A dog that can successfully perform blind retrieves can be a huge asset in the field—and it makes for some great bragging rights. (Photo credit: Jeff Karls.)
January 03, 2025
By Jeffrey Karls
When it comes to retriever performance, it’s easy to argue that no duck dog is complete without running blind retrieves. A blind retrieve is one in which you send your dog to pick up a bird that it didn’t see fall. Whether it’s a wood duck that tumbled into the reeds at the outer edge of a little pothole, or a wing-tipped mallard that fell into the cattails a couple hundred yards across the lake, birds fall out of sight all the time.
No matter what the circumstances, a retriever that runs or swims to a duck it didn’t get a chance to mark is the pinnacle of trust between dog and hunter. It means your dog has confidence that if it goes where you’re sending it, there’s going to be a reward. Your retriever’s reward might be 50 yards away or 300, but either way, you get one more bird in the bag and well-earned bragging rights.
Jessie Richards of Full Throttle Kennels. (Photo credit: Jeff Karls.) Countless books, magazine articles, videos and paid programs offered by professional trainers delve deep into the world of blind retrieves. My advice is to absorb as much as possible as you work on building your complete retriever. While methods and opinions within all the excellent information available may differ, there are some tips you can use when starting out that will make the job easier. Let’s go over some of them from pro trainer Jessie Richards on how to get your blind-retrieve training program off to the right start.
Richards, who owns and operates Full Throttle Kennel in Campbellsport, Wisconsin, draws on experience from every corner of the retriever world. Whether she’s running a client’s dog at a hunt test, racking up wins and placements at field trials, or hunting ducks and geese for days on end in Saskatchewan, it would be hard to find a retriever-training challenge that she hasn’t solved.
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Thoughts on Distance A common problem in the early stages of training for blind retrieves is that the dog will start to slow down and begin drifting and hunting short of the bird. This could mean the dog is used to finding the bird at the same distance all the time and perhaps still doesn’t trust that if it keeps running the line it was sent on, eventually it will find a bird.
While some trainers advise not pushing distances too early, Richards pushes the other way. Once a dog understands the basics of running a blind, she stretches the distance. For example, rather than run a 100-yard blind that she knows the dog is capable of, she might place the bird at 150 yards and then be ready to encourage it if needed.
“If you don’t teach longer blind retrieves earlier, you can have problems later on when you try to stretch distances because the dog has never found a reason to go that far.” Richards says. “To help a dog get comfortable with running longer, I quickly follow the dog out after I send it. That way I’m immediately ready if the dog slows down, stops or starts hunting instead of continuing to run its line. If I need to blow the whistle to stop and then cast the dog, I’m much closer to it, and then when I send the dog again it will likely result in confidence, understanding and compliance.
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“I don’t stay in this stage for a long time. Once a dog is doing well at running longer distances, I’m not following it out as far, and pretty soon I’m right back at the line where we started. I can’t take credit for this idea of staying close to the dog because it’s something I’ve learned from other field trial trainers. But now I do it with all my young dogs.”
Wind Direction It’s a common misconception that you can help a dog on blind retrieves by running it into the wind. The thought is that the dog can use its nose to find the bird more quickly. Remember this: Blind retrieves aren’t about randomly searching, and they’re not about nose work. Done correctly, a successful blind retrieve happens because the dog believes that its owner is sending it in a direction where it will find a bird. Therefore, train for blind retrieves with the wind at the dog’s back.
“With young dogs especially, if you start running blinds into the wind, what you’re going to get is a retriever that runs with its head down, hunting the whole way,” Richards says. “Now they’re focused on trying to smell the bird rather than believing in the line that the handler sent them on. Also, because they’re so fixated on hunting with their nose, they’re less likely to stop on your whistle and take a cast.”
In Alignment Work on making sure you and your dog are in alignment every time. (Photo credit: Jeff Karls.) When your retriever is about to run a line for a blind retrieve, it’s going to run in the direction it’s facing, regardless of where you are. Work on making sure you and your dog are in alignment every time. For good, crisp blind retrieves, this is critical. If you look down and think well, my dog is only off by five degrees, good enough, you’re not trying hard enough. Those five degrees are going to be a big miss at 100 yards or more.
“This is a huge point. I always make sure my toe is pointing exactly where I want to send the dog, and then I make sure the dog is perfectly aligned at heel, parallel with my foot,” Richards emphasizes. “I don’t want to be looking up, looking down, looking back up and taking forever to line the dog up. I want to establish early on that a solid heel means we’re both aligned.”
A Few Tips for the Season Putting into practice all the training you worked on in the off-season is exciting. When birds are down and it’s time for your retriever to work, don’t be in a rush. Give your dog time to do its job, just like you do during training.
Practicing blind retrieves with a high-vis bumper can help get your retriever started on marks. (Photo credit: Jeff Karls.) “You really want to be in a position where you can clearly show your dog what you want,” Richards says. “I know we all get in a hurry when we’re hunting because maybe more ducks are on the horizon or whatever. But if you’re going to send your dog on a challenging blind retrieve, get out of the blind and take the time to send your dog on that perfect line.
Making sure your dog can see you is paramount. “We’re all camo’d up, trying to hide when we’re hunting, whereas during training you might have been wearing black or white to help your dog see. Well, when your dog is looking at you from a long distance and you’re trying to give it a back cast or an angle back, that’s a challenge. Try to stand in the open and really overexaggerate your casts so it’s clear to your retriever where you’re trying to send it.
“Also, make sure you and your buddies are doing a good job of marking the birds down so you can keep track of where to send your dog. And even though we talked about ‘wind at your back’ earlier, during hunting if you can position your dog into the wind or crosswind to give it some help, then do it. Every time you send your dog out, you want it to be successful.”
