First hunting season for my PP

[Houghtonic]

Just wanted to share a pic kind of rounding out what my PP pup, Raven, has done so far this hunting season. I'm just a novice/beginner hunter so this pup is making me very happy to overcome my inexperience. We had a few good days of dove hunting where she did very well at the age of 6 months...retrieving everything that hit the ground, landed in thick cover, or landed in the water. I don't think I lost a single bird because she was determined to find everything and used that nose. We've gone duck hunting three times (at 8 months old). The first two were unproductive as bird activity was low, but made for good training on getting used to the boat and being patient in the boat blind while we tried to get some ducks to come in. We were able to get her used to doing retrieves from the boat after the hunt was over. The third time there were ducks to be had and she retrieved every single one of them on a very cold day (35F and drizzle/rain is cold for us in Texas). 4 ducks in one group and 3 in the other. She has a very soft mouth, even on cripples, and I was extremely happy with her. Now if I can round out the steadiness for good quail hunting, I'll have every aspect of what I wanted from her for the versatile hunting dog I wanted.

[Hdc]

Sounds like you guys are doing great.

[bullfrog]

That is a great looking pooch and it sounds like she is doing fantastic for her first year. The steadiness will come. At least that's what I keep telling myself
I remember when my older PP went from busting birds because he wanted to point to close (which works on a pen bird), to when the light clicked on and he started being really cautious. He will often point from 50+ yards away now on chukar. I let him creep and work the moving birds, but he really tries hard not to bust birds. It just took a few hunts of him busting like crazy for him to learn. My younger pup has a ton of point, he just tries to get too close. It's fun to see the transition, but takes a little patience. Especially as the birds get more wary.
You are doing a great job on this dog. You deserve her progress by starting her early and hunting a lot.
Right now I'm stuck in Seattle at my wife's work holiday party/weekend. It's terrible. Need to get back home and take them pooches hunting!

[Houghtonic]

Thanks, bullfrog. I do like her a lot. The majority of my bird hunting in Texas is dove and waterfowl, which is why the dominant dogs down here are labs. The only birds to hunt reasonably local for pointing are quail. The hunting lease I'm on has some quail, but we are in the middle of deer season. I'll be able to hunt it up for quail com mid Jan. to the end of Feb. I hope by then to have her understand the point and hold game. I do have pigeons and a launcher and I'll keep working it. I'd love to get her solid for pointing, do more quail hunting, and maybe take a trip or two up North to hunt the other birds as she matures.