conjure up fishing memories Scott Haugen’s gundog training tips

Author Scott Haugen and his dog, Echo, on her first wood duck hunt. She retrieved three limits of ducks for a trio of hunters, in a range of conditions she’d never before experienced. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

VARIETY THE SPICE OF LIFE FOR GUN DOGS TOO

By Scott Haugen

We’re smack in the middle of bird hunting season, meaning there’s no shortage of things to do. Whether you’re a passionate upland hunter chasing chukar, pheasants or Huns this time of year, taking to the water in search of ducks and geese, or heading into the hills for grouse and quail, there are many options to consider. And when considering the various hunting choices, think first about what it will do for your dog, not you.

Because dogs get bored doing the same thing over and over, it’s good to introduce change to them. Be it food, training times, training places, even the hunt itself, I’m always trying to vary our schedule. Of course, my dogs would be content sitting in our duck blind every day, or working the same mountains for sooty and ruffed grouse. But I try to take them on different hunts whenever I can, as it’s not only exciting for them, but a thrill for me.

TWO SEASONS AGO I took my dog, Echo, on her first wood duck hunt. I grew up hunting woodies near my home in

Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but never had a dog as a kid, and figured it’d be a fun change of pace for Echo. Due to the tight confines of our setup, I wanted to only take one of my dogs for ease of control. A couple buddies invited me to hunt a small creek with them. We were in place well before daylight with a dozen woody decoys spaced out in the small creek in front of us.

Fifteen minutes before shooting light, the woodies started bombing into the decoys. By the time shooting time came, Echo and I were wound up. Ducks continued pouring in and in less than 20 minutes it was over, we had our three limits of wood

ducks. It was the most fast-paced action Echo had ever had; once the shooting started she was never in the blind, rather picking up ducks as fast as she could.

Echo was grabbing birds off the ground, amid a thick oak grove, off the water, and from beneath dense brush that lined the creek’s shore. Crippled birds that swam into the shoreline brush gave Echo fits, but her tenacity and diligence paid off. She slept heavily the rest of the day, for the 21 retrieves in such a short time, in some very challenging habitat, wore her out. But she did so well, we repeated the hunt a few weeks later.

A change of hunting action is healthy for your dog, breaking the rut of always doing the same thing in the same place. Here, Haugen and Echo enjoyed a ruffed grouse hunt in the spruce forests of southeast Alaska last fall. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

LAST FALL, MY wife and I moved back to Alaska, where I enjoyed some great hunts for the Vancouver variety of Canada geese, and so did my dogs. Hunting here took place on a vast tide flat, and it was easy for both dogs to see miles in all directions. The calls of geese bounced off the surrounding snow-capped mountains, resonating throughout the valley. When bald eagles flew through, or when a tide shift occurred, hundreds of geese would take wing, their calls getting the dogs more and more excited.

Flocks of these geese would pass overhead, and often I was able to connect on doubles, which was good for both dogs. Due to the vastness of the land we hunted, it was a great joy seeing and hearing geese moving most of the day, for me and my dogs.

I also hunted ruffed grouse in the river bottom at our home in Hyder, Alaska. My dogs had never hunted river bottom grouse, only pursuing them in the Cascades, back in Oregon. In the river bottom, they loved working stands of cottonwoods and semiopen spruce forests, and they did very well.

THESE ARE JUST some of the recent hunts that offered different experiences for my dogs and me. We’ve also been to Saskatchewan where we learned all about high-volume snow goose hunting, as well as spent time in the high desert. Echo has even hunted on a couple pheasant preserves, an experience that kicks any dog’s senses into overdrive.

I’m a firm believer in change being a good thing, and such is the case when it comes to hunting with dogs. This fall, consider taking your dog on a new hunting adventure. Not only will the experience be enjoyable for both of you, but your dog will come out a better hunter because of it. CS

Editor’s note: To watch Scott Haugen’s series of puppy training videos, visit scotthaugen .com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.