Big day at my marsh
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fox-admin
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Re: Big day at my marsh
I don't hunt my dogs in the ice. I once had a Lab fall through the ice and fortunately she came up through the hole but she couldn't get out of the hole. I had to get out of my boat and break ice to her and she was starting to go into hypothermia. Fortunately it turned out good but I swore if there was ice on swimming water the dog stays in the kennel. No duck is worth losing a dog over. That being said it kills them and me to keep them out of the game.
Re: Big day at my marsh
Craig, I had precisely the same experience on two occasions: the first time, a gunning buddy's young Lab went through the ice, grabbed the goose he had just shot, but couldn't get back up on the ice with the goose in her mouth. She wouldn't drop it at his commands so we took our small jon boat out the 30 yards or so, breaking ice to get to her, then had a very dicey time getting her with the goose into the small boat. She cut up her forelegs a bit but came out of it OK in the long run.
The second incident involved my Lab "Cricket" when she broke through some rime ice and retrieved a Canvasback I'd just shot. Instead of coming back through the broken trail she'd made out to the duck, she bulled her way through another channel and got stuck in some much thicker ice beneath the surface that had frozen and made up overnight. No boat this time; I was able to wade out not quite over my wader tops and grabbed her by the collar and slid her to shore (like landing a big Striper in the surf). She was clearly hypothermic, when she couldn't stop shivering after about 10-12 minutes under my hunting coat snuggled up next to me, we took her back to the house and put her in her crate bed with a heat lamp close by. She slept for about 3 hours and was "mauzy" for the rest of the day and night. I had a doggie vest on her but at that water temp and time exposed, it didn't do her much good. Like you, after that, I wouldn't send her into any ice. Kevin
The second incident involved my Lab "Cricket" when she broke through some rime ice and retrieved a Canvasback I'd just shot. Instead of coming back through the broken trail she'd made out to the duck, she bulled her way through another channel and got stuck in some much thicker ice beneath the surface that had frozen and made up overnight. No boat this time; I was able to wade out not quite over my wader tops and grabbed her by the collar and slid her to shore (like landing a big Striper in the surf). She was clearly hypothermic, when she couldn't stop shivering after about 10-12 minutes under my hunting coat snuggled up next to me, we took her back to the house and put her in her crate bed with a heat lamp close by. She slept for about 3 hours and was "mauzy" for the rest of the day and night. I had a doggie vest on her but at that water temp and time exposed, it didn't do her much good. Like you, after that, I wouldn't send her into any ice. Kevin
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vaturkey
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Re: Big day at my marsh
Almost lost my first Golden hunting ducks due to ice. Ice only around the edge of the lake for say 30 feet. Duck knocked down in the open water and Abby went in. For some reason she didn't come directly back and swam into one of the edges and was breaking ice to get back until she ran out of steam in the thicker ice and got stuck right there. Couldn't turn around to get to open water and just kept on trying to climb on the ice. Had a Neoprene vest on her which probably saved her from both hypothermia and/or drowning. Found a jon boat on the bank that wasn't locked up and managed to slide it on the ice to where we could climb on the end of the boat and pull her out of the water into the boat. She was ok and by damn she never would let go of the Black Duck. That was the last time that happened.
PS. I won't hunt any of my upland dogs near ponds that are frozen during the late pheasant season. All it takes is a winged rooster to run across skim ice and the dog trying to make the retrieve go crashing through. Never worth it. Just hunt other areas where you know there are no problems. No game in the world is worth losing a dog.
PS. I won't hunt any of my upland dogs near ponds that are frozen during the late pheasant season. All it takes is a winged rooster to run across skim ice and the dog trying to make the retrieve go crashing through. Never worth it. Just hunt other areas where you know there are no problems. No game in the world is worth losing a dog.