Drilled barley again

[B686]

Hi , had another afternoon on the drilling. Another good few hrs shooting started with just 2 pigeons on the rotory no decoys again and after a few hrs packed up and picked up 54. Took my 11month old lab Mabel for the first time today. She was brilliant retrieved every one . She did get a bit excited a few times and was out the hide after them before she was told but for a first time out in the hide I am well pleased. Been using Bio ammo blue last few times in 5’s honestly say again wouldn’t notice the difference from using lead. 

[Wilts#Dave]

Nice bit of shooting there, well done 👍🏼

[JKD]

Well done 👍 That dog is looking very [smug] proud ! 😃

[old'un]

nice bag of pigeons, well done.

I would not have let your young dog pick everyone of those birds, but its done now.

[B686]

1 hour ago, old'un said:

nice bag of pigeons, well done.

I would not have let your young dog pick everyone of those birds, but its done now.

Thanks 

why would you not let her pick them up?

[old'un]

Just now, B686 said:

Thanks 

why would you not let her pick them up?

you say its the first time you have taken your 11 month old dog and you sent her out 54 times on a retrieve and its started running in to gunshot a few times, well there's your answer “bit excited a few times” a dog that age is not rock steady, 1 retrieve in every 4 or 5 birds is plenty at that age, plus pigeons are one of the worst things for a mouth full of feathers.

Its your dog, do as you please but if you carry on like that she will be running in to every shot before you know it.

 

[oowee]

25 minutes ago, old'un said:

you say its the first time you have taken your 11 month old dog and you sent her out 54 times on a retrieve and its started running in to gunshot a few times, well there's your answer “bit excited a few times” a dog that age is not rock steady, 1 retrieve in every 4 or 5 birds is plenty at that age, plus pigeons are one of the worst things for a mouth full of feathers.

Its your dog, do as you please but if you carry on like that she will be running in to every shot before you know it.

 

Funnily enough my cocker has the same habit. I make a point of picking up a few at random and it's stopped him running in. 

[B686]

43 minutes ago, old'un said:

you say its the first time you have taken your 11 month old dog and you sent her out 54 times on a retrieve and its started running in to gunshot a few times, well there's your answer “bit excited a few times” a dog that age is not rock steady, 1 retrieve in every 4 or 5 birds is plenty at that age, plus pigeons are one of the worst things for a mouth full of feathers.

Its your dog, do as you please but if you carry on like that she will be running in to every shot before you know it.

 

Thanks for your advice. But it’s the 3rd lab I have had and I have done the same with the previous 2 and they turned out absolutely fine. Not running out every time , waiting till they were told . Which I’m sure Mabel will do also. She had a great time as I did.

[marsh man]

Another nice bag on the drilling , I go along with old'un as far as letting a young dog pick up that many on her first day out , we all do things differently when it come to training a gun dog , they say you learn by your mistakes and that also apply to gun dog training , 

I took a young dog once in a bale hide in the middle of the field , he had been a few times before and I was just letting him pick the live ones up which he was getting good at , I fired at a Pigeon that must had caught a single pellet as it started to tower up in the sky and then fluttered down , I sent my young dog and just before he was going to pick it up the bloodx Pigeon took off , my dog had no more to do than try and catch it , he ran across the field just behind the Pigeon and what was bad training on my side I couldn't stop him , he ran towards the road and my heart came up to mouth , he crossed the road and this Pigeon hit a tall hedge and he finally got it , I was then crossing the field as quick as I could and when he came back to the road a car had stopped to let him across , I put my hand up to thank the lady , I put my young dog on it's slip lead and he never done no more retrieving for a week or two , now if I have got any doubt I tell the dog to sit and go and pick it up myself .   MM

[old'un]

1 hour ago, B686 said:

Thanks for your advice. But it’s the 3rd lab I have had and I have done the same with the previous 2 and they turned out absolutely fine. Not running out every time , waiting till they were told . Which I’m sure Mabel will do also. She had a great time as I did.

your dog mate, best of luck.

[B686]

Yes she is , and like i said did the same with the other 2 before and they were fine sat and waited till they were told as she  will . Been doing this 37 years so have half an idea.

but thanks anyway 

[Hendo]

Well done B686 that is a nice bag you have there. Farmers up here in north east Scotland  just started drilling this past week as the ground has been so wet. My preference when pigeon shooting with my lab is to pick most of my birds by hand and use some of them for decoys. At the end of the day I use the dog to pick any birds that have fell into thick cover and to sweep the area I have been shooting before we head for home. He just sits at my feet and has the odd snooze if we are out for a while. Like yourself I nave been at it for a long time and I enjoy every day out.

keep up the good work.

hendo

[motty]

Nice bag.

I also wouldn't have sent my dog for them all, either. I pick most birds myself, leaving the dog to get a runner or outlier. Far too much time for the dog outside the hide, spooking incomers.

[B686]

13 hours ago, motty said:

Nice bag.

I also wouldn't have sent my dog for them all, either. I pick most birds myself, leaving the dog to get a runner or outlier. Far too much time for the dog outside the hide, spooking incomers.

Thanks . 
Appreciate it but you wasn’t there, I was set up under a large oak tree about 30 meters from the hedge line not against the trunk as as the branches ended about 6 meters out from the trunk about 2meters above the ground so my hide was just under so I could still shoot up a bit to get any that wanted to land in the tree which a lot did . So a good amount were coming down not far from the hide . So when she got those ones she was virtually out of site of any incoming birds . Anyway when she was out retrieving birds from the pattern most of what was coming wasn’t put off by her being out there . Found that quite often they are not put off by a dog being out there. And if a few were put off so what not the end of the world is it. I packed up about 3pm probably could have stayed another couple of hrs and shot another 30 or so . Finishing work early today to have a go on another couple of small fields near by as this is how it looked yesterday afternoon. And shock horror i will be sending her out for as many as she wants. 

[B686]

On 20/04/2024 at 20:16, old'un said:

your dog mate, best of luck.

Of the 54 shot she went out 3 times without being told and that was within about the first 8 or 10 to be shot after getting a tap on the snout and being told to wait she didn’t do it again for the other 40 plus times she went out . Seems a few people on here are quick to jump to conclusions and criticise what people do . 

[old'un]

3 minutes ago, B686 said:

Of the 54 shot she went out 3 times without being told and that was within about the first 8 or 10 to be shot after getting a tap on the snout and being told to wait she didn’t do it again for the other 40 plus times she went out . Seems a few people on here are quick to jump to conclusions and criticise what people do . 

it seems you are quick to jump to the conclusion that it is criticism and not friendly advise, but you know best, good luck with the dog.

[B686]

Apologies if it was friendly advice. Hold my hands up if i took it the wrong way. Does anyone really know best🤣👍

[old'un]

2 minutes ago, B686 said:

Apologies if it was friendly advice. Hold my hands up if i took it the wrong way. Does anyone really know best🤣👍

True we all have our own ideas and think we know best but all I can say is after 60+ years of owning and training dogs I would not have let that dog go for another retrieve if it had run in 3 times in the first 8 or shots, but as I keep saying its your dog you do as you please and good luck.

No criticism meant just friendly advice, hope the dog turns out to be as good as your last 2.

[B686]

Thanks will let you know how she does this afternoon judging by how many were there yesterday could be a busy 2 or 3 hrs … and perhaps I will not send her out for all of what I hopefully get.

[old'un]

9 minutes ago, B686 said:

Thanks will let you know how she does this afternoon judging by how many were there yesterday could be a busy 2 or 3 hrs … and perhaps I will not send her out for all of what I hopefully get.

yep, you are doing well around you for pigeons on sown stuff, its been a none advent here as the fields have been far to wet but there's still time for the odd field of barley to go in, might get on a few blacks if they sow some maize around May.

Good luck, hope you get a few.

[corono]

Well done you! Nothing around here did go 2 weeks ago but gale force  winds had 4 spent most of the time trying to keep hide up .11 months old well done the pair of you

[marsh man]

I am certainly no gun dog trainer and would not try telling other people what they are doing right or wrong but I have found since I had my first puppy in 1965 that every Lab puppy I have had since then and including the one I have got now have all been different in there ways in doing things , some will be easy to train and others will take a lot longer .

I used to go training with two of my pups with our ex head keeper , he was brilliant with dogs and one year he won the English retriever championship , after we done the basics with sit and stay we would move on to dummy work , this would often involve throwing three or four around and over the dog, he would then go out and pick them up himself with just leaving the pup one to pick up , he was a great believer in only letting a young dog pick up what he couldn't pick up himself .

I must admit that my first dog would run in but in those far off days I only shot duck and just about every bird I shot would had been a job to pick up over deep water or mud in and around our estuary , it wasn't till I started to shoot pigeons in a hide that I realised that running in could be fatal and then I concentrated on making sure the pup didn't move out of the hide until told , this was made a lot easier in leaving the easy ones that lay dead around the decoys and pick up yourself while the dog is sitting down nearby , if one had dropped well out then the dog get a retrieve , this way of training have worked out well for me and the only time they get a free hand is when the session is over and I have been shooting over a tall crop .

We have all seen a dog try and run through a net and bring the hide down with the owner having to put a lead on and tie it to something man enough to stop him when he see a bird drop , this could have been avoided with it all starting in the pups early training , this is when prevention is better than cure come into play .    MM

[B686]

Hi had another good few hrs again.  Took some advice and kept the dog in the hide a bit more she behaved very well . Didn’t run out once sat there shaking and having a bit of a whine about it but resisted the temptation. Picked up another 51 this time . Shot an unusual one with white spots . Seen the odd white one over the years but not one like that. Put that in the freezer might see if I can get it stuffed . Anyone know of a decent taxidermist around the Chelmsford/ Essex area? 
Thanks for the advice👍

[marsh man]

Another decent bag in a few hours shooting , yes the spotted / mottled one is unusual but I have seen similar ones over the years , some with the odd White feather and others that have more White than Grey , only ever seen one pure White one and that was in the game dealers , what ever came of it ? , I haven't got a clue .

Can you move the bag on , or is there no demand in your area ?       MM

[B686]

Thanks. Probably be the last lot now got a few fields of peas I can shoot on but don’t shoot through summer and there’s one other person shoots that farm so they get looked after anyway. Most likely won’t shoot again till they start on the rape again bit tougher going then. Luckily I can get rid of them know a few people who don’t mind a few and there’s also a place half hours drive away in Tiptree who takes them in numbers fresh or frozen.