Koloa Hunting Goldens

03/11/2024

Another successful Halloween for the Koloa crew! Trick-or-treaters were greeted, extra pets were received, & costumes were tolerated.

Photo 1: Dodger, Ruby, & Elektra (left to right)

Photo 2: Obligatory sibling picture

Photos 3 & 4: Ruby taking on the typical mama role of rufferee

Photo 5: Dodger as a wide retriever

Photos 6 & 7: Elektra (putting up with) being a dragon

Photos 8: One more group shot -- guess who's done with this nonsense!

31/10/2024

Birthday Excitement!!! Our sweet (with a dash of spice) Miss Ruby turned 7 years old today. Mary baked some custom Koloa peanut butter dog biscuits and then a birthday package from Chewy's - Ruby's favorite store, arrived to start the celebration. Tomorrow Ruby is heading over to Elektra (daughter) and Dean's (cousin) house for Halloween and another party.

Video: - Ruby heading to the mailbox to pick-up her birthday package. Pretty spry for the mother of 11 golden retrievers.

Pic 1 - Homemade Koloa biscuits in an appropriate themed bowl.

Pic 2 - Miss Ruby showing off her birthday stash!

Pic 3 - Miss Ruby and her baby boy Dodger!

31/10/2024

26/10/2024

Gypsy, in her Space Dog era.

It's so nice when the miniature humans get to teenage size, so they can pick you up to get a better view of the Northern Lights.

06/10/2024

Another day of refresher training with the pups in anticipation of the upcoming waterfowl season in 3 weeks.

1st video - Dodger doing a double retrieve. Notice the second dummy sailing in while Dodger is in the ditch bringing the first dummy in. This tests the dog's memory of retrieving multiple birds dropped in close succession.

2nd video - Miss Ruby using the "grab it all" method if the dummy/bird is hung up in cover growth. I always watch for the flag (tail) to tell where the dogs are in heavy cover!

Photo 1 - Dodger sitting attentively holding the "bird" for release on command.

Photos 2 & 3 - Miss (behavin) Ruby doing her best to rebel against "the man" aka Dad!

08/09/2024

David & Dodger went out this morning for another dove hunt and had a very satisfying day. Dodger made all 3 retrieves in heavy cover. One of the shots was a marked drop (dog sees the bird fall) and the other 2 shots were blind retrieves (dog is sent to the area where the bird was marked by the hunter, but not seen by the dog).

All downed birds were recovered -- I am certain this wouldn't have been the case without a dog that was able to use its nose to locate the downed bird. (Hear that, Elektra? Dodger can use his nose, too!) Ethically, as a hunter, if I didn't have a dog capable of finding downed birds in heavy cover, I'd have to weigh which shots I could take. I'd need to limit them to only the ones where I thought the bird would drop in light cover, allowing for visual detection.

I will not hunt without a dog anymore because enjoying the companionship and their utter devotion to the work is what hunting is all about for me! A dog loves every day out in the field (whether or not they actually get to make a retrieve), because they are always searching with the unbridled hope that they will find their quarry in the next patch of cover!

Picture 1 - What Dodger actually does for most of the hunt unless a bird or dragonfly flies over.

Picture 2 - Dodger showing off his successful morning work.

Picture 3 - Dodger smiling for the camera in his best official pose.

04/09/2024

We had a fantastic opening morning of dove season on Sunday! It was a four-man hunt at Koloa Club, made up of David, Donnie, Bryan, & Jason, that was anchored by Dodger & Elektra. We had great opportunities, made great shots, and the "pups," now on their third dove season, acted like seasoned pros. Dodger continued to excel with speed over open ground, and Elektra nailed it with her nose in the heavier cover. We came away from a few hours of shooting with 10 birds. Dodger brought in 4 & Elektra brought in 6.

Photo 1: Elektra proudly bringing in her first bird of the season; Dodger is so happy for his sister.

Photos 2-3: Dodger bringing in birds (believe it or not), using a lengthwise, all the way in the mouth method.

Photos 4-5: Elektra bringing in a cripple that tried to get away from her.

Photo 6: David providing Elektra an es**rt as she brings one of Bryan's birds to him -- excellent delivery service.

Photos 7-9: Elektra bringing in a couple more of her birds.

31/08/2024

Elektra heard she had a pretty substantial cameo in the biggest blockbuster of the year. No big deal. She's great at handling fame and all the treats that come with it.

But it won't go to her head because once hunting season starts, she'll be back to her day job. Those birds better watch out -- she is (named after) a trained assassin, after all.

(Some will suggest it was actually Jennifer Garner in Deadpool & Wolverine, but we say toMAYto, toMAHto.)

24/07/2024

The Coast family shared these pictures with us showing that Gypsy is now a farm girl! She's been loving the country life, filled with lots of open space to run and lots of nature to smell! Her favorite past time has been flushing all of the quail in her new kingdom -- what can we say, she's got great taste.

Picture 1: Gypsy enjoying a farm style "spa treatment" delivered by her human baby brothers. You've heard of a seaweed wrap? Well, this is a warm gravel wrap -- so relaxing.

Picture 2: Posing with her Pops, counting the days until they get to go pheasant & quail hunting. In the meantime, she'll keep those darn birds on their toes.

15/07/2024

Post-swim frizzles!

Photo 1: Dodger, rocking what his mama gave him.
Photo 2: Ruby, the original crinkle queen.
Photo 3: Dodger & Ruby, demonstrating what happens when you add water to a Golden Retriever.

15/06/2024

David & Dodger and Claire & Elektra completed the Ducks Unlimited virtual 5K this morning! (Ruby bravely volunteered for couch duty back at the house.) The little girl loved showing her brother around her neighborhood and pointing out all the birds & kitties. Errol even joined for the first leg of the walk to help everyone get a kickstart, then the rest of the crew finished it out at a comfortable pace. The pups rolled in the grass to celebrate finishing the DU Dash, then dutifully posed with their winnings of bandanas & race medals.

15/06/2024

Elektra's just barely getting by. Tough life for a poor pampered princess.

04/06/2024

Part 2 (Video):

Ruby honoring, as Dodger makes the retrieve while trying to catch water splashes on the way across the ditch. (Put sound on for video for more details!)

04/06/2024

Part 1 (Photos):

Spent several days at Koloa Club doing habitat work (discing, ripping, & burning) to try and keep the seasonal wetland producing natural food crops for waterfowl & other wetland species. Was able to set aside some time for water retriever training work to the delight of Ruby (mom) and Dodger (son).

Photo 1: Dodger on left, Ruby on right
Photos 2-6: Ruby making the retrieve

22/05/2024

Elektra's trying to stay limber in the off-season. Trying her paw at this yoga thing. She's already pioneered the Resting Dog position. Pro tip: use a Lambchop stuffie as a prop to get more lift for the chin.

17/05/2024

Is that a Pokédog? A new Evee evolution, the retriever type, Goldeon??

We'll let you in on a secret... it's actually Gypsy playing dress-up with her human sister! What a master of disguise. She was this close to ending up in Pokéball!

(Side note: We're not saying we're old, but we had Bella read this caption and confirm that the references make sense!)

29/03/2024

Elektra completed the American Kennel Club 2024 Spring Scurry!

We had a lovely spring day for the walk, and went on our usual neighborhood route, at a comfortable pace. She was also an expert at posing regally with her hard-earned medal at the end of the walk. Treats may or may not have helped.

This is a virtual 5K that can be done with your pup up til June 1 if anyone wants to join in! The Spring Scurry medal in the AKC online shop is considered your "registration fee" and then you complete the distance on the honor system. It can also be counted towards a Fit Dog title. And it's a fun way to spend time with your pup!

27/02/2024

We had a great day to close out the special goose season last Wednesday! David & Donnie both got birds, and Dodger & Elektra each got retrieves.

The first picture shows a little healthy competition between siblings (Elektra, left; Dodger, right). Normally, we send one dog out at a time, so there are no disputes, but if one of them just isn't finding or bringing back the bird for some reason, we'll send the other one to back up the retrieve. For this goose, Elektra took out after it like a shot (second picture), but once she got to it, she got a little lackadaisical and decided to check out the scenery instead. Dodger was sent out, to keep her honest, and the unbothered Elektra thought she knew how much time she had till he got to the bird. Well, she misjudged his speed, then quickly tried (and failed) to snag her goose before Dodger. She's been absolute fire about upland birds, but hasn't had as many opportunities with waterfowl (mainly due to poor opportunities the last couple of seasons). This is just part of the process of ironing out kinks, with the goal being to teach her, if you want the bird, you've gotta grab it and bring it in right away.

Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of the other 2 retrieves, but they were picture perfect.

For one, Donnie spotted a cripple sitting on the levee, so he sent Elektra to flush it, which she did fantasticly. She absolutely learned her lesson from the first goose, because after Donnie brought this one down, she immediately slammed it and brought it back, with no hesitation!

On the last bird, it sailed about a quarter mile into a flooded rice field when it came down. David took Dodger as close as he could get in the direction he thought the bird had come down. Dodger hadn't been able to get a mark, but went completely off a directional command ("back") and went over 100 yards to make a successful retrieve!

It really was the perfect way to close out the last season of the year! The last two pictures show the "pups" with their geese. First with the side-eye & the "I'm not even going to look at you" -- typical siblings -- then they got over it and sat looking regal.