- Local time
- 9:44 PM
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2010
- Messages
- 36,656
- Reaction score
- 140,125
- Location
- Monroe, New York
DOGS
- Thread starter snakeyes
- Start date
Thor pointing. Two hens.
sam dupont
Well-Known Member
Do they show a lesser energy level because they are hens?
- Local time
- 9:44 PM
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2010
- Messages
- 36,656
- Reaction score
- 140,125
- Location
- Monroe, New York
We can not shoot hens. Never know if its a hen or a rooster till I let him flush. He will hold that point until I let him flush the bird or if the bird moves. I hope to find a rooster or two tomorrow morning. I am hungry for pheasant.
sam dupont
Well-Known Member
Considering their noses and their intelligence, it wouldn't surprise me if they could tell the difference. I was thinking they might give slight clues or scent and then dismiss a hen. The speed of the tail, a different frequency of quiver something that betrays the fact that they know they have a rooster.
Went looking on the internet. Bob West from Purina said no way, this guy said different:
My name is Fred Rice, Missouri Bird Hunter. Owned and hunted VC Jacob vd Westwind, all over the midwest including pheasants in KS, SD, and Iowa. My opinion – there is no doubt in my mind Jake new the difference between roosters and hens. At the end of the day, time and time again, all his points were roosters. What are the odds of that? More roosters than hens out there? Don’t think so. I believe he learned over time we were shooting just the roosters and that is what he pointed. Am I a bit touched? Maybe. I know this, I saw it enough, I am not afraid to claim it. I respect Bob West and consider him a good friend, but I guess we can disagree on this one. I am not saying Jake never pointed a hen, but it was rare. He was a great dog, and the best pheasant dog I have ever seen. His greatest strength, was up between his ears. Then his nose. Then his drive.
- Local time
- 9:44 PM
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2010
- Messages
- 36,656
- Reaction score
- 140,125
- Location
- Monroe, New York
33 IMP
Well-Known Member
- Local time
- 6:44 PM
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2017
- Messages
- 14,743
- Reaction score
- 25,199
- Location
- taxifornia,soon 2b Arizona.
Blue-eyed dogs are always beautiful.
A neighbor has a beautiful husky, with one blue eye, and one brown.
sam dupont
Well-Known Member
to train for hen exclusion, one could say when identifying a hen: "bummer hen" in a tone denoting disappointment. When identifying a rooster: "Yay Rooster!" with a "good dog" intonation. Wouldn't the dog learn to recognize the preference and seek the birds that got the good dog sounding call out?
Dogs are amazing and I would not doubt that they can tell the difference. I have had some damn good dogs, but none ever pointed just roosters. I have 100s of stories from hunting Iowa and South Dakota. I inherited a black mixed breed that was an absolute beast at retrieving. On more than one occasion I seen him retrieving one bird hear another shot and mentally mark the second bird, find the second bird lay them head to head and bring them both back
I am sure that would work. I work and train as much as possible. We work on dead bird a lot, loosing a bird is something I don’t like. We also work on control when he is focused on hunting. When he is focused on hunting calling him back or slowing him down is hard, so we work on those as much as possible. He amazes me every time we are in the field.
sam dupont
Well-Known Member
One of my theories is they live to please us. If they aren't doing what we want, it's usually because we haven't figured out how to communicate it yet. I think that guy had a smart dog that liked pleasing dad. The tough part for me would be learning when it was a rejected hen and that I shouldn't say anything about the abandoned point. If I did learn a difference in points, I would sometimes acknowledge the dog by saying: "OK, punish the hen."
If the skill could be brought out, what a great dog it might be for training youngsters. Dog college is expensive, but what would that be worth?
Hope’s first Christmas. We had to fence it off as she would have opened everything… She sure did enjoy her gifts and waited patiently for them. We sure missed having Panda as she is greatly missed. Tough morning around the tree especially since my phone brought up the videos of her opening presents from years past. Our cat was in for a little bit then went out. A 1/2 hour later she was sitting over at Pandas grave when I walked out to burn boxes and wrapping paper they were very close. Sad to see and I just about lost it. Holidays get tougher as you lose all of your loved ones with and with out fur or feathers…
Last edited:
Similar threads
