Little
Brownies KennelJanuary 2008
Paul and Lynn,
My granddaughter Katelyn and I were hunting with Sky. Sky retrieved each
one of the ducks in the picture. I was letting Katelyn take the first shot
(and most times the only shot) and I limited her to one shell at a time so
that she had one less thing to think about and would also know that she only
had one try no matter how many ducks were in the group. I would do the
calling and then work the flip–ups on the blind so that she could
concentrate on all the little things you need to do to make a shot when your
grandpa is sitting next to you. I was very proud of her as she acted
safely, listened well, was not afraid to ask questions about the ducks'
flight patterns, how I determined when to shoot, gun safety, the shot,
and of course the results. She would get very excited after each attempt
and we would discuss what sh e thought she did right or wrong. She probably
made 15 to twenty shots over a five day period. She even got a shot at 4
Specs at about 20 yards and locked up. I really thought that was going to be
her first kill. After she made her shot and missed, I managed to get off
two of my own, and as luck would have it I also missed. She was almost as
excited about the fact that I had missed the same birds that she had missed
as she was when she got her pintail. The hunt was a lot of fun for both of
us.
Sky is doing very well, I have no complaints. She has made most of the
retrieves and does so beautifully. She still has a tendency to drop
the bird and shake off when she reaches the check, and of course if the bird
is still alive she's back to retrieving. Sometimes she will bring them back
to hand (the blind) with no hesitation or shake-off. I have not figured out
what determines when she'll do what. When she does drop the bird to shake
off she usually will pick up the bird and return to the blind without
additional commands, sometimes it’s a look and another "fetch it" or two. I
have been so happy with her work overall that I will overlook the small
stuff for now.
One day, she made a retrieve on a very large snow goose that
I had broken the tip of one win g and it was very much alive and very
angry. The goose came down about 125 yards from the blind. Sky stayed
until I sent her. She got to the goose at probably 150 yards. The
goose surprised her when it smacked her with its wings and pecked at her
head. Sky backed off for a couple of seconds and then made a full body
retrieve with the goose fighting the whole way back to the check. I was
heading down the check to help out, but she needed none. She brought the
goose down the check until she met me, sat down and held on to that goose
until I had a secure hold. I think she was as excited about the retrieve as
I was. What was really great was that four of the guys at my duck club saw
the retrieve and were very impressed. Sky has made herself well liked and
respected at the club.
I thought you would like to hear this,
Bernie
Copyright 2008 Little Brownies Kennel - Paul and Lynn Morrison
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