# Cripples, Common sense!



## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

Our golden rule for cripples is that nobody is allowed to find any bird except the dog, period. I repeat the only one that finds a bird is the dog, period. Even if you think it is dead you do not go looking through grass or cattails for a downed bird. The reason for this is the obvious. If the bird is dead are you going to find it? The answer is maybe. Will the dog find it? 99.999% of the time yes and the rest of the time if he couldn't find it you certainly will not. Now what if it is a runner? Are you going to find it? 99.99% of the time no and most of the time the dog will. So why go in there at all. 
If you go in and start trampling around you will put a bunch of scent in the area that the dog will have to try and filter out. Also if you go in there first and its a runner, now you have probably started the rooster running and it probably has a 75 to 100 yd head start and you of course don't have a clue in which direction it is headed(unless you are a German and then you will know everything). Now, if the dog goes in first and he starts the rooster running he will imediately know it is running, the direction it is running and will usually get the bird. Sounds like common sense but.... everyone gets so excited when a bird is down. I firmly believe that some birds do hit the ground running but many of them just got shot out of the sky and are somewhat in a state of shock and just sit tight until someone(you) or something(the dog) makes them try to make a run for it. For us that will only be the dog. 
 In our group if you shoot a bird you only mark the approximate spot and the dog owner will bring the dog over if the dog was not able to mark the bird and the dog will start looking. Many times if there is a breeze (In Nodak you got to be kidding?) you might be able to approach downwind. Common sense? Yes, but people get excited when a bird is down. You have a dog with a truly great nose why not use it to it's fullest. Let the dog retrieve all downed birds. He certainly has earned it and he is the best retriever in your party and has the best equipment invented to do it and until you sniff one out do not, I repeat do not go in there!! Common Scents? I think so!!!


----------



## equinox (Oct 31, 2003)

:rollin: 
that seriously! has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard


----------



## muzzy (Mar 21, 2002)

Makes total sense to me, that is the entire reason I own hunting dogs. I haven't figured out how to sniff the birds myself, and I'm too out of shape to run the birds down if I could smell them.

Good advice.


----------



## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

DJ is exactly correct...We try to walk up to the spot and then let the dog find it.Works almost everytime.Walking around looking for it just makes it tougher for him.


----------



## Brad Anderson (Apr 1, 2002)

Half the time I shoot a rooster, the dog has absolutely no idea where it fell. Somebody has to go over around where the bird fell, and call the dog over. If I find the bird or the dog does, it really doesn't matter, at least to me. Yesterday we jumped a convey of at least 45-60 pheasants. There is always that really scetchy one who flies right away. Anyhow the first rooster got dumped, afterward you could literally see the grass moving as the covey started to run. The dog had 45-60 scent trails to sift through before she would've found the right one. Luckily I shoot straight enough that the bird was probably dead before it hit the ground and was really easy for me to find. Anyhow to get to the point, if I had to call the dog back to the spot where the bird fell, the covey would've just kept running ahead until they ran out of cover. And anybody who hunts late season roosters, knows that a majority of the smart roosters will fly once they have run out of cover. To finish the story, we stayed right behind the covey until we reached the edge of the grass, an explosion of birds followed. To bad my buddy isn't the best shot in the world. Also what do you do when you dump a triple or more??


----------



## ecd (Nov 3, 2003)

I would agree with letting the dog retrieve the bird. I realize that there may be some exceptions, but sounds like a good idea.

I would add that if you sometimes retrieve the bird yourself, but ask the dog to do it other times, the dog may get confused as to when he is supposed to find and retrieve birds. I have had some troubles when I shoot birds down in an open field and my dog goes to the bird but doesn't retrieve it fully to me. I think this may be because I have gotten too excited about getting the bird in my hands to let the dog bring it to me. If I go get the bird then my dog thinks that it is ok for her not to bring it all the way back to me. That is not a good thing and can be very frustrating.

I think I will put more emphasis on letting the dog find and retrieve all downed game.

As far as getting triples or doubles, I'm guessing that does not happen regularly and is an exception. Most times when you get three birds down in one covey there is several hunters and probably more than one dog.

Good luck!


----------



## Brad Anderson (Apr 1, 2002)

Triples may be exception rather than the rule, if you're not a good shot. A couple of weeks ago, my buddy was standing in a plethora of pheasants. The dog came off point and flushed 15-20 roosters right at his feet. One, two, three and it was all over. I watched in amazement from 100 yards not firing a single shot. I found one, my buddy found another, and the dog found the last one. Last year I shot a triple myself, once again the dog found one and I found two. I don't give the dog much time to find a pheasant if I know where it is. "One in the hand is better than two in the bush". I have encountered crippled pheasants that have the inate ability to loose their own scent, as if they were never there. With the dry conditions earlier this year, I think a cripple that isn't shot too bad can run fast enough to loose his own scent. It has happened a couple of times, where the dog is right behind the pheasant as it falls out of the sky, then suddenly the dog has no idea where the bird went. This seems to only be a problem when it is really dry though. Since we received a little snow, this hasn't been a problem. So my conclusion is that dry conditions leave less scent on the ground.


----------



## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

Last Sunday I had a double in the cattails. My dog DJ was on the first bird right away and the second bird was a lung shot so it shuddered when hit and then started to labor to stay up and then did a slow roll lost speed and dived into the cattails up about 60 yds. After a short period of time watching other birds get up but no other roosters I walked over to where the second bird was downed because I saw the dog go over there. When I got to the spot my dog was sitting there with one bird in his mouth and the other bird dead at his feet. I thought that was pretty neat!! Not bad for an old fart(11 year old). I love my dog! That is why I always let the dog go in first because I trust my dog DJ. After watching him do some truly great things I would be a fool not to have confidence in him. Another dog may be a different story but I will always give DJ first chance because he is the best chance that I have to find a wounded bird. He has earned the right and his reputation speaks for himself. Guys love to hunt with him. If only he were three instead of eleven! It will be a sad day sometime in the future when.....


----------



## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

Sounds like a great dog, its sad how they always get old too soon. They get really good at their job and their poor old bodies fail them. I love my dogs!


----------



## OUTBACK (Sep 26, 2003)

YEA... LET THE DOG DO ITS BUSINESS. I THINK GETTING IN THE AREA WITH YOUR SCENT IS CONFUSING ESPECIALLY TO A LEARNING (YOUNG ) DOG. I HAD AN INSTANCE WERE ON A VERY DRY DAY MY YOUNG (3 YR ) LAB WAS DIRECTED TO AN AREA OF HEAVY COVER. SHE WAS WORKING HARD ALREADY WHEN SHE WAS PRESENTED WITH THE TASK OF FINDING A BIRD SHE DIDN'T SEE GO DOWN. SHE DIDN'T FIND IT UNTIL WE WERE LEAVING AREA & I GAVE UP THE SEARCH. SHE ORIGINALLY HAD LOOKED THEN, LAYED DOWN GOT UP AFTER 10 MIN & THEN LOOKED AGAIN & LAYED BACK DOWN. SHE GOT SOME LIMITED WATER IN BETWEEN. IT WAS DRY & ABOUT 55 DEGREES. JUST BEFORE WE LEFT SHE JUST STUCK HER NOSE DOWN IN SOME DEEP STUFF & PULLED IT OUT. AMAZING ALMOST SAME SPOT THAT I THOUGHT BUT OFF BY 15 FT. 
SHE NEVER WAS HOT UNTIL THEN AT THE END. I WAS SURPRISED THAT I EVEN STUCK WITH IT MYSELF!


----------

