Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Cronkhite
Great post. The take away for me and I suspect a few others is “Always trust your dog”. I learned that a few decades back on a pheasant hunt. Taz, a young very energetic GSP, had only a few hunts under his belt (collar?). I dropped a rooster into weeds and scrub brush. I had a good mark and headed that direction. Taz, on the other hand was moving in a very different direction. I called him back to my mark so he could pick up the scent and find the bird. He did not want to be there. Then I saw why. I hadn’t killed the rooster and I saw it moving in cover where I had pulled Taz away from. I felt stupid and never interfered with the dogs again. Our eyes are never a match for their noses.  |
You are so right, Jack, and I admit that even though I've learned to trust the dogs (the hard way), I still screw up royally on occasion. My worst faux pas happened twice in my time hunting behind dogs, and it occurred in exactly the same way, and with the same dog (which tells you how smart I am
) Quail in the snow will sometimes bury themselves after a covey flushes. I know this from too much experience. On two occasions my dog Prairie Trace, the best bird dog I will ever hunt over, pointed a single from a snowy covey flush. By his demeanor he "told" me the bird was "right here under my nose, Dad." I kicked and kicked. Nothing. I tapped his head and said "all right," the command for him to move on. He did not. I kicked some more, widening my focus. Nothing. Another head tap and "all right." No movement on Trace's part. I tapped him again. He reached down and picked the live bird out of the deep snow and presented it to me. Over his 16 years he did this twice, with many other extraordinary feats of bird legerdemain. After about 5 years, he had me trained to trust him and his nose. Thankfully, he was a tolerant teacher, and his image now is engraved on a custom Fox 16 that has taken many birds in his honor.
Yes, trust your dog!