An article from WWA’s Words From The Wardens.
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s August, 2024 eNewsletter.
By Wisconsin DNR Warden Kaitlin Kernosky
Do you like to waterfowl hunt with your four-legged best friend? You can use these summer days to have fun with your hunting buddy while preparing for the fall fun.
It is important to keep dogs fit during the offseason. Taking them out and exercising them several times a week is important.
Think of your bird dog as an athlete. Athletes are always training and exercising to stay in shape during the offseason. Some good offseason exercise activities for your buddy include swimming, walks/runs and bumper training.
Dog Fitness Vital To Fall Success
It is important dogs are in good physical shape and are mentally sharp once the waterfowl season opens.
Just like humans, injuries can happen if a dog’s muscles are not properly warmed up or cooled down. If you and your dog start a training session too hard without the proper preparation, injuries are inevitable. Be sure to warm up and cool down before and after any kind of fitness fun. This goes for landmarks, water marks, running, road work and more.
Here are few more tips I enjoy using:
Obedience: We all know how dogs get excited for the first hunt of the year. I call it opening day jitters. Like humans, dogs may get excited and break at the first shot on opening morning. This behavior can be prevented with some offseason obedience training.
Continuous work on obedience outside of the hunting season will make for a more successful and enjoyable hunt for you and your dog. Spending time during the off-season on basic obedience training such as heeling, recall and steadiness in the blind are all easy things to work on and can be done in your back yard.
I like to set up my dog blind and work on steadiness in the yard or in the living room on a rainy day.
Photo: DNR Warden Kaitlin Kernosky
Training your dog to be steady in the blind is easy to do.
Retrieves: Work on both water- and land-retrieves with your dog. Practice land-water-land retrieves where the dog must swim through the water and retrieve the bumper on the land on the far side of pond or stream. Try to vary the distances between the retrieves. Work on both long and shorter distances.
Enlisting a second person to assist with launching or throwing bumpers may be helpful. This helps because if you, as the handler, always handle the dog and throw the bumpers, your dog may be accustomed to looking for bumpers and downed game at the distance you typically throw. If you have access to dead training ducks, incorporate these into your training as well.
Heat: Be cautious of the summer heat while training your dog! Try to train early in the morning or later in the evening, as these are the cooler parts of our hot summer days.
Dogs can easily overheat and putting them in the water to cool them down could create health problems for your dog. Cool them down by putting them in the shade and squirting water on their paw pads and belly. You also can help by squirting cool water on your hand and rubbing it inside the flap of their ear while being cautious to not get water in the actual ear canal.
DNR Warden Zachary Seitz and Major on an off-duty day. Photo courtesy DNR Warden Zachary Seitz
Remember, hot temperatures mean hot surface water. After your dog exits the water, be sure they are dry before going in the crate, dog box or truck. The water held within the dog’s coat can continue to warm and to heat them well after the dog has left the water, increasing your dog’s body temperature.
Join A Local Retrieve Club: Local clubs often have access to various training sites and equipment you might not otherwise have access to. Based on my experience, there are always varying experience levels within these training groups, and more experienced members are usually willing to help you keep your dog’s skill sets sharp or assist with additional training!
Enjoy your summer and your dog! Fall is on the way.