Some great stories here. I picked up a dog from the pound in 2005, friendly, playful critter. Lab face, covered in curly hair, black all over, with a white spot on the chest. Called her Yo. She was an awesome retriever on with tennis balls, not afraid of any type of cover, the tougher it was, the better she liked it. Took hand signals pretty well, listened great.
So, I thought I'd take her grouse hunting one day. She caught on to it the first day, she always sat or stood there looking at them, when she found a bird. I walked right by her on the first one, wondering what she was doing, turned around, looked at her, told her to come (about 25yds), she didn't budge. I walked back , she got up and pushed the bird, which I did not know or think was there. As far as I knew, she'd never seen one before.
Tried here on some farmed pheasants, she'd either sit or stand there, not really pointing, but, she would not budge. Took her to a pheasant festival shoot later that year, she sat on a bird. She got up when we got there, bird flew. She was sitting her butt right on top of it.
She'd spot birds in trees, turn on a scent at 50 yds or more, and never sight hunted. Watched her follow a running pheasant for about 100yds, bird in short 6" stubble 20 yds in front, she just didn't see it, but, it was plain as day. But, she would not retrieve a bird, she'd show you where it was, then on to the next one.
Got a big lab the next year, he was a retriever, very well trained, maybe a bit over trained as far as walking at heel goes. That was where he hunted from, if he went ahead, he had something, all I did was walk across the wind with him.
Those two as a pair were hilarious, she was out front, lock up on a bird, he was at heel, he'd flush, I'd shoot, he would retrieve.
One day I was walking a canal, came up on the road, standing on the bridge. Couldn't see her, all of a sudden, she came up from under the bridge, with a duck in her mouth, wounded one, her first feathered retrieve in 4-5 yrs of having her. The last time I had her out, with a new pup, 2 yrs ago, she went out and water retrieved a duck alongside the pup, there were two out there. I was thinking , nah, she'll swim around it and come back like normal, without it. Damn, she grabbed it, brought it right to hand. I was shocked. Training dummy, she'd retrieve it...bird, not a chance, she got me those two times.
Then she taught the pup about working cover that day, tough cover, really tough krap, didn't know she still had that left in her. She worked a really nasty patch for 45min, and got birds out of it for the pup. Took him 15min of watching to catch on to what she was doing in there, then he was in there like a dirty shirt, following her.
For a pound hound, of an unknown mixture, she was something special, absolute murder on ground birds, she loved hunting. And she taught the pup. She'd always let his predecessor retrieve, even on doubles. I'd buy 10 birds at the farm, she'd find 12 or 15, every time. She never picked up a pheasant, hun or sharpie, she let the Big Dog do the retrieving. I often wonder if she knew that was her last trip, and decided to show me that she knew exactly what she was doing, the whole time.