Skip to main content

3 Retriever Training Exercises for the Time-Strapped Waterfowler

3 Retriever Training Exercises for the Time-Strapped Waterfowler

You're not a professional trainer and you've got a full-time job, a few kids at home, and a litany of other factors in life that usurp most of your free time. What do you do about keeping your duck dog tack-sharp in the off-season?

The answer is, of course, train as often as possible. A few sessions per week will help more than trying to cram in a bunch of immediate pre-season drills in late-August.

If instead of just getting your dog some exercise, you focus each session on a specific skill you'll keep your dog's hunting edge honed throughout the summer. This will lead to a much easier transition into the duck blind come fall.

Following are three drills to consider.

Multiples

multiples_2

Two dummies are all you need to ensure that your retriever understands that multiple retrieves are possible each time the gun goes off.

If your dog is a little rusty, start off in the mowed grass of your backyard or nearby soccer field. Heel your hound and toss a dummy to the side. Toss the second dummy 180 degrees to your opposite side. Send him after the second dummy first, and then follow up with the original dummy.

If that's too easy, increase the distance of the retrieves and move into some thicker cover and eventually water. Conducting this drill once or twice a week will solidify the not-one-and-done mentality all duck dogs need.

Reaching Out

reaching_out

Most amateur dog trainers sell their dogs short on retrieving distance. A good duck dog should understand that a retrieve might cover 300 or 400 yards. It doesn't always happen, but when a greenhead sails into the next county, your dog needs to understand that his job is to range far enough to bring the crippled duck to hand.

Recommended


Head to the soccer fields and command your dog to stay. Run out 50 yards and toss the dummy. Once you're at your dog's side, release him to retrieve the dummy.

Over time, you'll increase the distance and your dog will realize that some retrieves will push a quarter of a mile. If trotting back and forth isn't your thing, invest in a dummy launcher. Either way, at least once per week make sure your dog spends some time working on his long-distance retrieving skills.

At some point during the season, you'll be very happy with the pre-season time devoted to this drill.

Distractions

distraction

It's easy to get lazy when tossing a dummy for your dog. We all do it; however, standing in the yard and winging a bumper 20 times doesn't do much for teaching a dog anything.

Tossing that same dummy in an area with distractions is a much better idea. I love to train my Lab in our backyard pond because there are always city ducks and geese paddling away in the pond. Luna learns that she is to ignore the honking geese and the scolding mallards and focus solely on the dummy.

Distractions don't need to be live fowl for these drills to work, they can be as simple as having your dog retrieve through a small decoy spread, or maybe while someone else wanders around through the dog's personal space. The idea is to teach the retriever that the task at hand is the most important thing in the world, and everything else should be ignored.

Far too few dogs are trained to work under distracting conditions, yet they are guaranteed to run into them in the field.

Conclusion

It doesn't take 40 hours a week to keep a good dog good, but it does take some time. As little as 20 minutes every other day can be a great investment in any duck dog. Of course, to further his education and make the most of each drill, it pays to include the right tools.

For example, an appropriate-sized bumper that has a good, wax-based scent rubbed on it is far better than tossing a tennis ball for a dog.

Do your part this summer and you'll enter the season with a dog that will do his job from day one, which is always the goal.




GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Fiocchi's New Duck Busters

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Migration Strike

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Enhancing the Hunt: Skip Knowles and Tetra Hearing's Game-Changing Products

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

The Goose Factory

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Heyday Outdoor - HydroFoam Diver Duck Decoys Review & Field Test

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Learn

Why You Suck at Shooting….and How to Fix Your Faults

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Remington Gun Club Cure Shotshells

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

B&P Ammunition

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Browning Maxus 2 Wicked Wing

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Why You Should Be Using Confidence Decoys for Duck Hunting

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Learn

Exercise-Induced Heat-Related Illness

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Learn

Using Goose Floaters for Duck Hunting

Wildfowl Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Wildfowl App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Wildfowl stories delivered right to your inbox.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Wildfowl subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Wildfowl stories delivered right to your inbox.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use