# So how many of you hunt for *real*



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

This may be a bit backwards, but I am thinking about trying it this fall. I mean, the real thing with real purpose sounds pretty appealing as opposed to fake tests. Plus, I really want to see my dog retrieve birds in a real hunt situation and also collect birds for training, maybe even cook one. LOL, I may be crazy. Certainly a bit backwards  But, then I also feel less guilty about killing birds--since I am using them and hunting.

I went out today with some guys and got to shoot and even hit the clay pigeons three times. So--yeah, now I kind of want to hit a bird and see my dog go get it for me


----------



## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

I've gone moose, deer and partridge hunting when I was younger but stopped when I was 18-19. To be honest, its not really all that sporting (especially when the partridge just sit in the middle of the road and you could literally smack them with a stick). The most difficult animal to hunt is definitely moose and is probably the most enjoyable, but good luck getting a tag this side of Nunavut. Forgot to mention, I always brought a dog and though they are useful for flushing game, I rather enjoyed the company more.


----------



## Radarsdad (Apr 18, 2011)

It is the most rewarding experience you can do with your dog. The tests will become something to do in the "off" season until you can hunt with him again. Don't expect too much from him at first. It takes 2 or 3 hunts until he gets the hang of it and pay more attention to the dog than the hunt at first. I usually have someone else shoot while I work the dog on the first ones.


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Radarsdad said:


> It is the most rewarding experience you can do with your dog. The tests will become something to do in the "off" season until you can hunt with him again. Don't expect too much from him at first. It takes 2 or 3 hunts until he gets the hang of it and pay more attention to the dog than the hunt at first. I usually have someone else shoot while I work the dog on the first ones.


I am sure this will happen because if I go it will be with better marksman than me. I don't know if I could even hit a bird! :


----------



## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

I do, but I'm not real good at it, the birds sorta laugh when I aim my shotgun at them. When you get ready to cook a duck, let me know, I have an awesome sweet and sour recipe.


----------



## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Nope, never have been. I'm a dog trainer not a hunter 
However I have promised Fisher when we are done with master I will find someway to go north and hunt for real (hunting in a FL swamp does not sound appealing)


----------



## AKGOLD (Nov 9, 2010)

Every chance I get to go Pheasant Hunting I'm going.

Only problem is that a true hunting situation changes your dogs behavior in comparison to being at a hunt test. Generally have to do a few corrections before the next test.

Pick a type of game and we probably going hunting for it up here.


----------



## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

I do a LOT of Pheasant hunting, not so much waterfowl anymore except for Geese. To waterfowl hunt you have to be able to ID the particular species of duck on the wing, and my eyesight isn't that sharp anymore. Geese are easy cause they're a lot bigger. Pheasants are easy because roosters are brightly colored with a white ring around the neck. 

It is a blast to watch a Golden in the field hunting pheasants. (And there are a lot of game farms that offer pheasant hunting so both you and the dog can get some experience.)


----------



## Buster24 (Apr 14, 2011)

Well when I grew up, I went hunting a lot because 
1) most of my friends were boys, smalltown boys who loves to hunt
2) I lived in the country
I would go duck hunting with my friends' bird dogs, but now that I live in the city I havent gotten around to showing Buster the ropes. It is something I would like to do when I get aroud to it though.


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

not yet, but I did sign up for a gun safety class!
Anney get your gun, lol. Let me know when you're ready, we have pretty good hunting up this way!


----------



## Golden Gibby (Jan 8, 2011)

We go as often as we can. Mainly upland, we are just learning the hunt test thing and are going on our first HRC hunt test on Saturday. Gibby is 11 mos old and has fun in the field hunting or training, he loves retrieving birds.


----------



## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I do hunt and it emphasizes for me the importance of proving the working abilities of our dogs to maintain the integrity of the breed as working retrievers. I mainly hunt upland birds, such as pheasants and grouse (and the southern Ontario ones are nothing like the one Braccarius mentioned up north--they are cagey, and fast, and very challenging shooting). I try to take a few geese every year at my parents farm, and duck hunt a little bit as well. Jump shooting ducks is really fun, but my favourite duck hunting has to be for woodies--we stand in flooded timber just at twilight and wait for them to drop in when he migration is happening. They are FAST! It is rather like shooting at tiny F14s! If I shoot it it gets eaten--at least the breast meat, and I tend to stuff the carcass with spray foam to get use of it as a training bird as well. I figure that since that animal has given up its life the least I can do is make the most full use of it as possible.

Hunt tests and real hunting have a lot of differences, but the attributes emphasized really do have bearing when you are hunting for real. I do not want a disobedient, unsteady, unruly dog in the blind beside me. Not only can they spoil the hunt, they are a safety hazard. It has also emphasized the importance of perserverance. The whole reason for having the dog is to recover the birds. So if a dog gives up on a difficult mark (even a single) that is a major failing as far as I am concerned. It is one reason I do not have too much sympathy when people complain about marks in heavy cover or "messy" water in JH like sticks or lily pads. I actually wrote an article about how the elements of hunt tests correlate to the traits and abilities and skills required by hunting retrievers for the GRCC newsletter earlier this year. It is too big to post here but pm me your email if you are interested in reading it.


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Do you think a dog that hunts has an advantage over those that just train in practice situations? I really think the hunting might be fun for both of us, and a great way to train for the tests at the same time. If she can do a real hunt with delivery to hand, she should be able to manage a JH, right?


----------



## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

So long as you maintain your standards (ie obedience in relation to control, steadiness, delivery to hand, etc) then it can help a dog, particularily if you get a crippled flyer on water. An experienced hunting dog has a better chance of having learned to deal with a difficult bird. When I went to the Rhode Island National our flight in JH went to water first. Breeze had a cripple that they actually sluiced on the water when she was on her way out to it (Don't get me going about the safety of that as a hunter--I was ready to beat those gunners with their own shotguns!!) But because she had been hunting she knew about live birds and live gunfire, and while she skirted to the edge of the cove out of the direction of fire she still kept trucking out to that bird. There were dogs that day who refused to pick up cripples on water--one dog even turned tail and swam back in after the bird grabbed at him.


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

oh Shelley, you're hitting on something that amazed me....now we're new to this, but at the couple of tests I've been to I was amazed that people were complaining if their dog got a cripple!!!!!!!!! Huh????? Shouldn't these dogs be able to pick up a live bird??? I mean really....
I told the gunners jokingly that I'd rather they just barely wing clip my bird, and let my dog chase it around for a while. He'd have a lot more fun doing that than just running out to grab some dead duck.
The funny thing was he DID get a cripple that was quite a runner, and he had a blast chasing/pouncing. I swear the gunners did it on purpose for me


----------



## EvanG (Apr 26, 2008)

Every fall.










EvanG


----------



## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> oh Shelley, you're hitting on something that amazed me....now we're new to this, but at the couple of tests I've been to I was amazed that people were complaining if their dog got a cripple!!!!!!!!! Huh????? Shouldn't these dogs be able to pick up a live bird??? I mean really....
> I told the gunners jokingly that I'd rather they just barely wing clip my bird, and let my dog chase it around for a while. He'd have a lot more fun doing that than just running out to grab some dead duck.
> The funny thing was he DID get a cripple that was quite a runner, and he had a blast chasing/pouncing. I swear the gunners did it on purpose for me


I like flyers because my dogs like them. And if the bird is still flapping when they get there, my dogs are even happier. The dog should be able to handle a cripple even at JH. To those complainers, I would say if you have not trained for it, you are not adequately prepared. If your dog is afraid of them despite training, then it is a lovely pet, not a retriever.

A cripple on water can be problematic if is is a barely wounded bird. The can often still paddle well, and will often dive. The dog has to know how to circle and watch for them to pop up and be bold in the grab when they do, or be willing to go under after the bird. I can understand this being problematic in a test if the dog has to spend a tonne of time chasing a bird around the pond. Beyond JH, where you are doing multiples, a cripple on an out of order flyer can be a big problem as the bird can travel so much that the dog is potentially going to have to trail that bird, eating up a lot of memory and making for a substantially different test than dogs who have had a stone dead flyer. So as a judge, the flyer is a tool I like to have at my disposal when I do AKC tests, but it must still be used with thoughtful planning.


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

How hard is it to hit a clay pigeon vs. a duck? My first time out I managed to hit three clay pigeons, and hope to get better with practice.


----------



## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Skeet shooting works on the mechanics of many of the shots you will have to make. Sporting clays simulate the flight behaviour of many of the species you may hunt. These games help with the mechanics of your shooting. However, you do not get to call "Pull!" before a grouse bursts, and clay discs don't deke the way a wood duck or timberdoodle can! I tend to be murder on pheasants because all I see is the bird in the moment, and the properly fitted gun just ends up in the right place on my shoulder. I will never be a competition skeet shooter as I tend to get the shooting version of the yips under all that scrutiny!


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

The Tito Monster LOVES LOVES LOVES flyers! It's the biggest reward he can get, to go after either a shot flyer or a shackled bird. (it's also when I see the obedience *issues* with him).
To be fair, though, we have only seen shot flyers on land at a JH, never on water. We've never done a SH. 
But Monster boy does love to dive, so I think he'd get a real kick out of that, too. Must talk to the pro about some live birds on the water 



sterregold said:


> I like flyers because my dogs like them. And if the bird is still flapping when they get there, my dogs are even happier. The dog should be able to handle a cripple even at JH. To those complainers, I would say if you have not trained for it, you are not adequately prepared. If your dog is afraid of them despite training, then it is a lovely pet, not a retriever.
> 
> A cripple on water can be problematic if is is a barely wounded bird. The can often still paddle well, and will often dive. The dog has to know how to circle and watch for them to pop up and be bold in the grab when they do, or be willing to go under after the bird. I can understand this being problematic in a test if the dog has to spend a tonne of time chasing a bird around the pond. Beyond JH, where you are doing multiples, a cripple on an out of order flyer can be a big problem as the bird can travel so much that the dog is potentially going to have to trail that bird, eating up a lot of memory and making for a substantially different test than dogs who have had a stone dead flyer. So as a judge, the flyer is a tool I like to have at my disposal when I do AKC tests, but it must still be used with thoughtful planning.


----------



## Cowtown (Sep 23, 2009)

I'm a big hunter...mostly dove, pheasant and quail.

This season will be the first with my pup and I absolutely can't wait.


----------



## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

I do. I've had the distinct pleasure of bird hunting (grouse, woodcock, and pheasant) over a champion Golden Retriever, 2 champion Spinones (one a bitch that I earned the 1st Award of Merit at Westminster with when she was 14 months old, and her daughter) and 2 champion Pointers.


----------



## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

My husband has hunted with all our goldens. He hopes to start working with Sasha soon. Max was our best bird retriever and lived to hunt. He ran through a barbed wire fence once and also retrieved a clay pigeon and cut his mouth.
Max is the golden with the big head. : ) Sophie was our other golden with him.


----------



## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I'll admit it, my idea of a nice way to spend my free time involves being somewhere with air conditioning and real bathrooms. I tried the field training because the dogs love it, not so much because I do.

My aunt does a lot of deer hunting. They have a bloodhound trained to track any deer that take off after being shot.

The only hunting I do is bargain hunting at the department stores..


----------



## Retrieverlover (Feb 8, 2010)

Speaking of hunting, where and how to do I get started on JH?


----------



## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> I'll admit it, my idea of a nice way to spend my free time involves being somewhere with air conditioning and real bathrooms.
> The only hunting I do is bargain hunting at the department stores..


:roflmao:That is hilarious!
That reminds me of a very nice lady I trained with a few times many years ago. She was used to obedience and agility and wanted to get a JH on her flatcoat so he could get one of those versatility-type awards. I think the poor dog passed away about a week before he was supposed to get some kind of hall of fame award! Something in her must have snapped because she sent us all an email saying that after a couple years of ticks, sunburn, poison ivy, peeing in the woods, eating in the car, (the list went on and on) she wouldn't be seeing us anymore! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

I go pheasant hunting. I prefer going alone, I like being with my dog in the woods looking for free food. I could definitely use some shooting practice though.

I don't think I would like duck, turkey, or deer hunting because you have to sit around. I took Boomer fishing and ice fishing a few times, we both loved it. Gladys is too busy to take fishing.


----------



## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

Not duck! Would love to go...but I always feel guilt after I kill something! My husband goes deer hunting and I go with him, but I think I would starting crying if I killed a deer! I have been dove and squirrel hunting. I think I am getting more soft hearted the older I get!


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Where are you located? 
There are two good ways to go about it. One is to see if there's a club in your area that you could join, or a training group.
The other, which is more expensive, is to hire a pro for private lessons. Costs a lot but might end up being more efficient in the long run.



Retrieverlover said:


> Speaking of hunting, where and how to do I get started on JH?


----------



## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

In our neck of the woods we call a cripple the "beer bird" as you owe the bird boys (who, of course, are over the legal drinking age) a beer. If they are not over the LDA, a _root beer._ 

At our hunt test last month, Doo got a beer bird, and LOVED it, he usually gets one each time we go to that test...hum, I didn't think of that until just now.


----------



## dcbeattie (Mar 20, 2011)

I hunted with my last golden.. great flusher.. and retriever. the 1st time i had her out i shot a Hungarian partridge.. I was hunting pheasant, but whatever. I shot the bird dropped, the dog took off and brought the bird back and dropped it at my feet. Since I hadn't done much work on this I was very surprised. I can't wait for my new one. I hope to actually train her properly


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Pointgold said:


> I do. I've had the distinct pleasure of bird hunting (grouse, woodcock, and pheasant) over a champion Golden Retriever, 2 champion Spinones (one a bitch that I earned the 1st Award of Merit at Westminster with when she was 14 months old, and her daughter) and 2 champion Pointers.


That's awesome! Who was the golden? Maybe I will do the same someday :crossfing


----------



## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

GoldenSail said:


> That's awesome! Who was the golden? Maybe I will do the same someday :crossfing


 
My Ch Nitelite's High Top Tennies. He loved it.


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

kfayard said:


> Not duck! Would love to go...but I always feel guilt after I kill something! My husband goes deer hunting and I go with him, but I think I would starting crying if I killed a deer! I have been dove and squirrel hunting. I think I am getting more soft hearted the older I get!


You know when I was little I hated hunting and thought people that did it were 'bad' because I loved animals--yet I ate meat and did not plan on quitting. But if you think about it, actually hunting for your meal and using it....there's something about that then just going to the grocery store and buying chicken that who knows how it was raised or fed? And if you eat meat, like it or not, you are a part of killing animals.


----------



## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Loisiana said:


> I'll admit it, my idea of a nice way to spend my free time involves being somewhere with air conditioning and real bathrooms. I tried the field training because the dogs love it, not so much because I do.
> 
> My aunt does a lot of deer hunting. They have a bloodhound trained to track any deer that take off after being shot.
> 
> The only hunting I do is bargain hunting at the department stores..


Jodie you sound a bit like me LOL My idea of camping is a hotel. 

My husband used to pheasant hunt with our old lab Shadow. She was a natural. When we lost her, I think it was too hard to go out without her, she loved it SO much so he stopped. He does deer hunt too. Now with Quinn and Gabby being trained he says he might go out again. However pheasants around here are scarce. He says he might try duck. I don't eat that type of fowl (I am not a chicken fan either but will eat chicken breast) so we would have to have someone who would want the meat. 

I recently bought my camo for my first hunt test coming up. UKC and it is required. It pained me to spend the money on it... I hate camo. Actually though after the Started division in UKC hubby will have to handle Gabby, I don't do guns. Not in any shape. I will carry in cases but that is as close as I will get. 

Hey Jodie while everyone else is out hunting... you and I can go shopping.


----------



## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Maxs Mom said:


> I recently bought my camo for my first hunt test coming up. UKC and it is required. It pained me to spend the money on it... I hate camo.


It's not my favorite either, but you gotta do what you gotta do.


----------



## UplandHntr (Feb 24, 2011)

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that my 2 would rather do than hunt pheasants and grouse.


----------

