Still some magic in the old dog.

[jrabq]

During this duck season my dogs's age (12 in January) and physical decline have become very apparent; especially the last few weeks as the high water flow conditions on the Rio Grande have made it tough for an old dog (and me too).

But yesterday she showed me she still has a little magic left in her. The last duck of the day (mallard hen) got into a really tough spot on the opposite river bank, which is steep and choked with brush, treelimbs, etc. We spent 30 minutes trying to find it and I could tell she was getting really tired. I eventually gave up and told her to swim back across the river to the duckblind, which she started to do. As she was getting swept downriver she suddenly did a 180 and made a beeline for the shoreline we had been on, about 10 yards away. I was thinking maybe she was worn out and didn't want to swim back across the river, but she was headed to a tough spot where I didn't think she could climb up the bank. So I was talking to her like "What are you doing?". When she made it to the river bank she stuck her head under some overhanging grass and pulled out the duck! Good Dog! I still don't see how she scented the duck under those conditions.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I hope she got some extra treats.

 

[teej89]

That's awesome! Amazing their drive and how they can find things you thought were impossible to find. Good work!

 

[Nameless Range]

That puts a smile on my face.

 

[Walkathon]

Guess she still has it!

 

[1_pointer]

Awesome!! Glad that pup still doing it's thing.

 

[stillkickin]

Nice, there’s nothing more special than an old dog still at it.

 

[TripleJ]

Awesome!

 

[jrabq]

That's awesome! Amazing their drive and how they can find things you thought were impossible to find. Good work!

Impossible is a good word. Two years ago I had a shot-up mallard sail off about 150 yards, I was nearly certain it died but didn't have a great mark on it, just a direction and rough idea on distance. We had made several loops along the glide path, which was a mixture of fairly open ground, some thick brush/trees, and more open cottonwoods. She finally started acting birdy in the thicker stuff, I could just see flashes of dog about 10 yards in front of me. She started running around in circles sniffing the ground, but then started whining which tells me she is frustrated because she sees or smells the duck but can't get to it. That sometimes happens when the duck is in a thick brush-pile, and I have to help her get to the bird by breaking limbs etc. I had to get on my hands and knees and crawl through the brush for few yards, but when I got close to my dog the canopy opened up a bit and I was able to stand up. She was still sniffing the ground in one spot, but there was only short grass there and obviously no duck. She continued sniffing and then started raising her head, and looked up into the trees. Sure enough, 20 feet up in the very top of a nearby Russian olive tree was the dead duck! It was about 5 yards off to one side, not straight over our head, I guess the scent was drifting a bit with a very slight breeze. But I'm surprised there was any downward drift in the scent, otherwise I doubt the dog would have found it. In fact she had been through the spot twice earlier so I'm guessing the scent had not made it to the ground yet.

Anyway, I'll never forget that "retrieve", Good Dog!! It took me 4 shells to shoot the limb holding the duck in half, but we got the duck.

 

[choc dogs]

Dang old dogs make such a mark on us. Glad she's still getting out there and I'd bet she would pout if she didn't get to go. That's the best, and worst part about the furry critters.

 

[p_ham]

She sounds like a great dog. I love stories like this. Thanks for sharing.