PJ and Java

Life is just a series of moments where you connect with another person, place, or feeling. Every bird dog I have ever owned has had it’s own moments. These were times when dogs did remarkable things based on minimal training and experience. These moments seem to burn deeper in my memory for the dogs I only had for a short period of time. I do not know exactly why this is but I believe that it falls into the category that only the good die young.

I would like to say that one of the best dogs I ever owned was named Java. The female black lab was my family’s second dog and we purchased her when I was only 13. The first hunt my dad and I took her on was stopped short due to a thunderstorm. It was opening day of the duck season and the wood ducks were coming into the decoys like kamikazes. Unfortunately, lightning forced us off the lake shortly after the noon opener. Java was barely six months old and was the only one in the boat without fear in their eyes.

The thing I remember most about Java was that she had a knack for doing blind retrieves. I did not do a lot of extensive training with her but we seemed to have an understanding. She completed one of the best blind retrieves I have ever seen on my younger sister’s first duck. It was a beautiful drake wood duck that now graces a coffee table at our cabin.

At only two years of age, Java was killed crossing the street in front of my house on Halloween night. She was a runner and was greeting trick-or-treaters across the street. Java had made her last retrieve a few days prior on a green-winged teal. I had shot the bird moments after shooting time at Carlos Avery Management Area in Minnesota. It was a blind retrieve through an ever-changing maze of cattails.

PJ and Daisy

The next dog to grace our home was Daisy, a little Shorthair Pointer with a love for retrieving.. Daisy was not supposed to live past six weeks. When she was brought into the vet with her two siblings they were aged at ten weeks and marked stray. When she pranced into my college house, “the duck shack” she was six months. She was not only the best looking dog I ever owned, she was the fastest.

Daisy spent spring break my senior year of College in South Dakota snow goose hunting. At eight months she gained tons of experience about traveling and hunting. She slept on hotel beds, chased pheasants and tried to retrieve snow geese. Daisy would try and try to remove the birds from the ground with her mouth but could not even move a Ross goose.

PJ and Cutter

Daisy, like Java, was a runner by nature. She would have made a great field trail dog; she had the speed and the nose. Daisy was the only dog I have ever had that caught turtles in the weeds and muck at my cabin. Shortly after graduating from the University of North Dakota I took my first job in the Twin Cities. Daisy however was not a city dog and I had to give her away to my dad’s friend that lives in Southern Minnesota after countless efforts to urbanize her.

When reminiscing about dogs I often forget about the dog that is lying by my feet as I write this. Cullie is a nine-year-old black lab that has retrieved more game for me than any other dog. At nine, she is also the oldest dog I have ever owned. Although she is not steady enough to hunt from a field, she always helps me find the birds that sail at the end of the day.

Cullie has embarrassed and amazed me every season. She is only dog I have ever hunted over that has a knack for flushing pheasants back towards approaching hunters. This unorthodox approach gets me more than a few raised eyebrows when she is working on the fringe of shotgun range. I don’t know how many times I have been thinking to myself she is a little rangy, when the next thing I know I have a rooster barreling towards me that I have to dispatch in self defense.

Cullie has an excellent nose; in eight hunting seasons I have lost very little game while hunting with her. I refer to her as my jump-shooting retriever because it is the style of hunting that she excels at. She is one of those dogs that have a hard time sitting still in a duck blind. She makes unusual marks on fallen game and searches with her nose not her eyes. “It looks as though she is chasing the fallen ducks shadow.” Phil Bettenburg, a friend, commented once on an afternoon duck hunt. Cullie is an average retriever, but most importantly she is an excellent family dog and companion.

Every dog has its day; it’s just easier to brag about the ones whose days are over. Dogs are like kids, only they never really grow up. So if your retriever embarrasses you or steals a bite of your sandwich, remember to take it easy on them and enjoy those moments before they become nothing more than memories.

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Looking back over the history of hunting and conservation in North Dakota, there’s never a shortage of topics warranting a double-take. Even the contemporary populations of Canada geese, and realizing we’re allotting 100,000 more deer tags than in the 1970s fit that category.

Here’s another tidbit from the annals of North Dakota history, the biennial report of the Game and Fish Board of Control (predecessor to the Game and Fish Department) from 1919-20:

“It is conceded by everybody that the grouse and prairie chickens were never more plentiful than they were the past two seasons and all true sportsmen together with a good many of those who at first opposed the law now are agreed that the bill cutting out the use of dogs was one of the most far-sighted pieces of legislation ever passed by a North Dakota legislative assembly for the conservation of game and should never be repealed if we want the growing generations to enjoy this game bird.”

Not long after this passage was written, it became better understood that habitat and weather were much greater influences on wildlife populations than use of dogs.

In 1943, when North Dakota was the only state in the country where using dogs for hunting birds was illegal, the legislature repealed the prohibition. This came at a time when pheasant and partridge populations were exploding and hunting opportunities were once again plentiful, even though prairie chickens were almost down to their last hunting season.

Long before outlawing dogs for hunting, the state legislature restricted when individuals and professionals could have their dogs in the field. At first it was April or May through Aug 15. The obvious reason for this is so dogs are not interfering with upland game or waterfowl breeding and brood-rearing. After mid-August, most young upland game birds can fly and escape working dogs.

Current North Dakota rules and regulations allow individuals to train dogs on state wildlife management areas after Aug. 15. Professional trainers are allowed to work dogs on private lands after July 14, provided the trainer has permission from the landowner and no wild birds are captured or killed.

An individual dog owner or trainer can release pen-raised birds outside of proclaimed hunting seasons, but only as prescribed by Department rules and regulations. The same is true for some trials. However, nowadays pheasants are so widespread that just about anywhere that pen-raised birds are released there is a chance of wild birds in the vicinity.

It is well known by game wardens and biologists that a small number of wild birds are accidentally taken during personal and professional training exercises, and during field trials. The concern is that wild birds are public resources and should not be at risk outside of a state-regulated hunting season.

Game and Fish has for many years allowed field trials on a few designated wildlife management areas, but has received complaints from people who were disappointed to find one of these WMAs crowded with dog trial competitors on an opening day of a season.

Game and Fish has also received feedback from hunters, especially early sharp-tailed grouse hunters, who are concerned about young game birds that are pressured too much by commercial operations prior to the grouse season opener.

The message in this column as August turns to September is simply to communicate that Game and Fish Department administrators are aware of these concerns, and are looking into the extent of the concerns to determine if changes in current policy are warranted.

Anyone interested in providing input is encouraged to do so by sending an email to ndgf@nd.gov; or calling the Game and Fish Department at (701) 328-6300.

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PJ has had the pleasure of training many retrievers over the years

Dogs are companions, first and foremost. As hunters with retrievers, we should always keep that in mind when training, hunting or playing with our dogs. The vast majority of your retriever’s life will be spent going for walks and chasing butterflies, not hunting. However, it is easy for us to forget that when Rover is running wild through a CRP field on opening day of the duck or pheasant season.

When it comes to molding your pup into an experienced gundog, there is no substitute for basic obedience. If you purchased your first pup, or have never attended an obedience class with a professional, I encourage you to do so. Not only will you gain a wealth of knowledge about basic dog training, your pup will become socialized with other dogs. The pups that are not socialized are the ones that bite other retriever’s ears off at the boat ramp. If you have children, bring them to the classes as well, they will probably enjoy it more than you.

Dogs and humans alike are creatures of habit. It is good for dogs to have some kind of routine in their lives. Feeding dogs at the same time everyday is an easy way to do this. Also by placing them in a restricted area, like a kennel, you can add routine and enforce dominance over them. Puppies should be placed in some kind of kennel for at least two thirty-minute periods a day.

In the off-season, it is vital to keep retrievers in shape for their own safety. Retrievers are bred for desire and will push themselves to the limit while hunting. For an unhealthy dog that could be dangerous and life threatening. Healthy dogs require both diet and exercise. Most owners feed their retrievers too much all year long. During the off-season retrievers require less food than during the hunting season. I have a professional breeder friend who recommends feeding retrievers just once a day, in the morning, during the off-season.

There's no substitute for practicing retrieves in preparation for each hunting season.

Exercise in the heat of the summer can be tough on dogs. The same professional breeder friend recommends only working dogs in the morning and evening. He also does a lot of water exercises during the summer as well. Swimming is the best aerobic exercise a dog can get and it is easy on the joints.

One easy way for a duck hunter to avoid embarrassment is to introduce your retriever to boats and decoys before opening day. I would recommend bringing a retriever along in the boat every time you go fishing if there is room. The more time a dog spends in a boat the more accustom they will become.

Dogs have good and bad days. It is important not to expect more than your retriever is capable of doing. If you have not trained your dog to make a blind retrieve, do not expect it to complete one. If you haven’t practiced a double retrieve with your retriever in years, do not blame the dog for retrieving the closest bird first. You have to show and reinforce the tools you want your retriever to use in the field.

There are times when a dog owner may choose the assistance of a professional dog trainer. If one does not have the capabilities and time to train a dog efficiently, a professional may be worth the expense. If a hunter purchases a problem dog an expert may be the only solution. Retrievers that do not naturally retrieve may need to be ‘force broken’ or ‘force fetched’. I believe that well-trained dogs make hunting more fruitful and enjoyable for all.

I have a good friend that has the miss-fortune of having a Border collie for a retriever. Believe it or not the dog does retrieve ducks for him while jump-shooting potholes. The other day he explained to me how the Collie is smarter than our other buddy’s Lab. He said his Collie would climb on top of the Lab’s kennel and steal treats from a box. The Lab must not know the treats are there, because she does not take them from the top of the kennel he explained. I did not have the heart to tell him a little obedience might not hurt.  For more on dog breeds check out Reader’s Digest.

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