Hunting lab

[James O]

I am going to hunt for 10 days in s dakota dec 2-9
I have a 1.5 year old lab very birdy.
This is my first bird dog so I have a question for any lab owners
I would like to hunt her for 10 days ,but I realize that it would be to much for her.
Would it be better to hunt her for say 3 hours a day every day weather permitting or hunt her for say two days and give her a break.
Any advice would be appreciated.I don't want to wear her down
Thanks jim

 

[BigRand]

I tend to play it by ear. If you hunt one day and get your birds quick she should be good to go the next day. If you have to hunt hard for one day and you can tell she is slow at the end of the day possibly take the next day off or walk ditches by yourself. Make sure you watch her feet closely. They can get raw and painful but most dogs won't stop hunting. There can be days where you find birds in easy to walk cover or they can be burried in cattails. All of this can make a difference on how she holds up. One trick I have used to keep my dog fresh is if I know the birds are bunched up and burried in the cattails I will bust though them myself then go back and unload the dog and walk her through where I saw the birds land. Hopefully in some easier walking cover. Good luck with the hunt. Always fun to watch a young dog learn.

 

[carptom1]

As long as it is cold I would go 3 or 4 days then maybe rest a day or so then go again. That time of year in SD you are only hunting 10-5 anyway. I have run mine 5 days with no issues as long as they are in good shape

 

[calamari]

I have an 8 year old Lab that I take to Montana. We were gone 13 days this year but I only hunted a total of 4 days and fished the rest. I shot all the birds I wanted by hunting her first thing in the morning when it was coldest and stopping when I ran out of water for her. I give her water as often as she'll take it. We'd only hunt a couple of hours at most any day and I have trained her to hunt close and slow so she doesn't expend a lot of energy getting it done. Every dog is different but that's what works for me. I would think that hunting your dog for two full days and then trying to have it recover quickly would be tough. It will depend on how much exercise your dog has gotten in the off season as to if it can maintain that energy level.
Dry grass and twigs will wear your dogs feet and legs out making them sore so look at those everyday.
My experience with other labs and now mine is that they don't want to eat as they get worn down hunting thus wearing them done more. To keep them from going over center and not being able to hunt bring some treats to mix into their kibble to get them to eat. I found this year that a bag of McDonalds french fries worked very well. I'd break one or at most two in with her kibble and she'd eat when she didn't want to before I did that.
Good for you for hunting with just one dog. It makes you be more of a hunter instead of just a shooter/chauffeur like the guys who hunt with packs. :10sign: You don't have to shoot a limit every day to have fun hunting.

 

[BigRand]

If you plan on staying for ten days, and not going home, you can only have 5 days limit of birds in your posession (15). So you can realistically break it up pretty evenly. If birds get extremely tough to find one day call it a day and try a new area the next day and save your dogs energy.

 

[James O]

OK thanks got some good info.I will keep an i on her paws and won't hunt any
Long hard days.I realy do not want to shoot a pheasant unless it is over my dog so in that case,since I am going to be there for 10 days I can afford to take it easy on her and me.If it was a 3 day hunt I would work a lot harder if needed
Also liked ideas of busting dense cat tails without dog to keep her rested.
The reason I am traveling from Palm Springs CA to S Dakota is to hunt with my buddy.
If she got wasted to early in trip because I hunted her to much I would not be
A happy camper


Thanks so much for info jim

 

[GPowers]

Order Booties from Dog Booties.com. They will save your dogs feet and will last about a week each. Tape over Velcro to keep them on. Let them dry out at night and put them back on the next day.

:thumbsup:

 

[IRISHWHISTLER]

It largely depends on weather conditions, especially temperature and humidity, the topography and cover type being hunted, general health and conditioning of ye dog (a dog that is prone toward EIC should be hunted far more conservatively) as an example.

Keep ye dog well hydrated and proper nutrition helps a lot. A dog that is maintained in peak physical condition year round will likely be able to hunt longer and harder without being highly taxed physically. T'is key to know ye dog and watch for signs of exhaustion, heat stress or in the case of cold wether hunting - hypothermia and know when to stop for the sake of ye dog.

I consider the dogs I train, hunt, and live with to be part o' me family and I take precautions not to put them at risk. An ounce of prevention goes a long way Mate.:thumbsup::

Cheers,
Irishwhistler

 

[crockett]

I am currently hunting a very birdy 1.5 year old lab too. For her, it's her eyes and face that really take a beating, at least in the covers that I hunt. I keep an eye on the area around her eyes and seem to do best hunting her for about 2-3 hours a day. Much more than that, especially in dense cover, and she's be pretty beat up after a few days. Not that she's stop! I rest her for a few days here and there though - she seems to need it. Sometimes 'rest' means duck hunting. But usually 'rest' means pillow and sleep!
Lots of good stuff in the posts above too.
Dave