Discussing the best hunting dogs for various game is kind of like arguing whether a Chevy or Ford is better: No one ever changes camps because they’re happy with what they’ve got. Still, we’re going ...

IF YOU’VE EVER owned a bird dog, then you’ve probably got Tom Dokken to thank. Maybe you read his book or used the check cord he designed. You almost certainly bought a Dead Fowl Trainer (or an ...

October of 1999 found my lab pup, Mercury, and I hidden on a small southern Minnesota slough awaiting the noon waterfowl opener. It was a blazing hot day, the temps hovering in the mid-80s under clear ...

A young waterfowling friend recently got a German shorthair and asked me what kind of upland shotgun he should buy so he could take his dog hunting. I said, “That’s the wrong question. You’ve already ...

It was a rainy morning in November and the small stand of public timber was filled with deer hunters. I typically come to this spot during the week, but this was a Sunday and the mud hole that doubled ...

Twenty years and three Labrador retrievers ago, I was perched in a dense stand of cattails, awaiting the first flights of ducks to wing over the decoys. It was opening day, and the prospects looked ...