Have you ever met a game bird shaped like a cigar? Me neither! But until a critical moment in my first bird dog’s life, I didn’t realize how vast the difference is between the real thing and the retrieving bumpers we use to train our hunting companions. And, more importantly, how this can make—or break—your hunting season.
I’d stumbled, bumbled and faked my way through our first versatile hunting dog test, my wirehair doing his best despite operator error. For the last part of the test, he meticulously tracked a dead duck like a wire-guided missile. I was ecstatic, already buying the first round in my mind. He nibbled at the fat mallard, nudged it, pulled at a wing, sniffed, then trotted back empty-mouthed. Suffice it to say, the post-test…
