Coco's 1st Trip and My last for the Season

Carl

Carl

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Staff member
Took Coco along for the ride this morning. No problem getting her inthe truck, she likes to go for rides with me.
We got the boat inthe water and she was a little hesitent to get in. So I picked her up and plopped her in. I hooked her up to the tied down next to me and away we went. She took the 6 mile boat ride in stride.
Got to my spot and started sticking the blind & putting out decoys. She whined a little when I was away from the boat but stopped when I talked to her.
I cut it close, only had a about 5 minutes to get settled before shooting time. Right at shooting time a big redhead dropped right in. When I shot, Coco didnt even flinch, like she didnt even hear it. So, she's not gun shy!! But no duck, when the spray settled down after the shot, the bird was gone. Must have dove, never resurfaced.
Lated a drake buffy came in & I dropped it dead. I told Coco "Dead Bird" and we jumped in the water. She gotright in and followed me as I told her Dead Bird, Fetch. I took her to about 20' from the bird before she saw it. She went over and nosed, then picked it up and started to walk towards me. Then she dropped it and started nosing decoys. I picked up the bird and handed it to her and we walked back to the boat, all the time praising her. She had no problem getting back in.
After that, I killed 3 more ducks, 2 really nice greater scaup and another buffy. Both times we repeated the drill, DEAD BIRD!! LETS GO! She get excited, followed me out and looked for the birds. But when she got to them, she just nosed them and didnt want to pick them up. A couple of tmes, she picked them up by the wing and carried them a few feet, then dropped it and started checking out decoys, stuff floating by etc.... She was pretty well behaved in the boat and on the ride back in too.

Overall, I am happy that she likes being in the boat, is not gun or water shy and was as well behaved as any 16 month old Lab.
I think the newness of the situation distracted her. She really loves doing dead bird fetches in the backyard, so I know she has the drive to achieve.
Also wonder if the saltiness of the water made her not want to pick up the birds????
We've got 9 months to get ready for next year, I think we need to spend a bunch of time on the water so she can get the newness of the situation out of her system.
Any advice is appreciated! Pics to come later!
 
Carl,
Congrats! Sounds like a successful first outing.

I can't tell from your description if she is 'birdy' (ie, she really LIKES retrieving birds) when you train. Bailey loves to retrieve and goes pretty nuts when I get out bumpers, but her ears go up another notch and she dances around more when she knows there are birds involved. That includes training, hunting or when we were going to a hunt test. Training with birds, she's borderline out of control. If she's not, make it fun and exciting to practice with birds. There are a lot of ways to help get her interest up (live birds, etc).

I'd definitely spend time training with decoys and brush around. Get someone else to throw some ducks a ways away amid a few decoys while you shoot a blank gun so she gets the idea of what is what. She'll catch on pretty quick. Also work on going through the decoys into the open water beyond (eventually). It can be tough to get a dog to drive through the area where the ducks 'normally fall' if all of your practice is just in the decoys.

HRC clubs usually have training days and provide birds/blanks/throwers/access to training spots. Bailey and I both progressed a lot when we were running hunt tests.

where are the pictures???
 
Sounds like your pup is coming along just fine.
Nothing like hunting over your own dog. I bet you can wait til next year already.
 
Way to get the pup out there with you Carl! The light bulb will eventually go off and she will realize what her place is! Xena was much the same off the get go, but now she is amazing!
 
Carl, I re-lived your story when you started to talk about Coco and walking her to the birds. Chili did the identical thing however the only thing I did differently was grab the bird and start tossing it for her to retrieve which she eventually did. The rest is history. I'll bet you can hardly wait until next year now that you know how well behaved she is and how she reacts to the sounds guns make. Good luck. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
Al
 
Like your dog, she likes to retrieve her ball, sticks, etc..., but just goes flat out bonkers when I throw a dead duck. So she's definately birdie!
 
Sounds like you've got it pegged (salt water is a bit scarce here in MO, so I haven't had to deal with that one). Either that or the mental overload "holy cow dad, LOOK AT ALL THE DUCKS OUT HERE..." Enjoy the adventure, and congrats on a good season!
 
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