Almost everyone who owns a gun dog has a dummy, some made from plastic and others constructed from fabric. Most types of dummies are used for training a dog to retrieve game birds and to provide vital exercise and physical conditioning. Besides the physical aspects of the dummy-retrieving process, there's the opportunity to create a bond between man and dog, improve obedience and cooperation and relieve canine anxiety and stress.

From traditional low-tech, tube-type dummies costing a few dollars each to more expensive, high-tech retrieving tools such as those that look, feel, smell and even fly through the air like real game birds, there are many kinds of ingeniously designed "smart" dummies for a gun dog owner to buy and use.

Here's an overview of what can be found on today's market.

Traditional Dummies:
Design, Material, Color, Shape and Size Do Matter

Traditional dummies are simple in design, material, color, shape and size. Formed as long, narrow cylinders made to fit a dog's mouth and to be easily hand-tossed on land or into water, these conventional tube-shaped dummies were first discovered as "boat bumpers" made from canvas and stuffed with cotton kapok or chopped cork.

Though these original canvas or fabric-type dummies are still on the market and are regularly used for gun dog training and exercise, plastic tube-shaped retrieving tools have also become very popular, with each type of dummy having specific characteristics and purposes in a canine training and conditioning program.

"The canvas dummy generally has a more bird-like feel, tends to ride higher in water for greater visibility and will hold scent better because of its aroma-absorbing fabric cover," says Jim Dobbs from Dobbs Training Center in Marysville, California. "The downside of fabric retrieving dummies is that they can be relatively fragile [a hard-chewing dog can wreck one in a hurry] and higher-maintenance [they should be dried out after use in water to avoid the growth of mildew].

"Plastic dummies are more durable [an aggressive chewer, however, can still destroy one if given the time and opportunity] and maintenance free," Dobbs adds. "With a rope attached for efficient throwing, plastic dummies when tossed will usually travel farther than the lightweight, bulkier fabric-type products.

The Plasti-Duk, by Neumann and Bennetts, is advertised as the "original knobby retriever trainer." Made from plastic, the Plasti-Duk comes with a knobby exterior that encourages a dog to securely grasp the dummy without developing hard-mouth.

"Some trainers feel, however, that plastic doesn't hold scent or stand out on land and water as well as fabric dummies do. Likewise, the hard surface of a plastic dummy does not have the soft, bird-like sensation of fabric," Dobbs concludes.

"Back in the old days, a dummy was a dummy with a one-size-fits-all shape and dimension," says Larry Hansen, a trainer and dog breeder from Tracy, Minnesota. "Nowadays, these traditional retrieving tools come in a much wider range of shapes and sizes in both the plastic and fabric varieties. As a result, there are now dummies suitable for dogs of every breed, size and temperament, from little, soft-mouthed 10-pound puppies to 100-pound-plus powerful and aggressive adults.

"Modern-day knobby-type plastic dummies come in a choice of knob designs so they will encourage a dog's firm grip but discourage rolling or hard-mouth. Likewise, fabric dummies are available in a variety of sizes to simulate the different dimensions, weights and feel of actual game birds," Hansen adds.

"In deciding on the color of a dummy, remember that dogs are pretty much color blind and see most objects in shades of gray," says Tony Roettger, a full-time gun dog trainer from North Branch, Minnesota. "Consequently, bright fluorescent colors are more for the benefit of the trainer who wants to better see dummies at a distance.

"Because a dog doesn't directly benefit from the sight of a dummy's bright color, a dummy is more visible if it's in sharp contrast to the background. So, white shows up better in a dark green field and black will be more conspicuous against snow," Roettger continues.