Good Dog Tails

[octagon]

Years ago, while hunting ducks with Dad and a pal with a huge brown Lab (Barney) we found ourselves in a Farmer's milo patch. The Farmer always left a row or two of milo for cover for us. I had just shot a duck when Barney went and fetched it, bought it to me and sat still beside me. A bit later I see and hear a shovelhead coming from the side straight for us, like a jet, down low in the row. We both are froze still, when this unlucky bird flys right in front of us, and Barney leans out 12 inches and snatches that duck out of the air right by the neck, sits down and deposits him by the other dead.

Now, some dogs can sniff out a bird
Some can fetch a bird
Some dogs can Kill you a bird
And save a few shells!

Got a Good Dog Story? I'd like to hear it.

[Terry Murbach]

WHAT MAKE, MODEL, AND CALIBER OF LEVERGUN WERE YOU SHOOTING ???

THE CORRECT WORD IS, T-A-L-E-S.....

YOUR TITLE WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT FOR XAVIERA HOLLENDER'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

[Hobie]

And here I thought it was another pun!

[Malamute]

I've hunted grouse a number of times with my Malamutes. The one female does rather well in general without any training. I had shot several grouse out of a tree with the Marlin 39, and they dropped in a deep mountain creek. She went right in and retrieved one, came out, dropped it, went back in and got another one, dropped it, then was done. I couldn't get her to go in and get the last one. Still a good dog! She also likes to catch the ones that arent completely dead or imobile. They love to wander through the high mountain forests looking for birds. The grouse most often are sitting on the ground and flush up into the trees to sit and watch you. The dogs flush them and watch them. I watch the dogs to see where the birds went, and come shoot them. I like using the Winchester 94 with round ball loads, or the Winchester 71 with round ball loads.

[madman4570]

A bit later I see and hear a shovelhead coming from the side straight for us, like a jet, down low in the row. We both are froze still, when this unlucky bird flys right in front of us, and Barney leans out 12 inches and snatches that duck out of the air right by the neck, sits down and deposits him by the other dead.

Hope my yellow male 6 month Lab gets like that big boy! WoW!
Everyday he walks the lake with me,and it's worth everything just to watch him at waters edge sitting/crouching/bobbing up and down at the Canadian geese.
Also it seems women love Labs(everyday they approach asking to pet him and asking all about him)--a true Chick Magnet.

[rjohns94]

My first Lab (named Ruger) was a bit rough on the retrieve the first few times. I took him quail hunting in Va. and the first two he retrieved, he swallowed, WHOLE!!!. We got that figured out. We shot quail alot in California, and the the only two I ever lost with him in the field were those first two. He was also good at retrieving rocks thrown into a lake. I kept them fairly close to shore and always used round river rocks and he always brought back the rock I threw. On occasion, he would bring back the rock and a turtle or a water snake. He had a massive head and carried three tennis balls around religiously. What an awesome dog.

My first Great Dane (Sabastian) was a very good sight hunter and was heck on ground hogs, bunnies, and squirrel. He ran down some deer one time, but just ran with them, didn't harm them. I was out in the field and at one point, he was running side by side as if racing them. They didn't seem to mind too much. Boy did he love to run and I have not seen a dog outside of the race track that could keep up with him.

Both are missed very much.


I also had a gun shy lab (California Pepper or Cali). Took her hunting and the quail went one way, she went the other. She was a great pet but not a good hunting partner.

I have a beagle (summer)that keeps watch for the rabbits attacking the garden. She and I have teamed up on dozens of them with me shooting the pellet rifle and her notifying me. She is a runner though and if I took her in the fields, she whould not come back.

Current Dane (Baxter) is a momma's boy and not at all interested in anything but cuddling.

[KCSO]

I, on the other hand, had the worlds dummest dog...
Sherlock was a bassett hound that attached himself to my son. We tried him as a rabbit dog, but when there was snow on the ground Sherlock, a male dog, would not get out of the car because his equipment dangled in the snow. He would lay down and whine till someone picked him up and put him back in the car. He regularly would go outside in the winter and PEE on his feet and stick them solid to the cold pavment, then he would howl till some one came out with a pitcher of warm water and thaw him loose. But his main fear was of NOISE, my son took great delight when they were both young in chasing Sherlock with the vacuum cleaner when they were both young and sucking up his tail.

If it made noise Sherlock went crazy, I had to take him indoors every time I mowed the yard.

Now it's winter and I have a ton of snow in the drive and I borrow my neighbors snowblower to clean out the drive. Sherlock is chained in the yard doing his business and not thinking I start the snow blower. Well the neighbor had warned that the transmission was acting up on the blower and it was hard to get into neutral but I wasn't thinking abot that until...

Sherlock hears the noise and takes off, pulls the chain loose and runs right in front of the snowblower and as he goes by the end of the chain whips into the reel and starts dragging the poor dog into the hopper. The dog is terrified and howling like a banshee, the blower is clanking as it winds in 50 feet of chain with dog attached. I slam the lever to neutral so I can go in front of the machine and turn it off, but... No Nuetral instead it goes to reverse and the reel starts paying out chain with the dog howling and trying to get away, but... As the chain gets to the end it is still stuck and is now reeling the dog BACK into the chute. By now the dog has ceased howling and is wearing out his toenails clawing at the pavement and is down to a low moaning whine. I'm still trying to either get the darn machine into neutral or get it turned around so I can get at the spark plug shut off. Back to forward and the dog is getting slack again and away he goes to the end of the chain when I finally dump the machine on it's side and get it turned off.

By this time the dog is an utter wreck, he can't bark, he can't howl all he does is lay there and whine and pant. I have to carry him into the house where he just lays there, and for over a week he wouldn't go outside for ANYTHING! For the rest of his life we had to lock him in the basement when the wife cleaned the house. When someone started a mower in the neighborhood he ran under my son's bed.

Poor Sherlock died a while back after he snuck into the basement and licked all the gorilla glue off a chair I was fixing. We found him with a mouth full of foam and there was nothing the vet could do. I hope he has a nice home in Luddite Heaven.

[deerwhacker444]

I, on the other hand, had the worlds dummest dog...
Sherlock was a bassett hound that attached himself to my son. We tried him as a rabbit dog, but when there was snow on the ground Sherlock, a male dog, would not get out of the car because his equipment dangled in the snow. He would lay down and whine till someone picked him up and put him back in the car. He regularly would go outside in the winter and PEE on his feet and stick them solid to the cold pavment, then he would howl till some one came out with a pitcher of warm water and thaw him loose. But his main fear was of NOISE, my son took great delight when they were both young in chasing Sherlock with the vacuum cleaner when they were both young and sucking up his tail.

If it made noise Sherlock went crazy, I had to take him indoors every time I mowed the yard.

Now it's winter and I have a ton of snow in the drive and I borrow my neighbors snowblower to clean out the drive. Sherlock is chained in the yard doing his business and not thinking I start the snow blower. Well the neighbor had warned that the transmission was acting up on the blower and it was hard to get into neutral but I wasn't thinking abot that until...

Sherlock hears the noise and takes off, pulls the chain loose and runs right in front of the snowblower and as he goes by the end of the chain whips into the reel and starts dragging the poor dog into the hopper. The dog is terrified and howling like a banshee, the blower is clanking as it winds in 50 feet of chain with dog attached. I slam the lever to neutral so I can go in front of the machine and turn it off, but... No Nuetral instead it goes to reverse and the reel starts paying out chain with the dog howling and trying to get away, but... As the chain gets to the end it is still stuck and is now reeling the dog BACK into the chute. By now the dog has ceased howling and is wearing out his toenails clawing at the pavement and is down to a low moaning whine. I'm still trying to either get the darn machine into neutral or get it turned around so I can get at the spark plug shut off. Back to forward and the dog is getting slack again and away he goes to the end of the chain when I finally dump the machine on it's side and get it turned off.

By this time the dog is an utter wreck, he can't bark, he can't howl all he does is lay there and whine and pant. I have to carry him into the house where he just lays there, and for over a week he wouldn't go outside for ANYTHING! For the rest of his life we had to lock him in the basement when the wife cleaned the house. When someone started a mower in the neighborhood he ran under my son's bed.

Poor Sherlock died a while back after he snuck into the basement and licked all the gorilla glue off a chair I was fixing. We found him with a mouth full of foam and there was nothing the vet could do. I hope he has a nice home in Luddite Heaven.

Now that's funny right there.! Poor Sherlock..

[madman4570]

Those are some awesome stories on your beloved dogs guys!
Fantastic reads!

[octagon]

Terry: The gun I used on the above post was a Winchester 97 in 12 GA. I have however been a dedicated leverhunter (26" Win 94 in 30-30, factory sights) for the last 35 years, having got this gun from my Dad at age 12.
As for the rest of your reply, I suppose pointing out the shortcomings of others could be a tricky business.
The correct spelling of the harlot you mentioned is H-O-L-L-"A"-N-D-E-R.

As for using only one rifle to hunt deer, turkey and pigs for 35 years, well, it suits me fine, as does this forum - it is the only one I have ever been a member of - some six years I guess.

[TDF]

Mr. Marbles is a pound puppy boxer mutt so he shouldn't have any hunting ability. But from the get go as a puppy he wasn't scared of loud noises. Thunder storms, mowers, tractors, general farm noises nothing bothered him so I went ahead and worked him up to gunfire slowly to make sure he wouldn't be gun shy. At about two years old I went for a walk with the shotgun. Mr. Marbles in tow. Jumped a covey of quail and managed to knock one down on the second shot, it wasn't hit hard and was a runner in the cut corn rows. Mr. Marbles chased the covey but I called him back and got him on the running quail and he quickly chased it down and held it till I got there. I figure cool, but it was the end of that hunting season and didn't think too much about it. Next year hunting season rolls around. I'm headed down south to a buddy's place to hunt pheasants with him a few other guys and bunch of pointers. I leave Mr. Marbles at home in the kennel but mention to Dad that if he's gonna hunt my place opening day he might as well turn him loose as he did OK last year on the quail. Turns out right off the bat Dad, my uncle and Mr. Marbles jump a large group of pheasants knock one down, and nick another that flys up into the cut corn field. They walk out the rest of the valley and circle around to come back through the corn field where the nicked rooster flew, about halfway back to the truck, Mr. Marbles gets real birdy works the ground over with his nose a bit, runs around a bit then stops mid stride, locks up staring at a clump of corn stalks then thrusts his head inside the stalks and pulls out the wounded but very much alive rooster. Since then I've been taking him along with me on hunts and he's proved that he can hold his own with anybody else's high dollar hunting dog. He's a little harder to read cause he don't point but once you figure out his body language it's easy to tell if he's on a bird or not. And once the bird is on the ground he's hard to beat. He's found a lot of birds that the other dogs had given up on. Has found tons of stuff I'm convinced we'd of lost without him around. He's six and a half now and still has bunch of good years ahead, I hope.

TDF

[brno602]

I took my Dog a Golden out on his first hunt when he was 10 Months old. I was hunting my Fav, Sharptail Grouse, I took a Sharptail on a pass Shot like I would a duck as they often fly from the hill's to the grain field's. A puff of feathers 35 yrds from me, the dog runs over and he is standing on his hind legs smelling every feather as they fall! He was not interested in the bird until I showed it to him. Then later on the hunt we jump two I hit one, miss the other and I cripple it My trusty hound runs over get's the sent and next thing I see is a Grouse trying to fly over my dog. He jumps up and smash with a paw knocks it out of the air and brings it right away back to me. Ah the making of a hunting dog!
Next season I hit a bird watch it fly at least 400yds Think dam I drew a feather but I think I did not hurt it. Hound had other ideas he ran after it, I tried to call him back but he did not listen I was upset at him. I could hear other grouse flush as Sharptails really cackel as he made his way through the Rose bush. It felt like over 10 Min but I am sure less time than that all of the sudden he comes back with a Grouse in his mouth.I was a very proud of him.
We have been hunting together for 10 years plus all are camping& fishing trips I have lot's of hound story's!
Best one Ah never mind let's hear some more from others first!

[brno602]

Mr. Marbles is a pound puppy boxer mutt so he shouldn't have any hunting ability. But from the get go as a puppy he wasn't scared of loud noises. Thunder storms, mowers, tractors, general farm noises nothing bothered him so I went ahead and worked him up to gunfire slowly to make sure he wouldn't be gun shy. At about two years old I went for a walk with the shotgun. Mr. Marbles in tow. Jumped a covey of quail and managed to knock one down on the second shot, it wasn't hit hard and was a runner in the cut corn rows. Mr. Marbles chased the covey but I called him back and got him on the running quail and he quickly chased it down and held it till I got there. I figure cool, but it was the end of that hunting season and didn't think too much about it. Next year hunting season rolls around. I'm headed down south to a buddy's place to hunt pheasants with him a few other guys and bunch of pointers. I leave Mr. Marbles at home in the kennel but mention to Dad that if he's gonna hunt my place opening day he might as well turn him loose as he did OK last year on the quail. Turns out right off the bat Dad, my uncle and Mr. Marbles jump a large group of pheasants knock one down, and nick another that flys up into the cut corn field. They walk out the rest of the valley and circle around to come back through the corn field where the nicked rooster flew, about halfway back to the truck, Mr. Marbles gets real birdy works the ground over with his nose a bit, runs around a bit then stops mid stride, locks up staring at a clump of corn stalks then thrusts his head inside the stalks and pulls out the wounded but very much alive rooster. Since then I've been taking him along with me on hunts and he's proved that he can hold his own with anybody else's high dollar hunting dog. He's a little harder to read cause he don't point but once you figure out his body language it's easy to tell if he's on a bird or not. And once the bird is on the ground he's hard to beat. He's found a lot of birds that the other dogs had given up on. Has found tons of stuff I'm convinced we'd of lost without him around. He's six and a half now and still has bunch of good years ahead, I hope.

TDF

Nice hound Does he help with the firewood? I keep looking at the Firewood! yep I heat my home with wood.

[brno602]

I've hunted grouse a number of times with my Malamutes. The one female does rather well in general without any training. I had shot several grouse out of a tree with the Marlin 39, and they dropped in a deep mountain creek. She went right in and retrieved one, came out, dropped it, went back in and got another one, dropped it, then was done. I couldn't get her to go in and get the last one. Still a good dog! She also likes to catch the ones that arent completely dead or imobile. They love to wander through the high mountain forests looking for birds. The grouse most often are sitting on the ground and flush up into the trees to sit and watch you. The dogs flush them and watch them. I watch the dogs to see where the birds went, and come shoot them. I like using the Winchester 94 with round ball loads, or the Winchester 71 with round ball loads.

You do not need a classic bird dog to work, for bird hunting.On a ranch I have been hunting on for the past 20 years the owner say's his German Sheperds are great gun dog's and I have seen them work too. Plus they get along with my dog as they are the same size, I start my hunt with my dog and end up with three eager friendly helpers Lifes good! The dog's are just like a bunch of hunters trading B.S Story's and having fun.

[TDF]

Nice hound Does he help with the firewood? I keep looking at the Firewood! yep I heat my home with wood.

Well he's generally around while I'm cutting firewood and he will occasionally steal a piece to gnaw on while'st I'm cutting but he doesn't provide any real help. That's a load of Elm in that photo. I counted my firewood supply up a couple of weeks ago. I estimate it at 16 pickup loads right now. All quality hardwoods, Elm, Maple, Walnut, Hackberry, Ash, Mulberry, some Apple. About three quarters aged and ready to burn and the rest green. I supply myself and my Dad with all we can burn. Tend to give a little away each year. Got a guy coming out this weekend to get a pickup load and a trailer load. We're gonna cut a couple of trees that are growing too close to buildings for my liking. Told him he could have the wood for helping me cut them up. This place I live on is a little overgrown and it's a task to stay ahead of it. I really hate seeing the wood go to waste.

TDF

[firefuzz]

.

That is a beautiful dog.

Rob

[two bit okie]

ex has had 2 Irish setters. both had the same doggy IQ of a mildly retarded carrot. The last one was fond of standing out on the deck in the wind, beautiful ears blowing in the wind, and barking. The other dogs came running to join in the barkfest and would just look at her like she was the village idiot when there was nothing to bark at except the wind blowing through her brainless head. Too stupid to eat all she wanted.

[piller]

When I was in High School, a friend had a German Shepherd which hunted pheasants all on her own. Ol' Mamma Dog would go into the Milo field and sneak up really low and slow, then spring into the air. The pheasant would usually jump and start to get away, but Ol' Mamma Dog would grab with paws and teeth and most of the time the pheasant was caught. She never went after the hens, and how she knew I could never tell. The Game Warden even thought it was funny. Since no one went out into the field with the dog, no signals were given, he said he could not see any more harm done than if a house cat were killing a quail. Not worth his time to enforce when there were humans poaching and killing a bunch more than that dog did. He did warn them that they ought to get the dog on a chain, but as she was a farm dog he couldn't enforce that. No, the dog was not trained.

[octagon]

Thanks for the stories Men, and the beautiful pictures. Hunting with 'non-traditional' bird dogs
sounds like a hoot & a holler! The Basset story is a dern snot-slinger for certain!

[alnitak]

Malamute, that's one pretty dog. I'm on my third Husky, and I love the breed. But I never would have thought of them as bird dogs. Hunters, ...yes. I've seen enough evidence of that with squirrels and wood rats.

Great stories, all!

[madman4570]

How is this for a dog tail?????????
About an hour ago while our yellow lab was chasing our mini schnauzer around playing who is got the bone, all of a sudden this big yellow doggie is zooming across the dining room from the kitchen into the living room right at me on the sofa with a pair of very sharp Kershaw kitchen shears he grabbed that my wife had on the counter.He had them buy the handles with the sharp edge coming right for me at about 3/4 of full speed.
Can just see it now man killed by his lab with a pair of kitchen shears!(as I was sitting on the coach the strike area would have been somwhere between the stomach and neck! (probably right in the good old heart) (maybe my wife would have then gave him a treat
Now I am in process of putting plex glass over the lower sections of inside of living room windows(wife isnt too happy on this one!) cause I think one of these times he might just fly right over top of the couch and sail right through one of the big windows chasing the mini.
When she turns and bites him,he tucks his tail in and scoots at about full speed through the rooms while we try to slow him down. (and I thought when I had my 6 month Dobermans,they had energy)its not even close.