What are some of the drills that yall perform in the off season to prepare for duck hunting? Im looking for some new ideas.. I tried to youtube it...I guess my wording was wrong in my search... Just looking for some ideas

I'm doing more short duration yard work and progressing her training plan (SmartWorks).

working on conditioning right now... dove opener is gonna be HOT! try to get two sessions in per evening... about 3 hours apart.

I don't think you can throw to many marks at varying distances. Meaning pay attention and make sure you don't over exhert your dog but I think you could fill every training sessions with marks and it wouldn't be to many as long as the dog wants more. I think I could throw marks every day for my dog and she wouldn't get bored with it. She just loves to retrieve.

Right now we are doing pile work and trying to get ready for blinds.

I generally start off with pile drills to freshen up the memory......baseball, wagon wheel, single T, etc. etc. I generally don't spend too long on this unless my dog starts doing cast refusals on me or cheating. I then move to pattern blinds, bird boy blinds, and cold blinds. I also try to break up the blind work with marking drills. On the weekends some friends and I get together to work our dogs. We try to make it as close to a hunting situation as possibly with shooting live flyers, making the dogs honor, using decoys, ridding in the boat, blowing duck calls, etc.

Train like you hunt is my moto. That way the dog is ready when season hits. There's a reason pros train in the off-season, have training camp, pre-season games, etc before the season starts. You wouldn't expect them to sit around eating ho-hos and ding dongs all summer and perform well come the opener would ya?

My dog enjoys her off time. lol

She goes fishing with us and also gets her daily walk/park time.

IF I TRAINED LIKE I HUNT I WOULD HAVE TO SHOOT AND THEN NOTHING WOULD FALL AND MY LAB WOULD GIVE ME THE "LOOK"!

You could always buy some ducks for training. I'm sure your dog would like it.

I cut down on my dog's weight just a bit to get ready for season. That, coupled with lots of swimming, to get him in shape for season.

Drills:

- long row drill (don't know the exact name, but you put about 5-6 bumpers in a row out to a long distance). Then make him retrieve each one. Helps them learn to stay on a line.

- baseball

- water blinds

- "distraction": I send my dog on a mark, then throw 1-2 bumpers close to him while he's retrieving the mark. I correct him with the collar if he goes after another bumper. Works well in water, when they're moving slower.

one of the main drills i tell my clients to keep up their hand signals in the off season is wagon wheel casting and lining. that is where the dog is in the center of the circle you walk away from the dog and handle to different bumpers.wagon wheel lining the dog is next to you and you send him straight to each bumper.