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Are We Ready Hunting season is around the corner, is your dog ready? Many people don’t realize the work involved to prepare a dog for bird hunting. If your dog’s a seasoned veteran or a rookie, training will make your adventures more memorable. The health of your dog should be assessed well before the season. There are a lot of retrievers that carry too much extra weight, and there’s no need for it till maybe later in the year here in Texas. Feed a good brand with little to NO corn or other fillers. Make sure your dog is current on their shots and free of internal and external parasites. Finally if you plan to early teal and dove hunt your retriever needs to be acclimated to the heat before going on those hunting trips. Marking downed birds can be greatly improved if you work on it. In training vary the lengths of your marks, if all you do is thirty five yard retrieves, and then when hunting a downed bird drifts to sixty yards, your dog might have a hard time getting out that far. Recruit someone to throw for you, and try to mimic hunting scenarios. Use live birds as much as you can. They have more scent then a plastic dummy and the dogs love them. Retriever clubs are all over the state. They can offer you help, use a lot of live birds and have training grounds. The age and amount of training should be considered before hunting young or inexperienced dogs. You can develop bad habits if your dog doesn’t have the training to help them in the field. If you insist on hunting with a green dog, keep it simple. Don’t take them on a hunt where birds are falling all around you. Just remember good dogs don’t come trained. If someone tells you they didn’t have to do much at all with their dog, think of how good the dog could have been if they had. The more you work with your dog the better it will be in the field. Don’t forget about dog clubs if you need help. If you don’t have time send him to someone, your investment will be worth it. Take-Em, Brian Neumann Take 'Em Retrievers TDC Member