Best hunting dog stories
- Thread starter Tammy
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BearBio
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- Jun 30, 2025
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Several, most centered around Maggie, our first GSP (we've had 6 and a pointing griffon but she was my only hunter!).
(1) My wife and I were on the Board of Directors of the San Gabriel Valley Chapter of Quail Unlimited for about 10 years. Each year we did a "Snake Break" to train dogs to avoid rattlesnakes and to raise chapter funds for habitat projects. Well, we took Maggie and Buddy (our "schnoodle: poodle/Schnauzer) the first year we hunted her. We hired a professional trainer and we would approach a nervous rattlesnake while wearing a "shock" cpllar, then a quiet one. Graduation was to have the owner call the dog back past a third hidden snake (all were in cages) and make sure it avoided the snake. Well, Maggie started back across the soccer field, smelled that third snake, ran off the field, around the school classrooms to the street, across the street, back to our truck and crawled underneath. The following year, we put her through a refresher course. We did not do our own dogs so as to avoid rewarding them for finding the snake by petting them. Our friend, Tim Bovard (Taxidermist for LA County Museum of Natural History) waqs handling Maggie. She got one wiff of the snake, climbed up his back, tore the lead away from him and ran back to the truck again!
(2) We did a pheasant6 hunt/trial for a fund raiser. Wife and I were working it and doing sign-ups, planting birds, etc. We had Buddy with us. One guy had Brittany spaniels and was quite the blowhard, bragging on his dogs! He was disparaging buddy as we sat between trials. Buddy went over to his chair and peed on his leg!
(3) While in grad school, I took a course in Advanced Experimental Design on field experiments. We had a hunting lease on a ranch near Paso Robles. I did my study on the species plant richness (# of plant species) between grazed and ungrazed areas. Took a week. Maggie found us several rattlers that week (By barking and backing off). First, she found the ravine we used as a gut pile and rolled in it! Then wanted to sleep in the trailer with us
. On the way home, we passed another ranch with a wild turkey strutting. We stopped to watch and Maggie went ape with "That bird is MINE!! I want it!!".
(4) Another year, we went on our annual Thanksgiving dove hunt. I had found a flight path and my wife was uphill under one juniper, with her chair and ice chest, while I was further down. I placed Maggie with her. Maggie realized that Mom missed all the dove (but was having a great time doing so!) while I usually connected, so she moved down by me. She didn't even raise her head when Mom shot!
(5) WARNING: This one is "OFF COLOR"!! Admin: Delete if necessary! We (QU) would host our October monthly meeting as a Quail and Skeet/Trap shoot at Pachmay's in L.A. We'd give Hunter Safety Class in August for kids and they'd each get one round and a box of 29 ga shells. A BBQ would be included. We'd use the time to acclimatize our dogs to gunfire by walking them around the parking lot. Of course, a few burgers and hot dogs would "fall" and be given as rewards. I was Chapter President and my Vice President was a very dark Black man who was Maitre'D at one of the REALLY fancy restaurants in Hollywood. He hunted birds all over the world. Well, my wife was walking Maggie around and gradually getting closer to the gunfire! We were watching and he commented "I REALLY love her chest!" I asked" My wife or my dog?" Now he was the ultimate gentleman and he turned the reddest I have ever seen anyone turn and started apologizing profusely. I assured him I knew what he meant we had a great laugh about it!!!
(1) My wife and I were on the Board of Directors of the San Gabriel Valley Chapter of Quail Unlimited for about 10 years. Each year we did a "Snake Break" to train dogs to avoid rattlesnakes and to raise chapter funds for habitat projects. Well, we took Maggie and Buddy (our "schnoodle: poodle/Schnauzer) the first year we hunted her. We hired a professional trainer and we would approach a nervous rattlesnake while wearing a "shock" cpllar, then a quiet one. Graduation was to have the owner call the dog back past a third hidden snake (all were in cages) and make sure it avoided the snake. Well, Maggie started back across the soccer field, smelled that third snake, ran off the field, around the school classrooms to the street, across the street, back to our truck and crawled underneath. The following year, we put her through a refresher course. We did not do our own dogs so as to avoid rewarding them for finding the snake by petting them. Our friend, Tim Bovard (Taxidermist for LA County Museum of Natural History) waqs handling Maggie. She got one wiff of the snake, climbed up his back, tore the lead away from him and ran back to the truck again!
(2) We did a pheasant6 hunt/trial for a fund raiser. Wife and I were working it and doing sign-ups, planting birds, etc. We had Buddy with us. One guy had Brittany spaniels and was quite the blowhard, bragging on his dogs! He was disparaging buddy as we sat between trials. Buddy went over to his chair and peed on his leg!
(3) While in grad school, I took a course in Advanced Experimental Design on field experiments. We had a hunting lease on a ranch near Paso Robles. I did my study on the species plant richness (# of plant species) between grazed and ungrazed areas. Took a week. Maggie found us several rattlers that week (By barking and backing off). First, she found the ravine we used as a gut pile and rolled in it! Then wanted to sleep in the trailer with us
. On the way home, we passed another ranch with a wild turkey strutting. We stopped to watch and Maggie went ape with "That bird is MINE!! I want it!!".(4) Another year, we went on our annual Thanksgiving dove hunt. I had found a flight path and my wife was uphill under one juniper, with her chair and ice chest, while I was further down. I placed Maggie with her. Maggie realized that Mom missed all the dove (but was having a great time doing so!) while I usually connected, so she moved down by me. She didn't even raise her head when Mom shot!
(5) WARNING: This one is "OFF COLOR"!! Admin: Delete if necessary! We (QU) would host our October monthly meeting as a Quail and Skeet/Trap shoot at Pachmay's in L.A. We'd give Hunter Safety Class in August for kids and they'd each get one round and a box of 29 ga shells. A BBQ would be included. We'd use the time to acclimatize our dogs to gunfire by walking them around the parking lot. Of course, a few burgers and hot dogs would "fall" and be given as rewards. I was Chapter President and my Vice President was a very dark Black man who was Maitre'D at one of the REALLY fancy restaurants in Hollywood. He hunted birds all over the world. Well, my wife was walking Maggie around and gradually getting closer to the gunfire! We were watching and he commented "I REALLY love her chest!" I asked" My wife or my dog?" Now he was the ultimate gentleman and he turned the reddest I have ever seen anyone turn and started apologizing profusely. I assured him I knew what he meant we had a great laugh about it!!!
