Tom Dokken

Contributor at Freelance

Featured in: Favicon

outdoorlife.com Favicon

ducks.org

gameandfishmag.com Favicon

gundogmag.com Favicon

wildfowlmag.com

Articles

How to Train a Bird Dog to Hunt Dead

1 month ago | gundogmag.com | Tom Dokken

The ability to “hunt dead” adds extra value to your retriever as an upland hunter. When a bird is down and dead, or—as sometimes happens—down but wounded, your dog is going to have to find that bird using its nose. There are plenty of drills you can do to help it learn how to use its sense of smell more efficiently. So much of what we do with our retrievers is visual. You throw a bumper (or someone throws it for you), your retriever sees it, and goes after it.
Finding Success Hunting Winter Roosters

Nov 19, 2024 | gundogmag.com | Tom Dokken

Pheasant hunting after cold and snow have settled in for the winter is a radically different challenge than what you and your retriever experienced in the early season. Birds that escaped heavy pressure in October have learned a lot about survival. With instincts honed by successful escapes from the gangs of dogs and hunters that have been chasing them, even young birds may have taken on the wise characteristics of their older brethren.
Transitioning from Training to Hunting

Oct 15, 2024 | gundogmag.com | Tom Dokken

Ahhh, October. Depending on where you live, you’re either already enjoying what many hunters consider to be the best month of the year, or you’re getting ready to kick off a new season full of hope. It’s finally time to trade in practice sessions for the real game. With the new season will come highs and lows, wins and losses, challenges and opportunities. My advice is that you view your hunting season through the lens of not only a hunter, but also as a retriever trainer.
Guided Hunt Etiquette - Gun Dog

Sep 26, 2024 | gundogmag.com | Tom Dokken

Nothing makes a hunting outfitter’s eyes roll quicker than when a customer asks if he or she can bring their own dog on a guided hunt. That’s because most, if not all, outfitters and guides will tell you stories about guest dogs that have ruined a day in the field. Guides have their own dogs and routines. A new dog, even a good one, upsets the order of things and can make the host’s job more difficult.
Gaining Control of Your Hunting Dog

Aug 11, 2024 | gundogmag.com | Tom Dokken

I use the last several weeks of summer and early fall to do an honest assessment of my dogs’ performances last year, what they’ve improved upon over the summer, and what we still need to clean up before the new season’s opener. For younger dogs, this pre-season period is an opportunity to continue teaching new skills as they advance beyond foundational obedience.
Keeping Your Retriever Engaged When The Hunting Gets Slow

Jan 1, 2024 | wildfowlmag.com | Tom Dokken

It’s easy to outdrive your headlights when it comes to a new retriever. In my world, this often happens when people try to move their new duck dog through too much training, too fast. They want to skip the foundational work to move on to the double-blind retrieves, when the dogs are still in a stage where they need the basics, and only the basics. This too-much-too-fast mindset invades hunting, too.
Getting a Grip on Big Birds

Dec 13, 2023 | wildfowlmag.com | Tom Dokken

I’ve seen even the most confident dogs run out to retrieve their first goose, attempt to pick it up and then drop it and look back as if to say, “Seriously? This thing? Come on!”It’s one thing to have a really great duck dog, but when it’s time for your retriever to pick up a goose that’s two to four times as heavy and broad, it’s a whole different experience.
Summer Workouts for Retrievers

Jun 26, 2023 | gundogmag.com | Tom Dokken

Exercise during the summer months is critically important in getting your dog ready for fall. If you expect your dog to hunt hard all day, sometimes for multiple days in a row, starting a crash course in conditioning two weeks before the season opener is not going to get the job done. It’s worth your time to plan how you’re going to keep your dog in shape and build its endurance with exercises both on land and in the water, starting right now.
How to Use a Drone for Dog Training

Jun 25, 2023 | wildfowlmag.com | Tom Dokken

Advancements in gear for retriever training over the past couple decades are truly remarkable. Remote-controlled bird launchers, retriever-specific e-collars and other advanced technology have made training easier and more efficient. Several years ago, I added another piece of technical my training regimen and it has had a profound impact on helping my retrievers become better waterfowl dogs.
How To Make the Most of Off-Season Dog Training

May 7, 2023 | wildfowlmag.com | Tom Dokken

You have a few months until the next opening day. How are you going to spend it? You can sit around and relax, hoping your retriever magically becomes better than it was last fall, or you can get to work right now with the goal of continuing to build a better hunting dog. If you have a young dog, the off-season is the time to introduce new training challenges; for veteran dogs, it’s time to clean up problems that may have cropped up during last season’s hunts.