16ga.com ~ View topic

You are but one of many thousands who feel the same way.

Frankly Larry, once I look down those pipes and they ain't straight, I don't care who made it. I'm not going to buy it. End of story.

16gaugeguy,

What's your experience with the guns that come out of the RizziniUSA warehouse in West Chester, PA? In the past year or so?

16gaugeguy wrote.
Oldhunter, i just might take you up on that. The way I see it, is if you wait for me to shoot, you are going to save on a lot of hunting ammo, 'cause that bird will most likely be dead in the air. So just pack a camera and leave your gun at home. .

Guy I would like that. I would like to just take my camera out and watch my old nine year old lab. when he points a pheasant. I will be going up there again this saturday. I'll carry one of my camera's in my pocket and try and get a picture. This is a dog I rescued from a shelter. You take him out in the backyard and shoot off dummies, he thinks it's a game. and he wants to play. You take him out to the field and the game is over. There's only one thing on his mind. Be it pheasant or grouse.

Sounds like my old Hiedi dog. She was a second hand puppy too--actually, third hand. The original owner was going to destroy her before she was 3 monthes old. Didn't like her traits. What a jerk he was.

One of my closest friends rescued her from that fool. She turned out to be the best, most versitile, most willing bird dog I ever hunted with. Once she learned that she was wanted, loved, and could trust someone, she'd kill herself to please me. That's about all it took. About 90% of the time, that is all it ever takes.

I learned from her that in some cases, a person has to earn the right to train the dog first with some love and kindness, especially a dog that has been severely mishandled. That takes some time and consistantly kind treatment. I can't remember the last dog that did not respond to kindness with affectoion and eventually, trust.

Some folks don't know what they have, and a lot of them don't deserve it either. I can't imagine destroying a decent, sweet tempered dog because of traits. The first owner claimed she would not listen. Hell, at three monthes old, what puppy does. It take love, kindness, patience, and training. He obviously had no love or patience either. If re-incarnation is real, I hope he comes back as a bird dog, owned by a guy just like him. Wouldn't that be justice.

Guest

I agree. Most Labs, and golden retrievers too, are about the sweetest tempered, most forgiving, most loving animals on the planet. They can be hard headed, and some are slow to mature, but damned if they don't all win me over in ten seconds or less. Anyone who would mistreat a lab would also push pins in his own mother's eyes.

Member Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 524

No doubt about the labrador as an ambassador and exemplary breed for "man's best friend". I have run the gamut with them. My first Lab when I became independent and out on my own as a young adult, was a 1 year old male. The breeder could not sell this dog and he was the last remaining of the litter. Why? Because the trainer was an IDIOT. He'd load all his dog's up every day to go "train them" my Jake never performed up to his expectations and he's let all the customers know it. When I was looking to buy Jake, the trainer scheduled a session to show him to me. He ran jake through some moves that he been taught supposedly. When Jake didnt perform this guy called him in, grabbed Jake by the ear and literally picked him up in the air and flung him that way. I said, "enough, I'll take him". As we rode back to the kennel I didnt say a word to this guy. Simply bought Jake to get him away from him. To make a long story short, I made payments on jake over the next 3 months and spent time every day with him at the kennel until he was paid for and I could get him outta there. He turned into a phenomenol dog in short order, even with my limited training knowledge at the time. I immersed myself in all things Labrador and was taken unde the wing of two great trainers that I sppent every weekend with as their assistant for about 3 years. My next dog Molly was some kind of lab mix I got for free from a family who didnt understand her way - she was phenomonal. Next was PAL who won me many ribbons and turned into the product of my years of dedication to understanding the Labrador and training techniques. Then I met my wife just as PAL had died and she had a 2 year old yellow that needed alot of work - again turned into a bird getting machine. Now, with my latest student a almost 2 year old yellow named jewel/goose, I think she's the best yet. Her temperament is unbelievable and the best I've yet to see in a Lab. The dog is wired for speed and a truly magnificent and stylish retriever - and very smart and easy to teach -get's easier everyday -though she was the most difficult pup I've ever had for obedience training becasue of her whimsical, fun loving nature and speed. I have used that strength in her to train her well in spite of herself through training techniques that play to her strength -even exploit them. The moral is, I have had to become a smarter trainer to set each dog up for success. Their all good, its just a matter of understanding each dog as an individual. In that way, they are just like people, except the Lab is always willing to please just needs to learn how and so do we. I have loved all my labs, none more than my current squeeze jewel. She doesnt have a mean bone in her body - I am her protector. She is an unbelievably sweet dog. The sweetest of temperament I've yet to see. She is also the first dog with which I've had to resort to "the Collar" to control. Although I havent strapped it on now for a couple months. She's part greyhound I think and the most energetic dog I've had and the fastest. I couldnt run her down like I did my other dogs. Hell, I've even swam after dogs before. can't do that anymore. I was very collar resistant for many years. But, I don't think I could have trained this dog without it. Or, it would have taken so long it would have been unsafe for her. In hunting dogs obedience isnt optional and can save a dog's life. I started hunting her at 6 months -that could have been a mistake and almost was once because she wasnt finished with obedience yet. She survived thank God. She learned two lessons the hard way. 1. Don't chase deer and 2. Coming to the whistle isnt optional. The deer chase was when I realized the collar had to be there - and a good one.
One time at 6 months, she didnt come to the whistle and at a dead downhill run, the ground literally opened up beneath her feet, ther was this brief and eery 1-2 seconds of dead silence, and then a yelp. She ran into a dried up and cut banked creek bed in a canyon floor running perpendicular to her path at a flat out run. She went airborne, and landed nose first into the opposite cut bank wall with a thud. thanGod it was sandy and soft dirt. She came running back through the tall cheat grass to me after a minute. Let me tell you, it was like that pup came back to me from the dead. I was never so happy to see a dog in one piece in my life. She didnt seem to get hurt at all. Had it been rocky she'd be dead. Nonetheless, she couldve broken her neck and had she been an older and heavier dog -would have.

Couldnt imagine life without my Labs.

Guest

Wonderful accounts, jig. My oldest brother's Gus, the chocolate, is his third one. All have been trained both by him and pros. He's a good Lab daddy, and I'm honored that I've been brought in for temporary doggy daddy duty when my bro and his wife travel (he's with Cat, she's an anthropologist.)

Each of the three has been wonderul in his own right. Max, who died too young at age 9 1/2 from bone cancer, was a truly special one. He was the most intelligent, gentle and noble soul I've ever known. The pro who trained him liked him so much that Max didn't sleep in the kennel ... the trainer took him home every night. The same trainer, primarily a springer man, once called my brother and asked if he could pick up Max and take him to a springer trial in to New York. My brother said "Sure, but why?" The trainer's response was that he wanted to show the other springer people what a good Lab could do. Very Happy

That trainer, by the way, was and is a darned good, and very calm, man. I've seen him train more than once, and he doesn't believe in abusing a dog, physically or otherwise.

I could write about Max for screens and screens, but I snot up pretty hard if if I think about him too long. I was with my bro and his wife the day we had to put Max down. I drove my bro and Max to the vet, and was with them when Max went to the sleep for the last time. My bro and his wife thanked me for my help that day ... when I could speak, I said something to the effect of "No. Being a part of Max's life and his last day was the greatest honor of my life." I still feel that way. Dam**t, there's something in my eyes and there's water on my cheeks now.

PGG, I love the setters, too. The other dog that changed my life forever is a 12-year-old Lew who belongs to my other brother. She's still with us, but has some senior moments every now and then. She still wants to hunt and physcially can keep up for a 1/2 day, so we still take her. And you know, she still every now and then hits a rock-solid point on a bird that my bro's young, tri-color, fast, beautiful rising star has missed. The older girl, Lilly, is still, to the core, a very birdy dog.

Part of my ritual on hunt days, or any days I spend with my bro and his family, is to take a seat on a love seat about an hour before I leave. The old girl jumps up and curls up next to me, or on me, and goes to sleep. I gently pet her until I have to leave. She is the queen of my heart.

Twelve years ago, I was a guy w/o a shotgun and a safe full of pistols and rifles. I had a lot of suits and ties. Today, I've got one .38, one 10/22 carbine and seven lovely bird guns. I'll only wear a tie for a funeral, and three-fourths of my wardrobe is by Browning, Berettta or Columbia.

I thank God for a lot of things these days, but most of all for helping me stay clean and sober (working on year 12 now, one day at a time) and for all of my wonderful family, on two legs and on four.

Tomorrow, I meet my brother and my nephew and some of the boy's friends for some pasture trap. I'm bringing four flats and three guns for the kids to shoot. My nephew is the president and lone member of my fan club, and I'm a big admirer of him, too. He's a big, mellow, gentle-hearted kid who no longer chooses to hunt but can still shoot very well, and he loves to go bust some birds. He graduated this December a semester early from HS, and for his present, I got him what he asked for ... a green Stanley thermos bottle like me and his dad have. I also threw in a Leatherman Squirt, 'cause I'd seen him admiring the one I usually carry.

Please excuse the length of this post. Embarassed

Bless you all, my friends. Exclamation

Another saturday hunt. What a great day. The old lab and the pup. GSP/lab cross. The pup was 8 weeks old at christmas. He got one of these birds up and retieved two of them. Thats the old 9 year old lab sticking his nose in there. Also that's a sweet sixteen. Oh yes a thermos and coffee cup. What great day. Two retrieves by the pup and he caught a wounded bird.[img][URL=http://freeshare.us]

[/URL].Next weekend I'm going to get some chuckars put out. Haven't raised a bird dog from a pup since the seventies. This is fun.[/img]

Guest

Oldhunter, those two are a handsome pair who can obviously put game on the table. I'll bet they are a lot of fun at home, too. Congrats on your beautiful dogs. Smile