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Cornfields, young dog, and pheasant hunting

5K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  HNTFSH 
#1 · (Edited)
I know the obvious, try to keep them away.
However, I had a scare this weekend when my young Fin went from the CRP into a hundred acre cornfield next to it. (I like to think he was tracking a bird) saw him disappear into it and I should have called him right back but I did not. He was gone for over an hour, the wind was howling so I couldn't hear him nor him me.

Would you stay in last spot you saw him or go crazy like I did until my friends calmed me down? I got a lot of exercise running around like a chicken with my head cut off blowing the here whistle and not knowing what else to do. My friends continued on down the CRP field and back to the suburban to try to circle the field and look for him.

I finally crashed and cried right were I had last seen him. While my friend circled the cornfield as best as they could to look for him. Suddenly I heard crashing in the corn and I hoped it was a 70 lb lab crashing through not a whitetail deer.

Yes, it was him, seemingly unshaken but glad to see me! Wow, I never want to go through that again. Please if anybody else has some suggestions, I hope to hear them. I don't like corn but there is still acres and acres of it still up due to rainy fall. FYI, can't afford the gps collar, I wish! I just don't know how to get him to circle back a lot sooner!
Thanks so much, hope all are having a great fall, Maria
 
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#4 ·
Try putting a cow bell (seriously, they make em for dogs) on him, or invest in a gps collar tracker if your going to be losing site of him on a regular basis
That'll make hard pressed birds run even harder.

If I didn't have control on recall I wouldn't hunt the dog within 2 miles of a road. The alternative is training on a Tone most collars have to be a recall command.

I use mine for Sit but would consider HERE if I hunted big windy water.
 
#5 ·
I would suggest training for TONE on the collar.

My dog was collar conditioned and retriever trained for a couple of years before I installed an underground fence. When I was training for the fence, I walked along with him, and everytime the tone went off, I jerked him back and ran about 10 yards back from the fence line. SOMEHOW, he now thinks that means run to my side.

SO, whenever I am in the yard, or I have let him out at night, and I do not want to get on the whistle, I will hit the tone on the receiver, and he comes running.

I have also been out in the field, just letting him roam. If I hit the tone, he immediately comes running.

Now, with all of that being said. If he did not see me, would he come running to me (like in your situation of him being in a corn field)? Not sure, but it would help save your voice, and whistle lungs....

THANKFULLY, he returned to you unharmed, and ready to go out again.

Good luck
 
#6 ·
I have hunted around and in standing corn a lot, started long before I used an e collar. I have never had a dog disappear in cover that long. I tend to like my dogs to work close to me and they tend to keep track of me since I am prone to changes directions when a piece of cover looks birdy. I don't consciously train dogs this way but, it is how I like them to work.

Tom
 
#7 · (Edited)
Short of GPS tracking, collar tone sounds like the way to go. I have as question for those who suggested it. Can a dog, like us, lose a sense of direction in high cover? When your within sight I see the tone option as being the best, but if they lose sight of us for long and become disoriented possibly as the OP's dog did, can they still associate the direction to which to return if they only hear a tone eminating from there neck, then what? Thats why I was thinking a cow bell, if they cannot find us, then potentially we can find them.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I hope this doesn't sound harsh but if someone can't manage not losing their flushing dog (let's say lab) pheasant hunting - they really shouldn't be out there.

First - recall is key, even if running a bird. Train it.

Second - yes...between a recall whistle and a tone command, at least the dog KNOWS it's supposed to return. Now. I think the dog hears the whistle and hollar anyway, they just ignore it. Train it.

Third - they can find their way home from miles away - they can find their way back to a whistle. They're smarter that way than we are.

Fourth - there's no reason to let a dog run standing corn to begin with. Unless it's smart enough to get in there and drive a bird back out to you.

Fifth - if you really haven't trained your flushing dog to work in range then you have to buy a beeper collar with transmitter capable on/off switch so you can find your dog that blows off your recall. ;-)

Or...you can choose to hunt preserves and let your dog go visit the other fields too. Albeit - somebody gonna get mad.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Invest in Tritronics. Its the only thing that works when they are hot and focused on the trail of a bird or game and considering the windy situation you describe. I got it primarily due to the coyote stories. AND, I wanted to able to pull my dog off a missed bird that is heading for a barb wire fence or across a road or gliding out of site into the unknown. I've seen dogs that had met the barb wire fence and its ugly. I also have heard of dogs ran over on the road while hunting. During hunting season there are also posts of a missing dog in a certain area or a found dog wondering in the fields. I can do any of this to my dogs so I must have control at range and when out of sight.

Also, as above noted, using tone to signal your dog to quarter or change direction is a good method rather than alerting game with the whistle of voice.

Glad you got your pup back!
 
#13 ·
you were hunting right?
dog with sub-par recall runs into tall stuff and out of sight and you have no collar and whistle is drowned out.....
but your hunting right?
simply fire your shotgun a couple times in the air and yell "It's over here"
Fido will bust out of the cover and look for the bird.
it works ;)
 
#15 ·
you were hunting right? dog with sub-par recall runs into tall stuff and out of sight and you have no collar and whistle is drowned out..... but your hunting right? simply fire your shotgun a couple times in the air and yell "It's over here" Fido will bust out of the cover and look for the bird. it works ;)
Remember, I was running around panicking, it's hard to think of something that simple when your doing that!

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner
 
#14 ·
I have hunted cornfields in the past and have never had this happen before.
He is 14 months old and very enthusiastic in everything he does. I trained him all summer long and rarely refused to come when called.
I do have a tone button on my tritronics but it's only loud enough for the dog to hear.
I trained him to quarter with the tone of the collar instead of whistle. When he hears the tone he knows to quarter back. In late season pheasants will flush to the sound of a whistle so that's why all my dogs have been trained that way.
I really think he was just disorientated. If you have ever been in dry corn it is very loud and with the wind at 20-30 mph I honestly don't think he could hear the whistle or at least where it was coming from. Yeah he could hear the collar tone but I don't think he knew which way to go. It was my fault for letting him going there in the 1st place, and I can honestly say after getting in there with his youthful enthusiasm he was thinking (if labs are capable) where the hell am I?
He is a really good dog.
I just didn't know if I should stay in the same area or going running around like a fool like I did at first. That's when my friends told me to calm down and stay in the last place I saw him and they would drive around looking for him.
He did end up coming out of cornfield ~25 yds from where I'd last seen him. Are they capable of retracing their steps? I don't have a clue. I had stop calling him by then and was only sitting there when I heard him knocking through the corn. Then started again to call him and whistle for him.
I like the idea of trying to couple the tritronics locating beeper to his collar. I only have the tritronics sport basic 3G.
I'm afraid the bell not only would frighten pheasants it would drive me crazy as well, and as you can tell I'm kinda a nut case already.

Thanks for your suggestions, really really appreciate it.

This is my 1st high drive dog and maybe he wasn't 100% prepared for wild birds running like that. But again I take the responsibility of letting him get in there in the 1st place. I was hoping he was going to flush a bird for me! Greedy, stupid me, Maria

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner
 
#16 ·
.... Are they capable of retracing their steps?....
very, and when you need to go home without your dog 'cause of dark. Leave your undershirt the last place you saw him. Come back at first light and he will be on your shirt.
Remember, I was running around panicking, it's hard to think of something that simple when your doing that!
been there, done that.... just sucks!
but it can be that simple, my Dad used to call back the hounds with a .38
just think what is the loudest thing you had with you? Your gun.
 
#17 ·
My parents hunt with a bell on their dogs.( not a cow bell but it is for dogs) and can attest that it does NOT scare the pheasants. They get a lot of roosters every fall.
 
#18 ·
I don't know if it scares them but pressured birds can track where a dog is better if it's sporting a bell. Lotsa people get birds just like lots people get wild flushes and long walks behind a dog till a bird might get forced to flush. Lotta people walk a straight line behind a working dog too.

I'd stay with a no bell policy on wild birds - there's really no reason to put one on a dog that works in gun range.
 
#19 ·
Would you stay in last spot you saw him or go crazy like I did until my friends calmed me down? I would stay in the last spot I saw him and hopefully he would backtrack eventually.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Leave your undershirt the last place you saw him. Come back at first light and he will be on your shirt.
My "friends" are such animals they would hide Fin just to see me get down to my underpinnings! Then they would be laying there when I came back. Animals! I won't tell them that suggestion but will keep it in mind if god forbid it ever happens again. I can only laugh about it now that it came out to ok...
Would you stay in last spot you saw him or go crazy like I did until my friends calmed me down? I would stay in the last spot I saw him and hopefully he would backtrack eventually.
Yeah, I think maybe it was an ok call to sit and wait. As hard as it was to do. Thanks all for the help! Maria
 
#21 ·
LOL, Ken! When I read your response, I wondered why it wasn't everyone's first thought. KISS is usually the best policy. I hope, if this ever happens to me, that i will remember your good advice :)
 
#22 ·
Indeed. ;-) Perhaps not as good for us who only carry 2 shells for a 2 bird limit but sage advice nonetheless.

Please note I do not advise alerting your dog back by shot via shooting directly into a cow patty. But it's sure fun to suggest to a newbie.
 
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