My apologies if this has been covered before. I tried using the search function and google to get to any old threads and failed.
At what age do you take your dog hunting for the first time? Most of my hunting is in small ponds or creeks. You very clearly see the bird fall and there is often no obstruction to the birds when they fall. Would you bring a 6,7 or 8 month old puppy to do this? Is the excitement of real birds and real hunting helpful or just confusing before they understand everything?
Thank you for helping out a new guy. Just curious about this.
I took my ylf hunting for the 1st time when she was 4 1/2 months. She had been introduced to gun fire. Hunting season was almost over and slow. She retrieved 25 doves, my partner and mine's.
A few hesitations regarding age and wild bids are more experience-based than age:
Is pup accustomed to gunfire?
Are you able (and willing) to put down the gun and go help pup with a difficult retrieve?
Will a wounded goose or rooster pheasant injure pup and make him fear birds?
Are the hunter's expectations appropriate? That is, are you ready to subordinate your hunt to the dog's development.
All dog's temperments are different, their experiences vary.
I've had great results taking a green pup into a hot woodcock cover, and watching him Get birdier before my eyes.
The thing with retrieving waterfowl, if pup gets confused, it will be hard to set up an easier situation so he might understand better.
I took my last female pup born June 4 hunting Sept 15. But I'm talking upland (grouse/woodcock) hunting not duck hunting. Meg was introduced to gun fire prior to our maiden hunting trip. She was useless first 5 trips or so, but then it clicked on what we were doing.
Turned out to be my "dog of my lifetime". She was duck hunting later October and she picked that up quickly.
I took my blm last fall pheasant hunting at 8 months. Took about a month for him to figure it out. Watching my 10 year old male. But he did great after thst. He will be a better hunter than him. I would probably not take a dog younger than 7-8 months but As long as you shot over them and have obedience down. Take him. He can't learn anything at home sitting in the kennel.
My pups go on real hunting trips when they can "handle". For the last fifteen years, I've
always had an older, experienced retriever to make it possible to avoid having a pup go
through the "learning on the job" process.
I did the "just go" technique many, many years ago and very much prefer the "train first"
approach.
It was the last day of the hunting season. Gage was 12 weeks old. We knew we could get him into a covey of quail so we set him up for a flush. I kept him well away from the guns but he already has been retrieving puppy bumpers with quail, pheasant and duck wings. He watched as the bird went down and I let him go. First Retrieve!
His first actual hunting was 10 months later at the start of the next season.
Youngest, about 8 weeks old. Still with the bitch. Rode around in my brothers hunting coat. He did catch his first wounded rooster that day and was likely the best hunting dog I every have known. Miss that dog, "Hunter". I have no problems hunting pups at a young age, 4 to 8 months is about right.
Don and Crew
IMO Don't Rush it. If you do sit in a blind with a younger dog leave your gun at home and watch your buddies shoot while you manage the check cord and dog.
My current dog started at about 13 months during dove season. She was born in Aug, and I want a dog to be completely steady in training before hunting. That means shot flyers, honoring, etc without needing correction. The blind is not the place to "teach" steadiness, too much excitement, and it may end getting the retrieve anyway if the duck is too far out for someone to wade.
First day dove hunting we were set up before sun-up. Sitting in chairs waiting for shooting time and the birds to start flying. She actually laid down with her back to the field. I was happy she could relax. Buddy shoots the first dove, she heard the gunfire, sat up watched the fall then honored her sister doing the retrieve. It was game on from there on out. She learned to watch for birds, get her retrieves and honor the other dogs. What a pleasure it was. That year duck hunting when we went to N. Dakota both sisters were just starting yard work and learning to handle. So we alternated having a young dog and with their mother or their aunt (my 2 older dogs). So there was an older dog with very good handling skills for a tough retrieve. They learned a lot and performed very well. Once the other young dog could not see because of the grass and she sat up on her hind legs to get a better view but did not even inch forward. Wish I had a camera ready for that one, it was too cute.
Long story short (probably too late for that), have the dog have some good basic and intermediate training before going to the blind. Then you will have the tools to handle the extra excitement.
Things I do before taking pup on first hunt.
Introduced to multiple guns. Or take only one gun.
Introduced to wing clipped birds.
Practice shot fliers with dog staked out. A young dog will break don't let it happen dog will learn to be steady during training not hunting.
Dog must be bringing birds back every time, not necessarily to hand but very close.
On e those have been done probably 6 to 8 months old go for it.
They are doing senior hunter level work or I don't want them along. Too much to manage and too many potential bad habits to be picked up. That was 18 mos last two go arounds.
Interesting to note that most of the proponents of "take the dog early" were hunting upland. Those who prefer to "be sure the dog is trained first" are waterfowlers. The difference is developing the natural instincts needed in the upland field versus developing the control and trained responses needed in the duck blind.
As an upland hunter I'll be hunting my pup this fall when she is 10 months old. We've got a lot of work to do to get her ready, but that's the fun part!
Right on Jeff, I've noticed the same thing over the years. I had a co-worker some years ago who got a nice, but backyard bred Lab. My buddy was an avid hunter, but completely uninterested in hunt test or field trials. Not that into training actually, but he read some books, joined us in training and picked my brain. We took that dog pheasant hunting that first season, Ben was maybe 6-8 months old. He actually did pretty well after he bumped a few, flushed within range and we knocked them down. After two or three birds, a dog with a good nose, reasonable intelligence and a modicum of training, the light bulb comes on and they are suddenly a useful upland dog.
Later that season we went duck hunting. He made some easy in the decoys, retrieves but he was light years from being a good or even useful duck dog. He couldn't handle, broke every time we stood up to shoot, didn't pay attention to incoming or working birds and was a general pain in the blind. Too young and not enough training.
Owning multiple dogs, I have the luxury after my first dog of leaving the pup home while I hunt my older dog. I hunt them pretty young but not until after transition. At that point they can mark multiple falls, are reasonably steady, can handle simple blinds, and are basically team players.
I have hunted over an amazing English setter at 6 weeks old, and he would point and retrieve quail. He lived to 16 years old.
We didn't hunt until 9 months old with our golden pup this year, but did expose her to ducks and geese at 51 days old, and swimming in January. (see extreme puppy training program thread) She had an amazing duck season this year with one day of doing marks, and a two blind retrieve of 120 yards through 1/4" of ice on both ducks and geese.
I ditto the statement of getting them through transition before hunting. Getting them on a cripple after a few easier retrieves really amps up their drive especially when they learn to trust you on a blind. I also wouldn't recommend the hunting in ice unless you know you can wade across the pond if necessary, and it isn't so thick/solid that the pup can't act as an ice breaker. We also had a vest on the pup for heat retention since the undercoat isn't as heavy the first year.
As soon as possible hoot and holler 16 weeks I think Bella 8 weeks sohp 7 weeks get them going
Bella in my avatar poacher 18 week get them out there asap
It is interesting how things change. This thread reminded me of a much earlier hunting retriever. I went back to the old Website for
another "visit". She started hunting at seven months. Then several pups later, I don't hunt a pup until they are well into transition.
Anyway it was fun to go back and read/recall old "Lick".
It is interesting how things change. This thread reminded me of a much earlier hunting retriever. I went back to the old Website for
another "visit". She started hunting at seven months. Then several pups later, I don't hunt a pup until they are well into transition.
Anyway it was fun to go back and read/recall old "Lick".
At what age do you take your dog hunting for the first time? Most of my hunting is in small ponds or creeks. You very clearly see the bird fall and there is often no obstruction to the birds when they fall. Would you bring a 6,7 or 8 month old puppy to do this? Is the excitement of real birds and real hunting helpful or just confusing before they understand everything?
My last three fell into that age span when they went on their first hunts, but that doesn't mean your pup should. Much depends not just on how prepared your pup is for the experience but how willing and able you are to make it the pup's hunt, rather than your own. If you're more interested in shooting birds, much less impressing your friends with Pup's prowess, than bringing the pup on, it's best he stay home. But if you can and will gear the experience to fit the pup, it could be a leg up and good time for you both. If not, it could set your training well back or ruin Pup as a hunter altogether.
I was sadly reminded of the later when your post prompted me to look back through the logs of my youngters' first hunts and I came upon this entry:
Curses: Lots of dog and handler woes...And the young Lab's handler lost his temper and fussed and burned what I thought a promising pup into running off. She was eventually recovered, but one of the fellows who caught her believes there's evidence she may now be associating gun fire with her troubles - ie: would spook from him when those still hunting shot. (Which is something she was unconcerned about last time I saw her.)
"The rest of the story" was that six of us were on a friends and neighbors teal hunt, and the pro-trained but inexperienced young Lab's owner became embarrassed by her lack of performance and took it out on the pup while some in the group continued to shoot birds, thus creating a frightening association with gunfire. That others of us tried to correct her owner only threw gas on the fire but gave her a chance to bolt. Was no surprise but no less saddening to learn that she ran off from their next hunt and wasn't seen by that sorry owner again.
Might seen extreme, but it was neither the first or last time I've seen an owner's ego screw up a promising young dog. So, again, choose Pup's first hunts with Pup's well being in mind. And don't be shy about turning a "hunt" into an outright training session or shutting it down altogether if the situation suggests it.
I took my current pup out before she was a year old, and we didn't fire a shot during teal or the first early season. It probably did her some good. She got some bumper marks before picking up the decoys, and experienced the excitement of getting out. By the end of the 2nd season, she was breaking ice and doing 120 yard blinds. Patience is needed in their first year whether they are a retriever or a pointing breed on upland quail.
Done it both ways, Much prefer to have a pup out in the upland field young, they just seem to develop better instincts and a better nose. (youngest? I usually take the whole litter for romps in upland fields, after their second shots; and they usually find birds) Waterfowl I prefer to have a dog that handles; so I don't have to move the boat or slop out in the mud if the pup misses a bird. I've become lazy, I'd rather be shooting birds than showing a dog where they've landed . River-boat hunting I wouldn't take a dog that doesn't handle very well; rivers with Divers are hard for experienced dogs, let alone a dog you can't cast when a bird finally resurfaces. Club type hunting, in the later afternoon after the morning onslaught has calmed, I've taken young pups to watch and will let them get a bird if they see it, had a couple of 4mt olds out, this last season, but also had a dog that can handle with me to do the real work. Puppies are generally a pain to have out in a blind, they get bored and tend invent trouble (much the same as taking a young child out); however they do provide entertainment .
Hunt ? well,it depends on what you are hunting and in what environment and what you expect the dog to do.
I had this one on a proper 'hunt' shoot when it was 7 months old,but then he already had things in place before we went . There are others in our kennels that were not ready until they were 18 months old .Not that they were any worse or had not done basics ,but just not ready for the full blown shots and atmosphere of a hunt on live game.
Yup, the luxury of having more than one at different levels makes the 'hunt' game easier for the handler to choose which one goes on the hunt ,and the luxury if available to introduce the young one at the right time and remove it during the day.
This was a break during the first hunt with this young pup of 7 months
and this was his first flush with a shot and a drop on a woodcock with a retrieve just earlier the same day ,but he had never seen a woodcock in his life before ,but he knew the process.
At the start of the hunt it was just like we done in training ,so to him at was another day at the office
Some Pro's make it look easy while the novice admires the end picture without realising what went on before the dog goes on it's first hunt and for many amateurs it's a first day for them and the dog .
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