New young dog to hunting... and me!

PamG

PamG

New member
Hi Everyone. I am brand new here and basically brand new to pheasant hunting. I've gone a couple of times years ago, but have a coming 2 year old black lab/gold.retr. mix that I think would be an awesome bird dog. He has a great nose and retrieving ability. He has a good solid obedience foundation as well.

I want to get him on real birds. I'm wondering if there are places that allow you to work a dog...but not necessarily hunt and plan to shoot anything. I'd like to do that a couple of times maybe before shooting. I need to get him used to gunfire as well. We live just south of St. Paul in Inver Grove Heights. Anyone know of places near me that would work well? Thanks so much!
 
If you have time you should just come to the UPH group hunt at Sand Pines in Avon. Im sure you cold find help there and meet some of the people on this forum face to face. Even if you dont go shoot birds it will be a good time to watch dogs work. Take a look at the thread and PM me if your interested.
 
PamG said:
Hi Everyone. I am brand new here and basically brand new to pheasant hunting. I've gone a couple of times years ago, but have a coming 2 year old black lab/gold.retr. mix that I think would be an awesome bird dog. He has a great nose and retrieving ability. He has a good solid obedience foundation as well.

I want to get him on real birds. I'm wondering if there are places that allow you to work a dog...but not necessarily hunt and plan to shoot anything. I'd like to do that a couple of times maybe before shooting. I need to get him used to gunfire as well. We live just south of St. Paul in Inver Grove Heights. Anyone know of places near me that would work well? Thanks so much!
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Get a sportsman's atlas or go online to find Wildlife Management Areas. You can run you dog there. Be careful about the dates. You can't have a dog off leash from April 15-July 16th I believe.
 
Thanks so much for your replies, guys. I will look into the event in Avon...when is it?
 
The event is March 3rd at 12:30pm at Sand Pines hunt preserve. Please feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.:thumbsup:
 
Good luck with the pup, best thing is birds and more birds!! Be careful how you introduce them to gun fire, don't want to go to fast and create a dog that is gun shy, when it comes to that it's all about baby steps! Feel free to ask any question you might have about training, alot of us on here have trained numerous dogs and would love to help you out if you have any questions. Good Luck!
 
PamG: All these posts contain good advice. Try to get out to a farm later in the year for live birds and guaranteed success (more important for the pup than us hunters). As we get closer to the season, keep an eye on the forum. We can be pretty cagey about our favorite spots but most will help out with some general direction. And once you have taken that first wild bird, take it from me, you and the pup will be hooked.

Good luck and most importantly, have fun and be safe.

Daisybuck
 
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