Duck Dogs

Just curious question, for those of you that hunt with dogs in the marsh how well do they perform in the mud and what kind of dogs do you use? Recently hunted in Venice for the first time and quickly found out how hard it was to retrieve birds that still had a little kick left in them. I was looking into a Chesapeake Bay Retriever just because of the strength and determination.

We hunt with dogs (all labs) in tidal affected brackish marsh in sw terrebone parish, they do fine..if the water is real low or a mud flat they kinda do a swim-hop maneuver

In december my 5 month old black lab puppy retrieved her first duck, the lake was a mud flat and the duck was about 20 yards out i sure was proud

A lab with any amount of drive will not let the mud slow them down. Call B-Young Retrievers, they train and raise both and they can answer all your questions. Good luck in which ever you choose!

My recommendation is to make sure their hips have been certified. if you are buying a puppy, make sure the parent's hips have been certified. Certifications are shown on the pedigree....My best dog ever developed hip problems retrieving ducks in very soft mud. It definitely takes a toll on any dog in those types of conditions.

Hunt with a golden and he serves us just fine in tidal marsh and flooded fields. Just gotta use some common sense sending them across super shallow water in the marsh that's mostly slop, puts a lot of wear and tear on the dogs. We usually don't hunt that condition or don't send the dog on long retrieves across it. A chessie should suit you just fine, though some say they can be on the tougher end to train. The ones I've hunted with have been outstanding.

Maybe my buddies all ole-school but just about 100% of those that hunt with dogs use black labs,a few have chocolate labs and one did have a Chessie and she was great but stubborn.Some folks feel that chocolates have stubbornness as an innate trait and we have a beauty but she is a rescue dog and when we got her she was about 3 years old(wish I woulda gotten her as a pup).One of these years,gonna get one professionally trained,know of a bunch of awesome trainers and the main reason I do not use one is purely simple-I hunt Public Land where I absolutely have to portage in plenty of tall cover and adding even a lab of about 50 lbs would add that much more.Now if I get a Guide Special Chapman,totally different set of circumstances!!I unfortunately did lose at least 3 trophy greenheads and a few fine teal this year and probably would have gotten all with a well-trained dog.John Manion has an awesome black lab male and he is perfect sized!!!

Mandevillian