So I had a friend call me the other day. Seems his daughter has a GR puppy and wants to have it trained for duck dog. Not the first breed you think about when thinking ducks but I told him I'd ask around about it. Any suggestions?

Dr. B

Will make a great hunter if trained. I have run a few dog trials (retriever games) and not seen one run in a while. I've only been around 1 and hunted swappy flooded timber. they are beautiful dogs. But... the coat was a mess we walked through the woods and burs and trick tights were all over. Owner said he would have to comb him out when they got home.

Every dog has a utilitarian purpose. Prime example,I trained my very first Schutzhund dogs to also retrieve birds. Got laughed at a pretty good bit when I'd show up opening day with a lab and a shepherd. Both were dang good hunters/retrievers. The shepherd didn't have the greatest grip on the sleeve and suit but had pretty decent amount of prey. So i took that prey and hunt drive she excelled in and turned her into a retriever. Thing was her soft mouthed grip(she was mostly canine vs molar on the grip) actually was easier to deal with than my old lab from the start. Due to her coat and drying time I never wanted to introduce her to a duck hole. That would be the only issue I'd be concerned about with a GR's coat. I don't know anything about the breed except for the look and trainability of them. Curious to know how it works out. Good luck If this pursued.

Every dog has a utilitarian purpose. Prime example,I trained my very first Schutzhund dog to also retrieve birds. Got laughed at a pretty good bit when I'd show up opening day with a lab and a shepherd. Both were dang good hunters/retrievers. The shepherd didn't have the greatest grip on the sleeve and suit but had pretty decent amount of prey. So i took that prey and hunt drive she had and turned her into a retriever. Thing was her soft mouthed grip(she was mostly canine vs molar on the grip) actually was easier to deal with than my old lab from the start. Due to her coat and drying time I never wanted to introduce her to a duck hole. That would be the only issue I'd be concerned about with a GR's coat. I don't know anything about the breed except for the look and trainability of them. Curious to know how it works out. Good luck If this pursued.

I trained a border collie to retrieve and he even passed a HRC seasoned test. The GR will do great. Let me know if y'all need any help. There are lots of stuff to start early on which helps down the road.

He will not do well in very cold conditions for long..They can't shake enough to dry themselves. Coat not thick and as oily as labs. He will work but there's a reason labs and Chessie's rule...they can handle it.

Never hunted with one. They do very well in the hunt test game. Don't see any reason a Golden Retriever wouldn't make a fine duck dog. All dogs are individuals. I wouldn't recommend wasting money or time if the dog isn't interested in retrieving.

https://www.grca.org/events/field-e...national-qualifiers-1991-through-2014-2/

A friend owned Bailey, you can see in 1995 his credentials. I hunted over several of his Goldens years later and was impressed to say the least. He had a big male named Tanner that was incredible. If I can find some pics I’ll post them.

I judged well over a hundred HRC hunt test and can’t remember ever judging over three Golden Retrievers not that they’re not good dogs it’s just your Labs are the most common. I think they are a great companion more than a hunting dogMHO

The issue that has come to fruition after years and years of breeding golden's to look good rather than hunt is that a large number of them have very little prey drive. There are good golden's out there, but they are far and few between. Not to say this golden can't make a good dog, but the odds are against it.

geezer I think Chris and Claudene Christopher had the best Goldens I saw. They were small and fast. I think Paul Gray may have trained some if them.

I helped out at a sponsored club hunt test called "Golden speciality." It was exclusively for Golden retrievers.

Convinced me to never own one as a retriever. I think my lab could of outrun all of those Goldens at 6 months of age.

They are good for looking stupid while telling anyone that's ever hunted over a Golden.... you are about to ruin their duck hunt by bringing your "retriever".

Only dog worse is a drowned rat looking Boykin with mud and coontail all in it's hair standing there shivering.

These terrible Goldens' happen to be related to Cocker Spaniels? The more popular the breed the worse they seem to get. There's a bunch of crazy labs running around too.

The Goldens' I've hunted over were from WI and hunted as hard as any Lab I've hunted over. They weren't Chessie tough but they could hold their own against any Lab I've hunted over. Speaking of which, my avatar is my crazy azz lab. He had no under coat and cray cray at best. He could quarter, check back around and point as well most Pointers, he was very stylish if he pointed. Then again he may turn into a flushing dog at the last minute. You had to be ready when he got birdy. Dang great nosed upland dog, he held his own against a high end field trialing Brittany. He was mediocre at best in duck holes and useless and scared to death on big water.

The Goldens' in WI I hunted over were more reddish in color. Tanner was a true beautiful Golden and very impressive. I've hunted with Dave and Tanner numerous times on Green Bay. Hunting out of layout boats, Tanner would make blinds on open water in very windy conditions. Dave would have to stand in the layout boat to direct Tanner to where the wind was blowing the ducks. When we hunted grouse, timber doodles and pheasant, the thing I noticed was the 2 Goldens would sit when the birds flushed. Very impressive to say the least. The other golden was a female with most of her small intestine having been removed due to cancer. She never missed a beat on all day grouse hunts. Both dogs were off Bailey.

I mentioned Dave's dog Bailey, Lardy wanted that dog on his truck and if you know much about Lardy, one usually paid big money to have their dog on his truck. All but begged but Dave wouldn't cause he liked hunting him, once in the field trial game he'd rarely get to see Bailey.

Try the dog out, you never know.

I've only hunted with 1 golden but it seemed to do a great job. I think it might be more on the trainer than the trainee. Probably why my chessie won't ever become a great retriever.

The answer to your question is yes, Golden’s can be great trial and hunting dogs. The problem with the breed is that the majority of Golden’s have been bred for show and are large overweight dogs with long hair. However, there are “field bred” Golden’s such as my dog which are generally smaller in size and have much shorter coat. My current golden runs field trials , not hunt tests, and is very competitive against the best labs in the country. The problem is there are way more very good bred labs to choose from as opposed to Golden’s. All retriever breeds have their pros and cons and although I currently own and hunt a golden I’m not naive to the fact that labs are the number one breed of retriever for both hunting and trials. However, I run field trials and train and compete against some of the best retrievers in the country and can assure you that a good golden can compete with the top labs in the game.