Has any buddy out have problems calling back their dog off a cripple? Some of the inner bays where I hunt are any where from a 1/2 mile to 2 miles to the the opposite shore. It's happen to me twice in the last few years with my own lab and this year it happened to my buddy's lab. We were hunting from shore , no boat, we shot a goose, the way it crashed in water we were sure it wasn't going any where. It was about 50yds out so he sent his lab, he got within 15yds and the goose got a second life. It was to late to try to slouse it. The lab would get within 5' from it and the goose would start flapping and swimming away and stop after 6 or 7 yrds and the lab would close the gap again only to have the bird do it again. I knew from past experience this was not good and told him to call him back. But this lab wasn't giving up that easy. This went on for a while, the dog was so far out we could just about see him. My buddy started to panic, he felt helpless and there was nothing we could do. We were both using our whistles, he was jumping up and down on the shore line waving his tee shirt in the air and I kept firing off rounds trying to get to get his attention. I was starting to get more worried about my buddy he was really panicking, almost out of control. I could see him having a heart attack right there on the marsh.I tried to calm him down ,telling him the the dog was fine he had a vest on and even if stopped swimming he would still float because of it( I don't know if that's true but it sounded good at the time). After about a half hour of swimming he decided the goose won and swam back to shore about a 1/4 mile down the shore came out of the water wagging his tail looking at his master and thinking what are you nuts put your clothes back on I don't see any palm trees. I swear that dog would have gone right back out if sent.So the question is does the dog know when to quit, will the vest keep him afloat if he stops swimming????
Dog problem
- Thread starter Phil
- Start date
Tom Wall
Well-known member
Phil,
You've gotten good advice so far. Under thr wrong conditions bad things can happen to the best of dogs. I think the vests will provide some additional floatation.
Training is the answer. How much depends on what is wanted. Expecting a dog to do something in the field it has never done before is usually unrealistic. Here is the one command I ALWAYS expect my dog to obey at any time. It can be a lifesaver. The e collar is a good tool. But, if it hasn't been used in training the dog won't know what it means. In some cases the shock may cause a dog to go away from you.
Your situation is difficult to specifically train for. Ideally, you would like to dog to be able to move the bird closer to you so it could be sluiced. This could be done if the dog handled and was able to swim away from the bird and then get behind it and drive it towards the gun.
Basic handling skills are easier to teach than many people realize. Just knowing here, back, left and right will give you enough control to get the dog to where you would like it. There are many good training books out there.
Good luck,
Tom
You've gotten good advice so far. Under thr wrong conditions bad things can happen to the best of dogs. I think the vests will provide some additional floatation.
Training is the answer. How much depends on what is wanted. Expecting a dog to do something in the field it has never done before is usually unrealistic. Here is the one command I ALWAYS expect my dog to obey at any time. It can be a lifesaver. The e collar is a good tool. But, if it hasn't been used in training the dog won't know what it means. In some cases the shock may cause a dog to go away from you.
Your situation is difficult to specifically train for. Ideally, you would like to dog to be able to move the bird closer to you so it could be sluiced. This could be done if the dog handled and was able to swim away from the bird and then get behind it and drive it towards the gun.
Basic handling skills are easier to teach than many people realize. Just knowing here, back, left and right will give you enough control to get the dog to where you would like it. There are many good training books out there.
Good luck,
Tom
rodney tyroch
New member
What I have done with my pup is I whistle 2 times or I use the e collar tone . I trained her 2 beeps mean the same. But I never used the tone sound with discipline part of the collar. So they are not related. It has worked good for me. I would probable reacted worse than your buddy if my little gail out there.
Wispete
Well-known member
You got some good advice from people who forgot more about dog training then I ever knew. That said, The basic commands of sit, Stay,and come are commands that for the dogs safety can never be disobeyed. They have be constantly reinforced. I hunt alot from a shore blind. Our boats are out of sight 300 feet away. When ever we have a cripple and it's more than a hundred feet from the decoys theirs a scramble for the boat. We pick up the dog and purse the cripple, dispatch it, and send the dog for the retrieve. We have found it saves time and protects the dog at the same time. The same thing if the dog ever get tangled in decoy strings some times they will pull them in. We don't take the chance, get the boat.
Bradley Carleton
Member
In my experience, this scenario depends on the drive, level of training of the dog, and most importantly, his overall health and age. If a dog has a lot of drive, it may lead to his demise if training has not been developed to the same level as his desire. With a hard-driving dog (one tht doesn't know when or HOW to give up) it can get itself into a LOT of trouble. I had a springer spaniel once that did not know how to quit. He dove 10' down for tennis balls in the swimming pool and would retrieve diving cripples all day. This was fine until, one day, he chased a cripple under 1" of ice. He swam underwater for about 20' and tried to come up - with the duck and a mouthful of weeds - and could not get out from under the ice. I jumped out of the boat with an oar and started smashing ice to get to him. When I did he came up spitting water out of his nose, STILL with the duck firmly held in his teeth. My advice: unless you KNOW that this dog can persevere through extraordinary circumstances don't give him the opportunity to jeopardize his life. One the other hand, if he shows some common sense and doesn't exhibit a "do or die" mentality, unless he's old or out of shape, let him go,... he'll know when to turn around. I'm glad to hear this didn't end tragically.
First of all I'd like to thank everybody for their input. A couple of things to note - there is no current, trees, or ice that the dog could have gotten into trouble with. We do a lot of training in the off season. We have no problem doing swim bys or calling him off dead birds but you can't duplicate this scenario in training. I think one of the problems was with the wind. I don't hink the dog could hear our whistles. Both of our dogs are really hard driving which makes it tougher. We have both decided not go to this particular spot again without a boat. Thanks again for your input.
Phil,
DO you use the mega-whistles? These are whistles that have a built in little "mega-phone" around them. They run between $7-$10. The mega-phone helps project the sound out . You will see them used by most filed trialers where long distances are the norm. To help train like this in the summer buy live duck and pigeons. WIth the pigeons you can just wing clip them and toss them live into the water . They will flap and swim in a very enticing manner . Run your scenario using this bird and call the dog off. Obviously if the dog is collar conditioned I would have the collar on for corrections as needed. If the dog is soft mouthed you can use the bird over and over but the pigeon will need to be allowed to fry out as their feather aren't waterproof like a ducks. To use the duck, you can tie the wings with a soft ribbon and depending exactly on what you want to work on you may want to tie the feet as well.
Have another dog along to make the eventual retrieve so that you aren't sending mixed signals to your dog by calling him off and then allowing him to retrieve.
baumy
DO you use the mega-whistles? These are whistles that have a built in little "mega-phone" around them. They run between $7-$10. The mega-phone helps project the sound out . You will see them used by most filed trialers where long distances are the norm. To help train like this in the summer buy live duck and pigeons. WIth the pigeons you can just wing clip them and toss them live into the water . They will flap and swim in a very enticing manner . Run your scenario using this bird and call the dog off. Obviously if the dog is collar conditioned I would have the collar on for corrections as needed. If the dog is soft mouthed you can use the bird over and over but the pigeon will need to be allowed to fry out as their feather aren't waterproof like a ducks. To use the duck, you can tie the wings with a soft ribbon and depending exactly on what you want to work on you may want to tie the feet as well.
Have another dog along to make the eventual retrieve so that you aren't sending mixed signals to your dog by calling him off and then allowing him to retrieve.
baumy
Eric Beaumont
Member
I had a similar scare in early December as well. I was hunting the St-Lawrence with 2 - 3 foot swells from shore and thought I had shot a goose dead. I sent my dog on the mark and as the dog approached the goose started to swim away. My dog kept the pursuit up, but as she it the 100 yrd mark I started to loose sight of her in the waves. Then it came to a point where I could not see her. Obviously panicking , I rushed and got the boat out onto the water and started looking for her. I could not find her or the goose...now I was freaking! I decided to make a pass close to shore and ask my partner if he could see anything and at that momment I saw a little brown thing appear from behind him.
She is a very well trained dog, and I can usually call her off. However, I guess with the noise of the wind and the waves she could not hear me. I just glad she had enough sense to come back to shore. It eventually turned out to be a great hunt, 8 geese and 10 mallards.
She is a very well trained dog, and I can usually call her off. However, I guess with the noise of the wind and the waves she could not hear me. I just glad she had enough sense to come back to shore. It eventually turned out to be a great hunt, 8 geese and 10 mallards.
Dave Yes we both have mega whistles. We're definitely going to have to do more work with live birds this summer, there's nothing like live fliers. We both were into the hunt test gig for awhile. I have gotten a Jr. title and a couple legs in the senior then just quit going ,to much politics. I met some real nice people at them but it was some of the people who ran them I didn't care for. If you weren't in the click, any way I decided the ribbons any didn't make him a better hunter or a better friend so now I just train at my leisure and have fun.