# How the



## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

heck do you guys who hunt waterfowl do it with out a dog?

I was reminded again today of just how valuable a good dog really is.

I had two geese down and floating when a single came in and I dropped it. The bird sailed out about 50 yards so I quickly put a finisher round in its head, my dog went out to retrieve it and I turned to look for my empties and when I turned back around the goose was now 80 or 90 yards out and my do was in hot pursuit. I set and watched as both the goose and my dog became specks out in the distance. As I then watched through my binos my do caught up to the bird and it dove, it ended up diving three times before making the mistake of coming up to close to my pup and on its 4th dive attempt my dog followed and came up with him.







This got me thinking first, just how do guys hunt with out a dog and second brought back many memories of some great retrieves by my various dogs over the years.

So anybody else got any good retrieve stories about their dogs, past or present and of course I would love to hear what some of you who hunt without a dog do to get birds like this one today.


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## richard rouleau (Apr 12, 2008)

Nice there


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

No bands or neckcollars? WTH? :shock: Nice job! 
It never fails to amaze me what good hunting dogs are capable of. (especially Labrador Retrievers)


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

Fowl, if you're amazed at what a Lab can do, you should see a Chesapeake in action sometime :mrgreen:


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

Fowlmouth said:


> No bands or neckcollars? WTH? :shock: Nice job!
> It never fails to amaze me what good hunting dogs are capable of. (especially Labrador Retrievers)


It surprised me to, 6 birds and no bands. For this season, Up till now it's been 1 in 4 have been banded.


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## robiland (Jan 20, 2008)

My dog did this 3 times this trip. Birds that sailed out on un, and by the time we picked up the close birds, he was in hot pursuit. So amazing and fun to watch. This bird dove 2 times, and its amazing to watch the dog just stop and look around, then lunge at the bird just as it comes up. 



I got nervous when he went way out there. I know I cant swim like that. Just glad he can.


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## Cold Water Copper (Oct 10, 2014)

It definitely sucks not hunting with a GOOD dog. For those that never have hunted with a dog you never realize how much a dog adds to the whole experience. I had a black lab that was an amazing retriever. She would hunt all day long, submerge her head, mark long marks, multiples, a nose that was amazing, you name it. Sadly when she passed I found that I didn't care to hunt and haven't been for the last few years. Now my boys are getting older and we have started hunting again. The thing I miss the most is hunting and not having my dog. I didn't realize it until last year when I shot a pair of mallards. They came in close and swung out to the left. I dumped the first one. Then shot and dumped the second one as the second one fell in the frag, I looked back to the area where I thought the first one fell. Then and there I realized that I never worried about where the birds fell cause the dog would fetch them up. Long and short of it, after searching till the sun set, I only found the second one. Since then I have just told myself that I'll only shot one bird at a time so I can mark where they fall. 
To the OP it looks like you are hunting over deep, open water. I wouldn't consider hunting there myself unless I was with someone with a dog and/or a boat to chase down any cripples. 
They are truly amazing animals and make the best hunts more memorable. I have so many memories of me and my old girl. Every now and then I'll remember a time with her and you can't help but smile and/or laugh at the memories you have made. 
I can't wait til next year, when my pup is old enough to get out into the field to try and capture more memories of being afield.


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## BigMac (Feb 12, 2012)

This got me thinking how far do you feel comfortable letting your dog go on a retrive? Some times I get worried when my dog gets out there aways & go get her in the boat. I have heard stories of dogs cramping up when in cold water on long distance retrives. So any how whats some of your guys max distance you push your dogs to?


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## robiland (Jan 20, 2008)

Thats a good question. I want to know the same. Plus, what about the vest/flotation. Does that help or make you feel better?


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

BigMac said:


> This got me thinking how far do you feel comfortable letting your dog go on a retrive? Some times I get worried when my dog gets out there aways & go get her in the boat. I have heard stories of dogs cramping up when in cold water on long distance retrives. So any how whats some of your guys max distance you push your dogs to?


In deep water where she swimming I would say maybe 300 if that. I like to keep her in my sight. if it shallow water 400 yards. after that it pull the boat out.

I hate hunting with out a dog. two years ago I had to hunt with out a dog and it was not the same. Dogs make waterfowl hunting.


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## Labs2 (Dec 15, 2013)

I had a very scary experience two weeks ago on a fairly large reservoir. It was 3 minutes before shooting hours was over and wouldn't you know it I cripple a honker. Well I send my trusty steed out after it, at about two hundred yards into the res. and still not gaining any ground on the goose I started to get a little worried. So i start to calling whistling and calling he does not even care that I'm trying to get him back and its now getting dark. I start to panic now I have my two sons with me who are 17 and 14 and they are really breaking down emotionally. I left my 14 yr. on the shore where I shot the goose from and me and my 17yr. old drove around the lake 3 miles to the boat ramp, I was able to talk two guys into hauling me out on the res. in their boat to find my dog. At this point its dark the dog had been in the water for 30 minutes I'm thinking the worst. Well we drive the boat out to the middle of the lake and circle around for awhile with no dog in site of his running lights. At this point I'm thinking the worst has happened and I ask the gentlemen if he would take us to shore where I had left my 14yr. old and pick him up. So we start to head in that direction it now has been 45 minutes since my dog had left dry land to retrieve a honker when all of a sudden 150 yards of shore I see in the running lights my dog with the honker in his mouth swimming back to where this hole circus started. I grabbed him by his collar and lift him into the boat and he lets the goose go and just lays on the bottom of his boat exhausted. The goose was still alive so I wrung its neck went on to shore grabbed my 14yr. old and then headed back to the boat ramp. Those guys saved my dogs life I cant thank them enough. Everything turned out fine in the end my dog was happy but very ***** out and we now have a story to tell and remember for life. I did a little messing around on Google earth with way points and figure round trip was just a little over a mile swim. Thank gawd it wasn't that cold yet water temp. was 52 other wise things would have been a lot worse. 
Sorry for my long story just thought I'd share.


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## Utahyounggun (Nov 5, 2014)

Labs2 said:


> I had a very scary experience two weeks ago on a fairly large reservoir. It was 3 minutes before shooting hours was over and wouldn't you know it I cripple a honker. Well I send my trusty steed out after it, at about two hundred yards into the res. and still not gaining any ground on the goose I started to get a little worried. So i start to calling whistling and calling he does not even care that I'm trying to get him back and its now getting dark. I start to panic now I have my two sons with me who are 17 and 14 and they are really breaking down emotionally. I left my 14 yr. on the shore where I shot the goose from and me and my 17yr. old drove around the lake 3 miles to the boat ramp, I was able to talk two guys into hauling me out on the res. in their boat to find my dog. At this point its dark the dog had been in the water for 30 minutes I'm thinking the worst. Well we drive the boat out to the middle of the lake and circle around for awhile with no dog in site of his running lights. At this point I'm thinking the worst has happened and I ask the gentlemen if he would take us to shore where I had left my 14yr. old and pick him up. So we start to head in that direction it now has been 45 minutes since my dog had left dry land to retrieve a honker when all of a sudden 150 yards of shore I see in the running lights my dog with the honker in his mouth swimming back to where this hole circus started. I grabbed him by his collar and lift him into the boat and he lets the goose go and just lays on the bottom of his boat exhausted. The goose was still alive so I wrung its neck went on to shore grabbed my 14yr. old and then headed back to the boat ramp. Those guys saved my dogs life I cant thank them enough. Everything turned out fine in the end my dog was happy but very ***** out and we now have a story to tell and remember for life. I did a little messing around on Google earth with way points and figure round trip was just a little over a mile swim. Thank gawd it wasn't that cold yet water temp. was 52 other wise things would have been a lot worse.
> Sorry for my long story just thought I'd share.


dang that would be a scary sittuation, i had a similar one when we wrere swan hunting at bear river. we had taken our dog out she had only been out a few times, and we had her on a leash and my dad had the leash under his knee so she wouldnt run off. well we had some swans come over us and when we stood up to shoot she got up to. we didnt knock any down but we couldnt get her to come back because she was off exploring like dogs do. well she took off on a sprint dead away from us and it would have done no good for me to chase her because you cant run through that mud. well she disappeared and we just sat there hoping she would come back. a couple swans came over us and i ended up knocking one down but it hit the ground and stood up about 60 yards out there and as i stood up to begin the chase down, i see this tiny speck in the distance running full speed at that bird. she beat me to it and her and that bird had a stare down until i got there. we held on to the leash for the rest of the night lol. oh and that bird also came back to life twice that night and beat the holy living crap out of me :mrgreen:


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

BigMac said:


> This got me thinking how far do you feel comfortable letting your dog go on a retrive? Some times I get worried when my dog gets out there aways & go get her in the boat. I have heard stories of dogs cramping up when in cold water on long distance retrives. So any how whats some of your guys max distance you push your dogs to?


Guess I will share a story first before I answer the question.

My first dog was an amazing all around bird dog. She was a lab/golden mix and was just a natural hunter. One day (many years ago) my friend and I were hunting a medium sized reservoir here in the state. We were decoying and didn't have much happening in the spot where we were. The wind was roaring out of the north and all the birds were piling into a small opening in some willows down the lake from us about 200 yards. We got this brilliant idea that we would sneak down and jump shoot the birds. While we snuck in and flushed them, the shooting started and we managed to knock down about 8 or 9. As the shooting ended my buddy and I both were picking up ducks with my dog when a bird that was hit but not very hard (one that could not quite fly but was barley injured) took off out across the water with my dog in hot pursuit. As I said earlier the wind was whipping and the white caps were rolling. It wasn't long before we lost sigh of both the duck and my dog. I was calling and calling but nothing, I even fired some shots to see if she could key on them and make it back. We walked the shore line back to the south (not sure how long but it seemed like it was close to 20 minuets +) and then back to where we started when all of a sudden here she came with the bird. I though for sure I had lost her.

That day I swore from then on I would teach my dogs to come back/break pursuit when called.

Now to answer your question, I don't know just how far to let them go. I since have had her and many of my dogs since make long, long swims. I guess it all depends on age, water temps, the shape the dogs in etc.

I have been very fortunate to never have a dog drown while chasing a bird but I really don't like them in the water on a bird for more then a few minutes, after that I get real nervous and call them off.


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