Woodcock Scent Dfficulty

[welshboy454 3]

Last week on a wet day I shot a woodcock which came down in a field of rushes. My dog went to retrieve it and as I was watching I could see him gain the scent then narrow in to two clumps of rushes each about armchair size . The scent seemed to be up in the air about 2ft off the ground as he was scenting/looking in the tops of the rushes trying to get the bird.

When I walked over he was still scenting high but the bird was dead on the ground. It just seems that when dead it was not giving off scent. Anybody else experience this ?

[cúagusgiorraí 57]

Yes, this afternoon in fact. The rushes seem to really hold the scent in. My dog had difficulty as well. Luckily we found it

 

 

 

 

[noisey 1]

my mate shot one in a wood a few weeks a ago. we seen the area it landed (in thick bracken) but looked all over and had my lab in but couldnt find it. later someone was telling me they dont have a scent

[upperlane2 4]

my mate shot one in a wood a few weeks a ago. we seen the area it landed (in thick bracken) but looked all over and had my lab in but couldnt find it. later someone was telling me they dont have a scent

your mates sorta right when in danger they lye tight not givin off scent but they will be a scent after there shot of gunpowder if nothing else the birds probably hit rushes on way down just sometimes there difficult to detect dog was prob just focusing on first scent is it a young dog 1-3 year old

[rjimmer 4]

I've heard a few people say that dogs don't like picking up Woodcock but none of mine have ever shown it.

[mally 832]

I've heard a few people say that dogs don't like picking up Woodcock but none of mine have ever shown it.

They are correct, my lab fern will find shot woodcock without any problem but she won't actually pick them.I've tried and tried to get her to pick them. She has picked them and walked 2 yards then she spits them out. They must be very bitter or something as she pulls an awful face when she's had one in her mouth...

[noisey 1]

your mates sorta right when in danger they lye tight not givin off scent but they will be a scent after there shot of gunpowder if nothing else the birds probably hit rushes on way down just sometimes there difficult to detect dog was prob just focusing on first scent is it a young dog 1-3 year old

 

Yes she is 15 months

[North Country Boy 0]

Apparently its all to do with how the bird lands, if it lands on its back/side then it emits a scent, landing on its chest the scent glands are covered up by the wings, i dont now how true this is and have never seen it happen, my ESS bitch does retrieve them but cannot verify from which position they are before she finds them.

[welshboy454 3]

Apparently its all to do with how the bird lands, if it lands on its back/side then it emits a scent, landing on its chest the scent glands are covered up by the wings, i dont now how true this is and have never seen it happen, my ESS bitch does retrieve them but cannot verify from which position they are before she finds them.

There may be something in this.

The bird was lying front down but it may have tumbled off the rushes leaving the scent high. I watched carefully and although he knew the bird was there somewhere he could not zoom right in. Normally he has no trouble picking them up and retrieving but it is a spat out of the mouth delivery so maybe their taste is bitter.

[Cajunrules 8]

Heard many a gundog man say that woodcock leave very little if any scent. Cheers

[BLACKBOB 9]

Apparently its all to do with how the bird lands, if it lands on its back/side then it emits a scent, landing on its chest the scent glands are covered up by the wings, i dont now how true this is and have never seen it happen, my ESS bitch does retrieve them but cannot verify from which position they are before she finds them.

There may be something in this.

The bird was lying front down but it may have tumbled off the rushes leaving the scent high. I watched carefully and although he knew the bird was there somewhere he could not zoom right in. Normally he has no trouble picking them up and retrieving but it is a spat out of the mouth delivery so maybe their taste is bitter.

 

 

Theres definatly something in it as my ESS has no problem in finding them or retrieving them but this Saturday one was lightly shot and i went to look for it. Was shown approximate location and off i go. Took me a few minutes to find it and it was laying chest down and wings slightly apart. My Ess was all around it and literally running over it, but could he pick it, could he hell as like. Remembered this topic as i watched him try and find the bird and couldnt belive what i was seeing. He picked one the week before and was a cracking find and retrive but the bird was still alive and on its back so there must be something in this topic. First time ive expirienced this .

 

Cheers bob

[Elizabeth 0]

Apparently its all to do with how the bird lands, if it lands on its back/side then it emits a scent, landing on its chest the scent glands are covered up by the wings, i dont now how true this is and have never seen it happen, my ESS bitch does retrieve them but cannot verify from which position they are before she finds them.

There may be something in this.

The bird was lying front down but it may have tumbled off the rushes leaving the scent high. I watched carefully and although he knew the bird was there somewhere he could not zoom right in. Normally he has no trouble picking them up and retrieving but it is a spat out of the mouth delivery so maybe their taste is bitter.

 

 

Theres definatly something in it as my ESS has no problem in finding them or retrieving them but this Saturday one was lightly shot and i went to look for it. Was shown approximate location and off i go. Took me a few minutes to find it and it was laying chest down and wings slightly apart. My Ess was all around it and literally running over it, but could he pick it, could he hell as like. Remembered this topic as i watched him try and find the bird and couldnt belive what i was seeing. He picked one the week before and was a cracking find and retrive but the bird was still alive and on its back so there must be something in this topic. First time ive expirienced this .

 

Cheers bob

[ratattack 111]

As they are ground nesting/living birds they emit very little scent and can taste nasty in a predators mouth. It dosn't pay to advertise yourself to predators if you live on the ground

 

many dogs cannot/will not pick em due to so little scent and the taste of them

[gerron 13]

I used woodcock when training my lab at about 10mnths old and have never had any problems retreiving woodcock.

last week on our syndicaite a gun marked a woodcock down in a certain area and several dogs had been tried to retrieve it,eventually it was decided that it wasnt there and the gun had been mistaken, i was trying to pick a partridge at the time but went for a go at retreiving it after the bird was picked and my dog picked it relitively quickly,I'm not suggesting that my dog is a wonder dog(far from it) but wonder if the fact he had been retreiving them in training at such an early age has helped ???