing worse than hacking a pup, or dog for that matter for all those in earshot. :twisted:

Just in my experience(as limited as it is compared to many others)when working with birds don't fall in the trap I did. You go out with 2 birds and all goes well so you think if 2 is good, 6-8 or 10 will be better the next time.

Not so much. My dogs when they were really young, would come unglued with finding more birds in a short period of time. Pointing became optional and busting birds much more fun than pointing them. Also, they didn't want to retrieve the birds I shot for them from launchers after say the 3rd one. It got frustrating as heck and I just had to step back and relax myself and take the pressure off the pups.

You did great. You set the pup up for success and ended on a high note. It doesn't get much better than that in my book. As for the family, they sure can be a distraction, huh? :D

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bwire
Rank: Senior Hunter
Posts: 165
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:25 am
Location: New Oxford, Pa

Re: Productive first day?

Post by bwire » Sun Mar 15, 2015 6:19 pm

Sounds like a good day. Nice work.

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DudeRN
Rank: Senior Hunter
Posts: 186
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2014 11:30 am
Location: New Hampshire

Re: Productive first day?

Post by DudeRN » Sun Mar 15, 2015 6:39 pm

let the fun begin!

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