RetrieverTraining.Net - the RTF banner

Would you have...

  • Would you have sent your dog for the retrieve?

    Votes: 17 73.9%
  • Would you have blindfolded your dog and pretended nothing happened?

    Votes: 1 4.3%
  • Would you have grabbed the bird and used it for training at some later date?

    Votes: 2 8.7%
  • Other? Speak you piece as a reply!

    Votes: 3 13.0%

Dove retrieve out of season

2K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  Devlin 
#1 ·
So, there we are, minding our own business (my Sadie and me) watching the 49'ers stage a monumental comeback when we hear about a million crows absolutely raising hell on the other side of the house. Now, remember that we live at the beach so houses are close together, and when we went out front to see what the commotion was about we found out that a hawk had taken a dove and was sitting in our next door neighbor's very tall tree having a late lunch...and the crows didn't like it much.

To make a potentially long story a little shorter, the hawk eventually dropped the dove for some reason and there it was lying on the ground...the perfect opportunity for an urban retrieve of a freshly killed dove. Crows screaming. Hawk joined by two others wanting in on the action. And Sadie and me. What's a guy and his dog to do?? Even out of season, we had to take swift action. In full sight of the neighbors on both sides of the street. And the people on bicycles. And the joggers (we are in "Sort Of Southern California" after all). And the walkers. And the weekend gawkers (aka "tourists"). So, again, what were we to do??? Quick decision: put Sadie at heel, give her a line (she hadn't seen the dove fall), and send her off on an out of season urban blind retrieve down a sidewalk and into another neighbor's driveway. Of course, she nailed it, brought it to hand and sat at heel waiting for the next one. In the interest of being the law-abiding citizens we are, I took Sadie back to our patio and then went back out front to toss the dove out for the hawks and crows to fight over.

Are we guilty of some heinous crime having retrieved a dove out of season? Are we to be pursued by one or more law enforcement agencies? Are we possibly going to be responsible for a Supreme Court review of Fish & Game Department regulations? Or...should I have plucked and eaten it? :) What would YOU have done?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Depends on what kind of dove it was! Was it one of those obnoxious noisy ringnecked "eurasian' evil Collared doves? If so then you did the right thing! If it was a real dove, then , well still i'd have let the dog get it.:) The only good thing about those doves is that they are bigger and taste fantastic. Next one- breast it out and sautee in butter and garlic... Any FG officer would hve to be a real d*ck to get yu for something that the birds killed...
 
#4 ·
I have no idea, however, you are in California!
 
#5 ·
Just picking up dead animals that might be carrying diseases and protecting the neighborhood....officer Eating road kill is legal in some states...Steve S
 
#8 ·
dove poppers---well, in this case dove popper. Good hors d'oeuvre for the game. Goes nicely with wine and cheese. Go Niner's!
 
#13 ·
At least your dog is only guilty of retrieving out of season. My golden is guilty of hunting without a license. Last fall she caught 6 cottontails within 2 weeks. (They converge on the yard after harvest.) She's caught a few since then, including one today. I confess, I used it to practice a few long backs. Nothing like a still-warm rabbit to ramp up the enthusiasm. (I have a feeling someone is going to say that was a terrible training idea. Oh, well.)

A year or two ago, she grabbed a gray partridge out of the air. No hunting license and out of season.
 
#14 ·
So far, good replies and suggestions about such an earth-shattering event...a ponderable for the ages...a dilemma only solved by extremely deep thought and sublimely sensitive recommendations.

Nope. I ain't been into the moonshine. At least not yet.

Damned hawk was roosting in a tree out back last night and scared the hell out of me and Sadie when it blew out of the tree. Poor dog was just airing before bedtime. Startled me enough I aired a little, too, I think.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top