American Shooting Journal – August 2019

americanshootingjournal.com 53

ROAD HUNTER

A PUP’S

FIRST

HUNTS

CAN BE KEY

sat in silence atop a rolling
hillside covered in tall, yellow
grass. Echo, my seven-month-
old pudelpointer, was by my
side, excited, taking in all the sights
and sounds of this unfamiliar place.
We were hoping to catch mourning
doves as they flew by, leaving their roost
in the timbered mountains behind us
for grass seeds in the surrounding hills
and valley floor below. The first bird
of the morning sped by, and I blew the
shot. Seconds later I redeemed myself,
connecting on a single.
Echo took off, down the hill in the
direction I shot, having no idea what
she was looking for, other than a bird.
I’d failed to account for the fact that
these speedsters of the sky would be
hard for her to mark, especially amid
the rolling hills and surrounding trees.
In a flurry of confusion, I reached
for my whistle. Giving one sharp
blow, Echo immediately stopped and
looked at me, just as I’d trained her
to do. She was 75 yards away, ears
perked, looking for guidance. That’s
when I gave her an open hand signal,
directing her to go right.
She went right, right past the dove.
Again I blew the whistle; again she

peaceful? No. But it was a start. Echo

had her first official gamebird retrieve,

and I, my first experience with my own

gun dog that I had trained.

MANY HUNTERS AND dog trainers warned

me not to take Echo out for dove on

her first hunt. “Dove feathers fall out

too easily, will get matted in her mouth

and she won’t want to pick them or any

i

September offers good

opportunities to get your new

gun dog out after birds, and off

to a successful career.

stopped and looked. I directed her left

and she went left, but this time before

she sped by the dove, it flapped a wing.

That was all it took.

As soon as Echo picked up the bird,

I gave two sharp blows on the whistle.

She sprinted right to me, delivering

the bird to hand. It was a moment I’ll

never forget.

Was it perfect? No. Was it quiet and

Echo, the author’s pudelpointer,

brings in a band-tailed pigeon

during a mid-September hunt. Early

season hunts offer many benefits to

young gun dogs.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN