HUNTING COMPANIONS... We will be discussing hunting companions of the canine variety. There are some waterfowlers who would say that if you don’t have a dog, you shouldn’t hunt waterfowl. While this may be a little extreme, it is true that a good dog is a great conservation measure, as no matter how good of a shot you think you are, your birds will be crippled now and then or even just fall in heavy cover. You will lose birds without a dog, and the thought of uncollected cripples can ruin a nice day of hunting. A good retriever can make a day of good hunting seem like heaven, but a poor dog can make it seem like a day right out of Hades. There are times and places where a dog might not be an absolute necessity, but these are far and few between. I know two hunters who have successfully hunted for years on a peninsula in a small lake, with a good blind, decoys, camo duck boat, and a long-handled fishing net. There is fairly open terrain around the blind, not much undergrowth, and they occasionally have to finish a bird in the water, but there is nothing unsporting about doing whatever it takes to finish off and collect downed birds. There are many dog breeds that are known to make excellent retrievers, and many more that can be taught to get the job done. Obedience is the key to a good blind companion, whatever the breed and degree of training. Retrieving might come easier for a breed that has it in the blood, but without obedience the best of bloodlines can only result in a miserable and sometimes dangerous hunt. Your first task in selecting your hunting companion is to compare the breeds with your situation and expectations. For example, if you want your dog to be a household companion as well as a blind companion, and if you might want to hunt upland birds as well as waterfowl, you will have to choose carefully. Some breeds are better suited for certain circumstances than others, and you will want to select the breed that tends to satisfy most if not all of your needs. Do a little self-assessment and ask yourself a series of often-tough questions. What do I like and dislike in dogs? How much patience will I have training my new friend? Will I also ask my dog to share my home, be content to live in a kennel and run, or double as the guardian of my home and family? Where and under what weather conditions and terrain do I do most of my hunting? Is my temperament conducive to long training sessions, and perhaps a stronger-willed dog that may be harder to train and work with? Answering these question honestly and then checking the thickness of your wallet should help you narrow down the field of waterfowl hunting breeds. The most popular of all duck blind companions is the “Labrador Retriever”. Normally weighing 65-75 pounds, with smooth, straight coat, the Lab is typically black, however yellows and chocolates are not uncommon. They are eager to please, gentle, sturdy, intelligent and therefore quite easily trained, and very friendly social animals that tend to make good family pets. They are versatile and can be trained to hunt upland birds as well as waterfowl, however they most often are flushing dogs in the field, and it is truly a rare and beautiful experience to work with a pointing Lab. Normally very friendly with other dogs as well as people, they will also work well under extreme weather conditions over land or in water. The “Chesepeake Bay Retriever”, or “Chessie”, is the toughest, hardiest, most aggressive and hardest working of all the breeds, and for the serious waterfowler, who only wants a quality hunting companion, they are tough to beat. They have a heavy, thick, oily, curly coat that serves them well in the coldest of water or the worst of weather conditions. Normally bigger than Labs, and often topping 90 pounds, they will often fight with other dogs and may exhibit an aggressive temperament that makes them harder to train and more difficult to work with. Chessies are found in ranges of browns, from dead-grass to dark, and they tend to be well concealed in most blind or boat situations. Their tenacious temperament is matched with their very aggressive retrieving style, and it is a treat to watch a Chessie explode from the boat or the blind into icy water. “Golden Retrievers” are graceful and beautiful and tend to make excellent family pets as well as accomplished hunting dogs. They are great water dogs, but their light coat makes them more adaptable to mild weather conditions. Goldens have long, silky hair that needs a bit of care as it tends to attract burrs and other debris in hunting situations. They are typically light golden in color, but you may also find them with a rich auburn color as well. Many hunters consider these dogs to be the very best in obedience and strict hunting performance without a flaw, and combined with their friendly manners and easy-to-train capabilities, they are a great choice for a one-dog hunter. They may not be as aggressive as some other retrievers, but they can be a pleasure to be around, whether hunting or not. An added bonus of this breed is the ability to be trained to flush upland birds with the best of them. The “Curly-Coated Retriever”, though not often found in the United States, is much sought after in other parts of the world, and can be an unusual and extremely sturdy and aggressive addition to your duck blind. They tend to be a bit smaller and lighter than other retrievers, but their hunting attitude can make up for this lack of size, especially in harsh weather conditions, or extremely cold weather. As with most retrievers, these dogs are intelligent, and they tend to be easy to train. Curlys carry their tails straight out behind them, and their heavy, curly coats of tightly curled ringlets does pose a maintenance problem. The “Irish Water Spaniel”, also called the “Rat-Tailed Retriever” or Rat-Tailed Irishman”, is often considered a one-man dog, as it often doesn’t get along well with other hunters or their dogs. They can be hardheaded, obstinate, and somewhat hard to train dogs that might best be left to the experienced hunter and trainer. Like the Curly, they are less often found in the U.S. than in other countries, and they were developed to retrieve birds in the cold boggy marshes of Ireland. Tenacious retrievers with thick, curly coats for extreme weather, these dogs are some of the larger spaniels, at an average of 65 pounds. This spaniel sports a high maintenance coat, normally dark brown or black, and has a rat like tail, hence the name. Two other seldom seen, but effective retrievers are the “Flat-Coated Retriever” and the “American Water Spaniel”. Flat-Coats, also called “Wavy-Coated Retrievers”, are excellent water dogs, but have never been very popular with American gunners. They are normally dark brown or black, built very sturdily, muscular with a flat heavy coat able to withstand bitter cold weather. The “American Water Spaniel” is smaller than most retrievers, and because of its easy-going typical spaniel temperament, it is gaining popularity in America. It is a versatile breed capable of mastering the upland bird skills. There are several other breeds that can double as both upland flushers and pointers, and command respect in the waterfowl blind, but the ones listed above are the professionals of the waterfowling world. They are bread for waterfowl hunting and normally will take the honors when hunting with the more versatile one-dog hunter species. A great all-around dog that can be used for any game in the marshes, streams or upland fields is the “Springer Spaniel”. These smaller, hardy, eager-to-please and very hard-working companions are good on both upland game and as retrievers. They have a wonderful temperament and make excellent family pets, but their fine hair makes them uncomfortable when the weather turns severe. Regardless, their willingness to perform continues to make them a favorite combination dog. Other breeds that can turn in stellar performances under the right conditions are “Weimaraners”, “Wirehaired Pointing Griffons”, “German Wirehaired Pointers”, “Brittanies”, “German Shorthairs” and others. Most hunting dogs and masters first become friends when the puppy is very young, just after the pup is weaned. This gives you and your dog a chance to get off to a good start training and hunting together. You can have your companion professionally trained or you can make a commitment, and it takes a commitment on your part, to devote the necessary time to train your dog properly. Training your own pup is, in most cases, not hard work and it can be fun and create a closer relationship than sending him or her off for training. Although it doesn’t take a lot of hours each day to train your dog, it does take some time each day, even if it is only a few minutes, to teach your retriever to obey. This must be the supreme concern with the training, as a hunting dog, above everything else, must be obedient. With exciting things happening all around, your friend must be trained to sit or lie completely still, on command and in a boat, blind or field, and not to change this position until commanded to do so. His natural instincts are, all the while, telling him that he should chase birds, but his training and his desire to please you must overcome this drive. There is no more flagrant mistake that a dog can make than breaking to birds on the way into the decoys. Teach your dog the properly enter a kennel, truck, boat and blind, and you can only increase your hunting enjoyment. Don’t shortchange you companion on obedience training, as you will only be shortchanging yourself in the end. There is plenty of time to refine his natural hunting abilities after the obedience training becomes second nature. The obedience commands, that all hunting dogs should learn, are sit, stay, down, come, heel and kennel-up. “Sit” might be a good beginning command to teach. Say the word “sit” and at the same time press firmly but gently down on your dog’s hindquarters. Don’t punish nonperformance, but simply keep repeating this procedure until he will automatically sit without pressure from your hand. A next logical step is to teach the command “stay”. You could use a choke collar and rope to tie him to a particular spot, and then command “stay” and walk away. After enough repetitions, he will stay without being tied. Then you can combine “sit” and “stay”, and test his commitment by throwing a training dummy. An advanced test might be to issue the “sit” and “stay” commands, walk a distance away, and then have someone else throw the training dummy across his field of vision. “Down” is a very important command that in some ways is similar to the sit command, but now you are teaching your dog to lie down to conceal himself in a blind, boat or field. With your dog at sitting position, give the command “down” and gently pull his front feet out from under him, making him lie down. Again, repetition is the key, and eventually he will lie down at your command without any contact by you. Another equally valuable command is “come”. With the choke collar and a long rope, give your friend the “sit” and “stay” commands and then slowly walk away from him. Then give the command “come” and gently pull on the rope, making sure to never move towards the dog but always having him come to you. Again with the choke collar, but now with a short leash, you should teach “heel”. Walk slowly holding the dog by your side and saying “heel”. Hold him in position and practice this training in a variety of settings with the first being in a quiet location with a minimum of distractions. “Kennel Up” is a very important command if you don’t enjoying carrying your wet, heavy, cold dog and lifting him into the truck, boat, etc. Attach the choke collar and rope, and then climb into the back of your truck with the tailgate down. He may logically follow you as he just enjoys being with you, but you must make him enter only with the “kennel up” command, using a tug on the rope if necessary with a pat on the bed of the truck. Once he is comfortable with entering his kennel or the truck with you inside, get out and repeat the command until he will willingly enter by himself. This may be a difficult command for your dog to obey under actual field conditions as this may signal the end of great hunting fun for him. Gun training is a must for your dog, as the last thing that you want is a gun-shy dog. There are at least two simple and easy methods to teach gun training, and you should begin this training while the dog is young. You could introduce the sound of gunfire gradually by firing a cap pistol at some distance while your dog is doing something enjoyable like eating. Gradually decrease the distance and then switch to a blank pistol and finally to a shotgun. You could also take a shotgun and his favorite training dummy to a field, and shoot the gun and then throw the dummy for him to retrieve. Once he makes the connection between fun and the sound of your gun, he will gladly tolerate the loud noise for the enjoyment. Once your retriever is the perfect picture of obedience, and all of the obedience commands are second nature to him, it’s time to move on to the advanced sessions of retrieval. This should be a fun series of lessons for you and your dog, as you teach him how to interpret hand signals, how to mark ducks and how to retrieve them properly. You should begin on land and proceed to water training as skills are mastered. The logical starting point is to teach your friend to retrieve what, when and where you want him to. Your dog’s instincts tell him to retrieve so the basic components need only to be refined. Give the command “stay”, and then give the command “mark” while throwing a training dummy away from him. Make sure that he is able to see the dummy and don’t let him move until you give the command “go” and gently push him toward the dummy. As soon as he picks up the dummy, give him the “come” command to bring him all the way back to you. Then command him to “sit”, take the dummy from his mouth, while giving a “release” command, and lavish him with praise. Most dogs will drop the dummy somewhere along the way during initial training, and you should encourage him to hold the dummy until you give the command to release. Put the dummy back in his mouth if necessary and hold it in place until you reinforce this action with the “release” command and taking the dummy from him. After your companion has mastered the one-dummy fetch, try him with two dummies and then three and have him retrieve each one to you in the same sequence as stated above. Now might be the time to introduce him to live birds, such as pigeons or mallards with wings shackled. Once your pup has graduated from his retrieving classes, it is time to teach him to understand hand signals to direct him to a fallen bird. This might be the most difficult part of the training and might require some time and effort on your part, but again this training should be both fun and enjoyable to you and your dog. Start by walking into a field with your dog at “heel” position. Drop his training dummy, keep walking with him for another forty yards or so, and have him “sit”. Give him the “go” command along with a forward motion of your hand to get him accustomed to starting off with your hand signals. When he has mastered this phase, try making him “sit”, walk some distance in front of him, and toss the training dummy over his head while giving the command “mark”. Then command “back” and motion your hand toward the dummy, making him retrieve behind himself. You can then try a similar procedure from each side using the “mark” command first and then the “back” command with your hand motion. Make sure that your dog is very accustomed to working with your hand signals on land and then move your classroom to the water. In closing, selecting and training your new hunting companion can be fun and exciting for both you and your dog, and it is a wise investment of your time to train your dog properly. I have used the masculine words here to refer to your dog, but this is in no way meant to infer that female retrievers are any less effective than males. Remember that your dog is like an athlete, who needs a regular training and workout regimen during the off-season as well as the hunting season. He will use a tremendous amount of energy during a successful hunting season, and he needs to be prepared both physically and mentally. These training suggestions are only the very basics, and there are many good books available that will go into great depth on this subject.	Yellow Labrador Retriever
	Black Labrador Retriever
	Curly-Coated Retriever
	Chesapeake Bay Retriever
	American Water Spaniel
	Flat-Coated Retriever
	Golden Retriever
	Young Lab in Training