First ducks for Biggs the pup.

November 11, 2015

Several days spent in a tree stand had yielded some action and some frustration and an empty freezer to date.  But as I sat the evening of November 11, 2015, strapped to an ash tree that felt more like an amusement park ride than a perch for deer hunting, in the high winds, my mind started to drift to my pup Biggs.

I do not consider myself a good trainer or even an average trainer, but I am lucky enough to have access to people that are good trainers and give me great advice.  So when the opportunity arose to add a yellow pup to the family, from top notch blood lines, and train a pup again, I thought no problem, the first one was tough, but was a great dawg.  Unfortunately for Biggs and for me, I compared the new pup to the old veteran maggie dawg that had passed to the next hunt, and though Biggs was a smart (too smart) pup, and our training progressed amazingly fast (too fast), I ran into a little glitch in the wiring...some how I had taught my retriever to avoid completing retrieves.  He would charge out, pick up anything, and then he was content to just keep it.  At first I was ready to give up and just train him to find sheds, while dragging a check cord...and he excelled, finding four sheds in his first season as a puppy.  But I wanted more, I wanted a dual purpose pup, and I wanted him to retrieve...like a retriever.

I spent 8 weeks in hold and force fetch training with him, and he got worse, 4 weeks later, I went completely back through hold and force fetch again.  I tried two of every object, and it would work once or twice, I tried no retrieves for weeks at a time, and he would be more enthusiastic about charging out to get whatever was thrown...to keep it for himself.

Pro trainers told me force fetch him, teach him place command and use a stand and he will come to it with the bumper... We worked place command on a tree stand, I could send him on a back/over or straight in front from a remote location to place and he would go jump on his stand and sit...do the same thing with a bumper in his mouth and he would ignore me.  The dog knew his overs, whistle sit, non verbal sit and non verbal recall, he would come to me anytime I called...unless he had something in his mouth.  You get the idea, my frustration level was immense and my almost daily texts to my training mentor Carl led to some laughs (mostly for him) and constant encouragement.  Getting back to the maggie dawg, my comparison led to my frustration, and if it wasn't for Carl, Mr. Biggs would be classified as a yard dog by now.

The biggest frustration of all is the potential this pup showed.  He was doing 150 yard memory lines at 6 months old, he found a sailed goose in his only waterfowl action from several hundred yards away and tracked it down by scent in a stubble field, but I had to use a check cord to get the goose back. That frustration led to me having little to no motivation to take him hunting this year.

So fast forward to now, for weeks on end, I trained him like a normal retriever, but kept a 40 foot check cord on him at all times, even as reports come in of ducks being killed, I stay in the yard or at the neighbors and continue training, I don't trust him, I don't trust him.  But earlier in the week, we changed venues to a farm pond he hadn't seen for months and he made 2 very nice retrieves in heavy cover and ran them all the way back to me, yes it was a bit sloppy, and he even spit the bumper to sit at heel and get ready for the next retrieve...but he came to my general area.

Back to the rock and rolling tree stand, and a check of the the next day's weather reveals 40 mph winds, so I decide to give the pup a shot...that he deserves my attention and a chance (to fail).  A Thursday hunt on public ground should yield small groups of hunters and good odds of getting a spot, since the reports have been dismal on ducks in the area...I thought, even if I could just get one, it would be cool.  Even while swaying in that tree, I was on my phone looking for an unsuspecting individual to make the mile plus hike into the swamp with me and eventually talked an acquaintance, now friend Tim into going on his first adventure into what my dad aptly named...the trail of tears.

So it was set, the deer were safe for a day and in the middle of the night we were off for step one of the adventure.  The draw.  Just before the draw I joked that I should have put Tim's name on first as he would have better luck, but as luck would have it, we were drawn first, and were given the right of carrying all our gear through the timber in the dark to the swamp.  45 minutes later, covered in sweat, and setting decoys, and Biggs begins to bark in the darkness, and I thought to myself...I made a mistake!  Poor Tim is probably thinking what the heck did I get myself into.

Birds were few and far between, as we only saw a few in the pre-shooting hours of darkness that are typically so magical in the duck marsh, but as shooting time hit, and the cloudy skies kept things dark, Tim whispered that a mallard drake had landed to his left just at the edge of range.  The bird actually swam in towards us and finally jumped up giving Tim a shot, he missed on the first chance but recovered nicely with a second shot killing the bird dead.  Biggs did not see the bird at all, but he acted excited so I hooked him to his check cord and sent him.  He charged out after the bird, in a tough situation for any dog, wind blowing scent straight away and the duck drifting away.  He went to the edge of the weed line and turned around.  Hunting hard, I went to help and brought him to heel, with just a little tug to get his attention, I gave him a line and this time he locked onto the bird.  Biggs has had pigeons, 1 dove, and a goose, but at this point had never picked up anything in the water besides a bumper and dummie duck.  I watched and expected the worst but he grabbed the duck like he had done it a 100 times and turned right back to us.  I met him in the water, and just like that Biggs had his first mallard drake and first ever duck.


Despite the early morning barking antics, Biggs was well behaved and most importantly...still when we were calling and working the few birds we saw.

Biggs on watch

The next opportunity was a green wing teal that landed straight out in front of the pup and I shot it on the water without taking a chance of it getting away. He sat locked in until I sent him and charged out right to the bird, picked it up and headed back to me.  He did spit the bird just before getting to me, and turned to heal, like he was ready for another one.  But at least at this point he wasn't playing keep away.

 The action was slow but steady, and soon after our second duck the remaining groups left the area we were in and we had the only decoys out which proved beneficial in the long run.  At 8:45 a group of woodies buzzed us and I was able to drop one that fell 20 yards off the dogs right side, he saw the entire thing and charged after it.  The bird dove when he got close, and he immediately started putting his face in the water looking for it!  The bird popped up dead to his side but he was still looking under water.  I got his attention and gave him an "over" hand signal and he took it right to the bird, picking it up, and heading back to me.  He again dropped the bird short, so I made him pick it back up and bring it to me after grabbing the check cord just to be sure. 

I was elated by this time, 3 retrieves and the pup (18 months old but a pup by experience standards), had done better than I expected.  The action wasn't over as we worked another single that got funky on us and got behind us and got away, me missing the only shot, then we worked a small bunch of mallards and I was able to fold one above us splashing down to our left.  Biggs charged out and the bird dove and popped up right up against his butt, he again dug in the water looking for the bird, then saw the duck right next to him, he sniffed it and it flapped, and it threw him for a loop, he basically ignored it and started looking in the water again, before finally grabbing it for a second and letting go.  This was the first really lively bird he had been around and it messed with him a little bit, so I made him pick it up and hold as we walked back to our hide.

The final bird of the day was another single drake mallard, locking up and hooking behind us before shaving the tops off the trees and coming in right over our backs, Tim put the hurting on the bird as I finished him to the water.  The bird still had its head up so I shot it again...just to avoid another cripple...I sent Biggs and he seemed to be having trouble so I walked out...and the bird was no where to be found.  Finally Tim spotted the drake swimming away down wind of us.  I called Biggs off of the scent and we headed towards the bird as Tim moved in and finished it off.  On this bird Biggs grabbed it out of the cover and turned right to us.  He swam right by us and as I reached down, he did try and avoid me slightly but overall, I was elated with his work.  He held this bird like he was supposed to.  I could not ask for a better "training session" than that hunt.  On the long walk out, I told Tim, I would remember this one as long as I had a memory.  A few "first year" mistakes but he might just make a duck dawg after all.

Biggs after the hunt

Shed Dogs: Safety in the Field, and Beginner Tips...

Following the passing of my two faithful waterfowl labs, I chose to go through a lab-less period of time until a good friend had a sire involved in a very good breeding and by the grace of friends, luck, and God, my family ended up with a yellow lab pup that my 2 year old aptly named "Biggs."

Too many times I walked out of the house in the "off season" and had to get "the look" from my labs because they were being left behind. So even as Biggs made himself at home in our hearts and our house, I began thinking of how to utilize the pup in ways that I hadn't before.  That quickly led to a decision to attempt to train Biggs as a dual purpose pup, primarily as a waterfowl dog, but secondary as a shed antler dog.  It was a win win for me, an excuse to get out more in the "down time" for the hunting seasons and a reason to bring the dog along.  Not to mention, shed hunting is a great family activity that could now involve my two boys with "their puppy."

As I began to research I was shocked with the amount of information and countless Facebook pages dedicated not only to shed hunting but specifically to shed hunting with man's best friend.  This article is not an attempted explanation of the training process I went through, I will only slightly touch on the dual purpose thing.  I basically stayed consistent with training and cue words for bumpers and antlers differed.  "Hunt Bone" was used for antler, and the pup easily distinguished the difference with a little training.

Biggs, shed dog in training...

I was lucky enough to have my own shed antlers varying in size and age and I used them in all different environments and as he learned what it meant to "hunt bone" I started having my son plant antlers for me so I could be sure he was not simply reading my body language..which by the way he is very good at doing.

As the shed season is only beginning in my part of the mid-west, I have quickly learned a few things that I can pass on to those that plan to follow in my footsteps down the road with a shed hunting companion.  I am by no means an expert in any way shape or form, but if you are like me and just entering the world of "shed dogs" the following are a few tips from a beginner, that I quickly picked up from our weekly extended walks in the timber so far this winter.  Hopefully they can benefit someone else.

Dangers to the early shed hunting with a pup:

The primary subject of this article is simply regarding the shed pup and his/her safety.  As I have noted, this is my very first shed season with a "shed dog" and the first trip led to a very quick lesson.  I decided to avoid bedding areas and take a quick trip around a mowed field edge to get the dog some exercise, work on obedience, and see if we could get lucky.  We ended up running into a random guy in the timber who was trapping.  I will be honest this is not something that had crossed my mind at all...especially since he was inadvertently on my in-laws farm that I manage and did not have permission to be there.  So there is the first tip for the shed hunt dogs out there, early shed hunting may overlap with late trapping season...get familiar with the traps that are out there and learn how to release them in case the worst happens.

The learning adventure continued as we crept deeper into January and I took the pup on another jaunt, this time on a farm that rarely holds wintering deer.  I felt it was a good place to plant some antlers for practice and allow him to hunt the area a few hours later.  In the process my next lesson came to light.  Biggs did great and found the planted antlers but while returning to the truck he hit the creek and disappeared from sight with a crash, falling through the ice.  Luckily the creek was not deep and he quickly found his way back to dry land and other than an icy coat he was fine.  So keep in mind when out in late winter with the dog the back water, creeks, and ponds, may have dangerous ice on them.

This past Saturday a couple more "shed lessons" were added to the memory bank.  A good friend of mine called and invited us to his farm to give the pup a try.  It was a perfect piece of property with everything you could think of for bedding and food.

I always carry a back pack with me but rarely have a need for it.  My wife often teases me when I pack in enough stuff to last me a month, to a deer stand that I can see from my house.  I am not sure if its an innate need to carry too much stuff or what but I would be willing to venture that there are "cavemen" in our ancestry that had a buck skin full of extra arrow heads, sticks and rocks they didn't need.  I guess I am waiting to hit that day when we find so many sheds we can't carry them all, but as I watched Biggs work through some heavy briars, it hit me that if he ever takes a locust thorn or something to the paw, I don't have a thing to help him.  I always had a kit put together for dog first aid if needed in my waterfowl bag, and though I haven't needed anything yet, it only makes sense to be ready to help your pup when your miles from the truck. So if your gonna take "stuff" anyway, it might as well have a purpose, such as a first aid kit for pup and person.

The next piece of advice I would offer is actually a grouping of small tid bits of things I have added to the "shed pack" over the past few weeks of training/shed hunting.  First of all, water.  If you are hitting a large tract of timber, and it is frozen, it may be tough for the dog to find water.  The first really extended "walk" we went on I noticed Biggs licking at the ice in a tractor rut and attempting to get water.  Since that time, I bring a squeeze water bottle and Biggs has learned to get a drink when I stop to get a drink of my own. Another item in the bag that I thankfully have not needed, is a pair of side cutters, in case the pup gets tangled in a fence or wire of some sort, or even a snare trap.

We walked several hundred yards that day without finding anything until Biggs stumbled across a decaying deer leg.  It was minutes after I removed this from his mouth and smelled the stench on my hand that I thought, rubber gloves may be a welcome addition to the pack as well. 

We ended the day on a high note with Biggs finding his first shed ever.  An old shed half buried in the ground, but the pup immediately knew what it was and dug it out without a cue word and so begins our shed hunting "career."

Biggs with his first ever antler (8 Months Old)

Hopefully the above will shorten a learning curve or ease some pain in the future for anyone out there considering the shed dog adventure.  Good luck finding "bone!"