Gun Dog Forum

I was wondering if you guys think that using doves for training would work. They are always in our yard in the mornings and I'm sure that I could trap some. I do know that its illegal to......so i dont need to be reminded...

Sounds to me like you've already answered your own question....it's illegal!!! Legality aside, depending what kind of training you are doing, they wouldn't be my first choice. If there is any retrieving work going on at all, there are a lot of dogs that don't care for all the feathers that come off a dove and you may cause yourself problems down the road. Do yourself a favor and go find some pigeons/quail/chukar.

Randy

Don't know what kind of dove's but the morning doves up here in Oregon are pretty tasty little guys. Sure wouldn't hurt to pop one in the launcher and give it a shot.

We have ECDs out here that are legal to trap or shoot all year long. Maybe your looking at Eurasions and If you could get them trapped I can't see them being any different than pigeons. Plus you could eat them when you were done.

Little story from me for what it's worth??? I run the dogs behind the house on aprox. 150 acres. When I don't put birds out and just run them my older female developed a "habit". Seems I found her on point one day that I had a gun but hadn't put out any birds. She was rock solid so I went to flush and this hellofa darting bird yapped out and I shot it. Come to find out it was a snipe! She fetched it up and from this day on she POINTS THEM!!!!!! All good if you want to hunt them! I was in a trial last week and Ayla had the best looking point I've seen in a loooooong time. I got up to where she was and all there was was water! I knew deep down what it was but had to try for something. Sure enough it was a snipe I walked almost 200yrds for! Use quail!

Nothing I know of beats doves for teaching young dogs to eat birds.

Rick Hall wrote:Nothing I know of beats doves for teaching young dogs to eat birds.

thats what I was thinking and pigeons are doves Rock doves, and I eat them when I kill them for training, I just can't kill anything without utilizing it fully.

Marinade them in garlic, balsemic vinagar and olive oil for a few days in the fridge and then cook them at 300 for about 40 minutes wrapped in tin foil in the oven and they are great.

Rick's absolutely right--unless you've got a dog "built" for dove (a Boykin, royal or common)



or a dog with a mouth lined with velvet. This littl'un



lived to fly again another day. Otherwise, proceed at risk of dog ingesting its first bird.

MG

I never used doves, ate doves, or shot doves... However I have heard from people who have that there are 3 major flaws with doves (not sure as to what type) for training. 1) Small scent cone. Much smaller than pigeons for example. 2) Their scent is bad. Not sure if its for you or your dog. 3) The feathers come out a lot easier and makes it unpleasant for the dog..

Can't really confirm any of this information so its purely speculation from my standpoint. Maybe someone can confirm?

Justin

And of course the other reason is it's ILLEGAL

eZZY

aylaschamp wrote:Little story from me for what it's worth??? I run the dogs behind the house on aprox. 150 acres. When I don't put birds out and just run them my older female developed a "habit". Seems I found her on point one day that I had a gun but hadn't put out any birds. She was rock solid so I went to flush and this hellofa darting bird yapped out and I shot it. Come to find out it was a snipe! She fetched it up and from this day on she POINTS THEM!!!!!! All good if you want to hunt them! I was in a trial last week and Ayla had the best looking point I've seen in a loooooong time. I got up to where she was and all there was was water! I knew deep down what it was but had to try for something. Sure enough it was a snipe I walked almost 200yrds for! Use quail!

snipes ( posted with permission)

http://lee460.zenfolio.com/img/v8/p362257708.jpg

Ezzy I bet you are a ball of fun at parties. Funhater.

My young pointer pup will point them and my 17 month old will go staunch when they fly off and want to mark them but my older dogs don't pay them any attention. I do believe they have a different scent than upland gamebirds and even pigeons.

Parties? What are parties? Can't remember ever being invited to one. I suppose you would have to have a friend to get invited.

All birds have different scents. And most dogs will point anything that you indicate is game. I am kind of surprised but all of mine still point doves and robins when they see them. We have a bird feeder just a ways from the backdoor and the dogs stick their heads out and stand till they are sure there are no birds at the feeder.

Ezzy

ezzy333 wrote:And of course the other reason is it's ILLEGAL

eZZY

Wow, yeah. I had to reread that because I thought he said "I do know its legal..."

NO, DON'T DO THAT!

Thanks Ezzy, you are a true fun spoiler, but common sense none the less

I work at the jail. I have 4 murderers in my class right now. Somehow shooting a dove seems pretty minor - but it's illegal.
I'd invite you to my party Ezzy but you're too far away.

Sharon wrote:I work at the jail. I have 4 murderers in my class right now. Somehow shooting a dove seems pretty minor - but it's illegal.
I'd invite you to my party Ezzy but you're too far away.

A Canadian Jailhouse Party, eh?

9 prostitutes and 4 murderers - everyday' s a party :roll:

Sharon wrote:9 prostitutes and 4 murderers - everyday' s a party :roll:

Boy, just when you think an off day of dog training is bad

We have tons of dove around where I live and I don't know who decided they were migratory either. They are here all year long. They never leave. We consider them trash birds to warm up on before quail season starts. Someone at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and Conservation needs to reexamine their seasons as well. We have tons more dove around here after the season ends the last day of October than we do during the season which runs from September 1st through October 31st. Where I hunt quail and run my dogs during the offseason I see at least 2-300 dove in an hour or two of running dogs. They never seem to be around during the season but in town you will see them everywhere. Smart little birds.

You might have more friends Ezzy if you were a little more willing to bend or break some rules. You remind me of some of my buddies who work for the Sheriff's office. They are no nonsense serious people as well.

I am not endorsing poaching either. To me dove are sort of a nuisance always leaving droppings on your vehicle and getting in my homemade automatic dog feeder and eating my dog food as well as leaving droppins in my dog waterers as well. Nuisance birds. I guess if there were not so many of them around here making such a mess I would feel a little differently about them.

I have always thought if its in black and white it doesn't bend. If it a bad law that needs bending then get it rewritten. But as long as its there it's to be followed because the next person may not think it should be bent and then you are in trouble. Guess that is an old fashioned approach though now that I think about it but I never found following a law cut into my fun.

Ezzy

Perhaps you should be a CEO for a large insurance company or financial advisor or investor and then maybe people would not be losing millions right now. I used to be the exact same way as you Ezzy but after being a police officer and a detention officer at the jail and seeing people who blatantly break and disobey laws in a big way and have it thrown out of court for paperwork mistakes, or a friendly judge or a prominant citizen or relative vouching for them then I figure my small law bending is not that bad. We see law bending and breaking every day in the media right now with no repercussions by our government. Well, I will get off my high horse now and back on topic. I personally do not believe using dove for training will work out very well for you even though pigeons and dove do taste the same when cooked I do not think they smell quite the same to dogs. JMHO.

Technically Illegal, yes. Importantly illegal, no. You call it bending the law, I call it unsupervised opportunity .