First Day of Season

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duckingtugboat29
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First Day of Season

Post by duckingtugboat29 » Sun Jul 21, 2019 11:18 pm

Probably a really dumb question but here it goes....how will my chessie learn to transition from training to the real deal?

He is awesome with guns, bringing the dummy back, and most the stuff related to hunting....well for being 7 months old. Just interested in better ways to help him transition, thanks guys!


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fishvik
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Re: First Day of Season

Post by fishvik » Mon Jul 22, 2019 9:37 am

Start doing a fake hunt. Get out early in the dark, set up a blind, set decoys, bring a gun with blanks, call and throw a dummy with duck wings (or a dead duck). If you use a boat start practicing behavior and getting back in now, during the summer. This is critical if it is a small boat like a canoe. This will help them with the transition. When you actual take them out the first couple of times make sure the ducks you shoot are used a couple of times as retrieving objects from your blind. Throw them into the tules, not far at first, to get them looking there too. Good luck and have fun.

JONOV
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Re: First Day of Season

Post by JONOV » Mon Jul 22, 2019 9:53 am

Probably just fine. Have a hunting partner do the first bit of shooting and don't bring him out there with 12 guys in a pit blind.

Keep in mind the dog is the equivalent of an 11 year old that you're taking hunting. The concentration/ability to keep still are where you need to keep your expectations in check. The swimming for a duck is ingrained into him.

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duckingtugboat29
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Re: First Day of Season

Post by duckingtugboat29 » Mon Jul 22, 2019 11:20 am

Hey I appreciate the advice! First time trainer and just hoping to do the best I can.


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crackerd
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Re: First Day of Season

Post by crackerd » Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:55 am

duckingtugboat29 wrote:
Sun Jul 21, 2019 11:18 pm
Probably a really dumb question but here it goes....how will my chessie learn to transition from training to the real deal?

He is awesome with guns, bringing the dummy back, and most the stuff related to hunting....well for being 7 months old. Just interested in better ways to help him transition, thanks guys!
"He is awesome with guns, bringing the dummy back, and most the stuff related to hunting..."


Sounds like "most of the stuff related to hunting" does not include birds. If you ain't had the pup on birds yet, you're in line for a giant fail. Not the pup - it doesn't know what fail entails, it only knows "What's this thing with feathers you're asking me to transition from?..."

MG

birddogger2
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Re: First Day of Season

Post by birddogger2 » Fri Jul 26, 2019 9:32 am

Duckin -

I don't know where you are, but I suggest you look into either a Navhda chapter nearby or a Retriever club chapter nearby to get your youngster some experience on the real thing, in a controlled environment. I know Navhda does duck search drills and retrieves. perhaps a local chapter might be having a training day that you could attend to acclimate your dog at first and then at a later date, participate in the training. The thing with clubs is that there are folks with equipment that can be shared and extra hands when you need one, or two.

If you have a couple of good shooting friends who are willing to help, and a place to do it, you could also buy a couple of ducks and simulate a hunt, with one shooter, firing one shot to start out with.

Some kind of remote releaser would help I should think if you are doing it by yourself.

Just go easy...your boy IS just a puppy. Baby steps. I know how hard it is to go slow, especially with just one dog...but remember...you will be hunting with this dog for ten or more years. Give the dog time to grow up into what it can be.

Puppies can indeed show flashes of brilliance. But please understand ...it is a FLASH of brilliance and can be followed by a complete screwup...because it is still a puppy. The FLASH is very often the genetics poking though the puppy personality. It takes time and repetitions for that flash of brilliance to become the standard of performance.

Patience(which is a virtue I personally do not have enough of) and persistence, repetition and positive experiences will build on that foundation.

RayG

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