We had always figured that a dog that can sit quietly in a boat while his person fishes, and be able swim ably across a river is your basic good sporting breed. It turns out that dogs like this have a name.

They’re called “River Dogs,” and there are certain qualifications a dog should have to be one. The dog must be a size that can fit in the confines of a boat, canoe or duck blind. The dog should be biddable and calm. The dog must have a passion for water, and perhaps most importantly (because in our view, safety trumps), is that the dog needs to be a strong swimmer to be able to handle river currents, and have the strength to negotiate steep banks, river rocks and fallen timber. It doesn’t necessarily require a sporting breed pedigree to be a great River Dog, but it seems to help.

Being a “River Retriever” is even more demanding. A dog trained to mark a bird down on land or still water will typically drive out fast to pick up a bird which fell in moving water only to be shocked that the duck has drifted away and won’t be where the dog marked it. Without training to understand the concept of moving water or how to search downstream, the duck may well be lost, and the dog left somewhat perplexed. A River Retriever also has to have a sense for strong currents of a river. Being swept downstream is not only surprising for a dog’s first foray into moving water, but it’s discouraging, to say nothing of being  potentially dangerous. For obvious reasons, an ideal River Retriever is responsive to whistle and hand signals.

If you have a River Dog or River Retriever, let’s see your pictures!

Image of Australian Cattle Dog, “Thommo” and “Dusty” swimming to retrieve sticks from the Hunter River, in Newcastle NSW Australia. From Wikicommons.