What is a Jahpoo?
Well, it’s the best motion duck decoy on the market, is what it is. Real natural motion—no filler, no GMOs—just pure realism. Simple as that.
Now if you’re asking about the name, that’s a different story. Pour yourself a bourbon or grab a cold one, 'cause this is going to take a minute.
Founder Carson Tharp was a junior in college when he woke up one day realizing he could finally have his own dog—something he’d been asking for every Christmas and birthday since the first grade. He received Sadie as a 6-week-old pup—legitimately a baked potato. Tharp told himself: this was going to be the best dog he’d ever own.
Never really having bird hunted before, but wanting Sadie to have the option to become a bird dog, Tharp committed to learning. Crippled by college life and limited funds, he had one choice: read a book and figure it out. Starting at 6 weeks, Tharp and Sadie practiced bumper work every day.
When Sadie turned 4 months and was ready for her first exposure to gunfire, it just so happened to be Labor Day weekend. A friend invited Tharp and the hound out to the ranch. It was the perfect chance to introduce her to live fire. Like flipping a switch, Sadie had zero hesitation. Thunder, fireworks, and even cars downshifting would fire her up—she was ready to hunt.
Once Sadie was showing promise, Tharp started searching for places to go bird hunting on public land around Austin. They found a PHL spot for dove season. His friends thought he was crazy for skipping football games, but he had an obligation.
“I’ll never forget the moment Sadie looked me in the eyes,” Tharp says. “It was our second or third time hunting public. At sunset, we dropped 8 to 10 birds in a big volley. Sadie broke, but I called her back. She returned, sat at my feet like we were training, and looked me in the eyes. I could tell it clicked—in that moment I realized: I’ve got a bird dog. It was one of the most fulfilling feelings in the world. Five to six months of dedication were finally coming together.”
After finals, during winter break, Tharp was alone in his apartment in Austin. Both his parents had moved to Austin too, but neither had a spot for him to stay. Bored out of his mind, he thought, “Sadie loves to swim. She loves to dove hunt. She’d probably love duck hunting.” And wahpow! He and Sadie loaded up the 4Runner and cruised to Cabela’s to buy their first dozen mallard duck decoys.
That next day, they hit a public land spot. And then the next day. And the day after that. “I was watching these guys on YouTube and Instagram shooting piles of mallards, and I was like—why can’t I just shoot one? I was frustrated. Sadie was bad to the bone, but I couldn’t kill more than 2 birds. After hours of research, I realized: water motion is key.”
One morning, while hunting the Lower Colorado River, a group of green-wing teal circled their spread. Comeback calls, teal calls, silence—nothing worked. That’s when it hit him: “I need a duck decoy that moves like the real thing.” After buying multiple spinning wings and vibrating butts, nothing was simple or effective. So Tharp went home, started researching—and realized nothing out there met his needs.
He sketched out the concept for a motion duck decoy that actually worked. He pitched the idea to two good friends—now engineers at Apple and a Houston refinery. Both told him, “No, Tharp. That’s stupid. That wouldn’t work.” Crushed but undeterred, he shelved the idea.
After graduating during COVID, Tharp moved in with a buddy. Bored and stuck at home, they challenged themselves to find a way to make money. Out of that challenge, Jahpoo—the motion duck decoy company—was born.
Now that's how the product came about. As for the name?
When Tharp first got Sadie, he knew she had to be his best dog—especially if he wanted his roommates on board. And he wasn’t going to be that guy with the out-of-control lab. But his roommates clowned on the name “Sadie,” saying it was the most basic lab name out there.
They said if you're going to name a dog, make it funny.
One day, after Tharp came home from the library, his roommates were calling Sadie “Jahpoo.” He hated it. Thought it was the dumbest name ever. Worse, Sadie started responding to it. The name spread through the fraternity, into Greek life, and across the university.
When it came time to file the company name, Tharp thought: “I need a catchy name. Something that sticks. Something unique. Something with a ring to it” And since Sadie was the reason this duck decoy company existed in the first place, “Jahpoo” felt right.
But what is a Jahpoo? Honestly, we still don’t know.
After Tharp’s first podcast, one of his old roommates hit him with the truth: it wasn’t just a made-up name. It came from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. At the end of the movie, the Whos stand around the tree singing, “Fahoo forays, dahoo dorays.” His roommates thought they were saying “Jahpoo Doris.” and thought it was a funny saying, they started saying towards sadie in which she picked up and started to develop a re-call to it.
So what is a Jahpoo? Maybe that’s a question for Dr. Seuss.
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