A Duck Hunter's Best Friend

The utilization of canines to assist hunters in the pursuit of wild game has a strong history.  This is especially true for those of us chasing waterfowl.  In the United States, the most commonly used dog for duck and goose hunting is the Labrador Retriever.  According to this article from Wildfowl Magazine, labs gained their popularity quickly with waterfowl hunters after World War II when more American’s had the time and money to pursue hobbies such as hunting.  The Labrador Retriever has proved itself time and again as the best hunting and family dog combination available.

My family has always had a dog around.  When I was younger we had a dog named Max, a black Labrador Retriever.  I remember him being a burley character that was a bit rugged. Max lived outside in a large kennel and dog house that my father had built for him in our back yard.  I used to come home from school as a kid, open the back gate to the yard, and Max would come running full speed and tackle me, licking my face as we fell to the ground.  After Max we got a dog from a friend, so don’t judge on the name, but our next dog was another black Lab named Brandy’s Baby Bear II.  Baby Bear was a great family dog.  She laid in front of the sink and allowed my younger brother to stand on her to fill up a glass of water.  Baby Bear was a solid field dog as well.

Sammy

After we had to put Baby Bear down we found a yellow Lab.  Sammy was a character.  She was very difficult to hunt over.  She was an extremely smart dog but was not as interested in what we had to say.  She always wanted to explore the marsh, swamp, or woods and wasn’t in the mood to sit still and wait for ducks.  The next dog my father found for our family has proved to be the most stubborn, bull-headed lab we have ever worked with. Decoy is a female chocolate Lab that we have had for about eight years now.  Kind of like Sammy, Decoy’s favorite activities include up-rooting full-size trees and carrying them around the yard.

 

Decoy

Naturally, having been raised with dogs my whole life, it didn’t take long before I found my own Lab. While I was living in New York I went to the Ducks Unlimited banquet in Oswego.  The banquet offered a “pick of the litter” raffle and an eight-week-old puppy was the number one item.  They only offered around 40 tickets and I wasn’t lucky enough to get my hands on one. The table we sat at was a collection of older couples, my friend, and I.  They were very interested of our military service and how much we loved duck hunting.  One of the couples offered to pick the dog and give her to me if they won the “pick of the litter” raffle.

Madison

Sure enough, her number was called and she looked at me and asked if I still wanted a puppy.  I couldn’t say no.  I wrote a check to cover the couple’s dinner and the paintings they wanted.  I now had my first dog at 11PM on a Wednesday night with no kennel, food, or real plan. We brought Madison back home that night and I had a new best friend.  Madison has been a great hunting dog and even better friend and companion over the past five years.  I am excited each and every season to see her work.  I don’t know what duck hunting would be without my dog.