Labs offer glimpses of hunting experience

On most any sunny afternoon I can look out into my backyard and see, lounging in the shade of the willow tree, a trio of dogs that represents my hunting past, present and future. The group of Labrador Retrievers, one black, one almost white and the third, a yellowish gold, range in ages from 13 years to 13 weeks.

The two older dogs have been great companions and hunting buddies and each has a definite and distinct personality. Even the new puppy is already developing her own personality.

As I look out at the black Lab, Cassie, with her graying muzzle and sagging back I think about what has happened in my life since I brought her home as a soft, coal black,
7-week-old ball of fur some 13 years ago.

Over that time, my two sons have grown up, gone off to college and are now productive members of society, paying taxes and living, for the most part, like grown-ups.

And Cassie and I, along with one or two other dogs, have hunted miles and miles and miles of asparagus and weed fields in the lower Yakima Valley. We've hunted pheasants and quail, chukars and Huns. We have even hunted a few ducks, although sitting in a duck blind waiting for the birds to fly might have been Cassie's least favorite thing to do.

Even though she is a big Lab, pushing 100 pounds, Cassie has always been my little wallflower. She has been extremely obedient and just a super-sweet dog. Never one to try anything that would ever get her into any kind of trouble, she has been just a very good companion.

Not the hardest hunter before I retired her a few years ago, Cassie was always consistent and dependable. The other dogs would cover two times more ground than her, but many times she would come along and find and flush birds the other dogs had all missed. She also retrieved plenty of birds the other dogs missed by working smarter, not harder.

The white Lab, my current hunter Sierra, is quickly nearing her retirement, I fear. After dove-hunting on Monday, she plopped down on her pillow in the backyard and hardly moved for a day or so.

Partly my fault for allowing her to put on a couple extra pounds, and not running her enough, she is also hindered by two bum back legs. Both of her knees had to be surgically repaired when she was younger, and now those legs can't keep up with her desire to be out in the field.

Just 8 years old, Sierra should still have a couple of years of good hunting left. Only time will tell if that is the case.

This brings us to the future. Oh, if I could have a glass ball and take a peek at what the future holds for me and my little Tessa.

Never before have I had a puppy so bent on doing what she wants to do, versus what I want her to do. I think this one is going to require a little more work than Cassie and Sierra ever did. They wanted to please me. Tessa wants to do what Tessa wants.

Hunting buddy Mike Schell, upon hearing I had a new puppy, gave me a book a while back on training hunting retrievers. He's using the techniques and methods with good success on a new chocolate Lab pup and recommended I give it a try. I've never gone in for such stuff, figuring that with some simple, but steadfast commands, such as sit, stay, heel and come, a dog with good breeding and hunting in their blood, will turn out just fine. I'm beginning to think Tessa might just be the perfect candidate for some of the training techniques touted in the book.

Only time will tell. It should be a fun, but patience-testing road ahead.

As I look out at my pack of multi-colored Labs, and think about the experiences and good times I have had with the older two and some of my other dogs over the years, all I can think of is how boring my life would have been without them to share all of those great times in the field and out.

And with all of those fun hunting experiences to think back on, I am really looking forward to what the future will bring.

* Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.

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