I love dove shoots almost as much as my dogs.
Pup has to be rock steady as there may several - my club 20 or more - shooters blasting away at the same time.
It's bad form to retrieve somebody else's bird.
Some dogs don't like the way doves shed their feathers. Phideaux is likely to have a mouthful. If it's hot - it's always hot opening day - pup may be reluctant to pick up those handsful of feathers.
Kepp a lead in your pocket if you're not sure about the steady thing. Have fun.
Pup may blow past first bird on the ground but introduce her to a shot bird first chance you get.
Even my old gal misses the first bird until she "remembers" what to look/smell for.

 

Most folks use their dogs to retrieve the birds rather than let the dogs do the hunting.

To answer the question...yes. Lots of folks dove hunt with their dogs. Just be VERY careful about the hot weather. My father in law routinely brings a splash pool and/or bag of ice on dove hunts.

A well trained dog can mark a dove just fine. The real question is...how good are you with a shotgun? Those lil boogers are fast and can be tricky to hit.

 

it helps if you do a little scouting and find where the doves like to hang out in the evening/morning....we usually just hide in some cover and let em fly and have fun...a mojo dove works well sometimes....warm up for duck season!

 

If you've been invited, odds are you'll be hunting a pre-scouted field birds are known to use. And some of the best advice I've heard on picking a spot bordering such a field was issued by a 16yr old Cajun kid, "Get by a naked tree." Doves frequently seek dead trees to survey a field from before going in to feed and loafing after.

Heed the advice on being super careful of Pup in the heat, and be advised that dove feathers become very loose when they're shot which irritates most dogs enough that they're apt to mouth their birds, which may lead to gulping the tasty little morsels....

 

We usually wait for lulls in the action and get the dog(s) to help hunt em up, rather than trying to send them for every single mark. That way, you're not messing with, or worrying about, your dog and missing the action. Of course, if it's slow, then it might be more fun to mess around with the dog.

Now, this is just me and friends, so it doesn't matter about picking up other people's birds. We just try to find all of them and divide them up after the hunt.

Rick! You're from Klondike!? That's amazing. I hunted in Klondike almost my entire life. I live in Tennesse now, but Klondie will always be my hunting home. Our lease is down 717.

 

Rick! You're from Klondike!? That's amazing. I hunted in Klondike almost my entire life. I live in Tennesse now, but Klondie will always be my hunting home. Our lease is down 717.

So are some of ours. I work for Doug's Hunting Lodge, which has stuff on both the north and south sides of the 717 loop.

 

What do you look for to find doves and to help a dog find such a small bird?

IA' I'm trying to understand your question..I'll do the best I can..I believe you are asking How to pick a decent Dove Field, (I think). You will spend time riding around and looking for cut corn, (cornfields that have been cut by the combine, and harvested). I like the ones that have power company lines running through them, or a hedgerow running down it. Now the next thing is "Does the field hold any Dove?"..Around 3:00pm and on, is a good time to find out as Dove tend to feed heavy in the afternoons..Last week I saw a field with light lines close to the road, and I can tell ya' that if one more Dove had lit on the wire, the power poles would have snapped in half ..This is a field that I've already asked for permission to hunt in...

Your Dog-The best way I know of to "help"a younger dog to find Dove is to make sure the dog can find bumpers in the yard first, of course, but also making sure that an inexperienced dog can be given a fair shake in a Dovefield in terms of marking falls, and keeping confusion minimal, and I've found it best for me done away from the bulk of other shooters....

 

Thanks for the input...I will be taking my dogs. They have ran a lot of training set ups, all have SH, MH, Derby points, and have hunted pheasants a lot, but no doves. I am worried about the transition.

Just the two of us hunting, neither of us have hunted doves. Iowa does not have a dove season so this is a first for me. I will be scouting a lil for the deer season during the off times of the day.

We have some ponds, and farms that have timber.

I called tonight one may have crops and wheat.

 

My neighbor's already scouted 'em out in Western Ks, & he says it ought to be good. We're still usually 95+ right now though.

 

Welcome to Ks in advance. There doves everywhere around here, plenty for everyone, heck I just might shoot a few. Good luck & have fun!

 

If you don't already have one, go to Walmart and buy a dove bucket (About $13). Then put some water in the bottom and freeze it. Also take along a 1 gallon jug of water to pour over the frozen bottom.

Each time Fido comes back with a dove, offer a drink of cold water from the bucket. This also usually floats the feathers off his tongue and you can scoop these out and toss them. I routinely hunt doves with Black Dogs and if you don't keep them in the shade AND well hydrated, they start to suffer quick.

 

I LOVE dove hunting. the reason I got my lab was to dove hunt with. basically as far as finding doves goes it is real similar to scouting for any birds. just find where they feed and where they roost and set up somewhere in between. I generally look for a food source, water, gravel (roads, quarry, beach), tree rows, and powerlines, all in close proximity. this is the best recipe Ive found for locating birds. if you can find a mowed or harvested field with any or all of the tings i just listed your in business. like others have said, bring lots of water, if your dog is not completely steady i have been known to take a tie out stake and short rope. the most important thing I can think of for a hot dove field is alot of shells.
Jim