Duck Blind Obedience
Jacob Morris for SPLIT REED
It’s a cold crisp January morning in your favorite duck hole, it’s starting to break daylight when you hear that lone quack and unmistakable drake whistle. SPLASH! You have ducks in your spread, you hear whistling overhead and it seems like ducks are coming from everywhere, divebombing into your decoys. The anticipation is driving you crazy, you keep asking your friends when is shooting time…10 minutes, 5 minutes, and then that last-minute your dog breaks and runs into the wad of ducks in your spread, the frustration you feel as all the ducks fly away. You start rethinking on all the training days you have missed; of all the drills you should have run to instill steadiness in your dog. I’m sure most of us have been there or heard the stories or perhaps even thinking about getting a duck dog of your own and need a little more guidance. You’re in luck, I had the pleasure of asking Marty Roberts to share some of his tips and advice for retriever duck blind obedience of sporting life kennels. He gave me 5 tips for duck blind obedience and 10 drills you can do before season.
1. SIT MEANS STAY!
”No wandering around, both for the safety of the dog and the hunters. Not to mention, it's just bad manners”
I remember a time my buddy and I were hunting this skinny timber hole; it was late January and the ducks were very shy about coming in. We finally had two mallard drakes come into our spot. When we both pulled up to shoot, my dog broke towards the ducks. Instead of killing those greenheads, we had to pull away so we would not shoot my dog. So I know from experience how important it is for your dog not to interfere and when sit means stay.
2. PLACE!
“Teach the dog this command and have a raised platform or mat in the blind or boat that makes it black and white for the dog...This is where I should be"
This also helps to keep the dog coming back to the same place every time. It makes for an all-around good-mannered dog; you will not have to always be chasing the dog in the decoys. You will have better control of the dog and everyone has a better hunting experience. This goes back to duck blind etiquette.
3. CONTROL AND STEADINESS!
“Use a leash with a young dog and always use one if you can't control your dog. Basically, it is your fault if you haven't taught and reinforced steadiness, but it is what it is. safety and manners first. Breaking should never be allowed.“
A good example of this is when you shoot and miss the birds, if your dog breaks without command; it will most likely be in the decoys looking for the dead bird that’s not really there. If you can’t control the dog, then you could end up missing and flaring that next group of ducks.
4. HONORING!
“Practice honoring by working with friends and their dogs in the off-season. If you can’t do this then take turns picking up retrieves on land with your dog. You pick up the first bumper, send him for the second bumper, etc”
This is especially good when working with multiple dogs out in the field. It is more effective if the dogs go after different birds instead of going after the same bird, which may even cause a dog fight in the field.
5. QUIET!
“If your dog whines, barks, cries, and you are hunting with others, then leave him at home. In this case, no one besides maybe you enjoys hunting with your dog.”
Marty shared with me 10 drills you can do before season, so your dog is ready to go for this fall. A good-mannered, obedient dog that retrieves limits of ducks is always a breeze to hunt with and watch, plus it leaves you feeling proud and not apologetic for your dog. The main thing Marty emphasized is “TRAIN LIKE YOU HUNT”. Baseball players do not practice on a soccer field or football field- they practice on a baseball field because that is the environment they will be playing on when it matters.
1. DECOY INTRODUCTION!
“Work your pup around and through decoys before they actually hunt.”
The last thing you want is to get out on opening day and that’s the first time your dog sees decoys. If you shoot a duck you may find that your dog brings back the decoys and not the duck, or worst case your dog gets scared of the decoys, feels uncomfortable around them, and just shuts down for the rest of the hunt.
2. HUNTING ENVIRONMENTS!
“Try and get out into the marsh or an area similar to where you will be hunting before the season and work your dog.”
If you only train your dog at your house in the backyard, you are not setting your dog up for success but failure. Because when you get out in the field it will be a completely different situation for your dog. If you can’t access similar environments at least try to train the dog at different locations and not always the same woods, pond, or field.
3. BLIND OR DOG STAND!
“If your dog will be working out of a ground blind or dog stand, by all means, train with them in the off-season.”
4. HUNT DEAD WHISTLE!
“Learn to use a ‘hunt dead whistle' we cover that in Retriever University. It is one of the best ways to tell your dog to hold an area and hunt. Also, if you had handled a dog into an area, but don't know where exactly the bird is, you can then release him to hunt by blowing the whistle.”
5. BOATS AND BOAT BLINDS!
“If you hunt from a boat, then by all means, train from the boat in the off-season. if you have a blind on the boat, train using it as well, so the dog learns how to navigate, how to get in and out easily, and is not surprised their first time out.”
I actually just did this with my 8-month-old pup. It was her first time in a boat and at first she was terrified, she kept trying to get the trolling motor and was jumping out of the boat. Think of the disaster that would have been during duck season!
6. CALL!
“Also, don't forget to blow a duck call around your retriever as you run some marks in the off-season. Especially a young pup.”
I’ve heard stories of people who would start to call, and their dog would start barking or howling at the call. I get your dog is supposed to help with all things duck hunting, but they are not very good at duck calling! Think about what the ducks you are calling to are hearing! You already have to compete with other hunters and live ducks in the field you do not need any more help with flaring ducks.
7. GUN SHY!
“This goes without saying, but, make sure your pup has been properly introduced to the shotgun before you ever take him hunting. And that means at some point you need to get with your buddies and shoot shotgun volleys so the pup isn't blindsided (no pun intended) on opening morning.”
8. DOG VEST!
“Let the pup wear a dog vest around the house and while you train in order to get used to it before the season starts. Many dogs introduced to a vest for the first time can be very stressed about it, so you don't want to introduce it on opening morning.”
9. HUNTING SCENARIOS!
“Basically, to the best of your ability, try and replicate hunting scenarios for your young dog and even your seasoned dog will enjoy it.”
This could also help with duck depression for yourself! There is nothing that gets a duck hunters blood pumping more than to get in the blind with your buddies and dog. This would be a good time to shoot those shotgun volleys around the dog as well.
10. SLOW IS FAST!
“Remember, "Slow is Fast" when training a retriever, so ease the pup into hunting as you might with a child. Easy does it and that will have great benefits down the road.”
I know I am going to start implementing these tips, advice, and drills before this season starts in the fall! If you want to train your dog without taking the dog to a professional, but you can still have that professional quality, you might look into Sporting Life Kennel’s Retriever University!
If you instill obedience in your dog before season, when it starts to break daylight on opening day and those ducks starting divebombing your spread, you will feel a lot better knowing that your dog is not going to break on the wad of ducks in front of the blind. Now, controlling your trigger-happy hunting buddies is a whole other story!
For more tips and tricks from the Split Reed team, click here and check out some more of our content! To book a hunt and experience some of the most well mannered duck dogs, click here for our Trusted Outfitters
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