As many of you might recall from my posts, my dog is my first lab, and we are way behind the game because of me. Saturday was answered prayers, as Miley made her first and second retrieves! It was a dream hunt in many ways, thank God above for all the blessings, including time with my Dad and my oldest son, beautiful morning, plenty of opportunities (many misses, but that was our fault). But we finally hit a bird!
I had Miley in her dog box, which I took with us to be able to put her up if she got rowdy and to give her a place to rest if she got tired or bored. She was in it when we shot the bird. So I got her out and tried to cast her, but that wasn't going real well. I got her in the general area, maybe 10-15 yards or so from the bird that was in some grassy/weedy area, and just let her hunt. Thank God above (and I mean that), she smelled it, went right to it, picked it up and took it back to the blind. I was on Cloud Nine! Another really neat part was we are not sure which of us got the bird, so it's like a 3 generation special!
Then Dad got a bird! I got her out again, as this was a while later. I took her to the water, and this bird kind of fell in a channel between two grassy areas, so it was easier to see. i told her "back" and she must have spotted it, because she lined it perfectly! This one was about 30 yards out or so, and she brought it back, started to keep it for herself, and I gave her a slight nick and she brought it to me! Both birds are in the freezer, and hope to get the mounted.
I don't know if you all remember what your first retriever's first wild bird retrieve was like, but man, I got tears of joy typing this. I didn't know if we would get to this day or not. I just can't thank God enough for such a special day, and I want to thank each and every one of you that offered advice along the way. We have a long ways to go, Good Lord willing, but I cannot put into words how much it meant to me to see her grab that first duck and make a beautiful retrieve on the second one. To which I say, thank you God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for all my blessings! May these memories never pass from my Dad, my oldest son and I.
I had Miley in her dog box, which I took with us to be able to put her up if she got rowdy and to give her a place to rest if she got tired or bored. She was in it when we shot the bird. So I got her out and tried to cast her, but that wasn't going real well. I got her in the general area, maybe 10-15 yards or so from the bird that was in some grassy/weedy area, and just let her hunt. Thank God above (and I mean that), she smelled it, went right to it, picked it up and took it back to the blind. I was on Cloud Nine! Another really neat part was we are not sure which of us got the bird, so it's like a 3 generation special!
Then Dad got a bird! I got her out again, as this was a while later. I took her to the water, and this bird kind of fell in a channel between two grassy areas, so it was easier to see. i told her "back" and she must have spotted it, because she lined it perfectly! This one was about 30 yards out or so, and she brought it back, started to keep it for herself, and I gave her a slight nick and she brought it to me! Both birds are in the freezer, and hope to get the mounted.
I don't know if you all remember what your first retriever's first wild bird retrieve was like, but man, I got tears of joy typing this. I didn't know if we would get to this day or not. I just can't thank God enough for such a special day, and I want to thank each and every one of you that offered advice along the way. We have a long ways to go, Good Lord willing, but I cannot put into words how much it meant to me to see her grab that first duck and make a beautiful retrieve on the second one. To which I say, thank you God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for all my blessings! May these memories never pass from my Dad, my oldest son and I.
