HUNTING When it comes to retrieving ducks on water, educating your dog to not only negotiate decoys, but also jerk cords and anchor lines, is important. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
TRAINING DOGS ABOUT DEKES By Scott Haugen
W
ith a solid duck season behind us, waterfowlers are gearing up for late goose hunting in some California zones. And with any form of waterfowl hunting comes the use of decoys. Getting a new dog used to decoys is important; even familiarizing them with sizes and numbers of changing spreads is a good idea, no matter how experienced they are. If you have a new pup, the process of training it to work around decoys starts with familiarizing the dog with toys at 8 weeks of age, followed by soft bumpers, then hard bumpers as their adult teeth come in. This education will make for a smooth
transition into decoy work.
WHEN INTRODUCING YOUR PUP to decoys, start on land. Show them a decoy, string and weight. As soon as the pup takes interest in water, toss a couple decoys into a shallow place so they can wade and explore. If they bite a decoy, stop them and toss a bumper to the pup to redirect its attention. Once the pup fetches the bumper a couple times, toss it past the decoys so the dog has to wade beyond them. Eventually you can add a few more decoys, then move to deeper water where the pup must swim through a small spread to get the bumper. Think of all the places you’ll potentially hunt over decoys, be it geese in coming weeks or next fall for ducks.
Envision the spreads and riggings and how your dog will negotiate them. You may be hunting over decoys of various shapes, sizes and numbers, in shallow ponds, lakes, creeks, rivers, bays or an array of fields. You might have six duck decoys in a small ditch, or 75 dozen goose decoys tightly packed in a green grassy field. Whatever the situation, prepare your dog to confidently retrieve in the decoys. Of course, there’s no need to put out 75 dozen cackler or snow goose windsock decoys just to train your dog; a dozen will do. Tightly position them and walk your pup through the decoys with a bumper in its mouth. Toss bumpers around and into the spread so the dog has to run through the decoys, making contact with them. As
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