Thin ice

[loosegoose]

Was out bird hunting on Sunday with my 11yr old son and my dog. He had the urge to explore the ice on a deep cattle watering pond. I could see the panic in his eyes as he was trying to pull himself on top of the ice but was unsuccessful until he came upon a wooden fence post frozen in the ice. I was on my way around the watering hole to call him back where he already had the ice broken but he was able to pull himself to safety by clawing onto that wooden fence post. Kind of a trying situation for all three involved but we all continued hunting as though nothing happened.

[xedge2002]

A guy I hunt with had a similar deal a year or two ago. His dog ran out onto a frozen lake chasing a rooster that was flying. He tried calling her off but she didn't listen in time. She broke through the ice and couldn't get back up. He knew he couldn't go out there to get her so he just kept yelling and encouraging her. He could tell she was starting to get weak and was getting ready to shoot her so she didn't have to suffer but she somehow got a back leg up on the ice and was able to pull herself out. She still loves to go out and hunt today.

Glad it worked out for you too.

[anchor man]

What a miserable situation......

[LundExplorer]

We have an aerated pond out back here behind our office building. In the spring a few years back a guy was hired to have his 2 border collies run around and chase away the geese so they wouldn't nest here. One of the dogs went out onto the ice, too close to the open spot by the aerator, and fell thru. The guy laid face down on the ice , and inched his way forward, threw out a rope to the dog. The dog bit the rope and the guy yanked the dog back onto the ice. I think I heard cheers from the people gathered by the window in our building watching.

[verg]

My old lab did the same. we walked to our spot in the dark to hunt the open shoreline of a large slough. The ducks and geese were packed in it. In the dark my dog jogged ahead. there was snow on the ground, we couldn't tell were the dry gound ended and the ice began. he jogged right out onto ice and fell through. i could barely see him swimming in circles. Geez that is a helpless feeling. I didn't know what do to. I hollared and yelled until blue. I thought about breaking the thin ice to get to him but my buddy knew better. Out of the blue, he just popped up and was ready to hunt. think he was in for 5 minutes or so. he was about a 70lb male. Hate to think if he as one of those jumbo 110 lbers.

[bigdog]

Had a big lab go out after a Can that sailed out on thin ice once. He broke through on the way back. I ended up going well over the boots breaking ice to get out to the dog. It really got tough once the water was deep enough that you couldn't raise your legs up to break ice.

That was one happy dog once I got out there. Still had the Can in his mouth. Now I am very carefull when hunting around areas with thin ice. Rivers especially worry me and I avoid them as best I can.

[Blaze]

I was pheasant hunting late November a few years ago with my Shorthair on some public land. There was a ditch with deep water (8-10' deep) and she was working the grass along side of it. I was just going to call her off the ditch when a rabbit bolted across the ice and she jumped after it...and busted through the ice. The ditch was maybe 15' across, and she was probably 6-7' away from shore. I dropped my shotgun and tried breaking off a branch to hook her collar with. I finally got her out, but that had to be the LONGEST 5 minutes of my life. It was single digit temps and I figured she'd be freezing and our day was done - when she hit the bank, she was up and into the field to keep hunting. It never phased her, but then again, she was a bird hunting machine. Mmmm, I miss that old girl.

[Kodiak]

I think shooting a dog with bird shot would have been worse than drowning... It is a good thing she got out though!

[grab the net]

Earlier this season my lab broke through on a deep drainage ditch, actually went under the water and the ice it happened so fast. Heart skipped a beat wondering if he was gonna come up. He did, broke ice back to shore, ran over to me, shook off and vomited water all over my boots. Went back about his business like nothing happened. 10 minutes later he is back on the ice, luckily did not fall through again.