We named her "River" with hope she would end up being one of the best waterfowl dogs a man could have. Over 41 years of hunting waterfowl, I have gunned over many different breeds of dogs, some great, and some just average. I had no preconceived ideas of what the next 12 months would bring. I can only remember the owner of Castlepeake Kennels asking me if I had ever owned an American Water Spaniel before. I said no, and his comment was "you're in for a real surprise."

I then continued telling him that I was obsessed with the sport of waterfowling and the new pup would be exposed to lengthy hunts, cold temperatures and little rest between hunts during the 105-day waterfowl season. He laughed and said, "That's where they excel, and I'm glad one of my pups is going to your home."

We live on a lake out in the country about 15 minutes from town. As I drove home from work nightly, my thoughts were on River as I was eager to greet her and head out for our evening training and walk. This nightly event went on for nine months. She was so small in the beginning she could hardly keep up.

As the weeks went by that became less of a problem and then I had to work on her ranging. She was obviously very birdie and very smart. Many a night I would come home with stories for my wife about all the goofy things River had done. She always kept me laughing, with something new on each adventure. My training skills are only average, so my thoughts were to make up for the lack of skill with time in the field. It seemed to work.

October was just around the corner and River was now 11 months old. She was very strong and fast. She ended up being very large for the breed at 65 pounds. Some thought she was goofy looking, I found her to be unique. Her personality was over the top. There is never a day that she doesn't find something new to keep my wife and I in stitches.

I knew I would be asking a lot out of my Water Spaniel. I hunt alone, and I hunt big water. I frequently hunt on the Pend Oreille River in Washington State and close to the Canadian border. It can get cold, very cold. My obsession gets me out every weekend, and the odd week day for the full 105-day season. Not much time for rest.

Season One
The first season we primarily hunted out of my marsh boat. The year came and went and to her credit she had 105 retrieves. We had such a great time, with plenty of laughter and new experiences. Of the 41 years of waterfowling, I had never enjoyed a year to the magnitude of this one.

As I look back on the season, never once did I have to raise my voice to her; she knew her place in the boat and respected my every wish. By late January she clearly knew what I was thinking and what I was going to do before I did it. We were becoming such a powerful team. I knew at this time I found the hunting partner of a lifetime.

Season Two
Season two came, and I threw a curve at my new hunting partner. I committed to layout hunting with her. I purchased a two-man layout boat. My thoughts were to have a layout boat large enough to hunt myself and River.