By Alden "&" Jennifer Little

It won't be long before dove season kicks off. In this article, we hope to give you a few tips to ensure a safe and enjoyable season.

It is likely that we will experience summer-like temperatures the first couple of weeks in the field. Your dog will be the one that is going to be doing all of the work, so hopefully you have managed to keep him in good shape. There are a few things that we believe you should do to keep him in good shape; a few things that we believe you should do to help out your ol' hunting buddy.

The first is to provide your dog with the proper nutrition for a working retriever. There are many good foods on the market today. Just stick with one that has a high protein, high fat, and low fiber dry food formula. Keep in mind that these performance formulas are designed for the dog that has an active lifestyle. Secondly, you should begin exercising your dog everyday to build stamina.

Training in the summer months in the South is very hard for the trainer and the dog, so don't overdo it. We do not recommend working him any longer than 15 minutes at a time. If possible it is ideal to create a schedule of drills and exercise in the early morning and late evening when the humidity is usually more tolerable. If you are doing water work, your training times can be slightly longer, but remember that the temperature of the water is also very warm and can be as uncomfortable as the field.

Remember the heat and humidity factors when working your dogs. He is depending on you for his safety and well-being, so here are a few tips to help ensure a great hunting season:

• Never put a dog back in an enclosed crate or kennel without first letting him cool down and drink plenty of water.

• If your dog is wet, be sure to dry him off before putting him up, the wetness from his coat can cause humidity levels to rise inside an unventilated crate on hot days.

• Keep several bottles of an electrolyte solution for a dog that may seem dehydrated after work or play.

• Always have a cooler of ice water for drinking or dunking in case of over-heating.

Another remedy for over-heating is to use general rubbing alcohol to wipe down the dog's stomach and pads of his feet. This promotes heat evaporation from the body. Of course, the best way to avoid heat stroke and heat exhaustion in the first place is to know your dog's limitations and just use your head. Imagine how you would feel running around in the field wearing a fur coat!

There are some owners of "bird dogs" and "retrievers" that believe that just because of their namesakes, they have a dog that will automatically know what to do in the field. NOT SO. They have to know what you want before you take them to the dove field. Every year we hear stories of hunters who take a young dog out on opening day with good intentions, but only succeed in scaring the dog with gun fire and spending much of the day trying to coax the poor thing from under a truck. Gunfire is something your dog must be accustomed to before you get there. General obedience is also a must. If your dog cannot follow simple obedience commands, he could very well be a nuisance to others or even be subject to injury.

For a lot of people, working their dogs consists of "hand thrown singles" in the back yard or local park. This is where you throw bumpers (dummies) while he is in the sit position beside you. This is great fun for your dog. But this in itself will not prepare him for actual hunting situations. It is imperative that he sees "marks" come from out in the field. This way, when you tell your dog to "Mark!" he will look out into the field. If the only practice he gets is with you throwing them yourself, your dog will learn that "Mark" means look at you and not at the field.

One good way to do these "marks" more effectively is to convince a friend to come along and help out. With that extra person in the field, you can create a more realistic situation. On your signal, that person can throw the bumper into the same area while yelling or drawing attention to himself so that the dog will look out toward the fall. This is what is termed a "momentum bumper." This is a great way to teach your dog to use his eyes when "marking" and then once he gets into the fall area, to use his nose to hunt the fallen game. This routine can also be especially helpful to younger , more inexperienced dogs who need to develop their confidence in their marking skills. Doing this three to four times a week will greatly improve your dog's marking ability.

We consider the next level in hunting to be "handling in the field." If your dog has already been trained for "blind retrieves" (those in which the general fall area may be known, but the game was not actually marked by the dog therefore requiring the dog's knowledge of hand and/or whistle signals for direction) then some simple drill work with pattern blinds or sight blinds will be a good tune up. Using three piles of white bumpers in a "t" style, one long pile and two short piles, repeat sending the dog to the different piles in random order. This will refresh and improve handling and lining skills.

If you would like to come down and experience some actual hunting with scenarios with your dog to help with your season preparation, we invite you to join us. We usually try to schedule these handler sessions on Saturdays. As always, if you ever have any questions or want to know more about our training program, please call us at (334) 366-4732 or visit us on the web at www.tru-line-retrievers.com. Have a wonderful season!