# Duck Hunting w/ Vizsla



## ZekeSnow

I bought a Vizsla pup about a year ago to hunt with... I live in East Texas and sadly we don't have any upland birds here but we do have duck hunting... I know and understand that they are not built to be cold water dogs but the winters don't really get too harsh... We have trained since he was 7 weeks old... He is now just over one year old and does really well with water retrieves... He has a vest and I understand that it can get too cold for them and is dangerous in freezing temps... I would never put him in any dangerous situation... My question is has anybody ever done much duck hunting with their V and do they do better with colder waters as they mature out of the puppy stage???


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## texasred

I duck hunt with my V in Texas. If its cold I just put a neoprene vest on him. I make sure he has a place to sit out of the water in between retrieves. If the wind is blowing I throw one of my jackets over him.


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## sniper john

X2, just use common sense in how you utilize the dog, acclimate your dog, and take a little care in keeping them dry and out of the elements when not actively retrieving. Even Labrador's can get hypothermia if that is ignored. If he is thin, let him put on a little extra weight just before season. Also, on very cold mornings, I have held my dog back from the first retrieves if the ducks have fallen in a safe area where they will not be lost. The average temperatures in Hungary where our breed comes from are colder than Texas. I have had very few duck hunts where I felt it was too cold to use my Vizsla. Training for steadiness will take more time and more maturity than retrieving breeds, but it can be done. My dogs enjoy it.


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## ZekeSnow

Thanks a bunch guys... I took him out to the lake after I posted this and worked with him and then let him play for a while... While we worked, he would retrieve fine but he was slow to go into the water which is the whole reason for the post earlier... He never tucked his tail or acted like he wasn't happy... Then I let him play when we were finished training... He ran through the water as fast as he could and splashed and even chased a group of ducks about 100 yards out into the water... From seeing this I came to the conclusion that he is simply young and immature and I am expecting too much out of him too soon!!!! 

Then I come home and check the forum and Sniper John tells me exactly what I was thinking... Thanks again for the great advice from Sniper John and TexasRed and fro helping me to keep a positive attitude... I have worked so hard to train him on my own and sometimes it's hard to just sit back and let him grow up!!! I forget sometimes how young he is!


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## ZekeSnow

Oh and very cool picture Sniper John!!


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## sniper john

Another thing I forgot to pass on and it is important because Vizslas have a single coat. Never bath your Vizsla during waterfowl season or do so as little as possible. It strips the natural oils from the coat that are important for repelling water. I don't know if it is coincidence or not, but it seems to me like the more I hunt with my Vizslas in cold weather, the thicker the coat they seem to develop. Maybe that is what the breed description refers to when it talks about a field conditioned coat.


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## sniper john

BTW, you do have an upland bird in East Texas to hunt. Research Woodcock hunting. Your in or near one of the best areas of the country to hunt them. Because of the thick cover, no dog is better for hunting them than a close working Vizsla.


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## ZekeSnow

YESSSSSS!!! Thank you for mentioning it Sniper... I have been trying and trying to find someone that hunts them! Woodcock is part of the reason that I got a pointer instead of just getting a lab... I however cant for the life of me find someone that knows much about hunting them... Is there any way I can get in touch with you? Phone#, e-mail, PM??


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## sniper john

You can use the private message feature of the forum. Click on a member's username and to the left you should find a "send pm to member" or something like that. 

That picture is a rare Young county Woodcock taken well west of Ft Worth. Two years out of several I have found them on my deer hunting lease while jumping wood ducks and squirrels on a narrow creek bottom. But both times, they were there for one day. Just luck to be at the lease with my dog when they passed through. 

I hunted them in north east texas several years ago after I had trained one of my walker hounds for flushing upland game, but I had not hunted them again for many years until recently. 

I made a stop in Davy Crockett NF last season to purposely hunt them, but had no luck. Mostly because my youngest Vizsla likes to range and I never knew where he was most of the time. I had to abort my hunt and cut my trip by a day. I will not be able to hunt them again until I pick up a tracking collar. Or at the very least a bell or beeper collar. 

So I only have a basic knowledge of them, so I may not be much help. I will try again this year I am sure. What I am told is that Woodcock, unlike the Snipe I hunt... If you find an area that has them, it is very likely you will find them in the same area every year at about the same time of year. They are very habitat dependent needing cover and moist ground.


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## ZekeSnow

Do you just train them for quail and pheasant and they pick it up or is there some way to get a hold if some live woodcock or scent? Probably a ridiculous question but I just don't know! I can keep mine pretty close if I want but he will range out if I let him...


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