A nemesis of pheasants, the springer spaniel is this man's best friend

When Rick Radtke changed dogs, he didn't know he'd also change his life.

Radtke, of Big Lake, Minn., is a longtime pheasant hunter who a few decades back regularly jumped into his truck and tooled down I-35 to Iowa, or headed west to South Dakota, for a few days of ringneck chasing.

For years he was accompanied by either a Labrador retriever or a golden retriever, and he loved to watch the dogs quarter ahead, noses to the ground, searching for bird scent.

Then one day, about 10 years ago, he tried something different.

"I knew a guy who had a springer spaniel, and I bought one,'' Radtke said.

When he brought his new puppy home, a liver and white female he named Ruby, Radtke knew he was stepping outside of Minnesota's sporting-dog norm.

For 31 consecutive years, the Labrador retriever has been the most popular dog in the United States, according to American Kennel Club (AKC) registrations.

Among Minnesota bird hunters, that breed record likely extends even longer, thanks to the dual nature of a Lab's abilities, whether retrieving ducks or geese from water, or finding and flushing birds in the uplands.

Yet in many ways the springer spaniel — more properly, the English springer spaniel — is the quintessential pheasant dog, and more than a few will scamper into Minnesota's hinterlands at 9 a.m. Saturday when the state's 2022 ringneck season opens.

"A springer is fun to watch work,'' Radtke said. "They cover ground thoroughly, and they find birds.''

Yet Radtke and a handful of other springer spaniel owners and handlers in Minnesota won't be hunting Saturday. Instead, they'll be busy preparing for the English Springer Spaniel National Open Championship, which this year will be headquartered in Austin, Minn., Nov. 17-21.

The trial represents the pinnacle of efforts nationwide to breed, train and handle the best field springers — as opposed to show dogs of the same breed — and Radtke is among Minnesotans who have qualified for the championship, which is open to amateur and professional handlers.

"If you run trials, you generally don't hunt your dog because the training too often comes undone while hunting,'' Radtke said, adding that he'll be competing with an offspring of Ruby's, a black and white male springer named Jack, in the November championship.

So changed is Radtke's life since buying his first springer spaniel that he hasn't hunted pheasants in about five years.

"Field-trial training is time consuming,'' he said.

Kevin Martineau of Longville, Minn., agrees. Along with Mike McGinty of Long Lake, Morgan Haglin of Brainerd and Radtke, he's among Minnesota springer spaniel owners and handlers who have qualified for the title run.

"I bought my first springer in 1978,'' Martineau said, "and I started trialing in 1979.''

An attraction of the springer spaniel trialing game is that it closely resembles actual hunting.

"In a weekend field trial there are three 'series,' '' Radtke said. "In the first two, two dogs run in a brace, meaning together in the same field, searching for planted pheasants. When a dog finds a bird and flushes it, he or she must sit immediately. We call this 'sit to flush.' ''

Designated shooters, or "guns'' who follow the dogs, then shoot the bird — or try to — and both dogs must be "steady to shot.''

"At that point, the handler whose dog flushed the bird gives the command to retrieve, while the other dog must remain sitting, honoring the retrieving dog's work,'' Radtke said.

Speed and style are among the characteristics judged while the dogs quest for birds. Discipline is especially critical when a bird is flushed. And when a competing dog is sent to retrieve, his or her ability to pinpoint, or "mark,'' where a bird has fallen is also judged.

"If the dog doesn't go directly to the bird, or otherwise can't find it, the handler then has to 'handle' the dog, or direct it by hand and whistle signals to where the handler thinks the bird is,'' Radtke said. "In that case, the dog's ability to follow directions also is judged.''

Though the AKC doesn't list dog breeds by their uses, whether as pets, or for hunting, field-trialing or show, the registry's annual ranking is telling of the relative popularity of canines known for their pheasant-hunting acumen.

Notably, English springer spaniels were 26^th in the 2021 AKC rankings — not bad — but German shorthaired pointers were ninth.

Brittanys, meanwhile (formerly Brittany spaniels), were 27^th; German wirehaired pointers were 59^th; wirehaired pointing Griffons 60^th; Irish setters, 71st; English setters, 98^th; and (English) pointers 120^th.

On Saturday, each of these, in some number, will be afield in Minnesota, hot-footing it for pheasants.

But most present by a long shot will be Labradors. Not only for their usefulness also for waterfowl hunting (as many of the above breeds also can be), but because Minnesota's pheasant habitat often requires a larger dog that can crash through marshes thick with cattails and other cover in search of birds.

By contrast, states such as Kansas, North Dakota, Montana and to some degree Iowa and South Dakota, are often better-suited while pheasant hunting for wider running dogs that can cover large swatches of landscape.

Yet for Radtke, Martineau and other uplanders, there's no better partner in the field, or at home, than a springer spaniel.

"My motivation in getting a springer was to find more pheasants, whether while hunting or, later, while field-trialing'' Martineau said. "I just love to watch them work in front of me, and they do find birds.

"But beyond that, they're just very pleasant dogs to have around the home. They love human companionship.''