SIT... STAY!

As I have mentioned in several posts of Waterfowl Gunner. I spend time in the summer with my Lab on exiting and entering the boat. I have done this since he was a pup of 5 months old. Every summer I have to retrain him as he seems reluctant to jump in the first time. This past summer, at age four, it only took three outings for him to be comfortable.

Knowing this, you can imagine my surprise when he leaped from the bow on opening day when the first duck was shot. Huh, I thought he finally has it. After four years of giving him the command to "fetch", followed by words of encouragement, I hated to scold him for "breaking" on the fall of the bird. When he returned I gave him a "good boy". He was as proud as a peacock! When the next bird went down he watch from his perch at the top of the ladder and let out his loud whine, almost a scream, counted to three and jumped in. The loud whine I had grown accustomed to over the years. What it means is that he REALLY wants that bird, but he isn't too fond of jumping in! He usually stops that after about 30 retrieves on the season. He is a funny dog, but he lives to hunt!

Gunner at the ready!

I was encouraged by the fact that even though he whined, he didn't need a second command or coaxing. By the time the first season was coming to a close the loud whine had stopped. He waited at his perch for his turn to retrieve. Occasionally when the ducks or geese are circling and the hunters are calling and chattering, Gunner gets all worked up. He whines and shakes with excitement.

On our Kansas trip we didn't have many birds circle. They came by and came in, or buzzed right on through. Gunner had 73 retrieves on our trip. If he was ever going to get used to getting in and out of a boat, this was his chance! As you might expect, he got used to it alright. So used to in fact that if we let birds land he would take matters into his own hands! We had three mallards coming into the "hole" of our spread, but there were 100 behind them all cupped. We decided to let the three land so we could attempt to decimate the incoming flock. Gunner glanced at me and bolted! I couldn't believe it. The look I got was something like, "Hey, I have seen you guys shoot! Who are you trying to kid? I got this!" This happened three times the last two days. I had to switch gears on my training. Instead of commanding him to leave the boat, now I have to command him to stay. It has been a challenge. He does fine with no birds around and no one calling. The hunting situation provides the excitement that creates the problem. So, I have taken him goose hunting as often as I can. We practice sit stay with his shock collar on. On a few occasions I have not shot at birds so I could focus my attention on Gunner. He is doing much better. The threat of the shock collar has not hurt either! If he moves I give him the tone and repeat "staaaay!"

Sit, Stay seems to be working. On a recent goose hunt, he held his stay nicely as we shot five birds.

A good day afield!

Most recently, being able to sit and stay may have saved his life. We were hunting next to a quarry that had only frozen over the day before. Matt shot a goose that landed on the ice and broke through. If Gunner were unable to restrain himself, it may have been fatal. Owning a Lab can be a challenge, but I couldn't imagine a more loyal or lovable dog!