Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk AL Wingshooters Im no duck hunter

Ive never shot straight and he aint been officially trained but he id great on his first hunt with me (he went with my boys last year once). Stayed on the dog stand and made all 3 retrieves…2 were blind. Maybe next time we’ll setup better and i can shoot straighter. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Good deal! Looks like the dog was focused on the stand too. Looks like he likes it!

Cool.

So how did you get him to the blinds if he hasn’t been officially trained?

Nice.

Throw a rock
Walk with the dog to the bird

I just marked him on a spot and released him.

Beautiful dog

That’s what you call a true hunting dog!! That’s all I’m gonna say about it.

Yup impressive

My buddy that hunted Green Bay always mentioned those guys that had rocks in their layouts. He used train hunting dogs. He never said anything ugly. Just hey if works it works.

Never training a dog to blind retrieve and him mark and go to is very impressive.

The first pic shows how intense he is. Reminds me of my first lab, dang sure not this goofy yellow I have now. He’ll be fine eventually I hope.

Jag just needs to be taken. Problem is, his dad is a dern good gun/water dog…and an alpha. The boys just always take him. I just dont duck hunt anymore and dove hunts have been mighty thin the last 2 years.

Jag at 5mo...he retrieved a half dozen of those. Had to take Cash to other side of farm cus he didnt like him picking up any birds.

To hunt at 5 months is VERY impressive. As to the throwing rocks… I agree whatever works to get the game, but at that point imo it’s no longer a blind retrieve.

You are right it’s definitely not a blind if you throw a rock or a shotgun shell or whatever. But if you line him up and it gets him to the area and he uses his eyes and nose to find it, I’d say that is a blind. Good job! He’s a good looking dog man.

My dog doesn’t mark triples. She will mark 2 but that’s it. So if we shoot more than 2 there’s gonna be a blind. I can cast her sometimes, but she usually lines out to the blind and finds it on her own. Unless it’s not a hunting situation and it’s a bumper. Then she’s like screw this I want some feathers and you got to stay on her to find it. She’s bird crazy for sure.

Thats what we do…what ive called a blind.

I trick I will share with you guys that train dogs is to work with them at night in the dark. It forces them to use their ears to hear where something lands. I did this with all my dogs back when I hunted ducks everyday of the season. Sometimes the dog can’t see where the bird fell but they hear it. One thing I hated when I was hunting or guiding was having to get out the blind. Bout the only time I would was if we had some birds that went down wounded way off in the marsh. Any bird that fell within reasonable distance of the blind my dog did it’s thing without me having to move. One reason why I didn’t like people bringing dogs that they had to get out the blind and work the dog to every bird that was shot. I still hear those dam whistles, then you hear “BAAACCCKKK” then the whistle then “NOOOOO” then the whistle then “OVVEEERR” then the whistle and then repeat this 30 times till the duck that was 50yds away was found. Meanwhile we missed opportunities at numerous groups of ducks because of this. Oh how I loved “Field Trial” dogs. Ok I’m done again.

Marsh, you and I would get along just fine in a blind. I like the way you think.

Haha yep!

Writing this is gonna make me in a bad way. I bought a lab in 1990 in Opelika. Mamma was 150# and had 15 in her littler, 3 died and I was FORTUNATE to get one of the males. I read Richard Wolters Gun Dog and was lucky enough to live in a slough to be able to train him. Had a lot too that I kept blind retrieve lanes mowed to teach him triples and such. He was less than a year old and were hunting in nearly 0 deg weather and he was marking birds and back and forth on retrieves. Dumb ass young me did not know what I had. I bought him a vest for the next year to not be so cold when it got low. In his prime, he was about #110 and had way more smarts than his dumb ass trainer. The nose Beau had on cripples was unbelievable. His eyesight was incredible. He would start squirming in the blind, look at me and look up. The men in the blind would what the hell is he looking at. Well, about 30 seconds later a group of whatever ducks would barely be visible. Beau would settle down them coming in working and he loved every minute of it. I could go on and on. Marriage took my time away from him and eventually age caught up with him. I finally buried him when he was 12, at the pond he was raised on, overlooking the blind he had helped control for 10+ years. It ripped my heart out that day I put him to sleep and drove and hour to bury him.

If you ever get the chance to have that ONE, cherish every retrieve.

BTW, beautiful dog above.