Two Pheasants on One Retrieve
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:14 am
It was opening weekend for pheasant hunting in South Dakota 2006. We were in South Dakota hunting for the first time and it was my dog Bob's first season in the field. I had spent a lot of time training him prior to the trip because he is an Airedale Terrier and I wanted to make sure anyone who saw him working could be convinced he was a good gun dog and had a right to be there. Anyway, near the end of our first pass through a large dry slough, a few birds started to kick up. The group (3 hunters, one guide and two dogs - the other dog was a lab) had shot a couple pheasants already which were promptly retrieved and bagged when one flushed about 30 yards out to my 2 o'clock. The other hunters were at my 12 o'clock. I shot that bird and sent Bob to retrieve it (about a 50 yard retrieve). Just as Bob neared the bird to retrieve it, another bird flushed and was shot by one of my buddies and it landed about 40 yards to my 5 o'clock. As this was happening I was watching Bob. At the time when the second gun shot, he was facing me with the first bird at his feet, ready to be picked up. Bob looked up to see the fall of the second bird. He then picked up the first bird and ran over and to pick up the second bird. He proceeded to bring both pheasants back to me and delivered them both to hand. He had two pheasants in his mouth at one time! I was amazed and thrilled to see it, but my buddy with the lab was not happy. It seems Bob brought back the bird he sent his lab to retrieve. I appologized to him, but I was still pretty pleased. The guide who was with us said he had never seen anything like it before and that comment made my day! With this and a couple of nice water retrieves later that day, my Airedale Bob proved he was a good gun dog and I couldn't have been more pleased.
