A Quick Turn Around May Cure Slow Fetching Field Dogs
A retriever that literally “snails” back to his owner with a downed bird, either on land or from water, can be highly exasperating. All retrieves should be swift and confident. Typically, the hesitant, almost casual, return stems from early handling errors, reinforced by repetition.
Doubtless unaware of it, the overly eager owner, attempting
to speed a retrieve by going part way toward his returning dog, actually helps
accentuate the dawdling return. One solution to lessen the problem and
accelerate the retrieve is simply to turn and quickly stride a short distance
away from the dog. Such a move usually encourages the dog to hurry so he can
follow you. As he follows, just continue walking until he comes close, then turn
to face him and receive the retrieve.
Overly rough handling, also, may be at fault. If your dog halts briefly to adjust his hold on the bird, or he inadvertently drops it, and you get on him too harshly, he may not be too eager to return a bird quickly. Solution: Take things a lot easier and try keeping a more casual approach on your dog’s outings, whether training or on actual hunting trips
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Hyoglycemia In Your Retriever
If you use your retriever for flushing dog work in the uplands, you may face him with the problem of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). The higher energy stress beyond normal waterfowl duties a fetch dog encounters quartering frequently dense, heavy upland cover can readily lessen the blood sugar needed to produce energy faster than it can be supplied.If your retriever shows signs such as dizziness, weakness or possible seizures, low blood sugar may well be the culprit. To return his normal blood sugar levels, immediate rest is needed. Both preventive and curative measures include providing sugar uplifts, such as small pieces of candy, other than chocolate, which in quantity is exceedingly toxic to dogs. Extending rest breaks between entering new coverts can go a log way towards reducing the hypoglycemia problem
A Real American Gun Dog
If you're the kind of hunter who appreciates utility of performance afield, then you might well want to become familiar with the American water spaniel. This medium sized field dog boasts of being one of very few breeds developed entirely in America. A worthy retriever in water, the breed also is esteemed for his work in the uplands on a variety of game.
Learning more about this grand little gamester is easy. Just become a member and supporter of the American Water Spaniel Club, Inc., by contacting: Patricia A. St. Onge, 4835 South Mill Loop Road, Maple, WI 54854. As a member, you'll receive the club bulletin, the AWS Review, chock full of timely, interesting information about the breed. ation eagerly assimilated. To nourish that insatiable appetite, countless books have been written on the subject A genuinely worthwhile entry of recent years is Chris Dorsey’s "The Grouse Hunter’s Almanac," published by Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN. With stylish charm and warmth, the topic is extensively covered by a man who’s experienced its every aspect, this book deserves, and should achieve, classic status
Late Season Ruffs
Autumn’s color-splashed foliage now but a lingering memory, both hunter and ruffed grouse must quickly adjust to the changing environment of late season. For the grouse, survival wears a harsher face; for the hunter, victory comes a little harder.
Where earlier, abundant wild grapes, thornapples, blackberries, apples, dogwood berries, and barberries offered succulent pickings, the birds must now scavenge for less varied and often meager fare.
Vanished, too, is most of the leafy screening cover that obscured and sheltered grouse from avian, four-footed and two-legged predators. And, because those enemies still dog them, the bird’s haunts must be changed to places of more fitting safety. Now denied early fall’s benevolence, grouse undergo a marked behavior shift, as well, adopting a heightened wariness that seems to border on nervous paranoia.
Although grouse diets can vary somewhat, from region to region, their late season staples normally include sumac, acorns and beech nuts, hop-hornbeam, buds of poplar, birch, aspen or, ironwood, cherry and hazelnut, clover, barberry and whatever green shoots still can be found.
While hunting woodlot edges, abandoned farms and pastures brought early fall success, later on, as the season heads toward full-blown winter, it’s the conifers that lure grouse and offer hunters the best bet. Since they furnish protection for the birds from the elements and their principal natural enemies, the Great Horned Owl and the Goshawk, heavy stands of hemlock and pine are reliably favorite cover.
Not to be overlooked, at least till the weather turns horrid, are cutover areas in mature woods. When bordered on two or three sides by evergreens, these and smaller slashings often draw grouse and should always be approached with gun at the ready.
The customary pattern for hunting any particular piece of cover for late season grouse should generally differ from earlier employed approaches. Even if a certain covert suits birds both early and late, the way you tackle it must conform to the changing cover conditions. Also, because Ruff’s escape routes will adjust correspondingly, so must your tactics. Try mentally picturing the cover’s layout, then consider how the seasonal differences have probably affected it before you hunt it again.
Tactical patterns aren’t the only patterns needing a change in late season grouse hunting. In October, that cylinder-choked gun may have proved deadly on close-flushing birds when the leaves were thick, and many of the birds were young and naive. But now, no leaves, and older, smarter, spookier birds prevail. Surely an upgrade of chokes and, perhaps, of gauge, too, would prove advisable. Hey, naturally it’s tough to forsake that neat little cylinder and improved choked 20. But, face it, it really doesn’t fit the bill for scoring consistently on late season grouse.
Admittedly it’s heavier, that trusty, old 12 gauge with modified and full choked barrels, but put your faith in it. And also drop down a shot size from 7-1/2s to 6s. Ruff isn’t especially hard to kill, so the combination of larger gauge and pellet size will increase chances for success on the longer shots you’ll have to take.
It goes without saying that if you own a gun dog, hunting without him is a no-brainer. If he’s a well experienced pointing breed with gobs of grouse sense, and an outstandingly sharp nose to wind and point his birds from way off, great. Any other kind of pointing dog probably won’t help much with super spooky late season grouse.
Retrievers or spaniels that naturally work near at hand, or can be held close under good control, with minimum loud handling, are a better bet. Also, they can prove valuable in finding and retrieving those birds you knock down. Camouflage personified, a ruffed grouse sprawled stone dead on its belly on a mantle of dead leaves can be as tough to find, without a dog, as an honest politician at election time.
But hunting Ruff without a dog can be both productive and satisfying, too. For late season gunning, an unhurried pace and frequent stops, a la still-hunting for deer, proves the best method. Grouse, in fact game birds in general, seem less apprehensive at the approach of regular continuous steps of a hunter or animal. Less frightened, the birds, often merely move quietly aside and let the danger pass. But it’s the uneven pace, with stops and starts like an enemy stalking them, that unsettle grouse and push them into flight
Almost foolproof, the system really pays off for the solo hunter, and also works well for a pair of dogless gunners. The trick is to pause for 10 or 15 seconds at each stop, especially at a blowdown or any place of good concealment where Ruff would ordinarily feel secure. At each pause, look all around, noting the bird’s most probable escape routes. Then, often at your very next step...out he’ll go, unaware that you’re ready for his startling flush.
Be primed to scrap all the rules, and always ready to improvise. Taking the challenge of late season grouse hunting to a more equitable level certainly won’t diminish fair chase. But it will add to your enjoyment as well your bag.
For the consummate grouse gunner, Bonasa Umbellus is an unending study, with fresh information eagerly assimilated. To nourish that insatiable appetite, countless books have been written on the subject A genuinely worthwhile entry of recent years is Chris Dorsey’s "The Grouse Hunter’s Almanac," published by Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN. With stylish charm and warmth, the topic is extensively covered by a man who’s experienced its every aspect, this book deserves, and should achieve, classic status
Avoiding Gunshyness
If you imprudently introduce your young puppy to the sound of the gun and
then continue to compound your mistake,
you’re well on the way to producing a man-made “gun-shy.” Some trainers advocate
a gradual, sustained introduction to the sound of gunfire. This method involves
shooting a cap pistol some distance from the dog at feeding time, then a few
weeks later, progressing to a 22 caliber blank pistol and eventually a 410
shotgun for the dog’s first few field trips. But, perhaps the best and most
natural method occurs in the hunting field, where the gun’s report can
properly—and, initially, subconsciously—be associated with the stimulating sight
and scent of game. Under these conditions, any dog’s acceptance of gunfire
should come quite naturally. Wait for just the right moment, when the pup is a
fair distance from you, and engrossed in chasing a bird (pigeons are great for
this) before discharging the gun into the air. If he does notice the noise,
simply ignore him and continue your outing without further shooting. Repeat the
procedure a few days later, putting a bit more distance between pup and gun.
Should he still show more than momentary, mild concern, limit subsequent field
trips to one shot per outing till his apprehension disappears completely.
A Major Game Bird Is A Gun Dog Owner's Delight
Known by a spate of colorful assorted local names and a Latin moniker "Philohela minor," the American woodcock is probably surrounded by more mystery and less fact than any other game bird in North America. Even in areas where this beloved game bird exists in fair abundance, the average person is unaware of his presence, much less his identity. Nor is he any less a stranger to many casual hunters whose occasional gunning trips take them into the alder runs or popple groves, which are his favored haunts
Even the most dedicated upland bird hunters frequently scratch their heads when it comes to separating fact from fiction concerning the habits and movements of Philohela minor - the American woodcock. And no wonder, for Old Big Eyes, Long Bill, or Timberdoodle, as he is most affectionately known to the dyed-in-the-wool woodcock hunter, is indeed a strange character. Among the oddities that distinguish him in habit and appearance from all other upland game birds are his near-perfect camouflage, his large round eyes and awkward-looking, long bill, his whistling wings, his erratic flight, his migratory instincts and nocturnal activity. A smallish bird weighing in the neighborhood of 8 to 10 ounces, the woodcock sports a combination of brown, cinnamon, buff and gray feathers mottled with black. So effective is his camouflage that should he be dropped by a hunter and land breast down, he would often be lost to the game bag unless a good dog were available to find him by scent.
Subsisting on a diet made up almost exclusively of earthworms, Philohela utilizes his long bill with precision effectiveness. It is unique in that it is hinged in the exact opposite manner from most other birds and animals, the upper, rather than the lower, portion being movable. Philohela uses it to probe into the soft, moist ground where earthworms abound. Largely nocturnal, he does most of his feeding at night and rests in or near the covers that provide his food supply during the day. His principal range extends from southeastern Canada down through the area east of Mississippi into Louisiana.
To hunt him most successfully a good pointing or flushing dog is an absolute necessity, for the Timberdoodle will often lie tight as a bug in a rug and let the dogless hunter walk right by him. To the purist woodcock gunner, it is near sacrilege to seek him with anything other than one of the pointing dog breeds. The thrill of a perfect point on woodcock measures up to sheer ecstasy to those upland hunters who love this grand little gamester.
Though any gauge shotgun can be used for woodcock, a light, short barreled scattergun choked no tighter than improved cylinder is generally preferred by a majority of Timberdoodle addicts. Any good over/under, in 12 or 16 or 20 gauge, with 26-inch barrels choked improved cylinder and modified, loaded with shells in shot sizes 7-1/2 or 9, makes an ideal combination for putting Philohela minor in the hunter's game pocket.
Gun Dog Control Afield
Establishing control early has been standard field dogs training advice almost forever. Yet, many gun dogs are under control only when it suits their fancy (usually with their owners close at hand and enticing distractions at a minimum). Subject those same dogs to the sudden, strong temptations common in the blind or afield, and control can disappear as quickly as popcorn at the movies. Thus, the only valid measure of control occurs when and where it really counts: in the field. But the retriever, spaniel or pointer truly under control need not be an automaton, continually hacked, whistled and directed like a mechanical puppet. Rather, the best controlled dog invariably responds most kindly to minimal handling, making himself and his owner look good in the process. True control builds best on large doses of consistency, patience, perseverance and trust, all established starting with puppy's day one.
The Brittany: Hunter/Housepet
Oft thought of as a compromise pointing dog, because of his compact body and medium size, the Brittany is far more than just a fine substitute choice for owners who can't accommodate the larger pointers or setters. He is a top-notch field dogs candidate for consideration in his own right, embodying character, personality and talent worthy of any of the sporting dog breeds.
His genesis was the small Town of Pontou, in the French province of Brittany, from whence comes the breed's name. Imported into the United States in modest numbers in 1930, The Britt's rise to popularity took almost two decades to peak. Yet, his hunting abilities-retrieving and pointing-inexorably found high favor among upland bird hunters, who valued his keen scenting powers and moderate range in dense cover work.
The spaniel portion of his name was dropped by the American Kennel Club in 1982, although Canada still retains the full original designation.
Sporting a mostly white longhaired coat with either liver or orange markings, the Britt weighs in at an average 35 lbs and stands 17-1/2 to 20-1/2 inches at the withers. Alert, intelligent and affectionate perfectly describes the breed qualities.
Despite his passion for hunting, he settles downs easily in the house, where he becomes a companionable pet to adult and child alike. Though some members of the breed can be somewhat soft-skinned, most accept field dogs training in good spirit. (Photos courtesy of Chief's Brittanys at http://www.Brittanys.com)