2009 Duck Season - First Split

We have only one day left until the first split is over. Boo has been doing great. Last week, she made her first double. She swam out and picked up one widgeon of two that were only a few feet apart, then she turned and grabbed the other and brought them both back to me. Also last week, she retrieved a sandhill crane. She struggled a bit with the big bird, but she did great for only being 11 months old.

Today was her busiest day yet. I hunted with two friends and we shot 3 limits. I only remember one bird out of 18 that she did not retrieve and that was only because I didn't let her. She is getting more patient with each hunt and she loves being out in the field. She also loves to come home and catch up on her beauty sleep after a long day hunting.

Duck Hunt

Boo and I went out this morning for her first duck hunt. She was very excited, but was surprisingly easy to calm. After setting out decoys and Boo going for a little pre-dawn swim, we settled in only a few minutes before first light. Right at shooting time, a group of mallards came in and it was "go-time". Boo hit the water and swam hard right to the duck, grabbed him and brought him right back. A little while later, 2 mallards came in and both went down. Boo went right to work. She picked one up, and with a little coaxing she ignored the other bird and came back to shore. She was so excited when she gave me the bird that she totally forgot about the other one, so I had to try to direct her out to get it. After a bit, she remembered and went straight out to where the bird was and brought it back. The other 3 birds were all land retrieves, and she did pretty well finding them.