MyOutdoorTV.com

On some of my best hunts, I don’t even carry a shotgun.

Scott Linden: Letting a friend shoot while I handled Buddy was a brilliant move today, if I do say so myself. You might try it on your young dog.

Knowing flying birds would probably yield to Rob's shot, I was free to focus completely on Buddy: steady to wing, shot and fall, then a more complete retrieve to hand. I became a much better trainer, he a better bird dog.

Birds were no worry, we were at Ron's preserve where the cover is good and the pheasants fly strongly. Our mission was to get Buddy into them, keep him solid on contact, with good work after the shot. With a gun in my hand, all that would have been much harder, if not impossible.

Each bird find was gratifying for this trainer. There was a little creeping on point until I reminded Buddy on the first couple birds, then he was solid as the Tri-Tronics hawk scream signaled a point. I believe that beeper scream pins birds, ensuring staunch points, and the more I use it, the more strongly I believe it.

The first few points, I clipped a short lead to Buddy's collar to ensure we started off on the right paw. (Try that with a shotgun in your arms.) A light tug to remind him we were connected, and he staunched up nicely.

As more birds fell to the gun, we extended the time between shot, fall, and retrieve, again, much easier if you're not actually taking the shots. But Buddy's still at the point where a dropping bird is the main incentive for a retrieve, so the thud of a bird was quickly followed by "get it," so that, as training legend Delmar Smith says, we're never giving the dog a chance to fail.

Ron reminded me that every time Buddy fumbled on the retrieve it was due to operator error. I would praise him for picking up the bird, he'd think "game over," drop the bird and come back for more praise. When I bit my tongue until the bird was delivered, the retrieving improved dramatically.

Rob's shooting was accurate and Buddy was bringing birds back ... to the shooter. I guess I can't blame him; he's the guy responsible for all the fun!