I will be honest I am not a big waterfowl hunter. I have went several times, and although I really enjoyed myself it seems that in the fall I usually find myself in a treestand. My dad's farm is a great place to duck hunt. It is in Southern Iowa, it is mostly woods, but we do have about 75 acres of Wetlands. These wetlands are full of ducks almost year round.

Having said all that I am thinking things might change a little bit. We are getting a Chesapeake puppy in about a week and a half. Eventhough I am not a big waterfowl hunter I would still like to train the dog to retrieve and hunt with it some. If for no other reason than for the dogs enjoyment as I know they love to hunt.

So, I am looking for some good training methods. Something that will get me going in the right direction with this pup when I get it. When are getting her as a family dog, but I want to be able to hunt with her some. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Dan

Jackie Mertens "Sound Beginnings" is a good DVD to get you off in the right direction. Mike Lardy's Vol I is a good training manual. Get with a local club.

If u go to the web site www.sportdog.com it had a lot of info that worked well for me. with a lab and a Jack Russell. they also had the best price for the good training equipment. Good luck and always remember never lose ur patince when training ur dog. it well help in the long run u will have a well trained friend to hunt with

Dan buy the way I meant to ask do u have any advice on building a metal tower stand I am looking to build one 6x8 at the top and about ten ft high. but i don't know how far apart to make the legs at the bottom?

I have never built a metal stand, but we do have a 8x8 wooden box stand we built, and we are going to build a 6x6 box stand to bow hunt out of this year. We use 4"x4" wood posts for the legs and they are the same width as the stands. Our 8x8 is only about 8 feet off the ground, because it sits about 60 yards off of a plot and we just use it for gun hunting. It works great. I have shot several deer out of it.

Dan