A show such as the East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival will be just what a lot of waterfowl hunters will be needing to begin to “gear-down” after what is shaping up (mid-January reports) to be yet another of a series of very disappointing hunting years. We’ve had the cold weather up north that waterfowlers pray for to drive the ducks and geese down south for the winter but the birds just haven’t been here (yet). If we can’t have the legendary waterfowl hunting that Eastern North Carolina is famous for, then an outdoor oriented show based around hunting ducks, geese, swans and the carving of decoys should satisfy some of our outdoor cravings.
Of course waterfowl hunters need to have that near-mandatory retriever to bring the downed waterfowl to the hunter. Some conservationists even favor a law that hunters who go for migratory birds should be required to have a dog with them in the field. No such law exists yet but the thought is there and legislation has been suggested.
Many die-hard waterfowlers spend a huge amount of time working with their Chesapeake, golden or Labrador retrievers to be sure that they’re up to the task they’re assigned under field conditions. Owners are justifiably proud of the way their dogs perform and will show off their dog’s abilities at the drop of a hat. When you ask the owner of a nice retriever how his dog’s doing you’d best be prepared to spend a few minutes watching Old-Rover go through his routine.
This pride in ownership of these dogs is probably the biggest reason that Dock Dogs came into existence and has been a hit at the numerous exhibitions and shows that they visit across the United States. Now, Dock Dogs is coming to Washington, North Carolina.
With their own kennel of trained show and working dogs in tow, the Dock Dogs crew brings in a huge tank that’s filled with thousands of gallons of water. Setting up a “launching” ramp at one end, the dogs of the show and the dogs of the local dog owners put on a competition to see which dogs can jump further and higher from the ramp and can perform the fastest retrieve. One could say that this is the “National Olympics for Dogs.”
One particularly appealing aspect of the Dock Dogs competition is that the entrants do not have to be purebred dogs. The dogs in the competition may be little Jack Russell terriers or a Labrador retriever with a pedigree a mile long, the competitions are set up for the rank amateur dogs or the trained professional dogs and are graded accordingly.
Of course the Dock Dogs is just a part of the entire weekend’s activities at the East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival and the North Carolina Decoy Carving Championships. There are exhibits that cater to the lovers of outdoor art, decoy carving exhibits for professionals and amateurs and some really good down-east food that’s prepared on the waterfront of Washington.
Another fascinating contest taking place at this year’s festival is the duck, goose and swan calling contest. Some of the best callers in the nation will be there competing.
A number of the exhibitors will be from the various private, state and federal wildlife management agencies and this will give the people attending the show an opportunity to talk with these folks on a one-to-one basis. Recent surveys indicate that an alarming number of hunters are giving up the sport of waterfowling and there is a very poor recruitment of younger hunters getting into the sport. Of course fewer hunters means that less duck stamps and hunting licenses are being sold and that source of funding for our wildlife management groups is decreasing accordingly.
One of the duck hunters I recently talked with from Pamlico County is looking forward to these conversations with the experts. He feels very strongly that these wildlife managers and conservation groups owe the hunters and environmentalists some explanations as to why, after all the rosy forecast of lots of birds coming our way every year, we’ve been having these poor years with only a very few ducks showing up along the coast. Since it’s obvious that the ducks aren’t here in Eastern North Carolina like they should be, just where in the United States are they? Are the great forecast just to sell more duck stamps and hunting licenses and where are the millions and millions of dollars we’ve invested to improve waterfowl populations over the years going?
Schedule of events for the Dock Dogs
Friday, February 5
Dock Dogs Venue
9:00 am Registration Opens
10:00 am Speed Retrieve Competition #1
12:00 pm Big Air Wave Competition #1
2:00 pm Big Air Wave Competition #2
4:00 pm Big Air Wave Competition #3
Saturday, February 6
Dock Dogs Venu
9:00 am Registration Opens
10:00 am Speed Retrieve Competition #2
12:00 pm Big Air Wave Competition #4
2:00 pm Big Air Wave Competition #5
4:00 pm Extreme Vertical Competition
Sunday, February 7
Doc Dogs Venue
9:00 am Registration Opens
10:00 am Speed Retrieve Competition #3
12:00 pm Big Air Wave Competition #6
2:30 pm Speed Retrieve Finals
3:00 pm Big Air Amateur Finals
3:30 pm big Air Semi-Pro Finals
4:00 pm Big Air Pro Finals
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