Helen S
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Liesel's Big WeekendThe NZ gamebird hunting season opens first weekend in May - it is known as Opening Weekend and there is enough open public land that everyone who owns a gun can get out there shooting ducks if they so wish. And by golly they do  Our local area is known as "the duck factory" for its' huge area of swamps, lakes and ponds and for a couple of weeks leading up to Opening Weekend, maimais (hides) were tagged, dressed, furnished and generally prepared for the oncoming sport  Many are only accessible by water and some of the heavily laden tin row boats I saw heading out looked decidedly top heavy 
Before daylight on Saturday morning Dickie (my OH), me and Liesel headed off with our neighbouring farmer and a mate to walk the 4 km or so of river which runs through his and his brother's properties. Unlike some previous years there were plenty of ducks getting up from bends in the creek and Liesel was kept busy. I had been a little apprehensive about how willing she would be to pick up freshly shot game after all the cold game practice she has had but I needn't have worried. She was straight into it like an old hand especially collecting birds which were floating downstream having been shot. I was particularly pleased that she was delivering to hand as she had at the Roughshooters Day, unlike last year when she was rather possessive of her retrieves and gave me a bit of a headache trying to get her to bring birds right to me.
As our neighbour said afterward, he dreaded to think how many birds would have been left lost had we not had the dog. Several pricked birds hid out of our sight under the high steep banks of the creek but Liesel's nose told her where they were and this proved her forte, fishing them out of the water and scrambling up the bank to deliver them to me. She also had to hunt out a couple of "runners" which were well hidden. One in particular came as Dickie and I walked home along the river yesterday morning, picking up the ducks we had left in stashes along the way. I allowed Liesel to hunt her way along the riverbank inside the fence in case of any ducks sitting tight still. She showed particular interest in a fallen willow tree in the water which had accumulated quite a pile of wood and rubbish around it. After pointing the heap of wood for a minute or two I sent her in and she scrambled into the tree and water and was in pursuit of something inside. It was a pricked duck, but although unable to fly it was able to give her the runaround for a good five minutes or more as it got into places she could not fit and then moved again and again. Eventually it gave her the slip and we were unsure which direction it had taken but a couple of seconds later Liesel took off swimming strongly downriver. She was so purposeful it was obvious to both of us that it had dived and Liesel was in hot pursuit. Dickie got ahead along the riverbank and sure enough about 40 metres further along it popped up and he was able to shoot it again. Liesel got her reward and brought it proudly up the river bank to me
On Saturday evening we sat at a bend in the river in some bushes as the sun went down. After an initially unsettling experience as it became obvious that Liesel and I were sitting on a wasp's nest and Liesel got stung on the nose, we moved further along. I was pleased to find that she seemed to know that we were all sitting quietly and still for a reason. She sat motionless beside me off lead waiting for ducks. One duck came in attracted by our flapping decoy and landed in the water right in front of us and Liesel didn't move. She was rewarded by it's demise as it realised it's mistake and got up again only to be shot as it flew away. This time she earned her keep by finding a pricked duck hiding in the dark down in the river where we could not get and could not see.
We finished the weekend with a walk around another farm where we found a couple of ducks to shoot and a Canada Goose which had a badly broken wing where it had been shot earlier. Dickie put it out of it's misery and Liesel got her first experience of a goose  It was like she couldn't believe her eyes and danced around barking at it  I later set her up for a very short retrieve and persuaded her to pick it up but she may take a few more before she is confident enough to pick one up freely
As you can imagine, I am thrilled to bits with my girl Okay it is a bit rough around the edges at times, she still needs reminding to stay at heel every ten metres or so which gets rather wearing  but less so than being dragged on the lead  But she was generally obedient and listened to me if I needed to direct her on a retrieve. When she picks up a runner she faffs around and nips at it before she gets hold of it (she did damage some - but not too badly). The dead ducks were picked up cleanly so I hope this is a confidence thing and she will get over it 
We now have a very weary wirehair sleeping the day away. She went twice around the garden and out to the chickens this morning and then supervised us butchering the ducks before retiring to bed again
Helen S
28 duck, 1 hare, 1 goose, 12 pukeko (big moorhen) and some vermin. 3 shooters and one dog.
Sunday evening - wornout wirehair!
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kiwi
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great weekend helen, i really feel sorry for the hunters that don't have the use of a well trained gundog....my own two are a little stiff today as well.........well done liesel
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Bareve
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Well done Helen and Liesel - what a fabulous weekend
You should be well pleased with how things went 
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Helen S
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"well trained gundog" - not sure how well trained, but I think she qualifies as a gundog now! We all know it is well worth putting in those months of effort but it was particularly satisfying for me to have it acknowledged by the neighbour who allows me to use his ground to train her.
Did Sweep earn his colours?
Helen S
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kiwi
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yeah he done well on sun to bring in a paradise duck that had dropped into a huge bog pond,almost crawling through the mud like an alligator for 50 meters.....sika done well picking up lost birds from other shooters.
had a morepork sitting in the manuka bush right beside the maimai at first light and that was a highlite....not a huge bag but enough to keep it interesting.
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kiwi
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better translate that for the poms.
had a native owl sitting in a tea tree bush beside the duck blind
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windem bang
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You lucky upside down sods !! Wish it was me!
Bill T.
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sako75
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Well done Helen and liesel , it makes all the hard work very worthwhile. I am chuffed for you both and look forward to reading about your next big day out
Barry.
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countrygirl
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Glad you had a good w/end Helen it makes good reading
Caz
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Greyghost
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Wow what a fantastic weekend you all had. Well done Helen, all that training has certainly paid off and not forgetting Liesel what a little star
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Helen
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your girl done good, Helen! Well done!
Helen
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Helen S
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Thanks everyone it's nice to share the successes as well as the failures 
It's so interesting to see them develop their skills. This morning we went out to the creek because Dickie wanted to check out the irrigation pump and pull it out for the winter, so he carried his gun just in case. He shot a hare which got up across the paddock and then a duck which disappeared into the fog. When Liesel went to retrieve the hare she at first picked it up around the middle. She got about half way back before dropping it and started faffing around with it, I had to encourage her to "Hold" before she eventually picked it up again by the shoulders and brought it to me. I imagine she didn't like holding it around the jelly like middle as she looked much happier holding it by the shoulders despite it being unbalanced. We then had a good time hunting around the creek edges for the lost duck which Liesel eventually found dead on the open paddock and retrieved.
I have to get her picking things up more cleanly though instead of faffing with them for a few seconds first. I guess I have use the running away tactic?
Helen S
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Lisa
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Wow Helen and Liesel!! well done to you both!! very impressive
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BenB
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Sounds like a great start to your season. Trying to work out how to pick a hare up isn't uncommon - because they are heavy with a weird balance point. First time Teasel went for a goose retrieve she looked shocked when she got up to it and realised how big it was - that took some flipping about to carry.
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fat belly frog
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well done helen, its a great feeling watching your dog work for what they are breed for after all the hard work. Reading your training log has helped me heaps.
I am having the same issues with my dog on the ducks but it is only his first season and we only managed four retrieves for him over the weekend. It will be nice to see the progression over the season.
cheers FBF (from taranaki)
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windem bang
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A hares point of balance is up near the front shoulders. I've got photos somewhere of my brittany retrieving hares using a shoulder grip. I used to have photos of her retrieving Pinkfoot and Greylag geese runners too. Her "method " with lightly pricked geese was simple . She ran right at them , bowled them over then grabbed them by the base of the neck and back they came to me whether they liked it or not.
Dogs usually work out their own way of carrying game, I usually find it best not to interfere.
Just looked at the calendar , we've got bloody aaaaaages to go before our shooting season opens again . 
Bill T.
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BenB
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Apart from the pigeons Bill. Plenty of retrieving practice there.
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windem bang
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Unfortunately Ben, having spondalitis makes it very unpleasant for me to shoot nowadays. I depend on going picking up at the pheasants to get any work at all. I really should not have bought Buck - it's a bit like having a Ferrari and not having a road to run it on !!! A nice fat waddling old labrador is more my speed now !
Bill T.
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BenB
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sorry didn't know that.
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Helen S
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Hi there FBF - glad to hear the diary has been of help if only so you are aware of the mistakes to avoid!!
Helen S
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fat belly frog
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| Helen S wrote: | Hi there FBF - glad to hear the diary has been of help if only so you are aware of the mistakes to avoid!!
Helen S |
Dont worry I think I have made all the same mistakes...and some bigger ones
My biggest mistake was not doing more research when he was a puppy and trying to remember how dad trained our dogs (Eng P, GSP, and Wei) so playing a bit of catch up now to get him back on the right track
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