Shook it Like a Rag Doll

Hunting dogs are a one of God’s greatest gifts. Watching a short-hair point, a golden flush or a lab retrieve is to witness one of the oldest traditions in the sporting world. A well trained pooch is on a mission and nothing stops them. They’re single minded when in the field or blind. Of course they can occasionally get distracted by rabbits or songbirds but most of them just chase these critters for the fun of it and quickly get back to the task at hand – finding the bird.

I’ve had the chance to hunt over some of the best dogs in the world. I’ve hunted wild boar in Africa with Airedales, Jack Russell Terriers and Blue Tick Hounds. I’ve seen Labs retrieve downed Black Ducks in the frozen Great Bay of New Hampshire. I’ve hunted pheasants in South Dakota with Saks, a wonderful Chocolate Lab and Brittany Spaniels in California.

Here in the Northwest, German Short Hairs are the most common breed for hunting Chukkar, Quail and Pheasant. My good friend Jim Crafton who runs a guide service in Central Oregon has some of the best Short Hairs pointers west of the Mississippi. On any one occasion, we’ll hunt over six or eight of his pups. They’re hard working, loyal and have an excellent nose for the bird. This week I hunted over a mature English Setter named Ace. Well mannered, beautiful dog.


What all these dogs have in common is one thing – excellent training. Our lovely Black Lab, Shasta comes from a strong line of duck hunting dogs in Portland. Shasta has been in the field since she was seven months old so she’s not gun shy. She’s extremely intelligent but is a family dog first and foremost. Shasta is an ‘only child’ and is spoiled with countless squeak toys, balls and collars for all occasions. She’s is in decent physical condition and periodically I take her along into the field despite no formal training. She’s a Lab after all – I mean how hard can it be to find a bird with a nose that big.


We had a small group of five and four dogs – two hunting dogs and two pets. Shasta being in the pet category. Shasta followed Charlie, the Short Hair and Ace the Setter at a good clip. Periodically, they would hold their noses in the air and she looked at them like ‘what the hell are you doing’. Ace would lock up on a bird and in typical Lab fashion, Shasta would bumble along into the spot and flush the bird. I think the first couple scared the crap out of her. Made me laugh a mile away. There were plenty of birds and plenty of daylight so it wasn’t a big deal.

It was a typical December day in Central Oregon – temps in the mid-twenties, winds from the west and a fresh dusting of snow. The white blanket across the landscape made tracking our quarry interesting and fun. We saw quail tracks bunching up big coveys and pheasants running to avoid the dogs.

Round ten thirty, Shasta brushed up against a three foot sage brush and a loud flutter erupted with a pheasant airborne for the Eastern Cascades. I took a quick shot with my old Remington 870 which my grandfather gave me in 1976 and the big bird hit the turf. Shasta heads for the wounded pheasant and evaluates the situation. Like most downed birds, this one was winged and could still run. Shasta thought – ‘oh cool, I have a toy at home just like you..lets play’. She chased it down, put her big snoot round the bird and proceeded to shake it like a ragdoll. She shook it so hard I think she nearly flipped herself over. She thought she was being cute as she flipped the bird up in the air, picked up again and whipped her head left to right as to say ‘I got it and I’m gonna rip apart – just like my toy pheasant at home’.

I retrieved the mangled bird, scolded Shasta and laughed my ass off. She proceeded to do this several times throughout the course of the morning and provided a sense of entertainment for all those who witnessed this four year old puppy attempt to ‘retrieve’.

Note to self – never buy a dog toy that looks like a pheasant.