Here’s how to keep your duck dog sharp during the offseason

There is no such thing as a fully-trained dog. It doesn’t quite work like that, although we often frame it that way. There are dogs that are well trained, but they still need to run through the reps to stay sharp. Those dogs are also mostly the exception, not the rule.

Most sporting dogs could stand a little more training, and that can be tough to handle during the summer when you’re dealing with kids’ sports, life, and the feeling that the duck season is a long ways off. But it’ll get here before you know it, and any work you can do now with your retriever to prepare for it, the better things will go in the blind.

For most folks, the easiest way to make some progress and keep their retriever working properly is to focus on steadiness first.

Stay, stay, OK!

If you want to have a bad duck dog, skip the steadiness work.

A retriever that breaks in the blind or from the boat is one that won’t be asked to come back the next time the weather is nasty and the birds should be flying low.

Steadiness is also highly unnatural in dogs, which means it’s something that can, and should be, worked on as often as possible.

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The good news here is that this is as simple as having your retriever wait for a release command on every summertime retrieve. When you’re at the lake and the kids are begging to go tubing, you can toss a bumper a few times and work on steadiness. It doesn’t take much to remind our dogs that we are in charge and if they want the reward of a retrieve, they have to be patient.

But it’s just enough of an issue that if we don’t work on it fairly often, the skill will atrophy. To what level won’t be apparent until the first couple of hunts, and at that point, you don’t want to suddenly be surprised by how far your dog has slipped.

Distraction and ducks

One of the reasons so many retrievers offer up a false read on their skills during training but then a true read during hunting is that most duck hunts are stimuli-intense affairs. There’s the predawn prep, the calling, the decoys, the other hunters and other dogs, and the overall electricity in the air that is palpable to both man and beast.

Retrievers that have been trained around a lot of distractions can handle the situation better than those that haven’t. It’s that simple, and summertime is ripe with training opportunities where distractions are prevalent.

That might be as simple as running some retrieving drills in a pond or small lake where geese or ducks are visible. This, as you can imagine, can test a dog’s focus in a major way.

There are also opportunities to train at boat landings, beaches, and other areas where there will be other people, other dogs, and just a lot of activity. Obviously this is highly dependent on whether you can keep your dog in control and safe, but training around a variety of distractions can be a huge benefit come duck season.

No water, no problem

If you can’t find easy water to train in, or you just don’t want a wet dog in your truck or house, that’s OK. There are plenty of land-based drills you can work on with your duck dog to keep him sharp.

Steadiness and distraction training can easily happen on the neighborhood soccer field, but you can also brush up on hand signals, multiple retrieves, long-distance work, and a host of other drills.

Be mindful of the heat, of course, but don’t skip training simply because it’s a chore to get somewhere with water. Instead, think about the skills you want your duck dog to develop and maintain, and then find somewhere to train him even if you’re a long ways from the nearest river or lake.

Dogs of all sporting varieties benefit from consistent training, and structure. They don’t need near-perfect environments in which to work their skills. They just need different locations and different tasks.

Don’t skip the water work completely if you don’t have to, but don’t be afraid to keep your dog dry and active in summer, either. It’ll all benefit him come fall, and that will benefit you, too.