NZ Hunter – August 2019

Within days of the pups coming

home, they were both retrieving

duck wings and Spoonies. At this

early stage I was absolutely stoked just to

have a puppy all of my own so picking up

ducks was awesome. Little did I know at

the time I was watching the development

of the most incredible hunter I have ever

seen.

At a mere 7 months old, Nikko caught her

first moulting duck. One minute she was

standing beside us and the next minute

she was back with a slightly ruffled hen

between her jaws. When she brought

it to hand, there was no anxious

puppy looking to be rewarded but

a miniature hunter doing what she

was born to do. As soon as she gave

the duck to me, she was away looking

for another one. This ended up being the

norm with her, as one duck was never

enough.

Nikko’s first opening day arrived and

no one was surprised to find out she

was a natural. During the course of the

weekend, we never lost a duck despite

the fact that our pond is an absolute

nightmare for dogs. If there was a navy

SEALs training course for gun dogs, then

our pond would be part of it.

I already knew we had a better

than average dog but the Monday

morning after opening showed us

we actually had that one in a million

animal.

Stacy and I

hunted the lake

edge that night.

As we were wading and she’d already had

a huge weekend, we left Nikko back at

the hut. The hunting was great and we

knocked over a good number of ducks

but a couple managed to get away into

the flooded tussocks.

The next morning Stacy took Nikko back

to see if she could find them. Expecting

a long wait, he undid his pants as he was

busting and was mid-flow when Nikko

came back. Concentrating on what he

was doing, he told the dog to bugger

off and carried on. It wasn’t until he

was finished that he noticed a very lively

Mallard hen at his feet. Nikko was already

away after the second one, which she

quickly found as well.

Despite her tiny size (36 lbs pre-duck

season) she was amazing over big water.

She would swim out of sight pursuing

a wounded duck and more often than

not, a rescue boat had to be despatched

to get her back as she simply would not

admit defeat.

She had a great way of dealing with

really strong swimmers that she

couldn’t quite get. She would bark at

them and swim wide, which forced them

to keep looking back over their shoulders

to watch her and then while they were

distracted she would constantly make

ground on them. If this didn’t work and

there was nearby cover, she would work

them like an eye dog worked sheep – by

Nikko , Ripley, Brandy and I after a big opening weekend.

Ripley, the most laid-back dog. Totally the opposite of Nikko

August / September 2019 ~ NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE 79

Within days of the pups coming
home, they were both retrieving
duck wings and Spoonies. At this
early stage I was absolutely stoked just to
have a puppy all of my own so picking up
ducks was awesome. Little did I know at
the time I was watching the development
of the most incredible hunter I have ever
seen.

At a mere 7 months old, Nikko caught her
first moulting duck. One minute she was
standing beside us and the next minute
she was back with a slightly ruffled hen
between her jaws. When she brought
it to hand, there was no anxious
puppy looking to be rewarded but
a miniature hunter doing what she
was born to do. As soon as she gave
the duck to me, she was away looking
for another one. This ended up being the
norm with her, as one duck was never
enough.

Nikko’s first opening day arrived and
no one was surprised to find out she
was a natural. During the course of the

weekend,weneverlosta duckdespite

the factthatourpondis anabsolute

nightmarefordogs.If therewasa navy

SEALstrainingcourseforgundogs,then

our pondwouldbepartofit.

I alreadyknewwehada better

than averagedogbuttheMonday

morningafteropeningshowedus

we actuallyhadthatoneina million

animal.

Stacy and I

hunted the lake

edge that night.

As wewerewadingandshe’dalreadyhad

a hugeweekend,weleftNikkobackat

the hut.Thehuntingwasgreatandwe

knockedovera goodnumberofducks

but a couplemanagedtogetawayinto

the floodedtussocks.

The nextmorningStacytookNikkoback

to seeif shecouldfindthem.Expecting

a longwait,heundidhispantsashewas

bustingandwasmid-flowwhenNikko

cameback.Concentratingonwhathe

wasdoing,hetoldthedogtobugger

offandcarriedon.It wasn’tuntilhe

wasfinishedthathenoticeda verylively

Mallardhenathisfeet.Nikkowasalready

awayafterthesecondone,whichshe

quicklyfoundaswell.

Despitehertinysize(36lbspre-duck

season)shewasamazingoverbigwater.

Shewouldswimoutofsightpursuing

a woundedduckandmoreoftenthan

not,a rescueboathadtobedespatched

togetherbackasshesimplywouldnot

admitdefeat.

Shehada greatwayofdealingwith

reallystrongswimmersthatshe

couldn’tquiteget.Shewouldbarkat

themandswimwide,whichforcedthem

tokeeplookingbackovertheirshoulders

towatchherandthenwhiletheywere

distractedshewouldconstantlymake

groundonthem.If thisdidn’tworkand

therewasnearbycover,shewouldwork

themlikeaneyedogworkedsheep– by

Nikko , Ripley, Brandy and I after a big opening weekend.

Ripley, the most laid-back dog. Totally the opposite of Nikko

August / September 2019 ~ NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE 79