Number One

Cutter got his first bird yesterday...well, he didn't actually retrieve it and may or may not have even kicked the bird up but he was present and in the end, was jacked to have it in is mouth and parading around with it, which is a huge step given where we have been with his training.

I've never had a gun shy dog and when a buddy told me his was, I wondered what had happened to make it that way. He told me how hard it was to train her not to freak out with the gun and I remember being thankful I never had to go through that. Turns out, I was going to have to deal with it with Cutter.

When Cutter was about seven months old, he was at my neighbor's cabin up in the woods and some of the boys were shooting the twenty-two around. He had absolutely no problem with it. On the 4th of July, he didn't flinch with fire-crackers going off and even M-80's, so I thought it wouldn't be a problem to bring him with me to the range to sight in my rifle. That was a big mistake and we're paying for it now but it's getting better.

I took Cutter duck hunting at the beginning of the season and the first shot was ok; he actually went out to get the duck but then turned back without it. "No big deal," I thought as I stripped down to my skivvies and went out for it. The second one however, was definitely more problematic as I turned to Cutter to get him to go after it and he was curled up in a ball at my feet shaking.

I've talked to quite-a-few guys now that have had to 'fix' the gun shyness on their dogs so I tried a few things they did with very little success. I bought a cap-gun and shot it as I fed him, which resulted in him jumping up on the bed and not eating. I also borrowed a .410 shotgun/.22 over-under from my buddy and shot it while he was playing with his bumper and although it did seem to help, it also made him very confused and now I'm having to re-train him to retrieve. So going against the advise of a well-respected dog trainer in the area, I decided to just keep bringing him with me when I went hunting and kind of force-feed him the idea that guns equal fun. As to try to associate birds with fun, I also would take bird carcasses and tape them up and have Cutter play with them without reprimanding him for not retrieving them right away. It didn't take long until he became interested in the birds as long as there were no shots fired.

Cutter wasn't crazy gun shy either as some dogs, where you shoot and they disappear or go running off back to the truck. He just lays down. So a few weeks ago I was field training him with a shock collar and whistle to which he has done incredibly well, and we jumped a pheasant. I took a shot and knocked the bird down and looked back to see Cutter curled up in a ball again.

"Get 'em Cutter!" I yelled and he popped up and looked around. I ran him over to where the bird was and once he got the sent, he was gone. I didn't call him back or shock him but just let him go. He chased that bird for about 10 minutes. We never found it but he was on it for a little while anyway.

I also took him duck hunting with John LaRue and the boys one day but with four guns going off, it was a bit much. He never moved from his spot in the brush until we picked up the decoys. Two days later I took him by myself and shot a few ducks and although he was lying down when I shot, he got up and followed me out when I went to retrieve the ducks. I thought that was progress. One thing that I think helped was bringing a bumper with and stopping every once in a while to play with him

The next time I went duck hunting, he heard geese flying over and wouldn't get out of the truck...I threw the bumper for him to coaks him out and then he was ok--still lying down in the brush when I shot but at least picking his head up to see where the action was.

Yesterday was a huge step forward though. We went to a ranch I knew would have birds and took a long walk. I had the shock collar on him but only had to use it once. He responds incredibly well to the whistle. At some point a couple sharp-tails got up and I took a couple shots. I looked back and Cutter was laying down, curled up in a ball. He recovered fairly quickly but since I missed the birds he didn't get a reward. Bummer.

A few hundred yards later, a rooster busted up out of some heavy cover and I blasted at him but again, I fanned. (The bird flew behind me and was a little far before I could get a shot off so...) Anyway, I looked back at Cutter and this time, he was sitting down but head up and alert. That was a pretty big moment.

So we loaded up in the truck and headed out. There were a lot of cattle in the area and Cutter was getting way more interested in them than birds so it was time. But as we were heading down the gravel road, I looked up on a little hill-side and there was a rooster running in the grass so I slammed on the breaks and pulled out the gun. I let Cutter out the back door of my truck and yelled, "Hunt 'em up Cutter!"

He took off into the ditch and immediately fell into a drainage hole. He had to crawl out and I thought there was no way the rooster was going sit tight for this. But he did and Cutter recovered just in time to run up the hill and flush the cock. I dropped it and Cutter stopped in his tracks and looked back at me.

"Get 'em." That didn't quite get the response I wanted but at least he didn't lay down or even sit. He waited for me to catch up and running right by my side, we came up on the downed bird and he sniffed it cautiously. We had to get back to the truck quickly to get it off the road so I grabbed the bird and threw it in the bed. We sped down to a little drive-way and pulled off. I took the bird back out so Cutter could play with it. On the first toss, he picked it up and paraded back and forth with it not wanting to let it go. Sweet.

On the way home, I put the bird on the floor in the back seat and Cutter lied down just staring at it until he went to sleep. It's hard to say where we go from here but things are looking up. Cutter is only a year old and I realize my expectations were a little high for where he would be this hunting season. My last dog, Chase, was an insane hunting dog and I miss him a ton, which probably contributes to me pushing Cutter too much too soon. He really is an amazing puppy. He listens incredibly well and is awesome with little kids. I guess it's another reminder that I have lessons I have to re-learn as well.

Keep 'em where they live...