"I used to have a lab and I have hunted behind many different breeds, some good and some not so good. I will break down your questions in two parts, one about my Boykin experience and part 2 about Rhondine as a breeder. I have found out with my two Boykins that they are by far the easiest and smartest dogs I have ever seen. To give you an example, I placed a bell at the back door about a month ago (my Boykin is already a year old). I showed my dog Remi how to ring the bell and then let him outside every time he rang the bell. Well I only had to show him twice and now he does it every time. As far as hunting, I primarily hunt Pheasants and Ducks. Since Remi wasn't but 9 months old when hunting season came around last year, I primarily focused on upland birds for his first season. I probably shouldn't have hunted him as hard as we did but he took to it so fast and he enjoyed it so much, there wasn't anyway I was going hunting without him - he made sure of that. It got to the point where I tried to sneak out of bed in the morning but he was already in the kitchen waiting for me, sometimes with my gloves in his mouth. That's another thing about Remi, he is the biggest clown I have ever seen. I started taking Remi to puppy obedience classes at first but never followed up with the advanced classes. He took to the training so fast that we didn't think it was necessary. I worked with Remi in my back yard about 4 or 5 nights a week for about 15 minutes at a time. I didn't push him alot although he rarely got bored or lost interest. After about 4 or 5 months I started Remi on live Quail and that's when things got exciting. He took to the training exceptionally well and then we went from there to actually hunting pheasants. His first pheasant hunt went a little slow. We had very windy conditions but he still managed to flush several birds, they just kept flushing about a hundred yards ahead of us. On Remi's 2nd hunt something inside him clicked and by the 3rd he was hunting like a pro even though he was only 10 months old. As far as duck hunting the only problem you'll have is keeping him out of the water. Boykins love water and love to retrieve in water. The females might have a little trouble with the geese but the males are extremely strong. The best advice I can give you is to keep your dog inside. Boykins crave your attention and are extremely affectionate, it drives them crazy not being around you or knowing where you are. The first time I took Remi I put a 30 foot check cord on him so he would not run away, that lasted about 5 minutes and I quickly learned I didn't need it. Remi never ranges more than 20 to 25 yards away from me and he continually looks over his shoulder to see where I'm at. Part 2, I bought my first Boykin (Codi) from a now deceased breeder in Tennessee. I didn't know at the time that the man was breeding dogs as fast as he could and was even doing some line breeding. Codi just passed right before Christmas and although she was the greatest dog I've ever had she had many health issues. I could no longer Duck hunt with her because she started having seizures at the age of 3. She also had hip problems, but she still was a great dog and very intense hunter. I've found Rhondine to be the most conscientious breeder I've ever encountered. Even several months after picking up Remi she still stays in contact to see how he is doing. I didn't think much about this at the time, but Rhondine has 2 kids that she lets play with the pups. Codi my older Boykin didn't much care one way or the other about kids but Remi can't walk past one without wanting to play."
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