John's Journal...

WHERE DUCKS ALWAYS FLY AND YOU CAN TAKE BIG BUCKS

Why Deer Creek Lodge Raises and Trains Dogs

Editor's Note: Any day you can shoot as few as six ducks or as many as 25 because Deer Creek Lodge is a hunting preserve. But, unlike most duck-hunting operations, the hunt at Deer Creek Lodge doesn't have to end after a morning of waterfowling. At this lodge, you can double-down and hunt ducks in the morning and upland birds or deer in the afternoon. After taking ducks, you may flush as many as 100 or 200 upland birds or choose to hunt for trophy whitetails with your bow.

"We use both retrievers and pointers throughout the preserve season," Tim Stull, manager of Deer Creek Lodge, explains. "In a month of hunting, a dog may see more birds, make more retrieves and point more birds than he may in an entire hunting season anywhere else. Because we have to keep so many dogs for our hunting operation and because we have a retriever trainer and a bird dog trainer, we also offer dog training to hunters who own retrievers."

Deer Creek Lodge raises and trains its own breed of bird dogs, the Yelahw, named for Mr. Whaley, who has spent his lifetime developing this strain of dogs (Whaley spelled backwards). Deer Creek Lodge has chosen this strain of bird dog because of the ease with which they're trained. According to Stull, these dogs actually will train themselves. The pups start at $500 and go up in price, depending on the amount of training they have had.

"We charge $500 for training either our pups or your pups, and satisfaction is absolutely guaranteed," Stull explains. One of the primary keys to training bird dogs is having birds for the dogs to find, point and learn to retrieve. Deer Creek Lodge keeps numbers of birds on hand and in the field at all times. Dogs are worked daily on hundreds of birds. However, Deer Creek Lodge isn't a puppy factory and only may offer as few as 20 dogs for sale each year. Often there's a waiting list for the trained Yelahw. If you're looking for a started dog or a partially-trained dog, there may be 10 available a year. If you want a finished dog, then you may have 10 more from which you can select one bird dog. Because Deer Creek Lodge is a licensed shooting preserve, the lodge can start hunting and shooting mallards, quail, pheasant, chukars, and Hungarian partridge on September 1 each year and continue to hunt through April 15.

For more information on Deer Creek Lodge, you can write P.O. Box 39, Sebree, Kentucky 42455; call 1-888-875-3000; email deercreek@vci.net; or, visit www.deercreeklodge.net.

TOMORROW: DEER CREEK'S RETRIEVER TRAINING PROGRAM

 


Check back each day this week for more about WHERE DUCKS ALWAYS FLY AND YOU CAN TAKE BIG BUCKS...

Day 1 - Where Ducks Always Fly
Day 2 - 140S Or Better
Day 3 - Pheasants, Quail, Chukars and Hungarian Partridge
Day 4 - Why Deer Creek Lodge Raises and Trains Dogs
Day 5 - Deer Creek's Retriever Training Program


 

 

Entry 284, Day 4