Roscoe's First Bird Hunt

Our Boykin Spaniel turned a year old this month.  Roscoe has become apart of our family to the extent his nickname is Bubby.  He requires a lot of attention and and will let you know when he is feeling neglected.  He loves to take his family for a walk.  If you open the door to let him outside in the morning chances are he will be pulling on your shorts and trying to drag you out the door with him.  Boykin's are a very hyper breed and he is no exception.  This past weekend we had a chance to take Roscoe on his first dove hunt.  Our daughter was very nervous about taking him hunting mainly because she didn't know what to expect.

Roscoe, Emily and Shelby

Roscoe was a very happy boy and behaved himself very nicely and found a couple of doves that would have been lost without his assistance.  He would pitch a fit and bark anytime someone across the dove field would shoot if he didn't get to retrieve the bird.  I kept him on a leash for the hunt we worked on his commands, sit, stay, quiet.  It was a great experience and we still have a lot of work to do but Roscoe's loves to practice.   He runs circles around our home chasing birds daily.  He's even caught a few birds from the piles of feathers we find in the yard.  It was hard to convince him to give back the bird's he found.

 Roscoe with a bird in his mouth.

Dove season is over for a little while and it will reopen in a few weeks and we can try a little more training then. 

Leo (my brother), Chase (my nephew) George (my father)

Emily and Roscoe climbed the round bails for a better view.

Our Family

Do you have any tips or techniques you could offer for a first time dog trainer?  I'm not real sure on training a retriever but Roscoe is helping all he can, so maybe together we can figure it out.

Questions or Comments?

Email

alakingfish@gmail.com

Shelby Byrd