We had a beautiful summer-like weekend.  Unfortunately it made for a not-so-great weekend to hunt waterfowl.  Supposedly there are 20,000 birds in the Reserve, but they were not flying.  Storm was a good girl patiently waiting on her dog stand and watching the sky.  The ducks never came and soon it was time to pack-up and leave hunting area to make room for the next hunting party.

But a Stormy would not be denied.  On the way out she caught a whiff of something.  She followed her nose and was soon on it.  The hunters could see it was something big.  The wings were flapping but Storm was not deterred.  She stood on it so it would not get away.

The hunters rushed over to see what it was and….

It Was A Goose Nearly As Big As Storm

You see sometimes the hunters are not able to find a bird that they shoot.  Maybe the bird was only grazed or it flew out of the hunting area.  Hunters who use well-trained dogs cut down on the number of birds that are injured and not recovered, (referred to as “cripples”).  According to the DNR, the number of cripples this season is way up.  That is unfortunate.  As a hunter, you really want to harvest the birds that you shoot but sometimes you just cannot find the bird.

One of the things we work on during hunt test training is following a strong cripple.  I have seen dogs be leery of going after a bird that is still moving.  That has never been Storm’s problem.  She doesn’t care.  She will take on all comers.  She has never had a chance to hunt geese but she did not shy away from this bird even though it was still flapping and nearly as big as she was.

Storm That Bird Is As Big As You Are

All hunters must report their birds to the DNR on the way out of their hunting area.  This includes any cripples they do not recover.  The hunters reported that Storm found this crippled goose and the DNR thanked them for finding it.  At some point they ran into the hunters that had wounded it the previous evening.  They confirmed that they were unable to locate it.  I guess they needed a Storm.  🙂

Storm And Her Goose

This bird has been cleaned and is now in the freezer waiting to be enjoyed in the future.

Good job Storm!

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Monday Mischief

34 thoughts on “Monday Mischief-Storm Takes Charge”

  2. Way to go Storm. My MOM’s dog Pete was GREAT and sniffing out the cripples.
    Blessings,
    Goose

  4. Way to go Storm. WE are not hunters here, but we really hate to see a bird, or deer or such injured and left to die a slow death. We are so glad you were there and using your nose and mind to alert on him and bring it to your humans attention.
    And besides, Goose is good eating.
    Bert

  5. way to go storm you take charge girlfriend. i had the same thing happen to me this weekend but not on a cripple but a dead bird. i was pheasant hunting with nellie and gambler walking along getting nothing then gambler runs off and picks something up and nellie tries to fight him for it. a already dead bird that the person couldn’t find.

    1. Thunder is usually good for finding dead things while hunting. lol They also tried walking the dykes looking for cripples, (the DNR has an hour set aside each day for hunters with dogs to do that). Storm did not find live birds, only dead ones. .

  7. Nice job Storm. You had some nice comments yesterday. Don’t forget to let me know your nomination for next weeks Share It Sunday. Just post us a comment with the link to the blog and the post you select.
    Best wishes Molly

  9. Yah Storm!!!! I am so happy to see you collecting the cripples. That is such good work, because they really should not be left out there. Yes, every hunter needs a Storm. If you are going to hunt, you are doing it the right way. Thanks

  10. I bet if she could talk she’d say, “Don’t ever keep me away from hunting again.” 🙂 Good job Storm, looks like the Christmas dinner will be tasty this year.

    Who cleans the birds, you or Jim? And I’m assuming the hunting protocol is that since Storm found the bird, the bird is hers? Would the hunters that shot it not want it?

    1. I do not clean any wild things. 🙂 That is the hunter’s job. I will cook some of it, but we let the other hunters in the party keep the goose because although I have cooked domestic goose, I have no idea about wild.

      The way I understand it, the party that shot the goose used that hunting area the night before and could not find the bird. These are permitted hunting areas (on state land) and they change out hunters twice a day. If you leave birds behind then the next party is welcome to them. The DNR also allows hunters with dogs to walk the dykes looking for cripples for an hour in the morning while hunting parties are changing out. They tried it with Storm and Sunny on Saturday, but they did not come up with any live birds.

  13. Omigoodness but that’s a beautiful bird! They have practically taken over, here. Looks like good eating. Storm, there are a couple of silly hunting dog videos up at my blog today. Woof!

    1. LOL not the whole goose. Usually with wild birds we just “breast” them out because the legs and wings are not like domestic birds and there is not much meat. Plus as you may know, geese have a big layer of fat under their skin (and we don’t want that). The breasts yielded a lot of meat from this goose. It was a big bird.

  20. Storm what a great hunter you are terrific job. You obviously love your job and are really good at it so you had a good day:)

  21. You show them how it’s done Storm…great job girl 🙂

    It surprised me that Cheyenne will pick up cripples too, I figured it would freak her out with them still moving but it doesn’t 🙂

  23. Wow Storm! Way to go. Not only is it important that you take something home for the freezer, but it’s also important to clean up the cripples. I’m impressed. I might have to try that at out local park *Wag wag wag*

  25. What a great job, Storm! It takes a bold dog to go after a wounded goose, they can be pretty mean.

  26. There are so many surprising aspects of hunting with dogs. Good job to Storm, both for bringing you guys a nice goose, but also for putting the bird out of his misery. I do understand that not every shot is clean, but it’s still sad, the idea of all those ‘crippled birds’ suffering unnecessary pain from a wound.

  27. Pingback: 12.3.12 Monday Mischief: Yard Work « dogdaz

  28. Back years ago I trained my Labrador for the field and she great at it…Though I no longer participate, there’s nothing more exciting to watch then a well-trained retriever doing what they love most…It’s poetry to me

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