1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Welcome to the Foundation's podcast. I'm your host, 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:08,320 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about how to 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: get your hunting dog on as many birds as possible 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: this season. This one is a fun topic for me 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: because if there's one thing I like to do, it's 6 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,959 Speaker 1: to figure out hunting opportunities over on the white tail side. 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: That's kind of my bread and butter. But it doesn't 8 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: end with deer In an awful lot of places. We're 9 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,520 Speaker 1: real lucky to have multiple game bird species to hunt, 10 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: which often live on public land, and if we don't, 11 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: we can get somewhere that usually has them. This is 12 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 1: so important to the development of a gun dog, and 13 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: it's what I'm going to talk about right now. A 14 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: few weeks back, my twin daughters asked if they could 15 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: bring a friend up to our lake cabin. This is 16 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: a pretty common request considering they are thirteen, and it 17 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: can go a few different ways depend on the friend. 18 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: But luckily the girl they invited up is one who 19 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: we've coached in sports since they were in second grade, 20 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: and we know her and her family well. She's a 21 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: sweet kid who, by the reports I got from her parents, 22 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: loves to fish, which was perfect because as. 23 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 2: A family, we love to fish. 24 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: So I took one of my daughters and this girl 25 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: out the first day we were up at the lake, 26 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: and I handed her a spinning rod with a swimming 27 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: jig on it because she had already told me she 28 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: knew how to cast, so I figured we're good to go. 29 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: I then watched as she held the rod upside down 30 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: and made a cast that sounded a little like she 31 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: had chucked a pretty good sized rock into the water 32 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: about four feet from our boat. It turns out her 33 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: family as more of the sit on the pontoon with 34 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: spin cast type of setups and fish for sunfish with 35 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: bobbers and worms. We are the kind of family that 36 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: throws lures all day long to try to catch bass 37 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: and northerns. So I gave her a quick tutorial on 38 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: how to cast and watch as she figured it out. 39 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: What she didn't figure out, because you can't coach someone 40 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: through it is how to set the hook and how 41 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: to fight fish. You can call only explain to a 42 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: newb angler how to cast. And I have so much 43 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: that I can hear a cast happen in my boat 44 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: and know whether the castor pulled her finger off the 45 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: line too early or too late during the arc the 46 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: rod swing. You can explain to someone how fast or 47 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: slow to reel if there is any action they should 48 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: impart with the rod and a whole bunch of stuff. 49 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: But what you can't do is explain to someone you know, 50 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 1: like where they're going to clearly understand how to set 51 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: the hook well and then how to fight a fish, 52 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: at least when it comes to twenty inch smallies or 53 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: decent sized northerns or large mouth living up in the 54 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: slop and looking to gobble up a fake kermit as 55 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:37,679 Speaker 1: he hops across the lily pads on his way to 56 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: miss Piggy's place. You just have to get in the reps. 57 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: And when it comes to this skill in the outdoors, 58 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: there's just no way around it. You have to set 59 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: the hook and lose fish because of it, and you 60 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 1: have to fight fish and lose them. It's a feel thing, 61 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: an instinct thing. So in other words, it's not just academic, 62 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: no matter how hard we try to make it out 63 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 1: to be. You can't stand in the yard and work 64 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: on these when you're not. 65 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 2: In the boat. 66 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: This, in so many ways is like what happens with 67 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: bird dogs and well actual real live birds. 68 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 2: Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking. 69 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 2: I know two things a lot of you are thinking. Actually. 70 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: The first is that you can get fighto exposure to 71 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: birds through a trainer who has a bunch of pigeons 72 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: or maybe farm raised mallards or pheasants or chuckers. The 73 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: second is that you don't have access too much for 74 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: wild birds in your county or your state, or your 75 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: region or whatever. So let's back up first to the 76 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: not wild bird part of the equation first. Whether you 77 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: do it yourself or you're hire it out to a 78 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: pro live bird exposure in a controlled situation with not 79 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: wild birds is a great idea. A young bird dog 80 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: getting the right intro into a pigeons or you know, 81 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: a sleeved up mallard or whatever is a great way 82 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: to hype a dog up without almost any risk of 83 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: something going bad. 84 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 2: That's not a bad thing and it never will be. 85 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: I don't think this stage of this development process, which 86 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: will come after wings and scent and not live birds. 87 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 2: Is great. It's important. 88 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: It's a piece of the puzzle that will help a 89 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: bird dog get to the right place to be good 90 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: with bird encounters. But isn't the end of the journey. 91 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: You could expose your dogs through training to tame pigeons 92 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: and pheasants and mallards and whatever else a million times, 93 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: but that wouldn't necessarily make your dog a really good hunter. Now, 94 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: before you fire off angry emails, I'll say this, it 95 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: definitely wouldn't hurt your dog if you did it right either. 96 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: But eventually, after gunfire intro, you need to get your 97 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: dog out to find some birds and point them or 98 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: flush them and hopefully retrieve them all in a variety 99 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: of environments, which brings me to the second point I 100 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: brought up earlier. If some of you don't think you 101 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: have access to enough wild birds to really develop a 102 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,559 Speaker 1: dog without a game farm type of situation, again, taking 103 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: your dog to where the pen raised roosters are and 104 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 1: having them plant it out in the field isn't a 105 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: bad idea. It's a good one for an awful lot 106 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: of folks. 107 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:56,840 Speaker 2: Now. 108 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: I know some people want to make it seem like 109 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: those birds are close enough to wild birds that it 110 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: really doesn't matter. 111 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 2: But those people are. 112 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: Wrong, And that's okay because those pen raised roosters, many 113 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: of which are a little dizzy from getting spun up 114 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: in a burlap sack are another good stepping stone, especially 115 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: for folks who really don't have tons of opportunities to 116 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: hunt wild birds. Plus, those situations are heavily controlled, which 117 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 1: means you can solve for any of the variables that 118 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,279 Speaker 1: might trip your pup up before you ever load the shotgun. 119 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: Your dog won't know the difference. And being able to 120 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: predict where half of a dozen pheasants are in a 121 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: small field and then work them and shoot them it's 122 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: not a bad thing. It's a great preseason or postseason 123 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 1: option too. It's also not going to fully prepare your 124 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: dog for wild birds and wild places. For that, they 125 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: have to go into those wild places with you and 126 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: find those wild birds and figure out the whole thing 127 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: largely on their own. This is the point where a 128 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,119 Speaker 1: lot of bird dog owners hit the wall and can't 129 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 1: quite figure out what to do. This is also what 130 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: happened to me when I got married and, like an 131 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,840 Speaker 1: absolute moron, moved to the suburbs of the Twin Cities. Now, 132 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: I'm not saying everyone who lives here or in similar 133 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: areas as a moron, but instead that a guy like 134 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: me doesn't belong around four million other people. I felt 135 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:17,040 Speaker 1: that pretty quickly after relocating, first on the fishing front, 136 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: and then as I took my young golden retriever out 137 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,160 Speaker 1: to hunt the fall, I had no idea how to 138 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: find some land to hunt and what to hunt for. 139 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: I knew that finding roosters and grouse anywhere near my 140 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: house was probably a lost cause, and I was a 141 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: bummer because roosters and grouse are my favorite birds to hunt. 142 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: I hadn't really hunted doves much at that time because 143 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: us near Canadians had only recently started getting dove seasons, 144 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: which probably sounds crazy to a lot of you Southern listeners. 145 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: I also didn't duck hunt at the time because duck 146 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: season and deer season don't play well together. And I 147 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: felt at the time and still do a little bit today, 148 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: that it's hard to give yourself to both in the 149 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: way that you need to. In my mind, you were 150 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: either a duck hunter or a bowhunter, but not both. 151 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: But being a bow hunter in a place with nowhere 152 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:05,280 Speaker 1: to haunt put me on a lot of pieces of 153 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,359 Speaker 1: public land where I live. That means you're also on 154 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: land with water, because this is the land of ten 155 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: thousand lakes and fifty million swamps and slews and small ponds. 156 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: So I started seeing a hell of a lot of 157 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: teal and wood ducks, which got me thinking. Then that 158 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: first season, you know, while sitting on tree stands and 159 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: listening to the distant drone of rush hour traffic, I 160 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: saw a hell of a lot of woodcock flying around. Now, 161 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: ducks and woodcock aren't my dream birds, but it made 162 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: me realize something. Migrators seemed to have no clue that 163 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: they were landing on public ground in the suburbs of 164 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: the Twin Cities. That first season, Mike Golden and I 165 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: stumbled across enough wild birds to help her start to 166 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: figure out the flushing side of things and the sit 167 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: and weight side of things that comes with ducks as well. 168 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: I also noticed something else. Some of the duck ponds 169 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: I scouted, or some of the places where the woodcock 170 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: seemed to roost, were close to dead trees that doves 171 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: liked to land in. That brought my hountmal bird options 172 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: up a little bit higher. But more importantly, it gave 173 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,679 Speaker 1: us a chance to hunt several types of birds close 174 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: to my house and not a couple of hours away, 175 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 1: like the grouse and pheasants that I wanted to hunt. 176 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: But what does this mean to you? Well, i'll tell you. 177 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: When I moved to the Cities, I was not doing well. 178 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: I started a job I hated, which involved a twelve 179 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: mile commute that took over an hour each way. I 180 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 1: never got two days off in a row because of 181 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: the nature of the business I worked for. It was 182 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: torture for real. I was depressed as hell, drinking way 183 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: too much and looking at my bird dog like, well, buddy, 184 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: I'm sorry I brought you here too. My attitude sucked, 185 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: and it was partially because I had convinced myself that 186 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: I had nothing to hunt near my house. Then, by 187 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: accident and then by intention, I started to piece together 188 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 1: a few opportunities that barely resemble what I actually wanted 189 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: to do. But life isn't always great at delivering exactly 190 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: what you want. If you get my drift, That's why 191 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: Margot Robbie never responds to Cal's DMS, no matter how 192 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: many he sends. But you know what, I had a 193 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: hell of a lot of fun learning how to be 194 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: a small water duck hunter. With Mike Golden. We shot 195 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: quite a few wood ducks and some teal, and we 196 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 1: ended up with a few mallards as well. When the 197 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: weather turned and the green head started showing up from Canada, 198 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: we killed quite a few woodcock and eventually a hell 199 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: of a lot of doves. Now, that dog was never 200 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: going to be a great bird dog because she didn't 201 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: have the blood, but she was good enough for me 202 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: at the time, and she brought me a lot of 203 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,959 Speaker 1: birds over the years, a lot of birds in places 204 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: that I originally thought didn't have a lot of birds. Now, 205 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 1: of course, I took her over to the north woods Wisconsin, 206 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 1: where we mostly messed with rough grouse, but also to 207 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,959 Speaker 1: western Minnesota and a couple other prairie heavy states where 208 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: the wild roosters roam. But those trips were infrequent, and 209 00:09:57,360 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: there was always this sense of pressure hanging over my 210 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: head when we did go, because I knew how limited 211 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 1: our time was. That dog, at that time of my 212 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,719 Speaker 1: life made me a duck hunter, albeit not a very 213 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: serious or good one. She also opened my eyes to 214 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:16,439 Speaker 1: woodcock and doves, which I started every pup on. 215 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 2: Since it wasn't that. 216 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: I was around enough birds to develop a bird dog, 217 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 1: it's that I thought I wasn't. There's something here that 218 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: I hear from people. Often they'll say something like, well, 219 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: we don't have the grouse for quail or pheasants or 220 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 1: whatever like we used to. This is often followed by 221 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: so we go to South Dakota every year for the 222 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: opener and that's our bird hunt. Or we go to 223 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: the deershack and mess with the grouse once or twice 224 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: a season. Maybe it's a pay by day quail hunt 225 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: on a southern plantation. Look you do, you boo. I'm 226 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: not trying to convince everyone listening to start duck hunting 227 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: or go after a bunch of swamp dwelling worm meters 228 00:10:57,480 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: when they don't want to. But if you have a 229 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: good bird dog and you want that dog to be good, 230 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: and you want your time with that dog to be good, 231 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: then opening up your aperture a little is well good. 232 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 1: Sure to do what you want to might require a 233 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: road trip and all that entails. Do that because you 234 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: generally won't regret it. But what about those closer to 235 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: home opportunities. There's probably something you can get to within 236 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: an hour or two of your house that might put 237 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: you and your dog on some birds, and at the 238 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:29,560 Speaker 1: very least we'll get you out and trying to find 239 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: them with your dog. The easiest way to do this 240 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: is to consider all of your options. Your state, or 241 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: your region or whatever probably offers up at least a 242 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,160 Speaker 1: few in any given season. If that's doves great, You 243 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: can scout doves almost easier than any other bird, and 244 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,680 Speaker 1: they are highly patternable. They sit on power lines and 245 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 1: dead trees, around ponds, and if you've never had a 246 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:56,439 Speaker 1: bunch of them work into a spinner on a water hole, 247 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 1: then you might not understand what dove hunting can be like. 248 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 1: The traditional pass shooting setup isn't anything to sneeze at either. 249 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: Doves are great birds for learning steadiness and who don't 250 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 1: have a pile. 251 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:08,959 Speaker 2: Of retrieves under their belt. 252 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: Wounded doves aren't known for scratching at dogs, noses are 253 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: pecking eyeballs, and they don't do a lot of running. 254 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 1: Maybe where you live the woodcock migrate through. This is 255 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: far more common than a lot of people think, and 256 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 1: woodcock can be a hell of a lot of fun 257 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,839 Speaker 1: to hunt. They are perfect for yon dogs too. They 258 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,439 Speaker 1: generally don't run, although they kind of can. They often 259 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: fly a short distance and then landing in, which is 260 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: the ideal setup to bring an inexperienced dog into. They're 261 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,319 Speaker 1: the most challenging birds to hit either. Now, maybe you're 262 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: a hardcore upland hunter, but you have to settle for 263 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: some pond ducts. Again, some birds are highly scutable and 264 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,959 Speaker 1: don't require any calling or decoys, although both make the 265 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: whole thing more fun. You can pull up on X 266 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 1: find some public with some small water on it, and 267 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: then go look at it in person. It's pretty simple 268 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: and can provide some wing shooting and good dog work. 269 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: Maybe you think you don't have grouse or quail or 270 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: roosters around you, or even in your home state. I 271 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: hear this a lot here in Minnesota, where hunters say 272 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: the good old days are just gone. The crazy thing 273 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: about this is that, of course we have plenty of grouse, 274 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: but our pheasant numbers are really good too. The western 275 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 1: half of the state is full of wild roosters and 276 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: tons of public land, and I was coming on strong 277 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,080 Speaker 1: again for roosters, And of course you have that whole 278 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 1: band of the Dakotas and Nebraska and Kansas to think 279 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: about it. There are also quail and prairie chickens and 280 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,599 Speaker 1: sharptails to mess with in some of those states. And 281 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: while I know everyone says there are no bob whites 282 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: out there anymore, they're wrong. I'm going to go hunt 283 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: them this fall with my lab on public land, and 284 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 1: I bet we don't blank. The key to this stuff 285 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: is to forget what you think you know a lot 286 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: of times, or forget what most hunters like to say. 287 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 1: Most hunters really don't know what they are talking about 288 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: on a lot of this stuff. There are wild birds 289 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: out there, and they come in a variety of different species, 290 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: and they live in all kinds of different habitats. You know, 291 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: they require due diligence to find and often some effort 292 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: to scout, and definitely some effort to actually hunt. But 293 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 1: you can start that research now. This is a great 294 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: idea in general, but also a huge benefit to folks 295 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: who take their dogs on just one big trip a year. 296 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: Instead of having the dog show up and be out 297 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: of his mind because he finally gets to hunt, you 298 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: can try to find those close to home opportunities, you know, 299 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: the bite sized after work for a few hours kind 300 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: of hunts that allow for some kind of bird exposure. 301 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 1: This is how you develop a bird dog into something 302 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: that is comfortable out there, who also doesn't lose his 303 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: head when he finally gets into the field because it's 304 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: not his first hunt of the year and it won't 305 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: be his last. And if you stack up a few 306 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: seasons like this with the off season training to anchor 307 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 1: the whole thing, and you'll just have that almost autopilot 308 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: dog for the rest of your time with him. That 309 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 1: place is one that is just special to get and 310 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: it's something that snowballs so well because if you have 311 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: a dog that just figures out how to hunt woodcock 312 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: or ducks or something else, it just sets the stage 313 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:13,320 Speaker 1: to go mess with more birds and fine cool opportunities. 314 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: It might just convince you to load up that GSP 315 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:18,800 Speaker 1: you head down to quail country or do the Western 316 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: road trip for prairie chickens or sharp tails that you 317 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:23,920 Speaker 1: and your buddies always talk about when you're sipping long 318 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: necks in the driveway in August and grill and some 319 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: hot dogs and hamburgers. I want you to think about this, 320 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: because there are a lot of opportunities out there. We 321 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 1: sort of close ourselves off to them. But the more 322 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,120 Speaker 1: time we spend in the field with our dogs doing 323 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: what our dogs are bred to do. The better they get, 324 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: the better we get with working with them, and just 325 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: the whole relationship between us and them levels up. Plus 326 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 1: they just become so much better at their jobs. I 327 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: want you to think about that as we inch closer 328 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: to the season. I want you to come back in 329 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: two weeks because I'm going to talk about early season 330 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: hunting dangers and how to prepare for them. 331 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 2: That's it. 332 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: I'm Tony Peterson. This has been The Houndation's podcast. As 333 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: I always, thank you so much for listening and for 334 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: all your support. I can't tell you how much it 335 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: means to Cal and I and the rest of the 336 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 1: crew that you guys show up and you're so loyal. 337 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: You really really consume a lot of the content we create, 338 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: which is awesome. Now, if you're missing something in your life, 339 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 1: maybe you need some podcasts to listen to for that 340 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: road trip I'm talking about. Maybe just want a new recipe, 341 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: Maybe you want to read some articles. 342 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 2: Whatever. 343 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: We drop new content almost every day at the meat 344 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: eater dot com. Head on over there check it out, 345 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: and thanks again for all your support.