In 2000 I bought my first Golden Retriever in Austria. Duncan was bred by a hunter to work as a shooting companion but as I was no hunter at that time, he became my playing mate and our family pet.  Duncan is a very strong-willed dog, a powerful male with a very good temperament, but also a very intelligent dog who “doesn’t suffer fools too gladly”!! 

He proved to be a real challenge when it came to dummy training: he always chose to trust his great nose rather than his handler!  When he was young his favourite pastime was chasing ducks down the river and I often thought the chance of going out shooting with him one day would be very small…   

Nevertheless, now that he is a bit more mature and easier to handle, Duncan has proved to be a great shooting companion: steady and attentive, though not very fast, he always comes back with game in his mouth, no matter how hard the grounds are or how thick the cover is! 

With the time I learnt to appreciate his qualities and accept his limitations. 

Now Michael is mostly handling Duncan in working tests and field trials and I had to accept that they make a much better team, though I still go picking up with him whenever possible.

Duncan "Fitzroy vom Heinrichsbründl"

Foto: Ilona Bartos