Over the years, I've met countless hunters who went on a guided hunt or were invited on a hunt. Almost every time, I ask the same question:

"Did you take your dog?"

Far too often, the answer is no.

And usually, the reasons sound something like this:

• The guide didn't allow dogs.
• I didn't want the hassle.
• My dog isn't fully broke.
• My friends didn't want dogs on the hunt.
• I didn't want my dog to mess up someone else's hunt.
• I didn't think we'd have enough opportunities.
• I didn't think we'd shoot enough birds to make it worth taking the dog.

I've heard every excuse imaginable.

The problem is, if we're not careful, we can spend our dog's entire hunting career finding reasons to leave them home.

I try to live by a different philosophy:

Find excuses to take your dog. Don't find excuses to leave them home.

It Takes Three No's to Get a Yes

I have a saying: It takes three no's to get a yes.

I use this philosophy all the time when booking waterfowl hunts.

The first question I ask every guide or outfitter is simple: "Do you allow dogs?"

Most of the time, the answer is no.

Then I explain my dogs and their training. But I also understand the outfitter's perspective. Every guide has heard the story before.

"My dog is steady."

Then the hunt starts, birds are working, and suddenly the "steady" dog is breaking, whining, running through decoys, and disrupting the hunt for everyone.

I don't blame outfitters for being cautious.

So I ask another question: "What if I stake my dog out or keep them physically restrained?"

Sometimes I even send a picture of my DD Blind and explain that my dog physically cannot break until I open the door. I've had outfitters say yes to that.

If they still say no, I keep asking: "What if my dog stays in the pit or blind the entire hunt?"

Some outfitters have allowed that. Others still say no.

Then I ask one final question: "What if I bring enough hunters to fill every spot you have available?"

Believe it or not, this is where I've gotten the most yeses.

The point isn't that every outfitter should allow dogs. The point is that I don't stop at the first no. I keep trying to find a solution that works for everyone. Because my priority is getting my dog hunting.

My Dog Isn't Fully Broke Yet

This is probably the excuse I hear most.

The reality is this: Dogs become hunting dogs by hunting.

Training is important. But there are things a dog can only learn during real hunts — the excitement of birds falling, hunters talking and moving around, long periods of sitting still, boats, decoys, blinds, gunfire, and all the unpredictability that comes with an actual hunt.

Real hunts teach lessons that training alone often can't.

If your dog isn't steady on waterfowl, set them up for success. Stake them out. Put them in a blind where they physically cannot retrieve until released. When birds are shot, don't immediately send the dog. Sometimes wait five or ten minutes before releasing them.

Over time, they learn that just because birds fall doesn't mean they automatically get to go. They begin to relax, remain composed, and understand that patience is part of the job. This is where I get the biggest win when I'm finishing a dog to be fully steady. 

Waiting until your dog is perfect often means missing the very opportunities your dog needs to become better. Don't be embarrassed that you need to stake your dog or using a DD Blind if needed. 

I do every time on my dogs first hunt or two even when they have been 100% steady in training, they have to earned it. I'm also not embarrassed to stake a dog down that I fully trust not to break when someone I'm hunting with has asked me to. The most important thing is the dog is going.

My Friends Didn't Want Dogs Along

I understand it. People worry about inexperienced dogs breaking, whining, missing retrieves, or ruining the hunt.

But what many people don't realize is that when a person gets up and walks out takes the boat out to retrieve a bird, they stand out far more than most dogs do. A dog making a retrieve is natural. Ducks and geese see coyotes, deer, raccoons, and other animals moving through fields and marshes all the time. A person standing up, walking around, and towering above the decoys is often much more noticeable.

And if a few birds do flare because my dog made a retrieve? I'm okay with that. Because I'm not just hunting for myself. I'm hunting for the experience with my dog. Best practice is wait until the sky looks clear and you don't have birds coming before you send the dog.

I didn't get into hunting dogs to leave them at home or make them sit in the truck while I chase limits. I got into hunting dogs because there is something special about watching them do what they were bred to do.

To me, one retrieve from my dog is worth far more than a few extra birds laying in the bottom of the blind.

You Don't Need Perfect Conditions

You don't need to be the world's greatest duck or goose caller to get your dog into birds. You don't need a trailer full of decoys. You don't need the perfect hunting spot. You just have to make it happen.

I've sat on creek banks where the water was maybe five yards across just to get my dog out. Sometimes we sit there for hours — sometimes teaching patience, sometimes teaching the dog to remain in one place.

I have one little creek that maybe produces a bird or two every three or four hunts. And honestly? I still go. We don't live in a flyway so we make do with what we have if we stay close to home to hunt

Sometimes success is simply watching Mother Nature wake up. Sometimes it's seeing ducks and geese work from a distance. Sometimes it's shooting one bird. One bird was worth going.

If you won't go because you don't think you'll shoot a limit, do you really like to hunt?

I'd rather shoot one duck with my dog than a five-man limit without my dog every single time.

My priorities are simple: 1) Figure out how to get my dog hunting. 2) Everything else.

Find Excuses to Take the Dog

Dogs have short lives. Their hunting careers are even shorter.

One day, the puppy that couldn't sit still will have gray around the muzzle. One day, they'll need help climbing into the truck. And one day, you'll take your dog on a hunt for the last time — and you won't know it's the last time.

So find excuses to take your dog. Find excuses to make memories. Find excuses to give them one more retrieve, one more point, one more day in the field beside you.

Because they never ask for much. They just want to go.

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