Ahhh, October. Depending on where you live, you’re either already enjoying what many hunters consider to be the best month of the year, or you’re getting ready to kick off a new season full of hope. It’s finally time to trade in practice sessions for the real game.
With the new season will come highs and lows, wins and losses, challenges and opportunities. My advice is that you view your hunting season through the lens of not only a hunter, but also as a retriever trainer. You and your dog will both learn some things, and that will make future seasons all that much more successful . Here are three things to focus on if you’re willing to consider hunting in that educational frame of mind.
The age of your retriever will determine what level of hunting behavior you require. (Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Karls) Considering A Dog’s Age When Hunting I don’t have to tell you that in the heat of the hunt, sometimes things just go wrong. Maybe your dog takes off trailing a running rooster. Before you know it, you’re watching a wagging tail as it disappears over the horizon. Or maybe it’s when your retriever is so excited about finding another bird that it drops the one it was bringing back.
Whatever the case, honestly assess your dog’s age and experience. If you have a young dog in its first season, resist the temptation to overcorrect problem behaviors. Making sure your retriever is crazy-excited about finding birds must be a priority. Don’t risk inadvertently “taking the hunt out” of your dog. Remember, it’s easier to rein in a high-spirited dog than it is to force a timid dog to hunt more aggressively. When in doubt, allow some leeway.
Of course, the free pass that you might give to a youngster has an expiration date. A retriever in its third or fourth October that’s still causing you fits needs some correction. By that age, your dog either has what it takes, or it doesn’t. In most cases, the way you deal with problems in the field isn’t going to have a major influence on an older dog’s drive. Further, there are lots of situations and behaviors you should have been dealing with in the off-season (some of which I’ll cover below).
If you find yourself in the field with an out-of-control dog, it’s possible that you created this situation, so it’s time to consider the next question.
What Dog Behaviors Should Be Corrected? With all the excellent information and training gear available to today’s retriever owners, there’s really no excuse for allowing a problem dog to ruin a hunt. When I see a dog that ranges too far, doesn’t come when called, or just generally ignores its owner, it’s typically because that owner hasn’t put in the time to teach commands or has been too lenient when it comes to reinforcing those commands.
Cussing out a dog that’s acting like a lunatic might make you feel better or help you save face with your buddies as you blame everything on your dog, but you need to take a step back and ask yourself how these problems developed. Look in the mirror and you’ll see the answer.
When someone asks me, “How do I correct problems when hunting?” they’re asking for a simple answer to what is often a very complex situation. This is because you can’t correct something you haven’t worked on during training. Actually, what I really mean here is you shouldn’t correct something you haven’t worked on in training.
For example, let’s say all summer you’ve been taking your dog out for long walks in a grassy field where you let it run wherever it wants so it can get some exercise. Then October comes so you head out for a day of pheasant hunting. In the blink of an eye your dog is 50 yards away and running out of control. This is when it’s really tempting to reach for the button on your e-collar transmitter so you can bring that no-good so-and-so back into line. Is that fair? No, of course not. Plus, you run the risk of confusing your dog, and your ill-advised punishment could even make the dog shut down.
I have to stress this again: You can’t correct a behavior or a situation that you didn’t train for. Whatever type of hunting you’re planning on doing during fall is what you should have been practicing before the season. When you call your dog, it should come to you. When you blow a whistle, your dog should sit. When you’re walking in a field, your dog should stay within gun range. These are all things you teach through obedience training.
So, back to the question of how to correct problems while hunting. You correct them the same way you did during training. If you didn’t correct them during training, you’ve got a problem of your own making. Plan to work on obedience training and hunting simulations next spring, and you’ll be able to come back next fall with a better dog.
Group hunting can come with challenges both with other hunters and their dogs. (Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Karls) Handling A Dog While Group Huning When you and multiple gunners and their dogs head into the field, a promising day sometimes can take a turn for the worse if some or all of the dogs aren’t used to sharing. A typical problem is that all the activity is distracting, especially to a young dog. When your dog becomes more interested in chasing its field companions or trying to play with them rather than hunt, it can be irritating but, thankfully, there’s no real harm. If you’ve got a hard-hunting, birdy retriever, the excitement of flushing birds and gunshots usually brings the job back into focus.
A larger concern is what happens when more than one dog in the group has an overly competitive attitude. It’s not uncommon to see a flushing dog try to maintain dominance by staying in front of another dog or running over to cut off another dog that’s trailing a bird. Instead of a controlled hunt, the day turns into a contest to see who can push the envelope the farthest.
Where things can get really ugly is if one or more dogs in a group have never had to honor another dog’s retrieve. When a dominant dog tries to bully another dog that’s trying to make a retrieve, or worse, tries to rip a bird out of another dog’s mouth, it puts stress on the whole outing. Don’t be the hunter whose dog gets away with that kind of stuff.
The opposite situation occurs when your passive, good-natured dog never gets to make a retrieve because your buddy’s dog is being a dominant bully. In this case, there’s nothing for you to correct, training-wise. But I do suggest trying to salvage your enjoyment of the hunt by putting some distance between yourself and the rest of the group. Hunt out on the edge of the field or go check out some smaller pockets of cover by yourself. There’s no reason your dog should have to miss out on confidence-building success because someone else can’t control their dog.
Yes, problems crop up during hunting season. Be honest about where the problems originated and be fair to your dog about how to fix them. Regardless of your retriever’s age or experience, the quality of your October (and November and December for that matter) is only going to be as good as what you prepared for.