Hunting with two dogs.

I like to rotate, but both of mine object to the idea!!!, my two hunt very, very well together. They have also experienced several numbers of birds though, which I feel helps
 

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Powderhorn Jim said:
Updating my comments above, we have been hunting our 9 month old lab pup with our 11 year old lab this fall. I started by hunting the pup by herself on pen-raised birds to allow her to find, flush and retrieve without being out played by the older dog. That worked fine, other than the first time I did it I made the mistake of leaving the older dog in the cab of the pickup. She proceeded to cover pretty much every surface with slobber as she howled about being mis-treated (not allowed to hunt).

Later this season I've been hunting them together. They have distinctly different hunting styles and the older dog has actually started watching the young dog as she has a good nose and finds birds. Retrieving is another story. Being Labradors, they have a very strong retrieving drive and the competition is hot and heavy. Luckily I had the time to teach the pup to honor another dog's retrieves so she is much more controllable. The older dog actually appears to respect the young dog's retrieves, so it is working out.

This is likely the 11 year old's last hard year, so the pup will often be on her own next year. It will be interesting desert quail hunting this winter, for sure! Old dog still goes hard.
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My problem is, the young dog steels birds from my older dog, then plays keep away.😐😐
 
Here's what I do. Take both dogs. Hunt the old dog first. Find some mellow cover and give it a whirl. Once tired, switch to the younger dog. Then alternate every other spot. If you're only hunting a short time then yes, you need to hunt both dogs.
 
Bob Peters said:
Here's what I do. Take both dogs. Hunt the old dog first. Find some mellow cover and give it a whirl. Once tired, switch to the younger dog. Then alternate every other spot. If you're only hunting a short time then yes, you need to hunt both dogs.
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I know what I should do,but I just can't handle the guilt of leaving one.It would devastate the other one.My 11 year old os the better hunter of course, stays very close.Ive just been letting the young dog go, but I think soon I will use the e collar on Mr. Jones to reel him in a tad.Yes it's a big dilemma for sho.
 
I hunt my labs one at a time and alternate them, sometimes one in the morning the other in the afternoon.
Typically I hunt only mornings so the youngster 4-5 mornings and the older lab 2 mornings per week.

A week ago my youngest crashed under barbed wire when a flock of huns flush 3 feet in front of her.
I could see the white of the skull cap from the deep cut, so she got staples and rest for a week.
Nice to have a backup dog for times like those.
 
Do the dogs you leave in the crate as you alternate go ape shit when you walk away from the truck without them?

I have two wildhairs, and the one left behind loses its mind.

MUST HUNT! EVERY FIELD! 🐶
 
Hedgerow said:
Do the dogs you leave in the crate as you alternate go ape shit when you walk away from the truck without them?

I have two wildhairs, and the one left behind loses its mind.

MUST HUNT! EVERY FIELD! 🐶
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I have a female pointer now that when she was young she decided she needed to howl and try and tear my box apart when she got left behind. After those games she found herself in that box everyday I got home from work. I'd take her to check cows or do chores or whatever and just left her in there most of the time. Once they learn that not every stop is play or work time they'll knock that off. I don't know I'd want a dog that wasn't pissed to get left behind but they have to have some kennel manners and be quite
 
GetTothePoint said:
I have a female pointer now that when she was young she decided she needed to howl and try and tear my box apart when she got left behind. After those games she found herself in that box everyday I got home from work. I'd take her to check cows or do chores or whatever and just left her in there most of the time. Once they learn that not every stop is play or work time they'll knock that off. I don't know I'd want a dog that wasn't pissed to get left behind but they have to have some kennel manners and be quite
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You are a total rube.You don't confine dogs.
 
Yesterday I hunted all 3 for about 2 hours on a wpa. This piece has been good to me since the 80s. There has been no corn around it for years and it is in a area that gets heavy traffic. I hunted it for a hour 2 weeks ago and got 2 roosters.

There weren't many birds , I got the only rooster I saw. It was enjoyable to see the dogs really spread out and work hard to find birds. I know it's a good problem to have but my dogs are spoiled with how many birds we find in the great grounds we cover.

While hunting this 180acre section which has 3 sloughs and about 10 draws I got to thinking about back in the 80s. My friend and I were in our 20s , his dad was about my current 62. I ran my 2 weims they each had a gsp. We would have blanketed that ground in probably less then a hour. I can only think of 1 time we ever hunted a piece for over 60 minutes. A huge piece of public ground that took 2 hours to get our 9 birds and walk back out.

Our hunts were mainly sprints not marathons or even 5ks. Run and gun and on to the next piece. We knew all the public areas and how to hunt them. 20,30 45 minutes and 15 or 20 minutes on the road. Take a hour for lunch and back at it. We limited out almost every day but the dog work was still the driving force behind our hunts. We spent many afternoons going in areas hunters were coming out of. We didn't care we trusted our dogs to find birds.
 
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Ran all 3 on more public ground this afternoon. 2 45 minutes runs. Not a single bird in the first spot but I wasn't surprised by that as there is fantastic private ground all around it.

The second piece looked very promising with 2 dogs on point in the first 50 yards. It was a hen but meanwhile the 3rd dog was tracking a rooster into the cattails. A wild flush ended that chance.

They were no human foot prints in the little snow covering a narrow pass so I know at least the side of the wpa I was on hadn't been hunted in a week. Typical wpa, grass surrounding sedge grass leading to a thick mess of cattails,willows,and phragmites.

Got to the backside which bordered a picked cornfield and all 3 were birds. Edge of the cattails and Reba is on a solid point. Delio is back in the grass working a scent trail and Willie is enthusiasticly going down the deer path past where Reba is on point. Rookie mistake and I stuck with Reba where a hen flushed. Reba stayed steady and I said good girl. As I glanced towards where I last saw Willie all hell broke loose. 12 hens and 4 roosters bailed out of the junk. I should have moved towards Willie and not hovered over Reba. I would have had good chances at the birds flushing from both places. Got a few hens pointed after that then as all 3 were searching the fringe Reba spun around and locked up. Willie saw her and backed. I walked in kicking the cover but nothing came out. Reba circled and Willie stood intently watching. I thought well coon or skunk as Reba left, but Willie stepped ahead a yard or so and froze on point again. Reba will tear into a coon ,Willie prefers to leave them alone so I was expecting a crippled bird. It was a young rooster that flushed at Willie's nose. I hammered it before he got to far out to the thin ice on deeper water. Reba made a quick retrieve of the bird.

Called it a day when we got back to the truck. Could have hunted the other side which I know would have been good at dusk but I wore the wrong boots and just wasn't up to it.
 
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