Best retrieve you seen a dog make

tobymac

tobymac

Member
hell all just wanted some stories on some great retrieves you have seen your dog or a dog you hunted with make.


For me it is my Uncles dog Abby. She is about 13 years old now. She is a smaller yello lab. (about 50 pounds total0. This was about 4 year ago. We were hunting some dried out sloughs in North Eastern South Dakota. We were having good luck finding birds and shooting was great. One bird on got up from a slough and took off in the opposite direction that we wanted. (Always happens that way.) Our end guy got a shot at it and hit it and we watch this bird coast for close to 150 yards in a open field that was pick already. It hit the ground and was running like mad. We all watch this and see Abby runnig after the bird. They went out about to 275 yard when Abby finaly caught up to the bird and grabbed it. I ran out about 100 yards to keep an eye on the bird and thinking that Abby would give it to me when she got to me first. I was wrong she walked right by my open hand and went right to her owner and gave my uncle the bird. He praised her and told her to :Hunt them up." and she went right back to hunting.

Another year we were pushing a tree line and got to the end where there was some tall grass in the ditch Abby leaped right into the grass and grabbed a rooster right as it was trying to fly away and brought it back to my uncle that day. When we totaled the bird count that do and who got what she was in the count at 2 at the days end.
 
Sport was Beautiful

My gone dog, Sport, made a retrieve that was so beautiful. The pheasant fell on the other side of a critter wire fence. Sport lept over, picked up the pheasant, and lept back over with the bird in his mouth, all so gracefully.
 
Last edited:
Rocky, my Brittany I put down 2 years ago, made the best retrieve I've seen. We were hunting in ND and heading down an abandoned road on a section line to some land we had permission to hunt. As we approached the land we saw some pheasants in the weeds ahead. When we got near we stopped, jumped out and took a few shots as the birds flushed. Someone just winged one rooster and he took off across the pasture and up a hill. By the time I got Rocky out of the vehicle the bird was over the hill and out of sight. I got Rock out to where he fell and he picked up the sent and took off on a run up and over the hill. By the time I reached the top of the hill to see what was going on I saw that he had come to a fence line and was hauling ass down it. I just stood there and watched. Rocky finally came to the center of the section where the 4 fence lines met and there was a weed patch. I lost sight of him as he dove into the weeds but it wasn't long before he came out with that rooster in his mouth and came running back to me. A half mile blind retrieve and the bird was still alive in his mouth. Damn, I still do miss that dog! :(
 
I was hunting with a friend John, he did not have a dog but loved to hunt and was a close trap shooting buddy. John shot a rooster than flew about 100 yards down into a creek that was wet. We went in with Tony looking for the bird. Tony hunted around and went on point at a bush. We could see into the bush there was no bird there. I told Tony "find the bird". He went closed to the bush and back on point. We went closer to bush and looked real close. The was a hole below the bush, that was very hard to see. The bird was in there and very much alive...........Bob
 
Narco

Few years ago, my old boy (recently put to rest), flushed a rooster, I managed to drop it at about 40+ yards....well he was on it like syrup to a griddle cake. He had his head down and was rustling about in the tall grass...right where the bird had fallen.....called him back, went to take the bird from his mouth and noticed that he had grown a significant beard (quills....not whiskers)
He had likely went right to the spot of the fall.....bit into the poccupine and then after further thought...picked up the rooster and returned to me.

Thought he was done for the day, but after spending nearly an hour at the vet...he came back to life and hunted the rest of the trip
 
Last edited:
Keep the stories coming. I have a chocolate lab 5 year old now. Great flushing dog. Great drive. Doesn't like to fetch the birds yet. The reason is when I introduced him to his first pheasant. It was just a winged dummie, He looked at it as I held it in my hand by the stiring. He looked and just as his nose touched the feathers. He started to yelp and whine in pain and bite at his rump. :eek: As I looked around and notice a lot of horse flies around. I figured one bit him just as he touch the dummy. So he relates pheasants to a pain in the butt. :( He is better now. He will hold them in his mouth but bites on them as he brings them to me. We are still working out the kinks but he gets better every year.:thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
A few years Ruby thought she could out run jackrabbits. She could run. My wife and I were hunting a field with pretty light grass. Ruby found a rooster. When it flushed, Ruby was on the run. My shot hit it the bird, but did not bring it down. I did hit it hard enough that the bird had a hard time flying and was losing altitude. Ruby was right on the bird. When it got close enough to the ground, Ruby helped it with it's final descent.

My wife caught this picture of the return of this retrieve.

ResidentOpener014c.jpg
 
I remember like it was yesterday. Scooby was the half shorthair half Irish Setter dad had when I was a kid, looked just like a white shorthair with liver spots. That dog thought he was a lab the way he retrieved (only he couldn't swim for shucks). If a bird was scratched down, there was no question, he was going to bring it back.

Anyways, a group of 10 or so of us were pushing a CRP patch in northern Kansas. I don't even remember if I was old enough to carry a gun or not, but was in the line pushing birds. Somebody winged a bird, it glided down 50 yards in front of the line. The landowners brittany ran up to the spot, followed by Scoob. Brittany went one way, Scoob sniffed the spot for a second and came running right back at us, between two pushers and headed the other direction. We saw him 100-150 yards back go over a rise and keep on going. The farmer started yelling at dad that if he'd get his dog up there we might be able to find the bird. Dad just stood there and looked to where Scoob had gone. After several minutes of everybody looking for feathers and following the farmers brittany around, Scoob returned, bird in mouth. That farmer never questioned what the dog was doing after that.

That was probably 20 years ago, I was somewhere around 10 years old, and still think of that dog, and wish all my future dogs would match up to his half-breed abilities.
 
best retieve ive seen come from my yellow lab. we were walking some crp and a guy on the edge shot a rooster that landed out in winter wheat, my dog and i were out the in middle of the crp, she couldnt see the bird but ran towards the gun shot, this bird was about smack in the middle of a square mile running across the winter wheat headed towards the road, watched her run over the edge look around and chase a rooseter that had over almost a half mile head start on her by the time she found him(he was about 1/4 mile from the road), needless to say she caught him about 10 yards before the road, and brought him all the way back, sat at my side, rooster in mouth, and dropped it in my hand. very proud moment for me.
 
My late Springer Bandit. I won't forget this one near a dredge ditch. The rooster flushed and we blasted and wing tiped it out around 60 yards it fell and hit the ground running, in the bottom of the ditch. An Iowa dredge is like 15' deep and 30-40' wide. The bird ran about a 1/2 mile out into the section. We stayed put and watched as long as we could till it turned and around the corner she went. It took about another ten minutes and here she came back with her bird, we stood there for a good half hr while she trailed that sucker half way across a section in the snow and was still alive when she gave it to me.
 
Last edited:
I have seen some amazing retrieves, but the one that will stay with me forever is the one my puppy made last year in sd near mitchell. Lexie was only 8 months old at the time, we were hunting a 160 acre crp field that was mostly flooded and with some emergent sloughs coming up from all the water in the field. Lexie and I were walking in about knee deep water hunting some clumps of cattails and grass that had promise, she got a rooster up about 20 yards to my left I hit the bird but not that hard, and she took off after it. I called and whistled for her after a minute or so and then went over to where the bird went down. I found feathers floating in the water but no bird or dog. I called and whistled for her for about 2 or 3 minutes and then I saw the cattails moving about 30-40 yards ahead of me, the next thing I saw I will never forget. Lexie making her way through the chest deep water and cattails with a rooster in her mouth. Delivered it to my hand and made my entire year of hunting and training. Just goes to show that if you work with your dog as a pup and put in the effort it does pay off! This year in sd she made a bunch of great retrieves. I hope the stories keep on coming!
 
I have only a puppy story so far, but I was out throwing a bumper with a couple of quail wings strapped to it into some CRP. I threw it as far as I could when Mojo wasn't looking, and then sure enough we walked for a minute and then I couldn't find where I threw it, and he didn't either, and I needed to get out Bowhunting so I decided to leave it after only a few minutes of looking. The next day, after I went and bought a new bumper and we went out with that one tossing it around, Mojo disappears for a minute and comes back with the bumper from the day before.

Not too bad for a 4 month old pup I thought.

Keep the stories coming.

Chuck
 
I have had several, the latest one was Tony. I shot a rooster and only crippled it. It was running before it even hit the ground. It took across an alfalfa field and tried to hide under a chemical sprayer. Tony was is hot pursuit but a little way behind. When he got to the sprayer, the rooster wanted to fight. After a few minutes of going round and round under the spayer, Tony got hung up in a hose. The rooster headed back to the tall CRP from which he came. Tony got free and came after the rooster again. The rooster must of thought he had lost Tony when it got into the CRP. For he stopped, Tony came roaring in and hailed it. It fought free again and the fight was on. Finally Tony nailed it down picked it and brought it to me. I reached for it and Tony took off with the live bird in his mouth. He ran around with for a minute or 2. Then he came over and laid it at my feet. The bird started to run again. Tony caught it and held it this time, until I took it from his mouth........Bob
 
Mine involves my pups that were 5 months old at the time. We were hunting a big slough in SD in 2009 with as you all remember a lot of water. We shoot a bird and of course and it falls dead on the otherside 100yds away in the cattails about 20 feet from shore, the dogs did not mark the fall. So we hunt up the side we are on until we can cross, about 15 minutes passed. So we get to the spot and I send their mother in for the retrieve by throwing a rock out towards the spot of the fall. Mom swims past and continues looking farther out and away from the location. The pups watch and decide to jump in and begin to look. I can see the cattails moving but can't see the dogs, their rootin around in the same spot. After a minute or so out comes both pups with mouth full of a very wet dead bird delivering to hand. This is of course to the amazement of my partners and me. Proud oh yea
 
Mine would be with my 14 year old Chessie Dozer. We were hunting ducks in a old flooded timber pound. Most the tree's were tipped over by the roots from storm blow down. They were tangled on top and across one another. Being they were mostly Balsam. They had many hard dry dead limbs. A very bad entanglement. We had shot several woodies and dropped them. He got the close ones and I thought to myself. The one dropped far out into the downed tree's was a goner. He worked his way over to where the wall of tree's lay in the water. You can see him sniffing the air trying to wind the bird. He finally must have caught some sent but then had to figure how he was going to attempt to get over the tree's. Him being a very large Chessy(140lbs). He was very tall and long bodied. He got his front feet on the log, picked a spot through the limbs and shoved off with his back feet. Then disappeared over the top. Then again you could see him do the same over the next tree and several after that. until he was just gone from sight totally. I was worried about him. If he was to get trapped in that entanglement. there was no way for me to get to him as the swamp was near bottomless with muck. He was gone for atleast 5-10Min. I called him several times. Finally here he came up and over them logs with bird in mouth.

this is the area we hunted in that day

Swansonhills2.jpg


Swansonhills.jpg


and this is my bud, He's 14 this month and having a real tough time. He has to be helped up to go out to go to the bathroom and lays in one spot all day. He's in very good shape brain wise. loves to be pet, gives you that chessie smile when you love him and talk to him but the body is getting in tough shape. there have been several days I was going to take him out and put him down but I'm fighting doing so. It's a tough day that's coming soon. I just love him so and I'm not willing to let go yet. I have a son from him who's 5 now. Just as good as his dad

My Dozer

dozerjuly4a.jpg


dozallducks10-17-05.jpg


Him and his son Steiger

100_2494.jpg
 
Last edited:
10 at a time.

Mine would definately be a multiple retrieve from my old Lab Gabby(gone now) in the marshes of Coastal Louisiana. Me and 2 friends were duck hunting and we had a few down already. We hear what sounds like a jet engine, but it was huge flock of blue winged teal. The flock comes over our backs, we give a coupla' toots on the call, and they bank and come right into our faces, low and slow, getting ready to plop into the decoys like only teal can do. We cut loose on the signal and boom, boom, boom,..... 9 shots and 10 teal down. I send Gabby and here she goes chasing down the cripples first and then the stoned-cold ones. At one point she started picking up two at a time. When she was done she just kinda' gave me a look like, :cool:"let's keep that kinda stuff to a minimum, big boy."

Happy Huntin'

Timberdoodle
 
i had a gsp that i had gotten out of a shelter he had an awesome nose but just wouldnt retreive i was walking around a pond with some grass and a rooster flew over the pond and i dropped him in it lol my gsp that never retreived swam in and got it i never will forget that.
 
Great Retrieves

The list so far is impressive, not hard to understand why we hunt with dogs. I have two stories I will share.

My first lab Doc was great at finding cripples. I took a fellow college student with one day in South Dakota after classes for a short hunt. He had never hunted over a dog, he dropped a bird, Doc ran to the spot and then proceed over the hill. The shooter proceeded to tell me my dog was an idiot as he looked for the rooster. After 3 or 4 minutes Doc came back over the hill with the live rooster in his mouth. The shooters words were "I am not sure I would have found that bird without your dog" I still laugh about that one. BTW, never did take him hunting again.

My current lab was 11 months old this past pheasant opener. The first two days of the season I wasn't sure she understood pheasant hunting (she had hunted grouse and huns). Part of this was that she was hunting with a friends lab that was more experienced. However, on the third morning we hunted alone. The first rooster flushed wild but I managed to drop it into a big patch of cattails. Well then all hell broke loose as other birds started to flush. I feared the worst that the bird would be lost. Well the pup went to the where the bird fell and then took a 90 degree turn and ran a good 200 yards out of the cattails, I followed and got on a small hill to watch. Well she then took a second 90 degree turn out in some sagebrush and ran another 200 yards before catching up with the roosters. I made sure to not say a word, I didn't want to distract her or discourage her. When she returned the bird to my hand, I was smiling from ear to ear. Not sure you can teach a dog to find cripples but you can enjoy a dog that is good at it! :D
 
4 of us went in my camper on a pheasant hunt- they knew the landowners-

none of them had seen a young Brittany hunt and didn't think he would be any good- he was my first and trained to the "Gun Dog" book-

he was young, small, others thought he shouldn't be on the ground-

one guy split off with me, the pup pointed and I shot a rooster

pup goes on point- he is all excited- I have him walk in facng the pup- rooster comes up- he shoots and the rooster tips- we search and search- this was the second day and the fella wasn't too good a shot but thought he'd hit it good- upset he walks back to the camper

I can't find my pup-

hour or so later I head back to the camper- he's standing there watching as I walk up- "you seen my pup"

he lifts the rooster grinning- my pup is sitting next to him

I get the camera- guy is still grinning with my pup still sitting- I have the picture- I made an enlargement and a frame and we gave it to him- he died of cancer 5 months later

his wife said it was the only bird he'd shot that year- I never knew he was sick-
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top