Ice Warning

thin ice

Had a brittany once that ran across a large pond the day after it froze over, I could see the waves behind him as he went across. So i yelled whoa when he got across and started to go around to get him. Made it 3/4 of the way there and he never moved an inch then he ran right back across it again!lucky
 
A few years ago after falling through the ice three times I made up 15 foot chunks of rope. I've neatly rolled them up and taped the center section. I have six ready and give one to whoever I am hunting with to carry in their bird bag.
 
VERY GOOD POINT....a very good friend of mine lost a dog on the ice few years ago....went out to retrieve a pheasant...fell through....couldn't get out to help him..they called in fire-rescue but it was too late.
 
Happened today. Shot a pheasant, didn't know there was water. Astro said Champ was on point. Thought she was pointing the bird. When I got to her, saw she broke through the thin ice. When my other dog saw, she jumped in too.

Luckily the ditch wasn't wide and the ice was thin. Champ could have gotten out easily if she didn't have a rooster in her mouth. Her main concern was to hand me the bird. Soaked a boot to get the dogs out.

Won't hunt there again until the ice is gone or thick.
 
Good reminder for everyone hunting the late season. Even though we have had some pretty cold temps the past week I'm sure there is a lot of ice that is unsafe for both man and dog. Be extremely careful hunting around water and do not shoot birds flying over the ice unless you know for certain the ice is safe. That one bird is not worth losing your dog over.
 
Good idea to be careful. Hunted a piece for the first time last winter. They had been pumping water behind a dike, but after the state bought the land they ripped up the tiles and put a culvert in to drain the area behind the dike. I didn't realize how deep the water was in the cattails, or that the draining water created some current. Ended up chest deep in the water. Unpleasant experience, which opened my eyes a bit. Not easy getting out, and a very chilly, frozen pants walk back to the truck.
 
Thanks for the reminder, and always remember, even the thickest ice, can have soft spots .I almost died one time, falling through ice.
 
That time of year to bring this topic to the forefront. Sloughs are icing over here in South Dakota but the ice is not very thick. Please be careful in these areas watching out for both yourself and your four legged friends.
 
Thanks, George.

This is especially important for the dog that gives chase, on the ice, after a cripple and takes a dive into the water! I thought about this last weekend and immediately decided to hunt other areas, not close to water...
 
Sloughs this weekend in east-central SD:
Areas without cattails had good ice fine for walking.
Areas with standing cattails mostly fine with mushy spots here & there.
Areas with bent over cattails that form an insulating carpet that you think should be the easiest walking back to the truck......very soft. Will support a dog but not a man.
I praise God regularly for inventing GoreTex, but there's at least one time each season when I have to ask why He didn't bless me with taller boots.
 
I've fallen through, and almost drowned one time. I show ice a lot of respect.I blow a hole in it, to test it, and I do it often.
 
We just had an incident west of Watertown, SD a couple of weeks ago. Two guys were hunting and shot a bird that dropped out on the ice. One of them sent their Lab to retrieve it and the dog broke through and couldn't get out. The guy tried to get to the dog and also went through. His partner called 911. The person that went in did manage to get out before rescue arrived. The dog was in the water for almost an hour but the rescue team was able to save him.
 
Dakotazeb said:
We just had an incident west of Watertown, SD a couple of weeks ago. Two guys were hunting and shot a bird that dropped out on the ice. One of them sent their Lab to retrieve it and the dog broke through and couldn't get out. The guy tried to get to the dog and also went through. His partner called 911. The person that went in did manage to get out before rescue arrived. The dog was in the water for almost an hour but the rescue team was able to save him.
Click to expand...

And this is why dogs should NOT have dew claws removed.... their built in ice picks to get them out of situations like this.

See for yourself in this video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4XflsMEk-k
 
Dakotazeb said:
We just had an incident west of Watertown, SD a couple of weeks ago. Two guys were hunting and shot a bird that dropped out on the ice. One of them sent their Lab to retrieve it and the dog broke through and couldn't get out. The guy tried to get to the dog and also went through. His partner called 911. The person that went in did manage to get out before rescue arrived. The dog was in the water for almost an hour but the rescue team was able to save him.
Click to expand...
Wow, glad they made it out. When I broke through, I was able to throw my gun, and it was in a lake, so no current.My friend was able to throw me a treelimb , but yeah, my dog jumped in, bless him.We both got kut, and it was -10.
 
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