First Dove for Fish

[Chris Pope]

"Fish", our soon to be 2 year old Griff, came dove hunting with me yesterday. He'd never scented a dove before. I knocked this one down and it landed in a nasty hedgerow. He did not mark the fall but I sent him to search while I took video. The photo is a screen grab of his dove grab.
Dove hunting with a dog is kind of like duck hunting, just without the calling. And didn't he have fun.

[mobirdhunter]

It appears Fish is all grown up (no terrible twos). I’m glad you can still shoot dove. Our season ends in November.

[Chris Pope]

We're still waiting for the terible twos. We do know he's going to be the class clown.
Happy our season is open through the month along with woodcock. Then quail continues through Feb.
Arcas, our 6 year old, had fun too and wanted equal photo time (below.)

[mobirdhunter]

Handsome dogs!

[Chris Pope]

Well they don't call them ugly dogs for nothing. And they certainly do not have the style and grace of Gordons, English or Llewellin Setters. But they do love to hunt and even with a below average handler and shooter they seem to get the job done. I do love watching setters float through the covert and then jamb on the brakes.

[Bill Murphy]

When my Wirehair, Eva, was in training as a pup, she got hot on a covey of quail. The covey retreated to a blackberry bush. Eva was on a training lead, dragged me into that thorny bush from which I emerged bleeding profusely. I had no idea a young pup had that much "pull". Another time, she climbed a cedar tree, and came down with a dead squirrel. These Griffs and Wirehairs have quite the prey instinct.

[Chris Pope]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

When my Wirehair, Eva, was in training as a pup, she got hot on a covey of quail. The covey retreated to a blackberry bush. Eva was on a training lead, dragged me into that thorny bush from which I emerged bleeding profusely. I had no idea a young pup had that much "pull". Another time, she climbed a cedar tree, and came down with a dead squirrel. These Griffs and Wirehairs have quite the prey instinct.

Love that!! So wish you had a video of those or a photo. Impressive watching these pups search for and retrieve game. I don't shoot rabbits or squirrels over our Griffs because I'm afraid they would like that better than birds and begin running past grouse and woodcock in NH to chase a snowshoe. I do have a photo somewhere of our first Griff pointing a snowshoe under a small Balsam Fir hiding from the 6" of snow on the ground.

[Bill Murphy]

My training partner, one of our members, got a big laugh when I came out of the blackberry bush with a sheet of blood covering my face.

[Big D]

A gun buddy of mine's Lab was jumping up to get a shot pheasant which was stuck in a tree. She snagged her paw in the crotch of a branch and was hanging off the ground. Sore puppy for quite a while