By Al Klotsche, Wildrose Midwest
One of the things that Wildrose Trainers often reference is setting up your training scenarios in the same format that you will actually be hunting. But many times, this requires extensive set ups that can be expensive and take a lot of time to set up. As a response to this need, Wildrose Midwest created the nation’s first Duck Camp Warm Up workshop, where waterfowl hunters and their dogs participate in a wide variety of hunting set ups, all in one day and in one location. After running a successful Duck Camp Warm up in Wisconsin in 2022, Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation in Dundee, IL asked Wildrose Midwest if they would consider running the 2023 workshop on their property. After Al Klotsche and Mike Stewart went down to view the property, the answer was an immediate yes.
Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation was founded over 50 years ago with the donation of 1,250 acres just outside of Chicago, IL. The McGraw grounds are home to a wide diversity of land and water used for environmental studies, fishing, upland and waterfowl hunting and dog training. The diversity of terrain and the incredible management of the property, including water management for flooding areas of the property for specialty training and hunting, is world-class.
The day of the workshop arrived and it was typical duck hunting weather – an all day soaker. Fortunately, the attendees were prepared and carried on with enthusiasm throughout the day. The Max McGraw team rolled out the red carpet with tents and seating areas to stay out of the weather and hot coffee – a duck hunting necessity.
The 2023 workshop had dogs participating in 12 different simulations. All drills were set up with real-life duck hunting situations and most of the retrieves were on live flyers. Handlers and their dogs worked in pairs of two with doubles being shot/thrown before either dog was sent. “The steadiness required from the dogs to watch two birds go down and have another dog next to them in the blind was something very unique for us” responded one of the McGraw members.
- In the first drill, dogs worked from MoMarsh stands alongside of a pop-up blind. One duck was shot over the training pond complete with a decoy spread, while another duck was tossed for a mark clear across the pond on the opposite bank.
- The second setting was a sunken depression in the woods where dogs had to mark a fresh duck 100 yards over the depression and into the woods by the sound of the gun. The second duck was launched 100 yards behind the blind when the dog was not looking.
- The third scenario was run from a permanent blind with a dog door on the front overlooking a pond full of geese. Handlers had to send their dog for a retrieve on the far end of the pond, while the second duck was tossed on the opposite bank and marked by the sound of the shot.
- The fourth scenario involved hunters laying in layout blinds with their dogs along side of them in dog hides and a field full of decoys. The difference in handler-to-dog positioning created some unique handling dynamics. Live ducks were introduced from behind the hunters with a second duck being tossed in some tall grasses well off to the side of the drill. In the spirit of “expect the unexpected”, during one of the runs, as a dog was marking one of the ducks which fell wounded 150 yards away, a coyote came out of the adjacent woods and stole the duck. We called that a denial!
- After a great lunch and some warmth from inside the cozy lodge and restaurant, we returned outside for the afternoon drills in an amazing flooded corn field. When the team went out early in the morning to set up, they easily flushed 500 wild mallards who were enjoying the feast with little effort to access the fresh corn cobs. The team ran two different scenarios from opposite sides of the flooded corn field. Dogs soon realized that the corn rows made it impossible to visibly see the ducks, but they quickly learned that ducks leave a scent on the water’s surface, and they needed to use their nose to cross the rows and find them.
Although soaked by the end of the day, the handlers all had a great time and were able to replicate a wide variety of different hunting scenarios all in one day. The dogs just shook off the moisture and were ready for much more!
Wildrose Midwest and Max McGraw are planning to host a 2024 Duck Camp warm up in late summer, tentatively mid-August. Dates will soon be finalized and uploaded to the calendar. If you are interested in participating, reservations can be made on-line here.
allan@uklabs.com
The Wildrose Journal 