Duck dog

LOL, Penny sounds alot like our Coco (RIP).
She was a beautiful lab, but had no hunting instinct what so ever.
Great family dog, a very lovable pup, and the guardian of her (our) chickens!
 
Steven Alexander said:
Hello. I'm not familiar with this kennel, but I am familiar with the "Wildrose" name. Are they an off-shoot of the original Wildrose and/or Duckhill that Mr Robert Milner runs?

I have had 2 of Mr Milners British Labs. My first one (Cullen) was likely the best dog I will ever own. He was my ride-or-die, and a duck retrieving machine. I miss that dog daily. My second (Penny, Cullen's 2nd cousin), is an obese, half-retarded oaf couch-potato who will only retrieve a dog biscuit. :ROFLMAO: We love her, but bless her heart, something isn't right about her.
Click to expand...
Yes, there is a connection. Milner sold that kennel in Oxford MS to Mike Stewart, a retired police officer from that area. Mike developed and marketed it into a pretty well-known name in US British Lab circles. Mike took a lot of British methods, some American, some Milner, and created his own "Wildrose Way" training system to develop he calls "the gentleman's gun dog". Many hunt test/field trial trainers think he is full of it, largely because the WR dogs are rarely seen in those competitive environments. I decided to try his methodology mainly because I was planning to get a pup and wanted to learn a different method. I knew I didn't want to chase ribbons, but to have a dog that is 80% house/family dog, 20% solid game dog - so why not try it.

At an rate, WR became quite popular amd had a long wait list, so he decided to expand - there are now affiliated WR kennels in NC, Dallas, and somewhere in the Midwest. The owner/primary trainer in NC is a young guy who started out in Oxford. Really good guy, imports and breeds really nice dogs, and a talented trainer. I ended up taking my pup back to him at 7 months old for basic gun dog training, largely because it offered me the opportunity to also learn and train alongside him and his assistant trainer (also very good). All-in-all, I'm a fan of what they do - though it is a slower development process than American systems. I really like their dogs (temperament, work ethic, size, biddability, nose), and will probably get my next there, too. Whether I'll train fully within their system or not, I'm not sure, but I'll definitely use a lot of it.
 
My current dog Quill, (and only my second lab) came from Old Town Retrievers in VA. I drove down from Maine a day early to view the litter and see all the pups. Last year was her first season and she started at 9 months old and finished with 210 retrieves. My hunting and guiding consists of 90% sea duck work and 10% puddle duck work, so a lot of big water retrieves. I consider guiding a big advantage in that I am 100% percent handler and not a shooter, and Quill gets a lot of opportunity to retrieve. The drive, attention and affection are all there. Ryan and Whitney Sayers were great when I went down and also on the phone. Quill's litter was pretty large ( 8 or 9 pups) and I think most if not all were going to hunting homes. I'm sure they must have some reports of how the others are doing. Best of luck in your quest.

On a side bar, many use e-collars and they have their place, however I am yet to take that leap. All my training has been via Wolter's and Milner's books and a lot of love, affection and PATIENCE, lol. All the best!

Here are some pics of Quill.

quill.jpgquill23.jpg2024 20.jpg2024 29.jpg2024 41.jpg2024 43.jpg
 
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