KONA’S BIG FETCH, OR, HOW TO TRAIN A BURRITO RETRIEVER

By Scott Haugen

Iposted a number of pictures and a few video clips on my Instagram page of my pudelpointers, Echo and Kona, retrieving ducks this past season. But one video fetched a lot of questions, the most common being, “How’d ya get him to do that?”

What they were referring to was Kona retrieving a bag of burritos from over 500 yards away. Let me set the scene.

MY BUDDY AUSTIN CROWSON and I were duck hunting. Two minutes into the midday hunt, a nice pintail came in, which Austin shot. Then we didn’t see a duck for nearly three hours. We both got hungry, figuring we’d have been done with a limit of birds by now. But despite what our scouting efforts had revealed, the birds weren’t showing up as we’d hoped.

“I can call my girlfriend and see if she’ll run some lunch out to us,” Austin offered.

“That’d be great,” I replied, “and if she parks by my truck, I bet Kona will go get ’em for us!”

A half hour later, our burrito delivery showed up. Austin and I were in a pit blind, and the first time I tried sending Kona back, he wouldn’t push past the sheetwater separating us from our lunch. So I got out, heeled Kona and walked 100 yards to the side so there was a direct line between us and the food – with no water in the way. Kona sat by my left side, as he always does when I cast him out. I released him, and he was off.

Two hundred yards out, Kona stopped and looked back at me, as he always does on blind retrieves. I gave him the “back” signal and he sprinted back another 100 yards or so before again pausing, looking to me for direction.

LET ME BACK UP even further. Before I sent Kona on the odd fetch request, I got him excited, like when we play in the backyard. He sensed I wasn’t being serious, and knew this was all in fun. His ears perked, his tail wagged and he got a prance in his step that only comes out when he’s having fun.

Don’t get me wrong, Kona has fun hunting, but hunting is business. When he’s hunting, Kona is focused and will sit from daylight till dark looking for and retrieving ducks, no matter how cold, wet or hungry he gets. He doesn’t like being touched or petted when hunting. He’s 100-percent focused. So this request was out of the ordinary, and he knew it.

Also, when Austin’s sweetheart called to let him know she was close with lunch, he asked her to call to Kona once he headed her direction for the pickup. About 200 yards out, Kona’s pace slowed and his stature grew upright and alert. Even from 300 yards away I could read his body language, which said to me, “I’m still having fun, but not sure where I’m going or why, and this girl’s high voice sounds a lot like Mom!”

Then he kicked it into high gear and sprinted right up to her. They’d met before, and Kona loves her. I would not have sent him to a stranger.

By the time Kona reached the delivery point behind an old ranch house where my truck was parked, I was back in the blind. Once I saw Kona had the bag secure in his mouth, I gave him two beeps on his e-collar. This is the most important communication tool I have with my dogs, as it allows me to get their attention and give them directions via hand signals at amazing distances.

As soon as Kona got the two beeps on his e-collar – which means “come to me!” – he did, fast. Kona sprinted the entire distance, not slowing down one time. Kona’s head was held high the whole time. So was his tail. His body language exuded pleasure. He loved doing something new, something fun.

BUILDING A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP with your gun dog allows you to accomplish amazing things. When I’m done writing this story, for instance, I’ll print it out in my downstairs office, roll it up with a red pen inside, give it to one of the dogs and have them deliver it to my wife, Tiffany, to proofread. When she’s done marking it up, she’ll have one of the dogs bring it back to me.

We live 50 yards from my folks, in the country. When they call and have something for us, we’ll often send the dogs to get it. It might be a piece of mail, a bag of small oranges or a box of tissues. Echo and Kona both love retrieving anything new and unfamiliar. They even help with laundry delivery around the house, both upstairs and downstairs.

Such behavior shows how intelligent a good breed of gun dog can be, and that they thrive on change and the mental stimulation that comes with it. Now that hunting seasons are over, make it a point to have fun with your dog. Get them fetching and doing things they’ve never done. Make an obstacle course for them to run. Take them to new places so they can explore. Challenge them in ways you never have, and you’ll soon realize how smart our four-legged hunting companions really are, and how they thrive on mental challenges. You’ll also discover how much dogs just want to have fun with you. CS

Editor’s note: Scott Haugen is a full-time writer. See his puppy training videos and learn more about his many books at scotthaugen.com and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.