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Sarges first hunt.....

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Went out last night to scout/hunt a field without the pup. Took a popup blind and my bow (always wanted to shoot geese with my bow). Well we had about a 100 birds in a 1.5 acres sweet corn field but the closest bird was 62 yards. With 10 mins of hunting left I figured I would try my luck with a 62 yard shot. Let the arrow go..... and missed left by an inch or less. Dangit!!! So without spooking the birds we waited them out until they flew back to roost in hopes they would be back this morning. At 8am the first 4 flew in and never made a sound. I had Sarge out of his mutt hutt so we got busted to say the least. At 840 another batch of 7 flew in, one landed right in front of the pups blind while the other 6 circled above raising hell. Finally as they came in to land I sat up and shot the lead bird, and busted the one off the ground in flight. Never got a 3rd shot off bc a house was in line with the shot. Sarge stayed true and never left his blind, so I was very proud of him. I heeled Sarge and sent him on his first goose retrieve with HIGH expectations...... but to my surprise he busted ass out to it, tried moving it and realized how heavy it was and said FUGG this!!! Now we have a problem!!! He's never retrieved or messed with a goose so I knew not to jump balls deep in his ass to soon. I walked out, commanded "fetch" and he tried again but dropped it. After 3 sessions of "hold" and him starting to shut down I realized I had to switch gears. This pup is 9.5 months old.... time to make it fun! So instead of the stern "fetch" command I simply let him mess with his and the walked away praising him. This drove him NUTS that I was leaving him.... sure as shit he picked it up and ran all the way back to the blind with the bird. So now we still have another bird down.... I line him up and send him with tons of praise upon the arrival of the bird and finally I got him picking them up for fun now. Used the birds as training aids for the next 30 mins and with a lot of praise he had no problem bringing them back except for tripping over them a few times. Hopefully by the end of the season he'll get the point and I wont have to say a word. Here's a few pics of him today.



 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Great job handling that, Zach! I had to do the exact same thing with Betty when I introduced her first dead duck to her. Today I even had to do it a bit on her first doves, too. I think any foreign bird/object is going to produce that result for a little while, but she'll get over it. Having a dog that knows the "fetch" command is priceless.

A goose is a big task for a young dog... so getting Sarge to retrieve one so quickly like that is a big step in his career. Nice job.
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Thanks bud! It was def a huge accomplishment for me and him.... couldn't have been more proud when I saw it click in his head and then it was on like donkey kong!
 

Carpn

*Supporting Member*
2,234
87
Wooster
Thats awesome . I'm insanely jealous of you and Jim and the progress ya'll have made with your dogs .. I'm hoping to get me one soon .
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
That's great stuff Zach!! I had to do the same thing with Timber on his first goose. He was also just turning 9 months, and had never handled something as big as a goose! I remember starting to get hot when he wouldn't complete the retrieve, then calming down and making it about doing something fun. Before long we were using that dead goose as a bumper and the rest is history. You're gonna have a fun season buddy. Look forward to more pics.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Thats awesome . I'm insanely jealous of you and Jim and the progress ya'll have made with your dogs .. I'm hoping to get me one soon .

Whiskeyhoundog has some pups ready right now... same pairing as what produced Betty. hint hint wink wink lol
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Awesome man! What kind of blind do you have for him?

He's using a GHG groundforce blind. There's several good brands out there but each has their flaws. The GHG floors aren't very durable and after several seasons a dogs nails will tear them up kinda bad. The tanglefree blind is nice because it folds up accordion style but is a triangle and if your dog has any girth like mine they cant get turned around in them. Either way you go there are some nice blinds out there, I just chose this bc of size.
 

Longdraw

Junior Member
496
102
Central,Ohio
Awesome man! What kind of blind do you have for him?

If you are in the market for a dog blind,checkout hardcores dog blind,,,a snow goose guide I hunted with has had his for several years and it see's a lot of action,,I bought one and it is built well and setup is less than min. very simple and they make snow covers for it