Dog stories.

[Yukon Mike]

I wanted to start a thread where guys could post a story about their dog, or any dog they've known. It can be whatever you want to say - funny, sad, what ever. My life has been immeasurably enriched by hunting dogs, and so have many of you I bet.

Just a real short one to start us off.

A few years back I was hunting with Mac when he was about 6 or 7 on a marsh attached to the Yukon River upstream from town. Its the kind of marsh where big mats of vegetation float around. We were shooting from a little wooden boat pulled up on one and for some reason I stepped out to do something. I made it a few steps before one leg punched through, not hitting anything solid. My second leg soon followed, and it was similar to falling through the ice. There was nothing Mac could do, and I was pretty stuck, about waist deep, just hanging there, no solid bottom. The old dog we have now, Jenny the Lab, was just a pup then, full of enthusiasm. I called her over, she sprang from the boat and 4x4'd her way over to me in the muck. With tail wagging she let me push her down in the mud to free myself and I made it back to the boat. That was really nice of her.



Mike

 

[TimJ]

About 25 years ago I got my first hunting dog. I was a very poor dog trainer. Still my Vizlsa named Nippit wasn't a horrible pheasant dog. We had a few down years around then and didn't always run into a lot of birds. I remember vividly one rooster he tracked and cornered in a small cut in a hillside. It was as pretty of point as he ever had. The rooster flushed perfectly and I hit the easy shot. For some reason that bird is burned into my memories of that dog. Over 20 years later I could walk to within a couple steps of where that took place.

Fast forward to October 2014. I'm thinking I know more about dogs and have done a much better job training Deuce. Still we are on one of my first outings with him in South Dakota. We happen to be on the same piece of public land where I had shot that rooster years ago over Nippit. We were about 50-75 yards from that spot when Deuce goes on point and then relocates on a young running rooster. I get up to him and the bird flushes and I drop him. Deuce brings back to hand my first SD rooster over him.

As I took the bird from him I could not help but think back to Nippit all those years ago. How I wish I had known then what I know now about dogs. He was a good dog but mostly for being able to stand me as his owner.

Tim

 

[MLBob Furia]

Years ago, we had a terrific Lab named Skip (Shooter's Deal Island Skipjack). He was out of one of the top HRC sires at the time (Super Shooter), and his grand-daddy was Candlewoods Super Tanker. A terrific dog on the River, Skip also won an HRCH title running UKC hunt tests. But for some unknown reason, he had a propensity for hiking his leg on a particular judge who shall remain nameless (I'll call him Sam). We ran into Sam on 3 different occasions while running trials.

First time we encountered this phenomenon with Sam was at a started test where he delivered the bird, then casually took a leak on Sam's leg. Down the road, we met up with Sam once again when running Seasoned at another club's hunt test. Once again, after a good performance, Skip snuck in a quick whiz on Sam's boot as he left the line . Sam was absorbed in making notations in his book, and was so absorbed in his scoring notes that he never noticed.

Our final encounter was at a West Central Ohio RC Test when Skip was running Finished on the way to his HRCH. At an afternoon water series, the test was a triple mark on a stream that was about 25 yds. wide followed with a blind planted about 80 yds. into a stubble field on the other side of the stream. Once again, our old friend Sam was one of the judges in Finished and he had the water series for our flight that afternoon.

Skip picked up the marks without a hitch, and then I sent him for the blind which he one-whistled after crossing the stream. When he climbed out with the duck as he completed the retrieve, Sam was sitting on a cooler marking in his book, just to the left of the line. Skip circled the cooler to pass behind us and come to my right hand side to sit & deliver the duck. Then he stopped, hiked his leg and gave Sam's hip boot what can only be termed more than a quick squirt. Then he continued around and delivered the duck to me.

Based on Skip's history with this guy, I thought we were done for despite his otherwise solid series ..... but he passed.

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[Tom Scholberg]

I think we all remember our dogs last retrieves better than their first. My first hunting dog Rock Ilses Yukon Jack (Jack) was a perfect first dog for me. He taught me more than any class, book or teacher ever could. His name came from the fact that he was indeed a yellow licker. His final fetches were not even for birds I shot. Had a really slow day on a little rice river in northern Minn. but had heard some shooting downstream on the rice beds. When we pulled out I decided to paddle down to see how the guys on the bog had done. Got down to the opening and saw a guy on the floating bog obviously looking for a bird. Asked him if he could use some help which he was happy to accept. He pointed out the general area where a wood duck had dropped. I scooted my Canyak up onto the bog and gave Jack a "fetch". He stepped out of the boat and strolled in the general direction of the bird. When he got a nose full he stuck his big ol head into the grass an pulled out a drake woodie. back to the boat and delivered it to me since he knew it was mine. heehee. Then I asked the hunter who turned out to be named Jack also where the second one was and we did a repeat performance. I delivered the birds to him and thanked him for the chance to let Jack do what he lived for. Turned out that was it for my old buddy.
Dog number two was Waterwalker (Walker) who earned his name from the fact that he would rather swim than eat which for a lab is saying a bunch. Sun opening weekend I was paddling back to the truck and a mallard came from behind and I was able to grab my 870 and drop it.( A shot no normal man could have made). Walker went off the bow of the boat like a rocket and fetched it up. Thurs PM he had trouble breathing and by Fri. Am we had to make the terrible decision to send him off to join Jack at the Rainbow Bridge. He had a huge tumor in his chest that had ruptured. At only 4 1/2 years he left us. Funny thing this dog was missing a canine tooth and had hip surgery before he was a year old. I still carry the piece of his hip in my pocket every day hoping it will bring me the same good luck it brought him.
Got kinda long winded but thanks for the chance to remember