Use a retrieving dog for conservation on dove shoots.
Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:42 am
This comes from Charley "bleep"'s book, Dove Hunting, from 1975.
ISBN-10: 0883653362
Having a well-trained dog won't let you get side-tracked or worried about recovering downed birds so you can concentrate and be a better shooter.
One of Charley's laws: no matter where a shot dove falls, it will be hard to find. You can even drop a bird on a billiard table and still lose it.
The dog's nose will find the dead/crippled bird in virtually any cover that a dog can possibly navigate. Even the sharpest of human eyes can pass over a bird lying
on bare soil since doves camouflage so well on the ground.
About 30% of all shot doves in America are lost and never recovered: this translates into millions of wasted birds yearly.
A good retriever can find a downed or crippled dove up to a quarter mile away.
Labrador and golden retrievers make the top two dove breeds but any breed or mongrel will do if it can be trained to retrieve doves.
The author prefers sporting breeds to recover doves but claims the best dove collector to date he has seen was a German shepherd in Texas
and has also commended collies and mongrels for doing a good job of sweeping the field up of these birds.
Labradors, German shepherds and Goldens are America's top three dog breeds in popularity as it stands now.
The Labrador can suck up downed doves in a field like a Hoover vacuum cleaner according to Mr. "bleep", the author.
According to Charley: field trials are not conducted for dogs to retrieve doves and wild pigeons and there are no {breed} standards in regards to doves.
Never shoot doves over an area where it would be impractical for both dog and man to try to recover from: swamps and desert areas heavy with cactus for two examples.
A dog that can "hunt dead" is a must.
Dogs may not like the smell of doves and pigeons and the taste of them in their mouths and that's where force-break training comes in.
Even if the dog is not happy about soft dove down in his mouth this is no excuse to balk at retrieving. Mr. "bleep" does not like paying for
"Rover's" room and board all spring and summer long for him to loaf or dilly-dally in the dove field on September 1.
Always have cool, fresh water for dogs in the field not only to quench their thirst but to cleanse soft dove feather out of their mouths.
Make sure the dog is trained to steady on the line and retrieves promptly and directly only when cast. Mr. "bleep" states in his book that he is not convinced
that a retriever's running around wild in the field spooks doves but hunters at stands nearby may think differently and fault their empty game bags on your
"unruly" dog. Having an unruly dog can cause you to lose your welcome on future dove shoots. Mr. "bleep" explains how to use a choke collar in force-break (force-fetch) training as there were no e-collars in 1975. The only time I recall hearing "nick" in 1975 was Santa Claus's name following "Saint".
Suffice it to say, the canine dove collector must mark falls well, have a keen enough nose to locate downed birds, be willing to retrieve them and wants to work.
Dove hunting is much like duck hunting as it most often involves work from a fixed position, sometimes made into a blind and camouflaged, and often involves decoys as well unless you are jump-shooting for ducks. Mr. "bleep" states in his book that jump-shooting technique is also used for doves on occasion. It is then not surprising that Labrador retrievers and Goldens are commonly seen on dove fields as they are commonly seen at duck blinds. Your duck dog is often your dove dog.
If you shoot doves near a watering hole and a bird falls in the drink, do you want to swim after it yourself?
Basic obedience training is essential for the working dove dog. With voice commands, hand signals and whistles you can move
your retriever around the field at 300+ yards like working border collies, the author states.
A dog always makes the hunt more memorable and endearing.
The dog can be used to flush doves in a large field that are landing out of shotgun range to feed. The dog is sent out to get them up
on the wing and circling and he promptly returns to the handler. This process is repeated if doves are stubborn about getting into the
range of your choke.
Nowadays, MOJO decoys might also help pull doves into your gun. Mr. "bleep" mentions dove decoys but they were the non-fancy
non-motorized kind back in the 1970's. "MOJO" is what you once might have told the waitress when you wanted a warm-up on coffee.
In short, using retrievers in the dove field makes for sound wildlife conservation practice.
ISBN-10: 0883653362
Having a well-trained dog won't let you get side-tracked or worried about recovering downed birds so you can concentrate and be a better shooter.
One of Charley's laws: no matter where a shot dove falls, it will be hard to find. You can even drop a bird on a billiard table and still lose it.
The dog's nose will find the dead/crippled bird in virtually any cover that a dog can possibly navigate. Even the sharpest of human eyes can pass over a bird lying
on bare soil since doves camouflage so well on the ground.
About 30% of all shot doves in America are lost and never recovered: this translates into millions of wasted birds yearly.
A good retriever can find a downed or crippled dove up to a quarter mile away.
Labrador and golden retrievers make the top two dove breeds but any breed or mongrel will do if it can be trained to retrieve doves.
The author prefers sporting breeds to recover doves but claims the best dove collector to date he has seen was a German shepherd in Texas
and has also commended collies and mongrels for doing a good job of sweeping the field up of these birds.
Labradors, German shepherds and Goldens are America's top three dog breeds in popularity as it stands now.
The Labrador can suck up downed doves in a field like a Hoover vacuum cleaner according to Mr. "bleep", the author.
According to Charley: field trials are not conducted for dogs to retrieve doves and wild pigeons and there are no {breed} standards in regards to doves.
Never shoot doves over an area where it would be impractical for both dog and man to try to recover from: swamps and desert areas heavy with cactus for two examples.
A dog that can "hunt dead" is a must.
Dogs may not like the smell of doves and pigeons and the taste of them in their mouths and that's where force-break training comes in.
Even if the dog is not happy about soft dove down in his mouth this is no excuse to balk at retrieving. Mr. "bleep" does not like paying for
"Rover's" room and board all spring and summer long for him to loaf or dilly-dally in the dove field on September 1.
Always have cool, fresh water for dogs in the field not only to quench their thirst but to cleanse soft dove feather out of their mouths.
Make sure the dog is trained to steady on the line and retrieves promptly and directly only when cast. Mr. "bleep" states in his book that he is not convinced
that a retriever's running around wild in the field spooks doves but hunters at stands nearby may think differently and fault their empty game bags on your
"unruly" dog. Having an unruly dog can cause you to lose your welcome on future dove shoots. Mr. "bleep" explains how to use a choke collar in force-break (force-fetch) training as there were no e-collars in 1975. The only time I recall hearing "nick" in 1975 was Santa Claus's name following "Saint".
Suffice it to say, the canine dove collector must mark falls well, have a keen enough nose to locate downed birds, be willing to retrieve them and wants to work.
Dove hunting is much like duck hunting as it most often involves work from a fixed position, sometimes made into a blind and camouflaged, and often involves decoys as well unless you are jump-shooting for ducks. Mr. "bleep" states in his book that jump-shooting technique is also used for doves on occasion. It is then not surprising that Labrador retrievers and Goldens are commonly seen on dove fields as they are commonly seen at duck blinds. Your duck dog is often your dove dog.
If you shoot doves near a watering hole and a bird falls in the drink, do you want to swim after it yourself?
Basic obedience training is essential for the working dove dog. With voice commands, hand signals and whistles you can move
your retriever around the field at 300+ yards like working border collies, the author states.
A dog always makes the hunt more memorable and endearing.
The dog can be used to flush doves in a large field that are landing out of shotgun range to feed. The dog is sent out to get them up
on the wing and circling and he promptly returns to the handler. This process is repeated if doves are stubborn about getting into the
range of your choke.
Nowadays, MOJO decoys might also help pull doves into your gun. Mr. "bleep" mentions dove decoys but they were the non-fancy
non-motorized kind back in the 1970's. "MOJO" is what you once might have told the waitress when you wanted a warm-up on coffee.
In short, using retrievers in the dove field makes for sound wildlife conservation practice.