Once you have hunted with a good retriever, you will want one as your own hunting dog . A duck dog lets you hunt places you couldn’t otherwise hunt—and take shots you wouldn’t otherwise take, for fear ...

Duck season opened Sept. 1 for Reed Carlson in Alaska. His dog’s first retrieve, a mallard, came straight to hand that morning, followed by 11 more ducks. Carlson’s retriever, Harley, performed like ...