With another season in full swing, we thought it would be nice to pay homage to our furry companions that love to get in the water for a retrieve as much as we love taking down honkers. From Tollers to Chessies and Labs, these dogs are as passionate about their birds as it gets.
Don't just take our word for it, though. Check out these dogs' passion in action:
Here's a shot of my Lab, Harold, after a successful morning in the blind.
— Andrew Ralls, Nashville, TN
Dakota, my Lab, hits the water for a pair of bumpers at Massacre Rocks.
— Carrie Murphy, Blackfoot, ID
Edsel, my 1-year-old German wirehaired pointer, was practicing water retrieves when this picture was taken.
— Casey McDaniel, Johnstown, CO
This is Riley, our Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, at a recent hunt test. Riley has been fetching pigeons since he was six weeks old and earned his Junior Hunter title at 17 months.
— Ford and Ellen Taylor, Waco, TX
Max, our 9-month-old Lab, had a great time sitting on the bleachers with us and watching the action at a 'dock dog ' event in Wisconsin.
— Faye and Don Theune, Green Lake, WI
This is Bay, our 6-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, on a successful Thanksgiving hunt at our migration station farm.
— Jeane Addis, Earleville, MD
This is Lucy, our Lab, making her first retrieve of a green-wing teal — the perfect size for a 12-week-old puppy! — during a duck hunt on Merrymeeting Bay in Maine.
— Neil and Bethany Buitenhuys, Portland, ME
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Duke, my black Lab, was only 2 months old when this was taken. He's now 4 and hunts ducks and grouse and loves to jump off the dock to retrieve.
— Nicholas Dumke, Grand Rapids, MN
Molly Brown is a standard poodle, shown here at 14 months going for the second leg of her Junior Hunter title — all the judge could say was, 'Wow! '
— Penny Hurley, San Andreas, CA
Jack, my 4-year-old golden retriever, is scanning the sky for ducks and geese at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge Area in southeast Oregon. Despite the sub-zero temps we bagged two mallards and two snows and Jack retrieved them all.
— Richard Costa, Sherwood, OR
Raven, my Lab, was 18 months old when she retrieved this gadwall near Last Mountain Lake Refuge in Saskatchewan. The photo was shot by Alex Semenoff, my friend's 17-year-old son.
— Wayne R. Foote, Bangor, ME