I have been duck hunting for a couple years, and have loved it. Wanting to give my 1.5 yold BC a job. He already has great basic obedience and fetches tennis balls in water great. Two things I'm worried about are him and gun fire, and how he will do in wet and cold. Thanks in advance for the input.

Never hunted with one but have seen them work cows. They are very intelligent animals & I am certain can do the work required. Acclimating to gunfire needs to be a gradual process that links the gunfire to something the dog likes. I start with cap pistols at feeding time working up over a month or so to gunfire with retrieves. Putting a dog in a situation where there are multiple guns shooting at a flock as a first gunfire experience will probably cause a gushy dog.

My bigger issue is how a border collie handles being cold & wet. They simply were never intended to retrieve ducks in freezing water. My BIL nearly killed a Boykin Spaniel hunting in the Arkansas timber one year. Made me very careful with my dogs. At a minimum, buy a neoprene vest & be prepared to quit at the first sign the dog is cold.

I agree that dogs need jobs but am afraid you will be pounding a square peg in a round hole.

Even as smart as Border Collies are I think it would be harder than one might think. Transitioning a 1.5 year old dog from training dummies to real birds might be an issue. Retriever gun dogs are bred to have the instincts to retrieve and to hunt for birds Vs. herding. If you get past that hurdle I could see a BC retrieving a bird it sees on the water. I don't see a BC ever sniffing out a cripple hiding in the grass or finding a bird it can't see. I do like the idea of a non-traditional hunting dog working for you. Pull it off and you will be the talk of the town. I wonder what a professional trainer would think of the idea.

I hunt with Spaniels and I do use on use neoprene vest on the coldest days. I've only had one trip cut short from the weather being too cold. To be honest it was too cold for me as well. Protecting the dogs was a good excuse to go inside where it was warm.

I saw a guy on a Mossy Oak video who had a german shepherd retrieving ducks.

It can be done with patience and if the dog has the drive to learn and work. My 3yr old gsd female that is schutzhund trained will retrieve dead/wounded doves just as well as my 9yr old trained lab. Haven't had her on ducks yet. She's actually soft mouthed on them as well which really surprised me knowing that she actually has a very strong full bite in protection drive.

I wonder how he/she would do in water in cold? Is their body made to tolerate those kind of elements?

Dr. B

Update: Archer is doing great with single marked retrieve with both bumpers and fake ducks. Held a real duck for first time in sitting with good results, but not pushing it yet. He will "place" and "come from about 100 yrds with 85% success on first command. 15% needs second reminder part way on long distance. He's very steady, almost to a fault. Started multiple marks with wagon wheel training and doing good for two days of it. Loves water, and didn't slow down at all with the cold water from the other day, it was 30 deg that morning. We will progress with wagon wheel up to four bumpers, then start him forcing to a pile to get some distance with his blind retrieves. He doesn't trust it yet if he cant see it. That's it so far, but doing great. And Border collies are made to work in rain or snow outside of Scotland and work all day in any condition. I will definitely have him in a neoprene vest, and probably wont take him at all if there is ice on the water. Also Ill start him more outside for longer periods of time so his undercoat can grow thick. His safety is number one, but I think he will do great. And I am worried about a crippled bird, but we'll get to that when it comes. I can always shoot them on the water.

Wow, sounds like great progress. Very impressive. Was looking at something the other day that ranked dog breeds by intelligence. It had BC listed as number one. I think you can train them to ride a bike. I respectfully withdraw any doubts I had in my previous post

Update. Archer is continuing to progress well. I shot some coot last weekend of the season for training and after a couple days to get him use to it, he is now retrieving cold birds as well as bumpers. Biggest progress is extending his force to pile out to 100 yrds. Retrieving 2 marks thrown at same time, and after hiding a coot in some taller grass and around trees I sent him in on a blind and he went straight in searched and found the bird, then delivered to hand. We will continue to lengthen his retrieves. Tighten up his lines and start casting in the next couple weeks. Then gun conditioning and water retrieves. Thanks.

I have some videos on my phone on Archers progress, can anybody help me get them up? We are doing multiple marks, Force to pile, marks where I am hidden from him so he has to "watch" for the bumpers. He is "placing" on the ground or any surface I put him at. We have worked in water, mud, grass and he has tremendous drive in all terrain. We are starting to work with larger bumpers and will use gadwall wings to have him search and use his nose more. We have also taken time to teach him to "down " for long times and be still and quiet. He's doing great. Hope to get some videos up soon.

This !!!

Finally broke down and figured out photo bucket. But Archer is doing great, any suggestions are welcome. I'm excited about next season.

Looks great! Looks like a hunter.

I would say that is nothing wrong with having fun with your dog training it to retrieve, etc.

Probably do fine around a farm pond or something of that nature where there is little danger a dog like that could get fatigue and/or would not be able to handle the cold with some assistance.

That being said a Collie is not a duck dog. You may not hunt it, but think ice, snow, flood waters, river current, etc. I've had several instances where I had to go save my dogs out duck hunting rivers. These were Chesapeakes. Built like a tank and tough as a Pitbull. And at least a couple times that were no fault of mine it really scared me to death. Just a determined dog that had more brawn than sense to turn back. I have always been attached to my dogs and usually them to me.

Just keep that in mind for the dog's sake, I would not hunt any big water from the bank. Other than that enjoy. Doing a great job.