# Duck Hunting in a pit blind with dog



## BenHuntin (Jun 7, 2011)

How do you line your dog for a blind retrieve when hunting out of a pit blind?

I have been getting him out of the dog box with a "back", then sitting him with the whistle, and casting him to the duck. This works great but my only issue with it is that I am creating a popping expert. He has learned to run out 10 yards and turn around for his next move. This is great when hunting but it's not gonna be so great when we start running our seasoned test.

I understand that we can train away from the habit after season is over but I am hoping to get some advice on a better way to do this and create less problems. 

Thanks!


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

My dog watches what way we shoot so he has a good idea where they fall when he jumps out of the pit. But if it is multiplei birds he will heel next to me on the ground while I'm in the pit and I stick my arm out and point what way to go. I always stand on the end of the pit.


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## Big Suh (Jul 28, 2011)

Personally I get out of my pit and run blind retrieves as I would in a test. Just because your hunting doesn't mean you can be training or at the very least maintaining. An inexperienced opinion but thats how I do it.


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## Dave Burton (Mar 22, 2006)

Thats the way I do as well. Get out,call dog out to me, heel then send.


Big Suh said:


> Personally I get out of my pit and run blind retrieves as I would in a test. Just because your hunting doesn't mean you can be training or at the very least maintaining. An inexperienced opinion but thats how I do it.


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## David McCracken (May 24, 2009)

I do the same thing as above. Also, I put my dog in a dog blind outside the pit (rather than inside) so he doesn't have to run a whole bunch of blinds.


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## chuck187 (Feb 3, 2012)

I concur, get out and line your dog up.


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## Hunter06FLKY (Mar 20, 2012)

Big Suh said:


> Personally I get out of my pit and run blind retrieves as I would in a test. Just because your hunting doesn't mean you can be training or at the very least maintaining. An inexperienced opinion but thats how I do it.


Same thing here from the goose pit. Did have a double on honkers 2 weeks ago where she marked based on the gun direction but I normally don't count on that.


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

Marks from the Box.

Blinds from the Levee.

I still have a puppy though so he's not ready for Prime Time yet. I suppose this could change once his handling improves more and more.


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

I use a dog so I dont have to get out of the pit.

If I had to get out of the pit everytime to send the dog I miles well just leave the dog at home and pick up the bird myself.


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

j towne said:


> I use a dog so I dont have to get out of the pit.
> 
> If I had to get out of the pit everytime to send the dog I miles well just leave the dog at home and pick up the bird myself.


Well that all depends on your set up too. If the dog is not right out in front of the blinds I hunt, you can't seem him and he can't see you. To the left and right and rear is all tall grass.


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## Dave Burton (Mar 22, 2006)

You won't go get it yourself where I hunt in La. Rice fields in Ark ain't much better to walk across. And it's not every time just the ones he couldn't mark.


j towne said:


> I use a dog so I dont have to get out of the pit.
> 
> If I had to get out of the pit everytime to send the dog I miles well just leave the dog at home and pick up the bird myself.


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## BenHuntin (Jun 7, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. I agree that for trial/ hunt test purposes it is best to get out and line the dog. For hunting purposes, when the action is heavy, it's not realistic to get out of the blind everytime. I guess I was hoping for some sort of jaw dropping advice. The best case I guess I can hope for is that he learns the difference between the two. This has been his first real hunting season and its amazing how fast he picked up the ins and outs of hunting. I even had to laugh out laugh out loud when he started dropping the birds at the front of the pit and hurrying back to the dog box to wait on the next group of birds to start working the hole. For me it felt like we were in sync together and getting the job done. In my opinion he was doing what he was bred to do but had this season been a hunt test we wouldn't have any ribbons.

I have to admit if we had not trained for a hunt test standard he would not be half the dog he is today and this season would have been disastrous. Thanks again!


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

I know what you're saying.

Personally I like to leave those far blinds until late in the hunt or at the end and then get out and send him. 

More or less like Cold Blinds, literally


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

labman63 said:


> You won't go get it yourself where I hunt in La. Rice fields in Ark ain't much better to walk across. And it's not every time just the ones he couldn't mark.



That my point. I bring a dog so I can stay in the blind or pit.


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

BenHuntin said:


> Thanks for the replies. I agree that for trial/ hunt test purposes it is best to get out and line the dog. For hunting purposes, when the action is heavy, it's not realistic to get out of the blind everytime. I guess I was hoping for some sort of jaw dropping advice. The best case I guess I can hope for is that he learns the difference between the two. This has been his first real hunting season and its amazing how fast he picked up the ins and outs of hunting. I even had to laugh out laugh out loud when he started dropping the birds at the front of the pit and hurrying back to the dog box to wait on the next group of birds to start working the hole. For me it felt like we were in sync together and getting the job done. In my opinion he was doing what he was bred to do but had this season been a hunt test we wouldn't have any ribbons.
> 
> I have to admit if we had not trained for a hunt test standard he would not be half the dog he is today and this season would have been disastrous. Thanks again!


If he is young he will learn it from expierence. 
You can use your gun to line up the dog too.


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

Dustin D said:


> Well that all depends on your set up too. If the dog is not right out in front of the blinds I hunt, you can't seem him and he can't see you. To the left and right and rear is all tall grass.


When I hunt my marsh I hunt in 10 foot frag. I still dont get out of the blind.


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

j towne said:


> When I hunt my marsh I hunt in 10 foot frag. I still dont get out of the blind.


Can you handle your dog without seeing him? No.


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

Dustin D said:


> Can you handle your dog without seeing him? No.


Ummm Yes...


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

j towne said:


> Ummm Yes...


So when you say over, which direction does he go?


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

Dustin D said:


> So when you say over, which direction does he go?


The other way...


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

Dustin D said:


> So when you say over, which direction does he go?


That is why I don't use over.


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

lol ok whatever lol


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## steve schreiner (Jun 15, 2009)

j towne said:


> That is why I don't use over.


The ole GEE and HAW seems to work pretty good for directional casting ....It doesn't have to be an over ...oh , that isn't what the program does... To each his /her own ...Steve S


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

Right and left.


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## Northernstorm (Apr 27, 2011)

Your right or the dogs right


j towne said:


> Right and left.


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

Northernstorm said:


> Your right or the dogs right


Depends on which way he's facing;-)


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## steve schreiner (Jun 15, 2009)

huntinman said:


> Depends on which way he's facing;-)


Just for conversation ....which is the right side of the car? In dog training we always look at a right or left from the handlers point of view...Steve S


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

Northernstorm said:


> Your right or the dogs right


Don't you start.


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

steve schreiner said:


> Just for conversation ....which is the right side of the car? In dog training we always look at a right or left from the handlers point of view...Steve S


I know.. Just being a wiseass.... But thanks for the clarification


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## Lynn Hanigan (Dec 14, 2007)

I have noticed that some people like to train while hunting and others do not.
The truth is that you cannot do anything with your dog without training him. He is going to draw conclusions about his world and how to behave in it whether you like it or not.
When you send him without giving a line he will be confused and as a result, will pop. Repeat it enough and he will pop every time whether you line him or not. This behavior will frequently get so bad that the dog will not carry any kind of cast more than ten feet or so before popping thus making it impossible to complete a blind retrieve.
Let him continue to drop the birds on the ground in front of you while hunting and he will do the same at a test or trial. Both of these faults will ensure you will not be called back for the next series.
The same goes for allowing pup to skirt water and/or cover.
If you intend to run any kind of structured retriever game you will need to train for it year round and that means especially when hunting.


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## steve schreiner (Jun 15, 2009)

huntinman said:


> I know.. Just being a wiseass.... But thanks for the clarification


You didn't live in Mo during the 50's did you...? I had a friend named Bill Davis and he was smart too...Steve S


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## 7pntail (Jan 20, 2010)

Lynn Hanigan said:


> I* have noticed that some people like to train while hunting and others do not.*
> The truth is that you cannot do anything with your dog without training him. He is going to draw conclusions about his world and how to behave in it whether you like it or not.
> When you send him without giving a line he will be confused and as a result, will pop. Repeat it enough and he will pop every time whether you line him or not. This behavior will frequently get so bad that the dog will not carry any kind of cast more than ten feet or so before popping thus making it impossible to complete a blind retrieve.
> Let him continue to drop the birds on the ground in front of you while hunting and he will do the same at a test or trial. Both of these faults will ensure you will not be called back for the next series.
> ...


Every field experience has a "teachable moment", though the bulk of training should be done prior to the hunt. I do train in the field, mostly cuz there is more opportunity and time with dog there.


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## limiman12 (Oct 13, 2007)

My dog is in a dog blind beside the pit, or in one of the boxes behind and can see marks...... Otherwise wagon wheel drills. I spent some time this fall on slow days doing wagon wheel drills me in the blind dog out of it...... A while on one end with right heel, a while on left side left heel....


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

steve schreiner said:


> You didn't live in Mo during the 50's did you...? I had a friend named Bill Davis and he was smart too...Steve S


HaHa! no... Born and raised in SC, but lived most of my adult life in Alaska... With a five year stop in WA state and the last five years here in TN.


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## steve schreiner (Jun 15, 2009)

huntinman said:


> HaHa! no... Born and raised in SC, but lived most of my adult life in Alaska... With a five year stop in WA state and the last five years here in TN.


A little different in Tn than Alaska I would think ...Unless you are down the coast on the southern end...Steve S


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

Here's what I was talking about. This was Teal Season. He's like 8 months old here.

Anyway this is the kind of brush I'm talking about.


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## Northernstorm (Apr 27, 2011)

same here.


huntinman said:


> I know.. Just being a wiseass.... But thanks for the clarification


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

Dustin D said:


> Here's what I was talking about. This was Teal Season. He's like 8 months old here.
> 
> Anyway this is the kind of brush I'm talking about.


We used to hunt some stuff along the coastal marshes in SC that would be like that but 6-8 feet high... Heck that looks that high!


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

huntinman said:


> We used to hunt some stuff along the coastal marshes in SC that would be like that but 6-8 feet high... Heck that looks that high!


Well you see my point? Once dog is out of the box, unless he's in front of you in the decoys(Small window even still), he can't see you at all and neither you him.


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

Dustin D said:


> Well you see my point? Once dog is out of the box, unless he's in front of you in the decoys(Small window even still), he can't see you at all and neither you him.


You had a point?


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

Just kidding Dustin...


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

lol..........


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

Dustin D said:


> Here's what I was talking about. This was Teal Season. He's like 8 months old here.
> 
> Anyway this is the kind of brush I'm talking about.


Sorry I don't see the big deal.


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

j towne said:


> Sorry I don't see the big deal.


Of course you don't


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

Birds do fall behind us.


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

j towne said:


> Birds do fall behind us.


Have you ever handled by sound? In other words, you knew about where the bird fell, but the dog was to far the wrong way... You stop him and give him an over (right/left)?


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## j towne (Jul 27, 2006)

Yes I have a lot I handle him to a area blow the sit whistle tell him hunt it up. He circles the area. If he gets out of the area I handle him back to the are. Right left and back. I either watch or listen to the weeds move. 
My dog has retrieved 1000's of birds he knows the routine.


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## huntinman (Jun 1, 2009)

j towne said:


> Yes I have a lot I handle him to a area blow the sit whistle tell him hunt it up. He circles the area. If he gets out of the area I handle him back to the are. Right left and back. I either watch or listen to the weeds move.
> My dog has retrieved 1000's of birds he knows the routine.


Same here... With an old dog I had... Did that in a place that looked similar to what you pictured... Also in swamp, flooded timber type stuff where you just hear the splashing, sloshing about... The dog knew the drill.


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