NorCalHunt Feature
Dog of the Week
Celebrating the hard-working hunting dogs of Northern California
Week of September 20, 2026
Hooey
Durham, CA
Hooey is a Durham dog through and through, and his favorite running mate is Bent, our Dog of the Week from Issue #4. The two of them are a team in the blind, happiest retrieving ducks on a cold valley morning. When the season closes, they take it easy, spending their days lounging by the pool and getting out for regular walks with mom and dad, until the next opener.
Chad and Allison Porter, Durham, CA
Week of September 13, 2026
Gus
Red Bluff, CA
Gus is a black lab who lives for the duck blind, and with the water season still a few weeks out he has spent September dusting off his paws on doves, keeping his retrieves sharp for the mornings that matter most to him. When he is off the clock, he runs the most important job in the yard: head of squirrel patrol, keeping the back fence line honest one bushy tail at a time. A lab with a purpose is a happy lab, and Gus clearly has two.
Dave K., Red Bluff CA.
Week of August 30, 2026
Bella
Forest Ranch, CA
Bella is a two-year-old with the instincts already dialed in. In this week's photo she is locked up tight on a pheasant at Clear Creek Sports Club, tail high and nose full, holding steady the way an old pro would. Two years in and she is doing exactly what she was born to do, and if this is the young dog, the seasons ahead are going to be a lot of fun to watch.
Allen C., Forest Ranch CA.
Week of August 23, 2026
Hayden
German Shorthaired Pointer· Age 14 · Forest Ranch, CA
Hayden is 14 years old and still doing the one thing she was born to do. In this week's photo she is locked up on a pheasant, tail high and nose full, as steady on point as she was a decade ago. A German shorthaired pointer's drive does not retire on a schedule, and Hayden is proof that the best old dogs never lose a step where it counts. Fourteen seasons in, she has earned every soft bed and every slow walk back to the truck.
Allen C., Forest Ranch CA.
Week of August 16, 2026
Tucker
Durham, CA
Tucker is a five-year-old red border collie, and no, he was not bred to hunt. He is proof that your best hunting companion does not have to come from a line of bird dogs. He spends most of his days being a loyal partner and chasing light reflections around the house. Not every good dog earns a spot in the blind, and Tucker is a reminder that the one riding shotgun to camp counts just as much.
Mike W, Durham, CA
Week of August 9, 2026
Amaya
German Shorthaired Pointer· Age 5 · Forest Ranch, CA
Amaya is a five-year-old German shorthaired pointer, all nose and drive in the uplands. Allen caught her on a pheasant retrieve in this week's photo, doing exactly what the breed was built for. Five seasons in, she has the job down cold, and with dove three weeks out and pheasant behind it, she has a busy fall ahead.
Allen C., Forest Ranch CA.
Week of August 2, 2026
Ranger and Ford
Durham, CA
Ranger (left, 8 years old) and Ford (right, 3 years old) are a two-dog team, pictured here backing up a late-season single-man limit. When these two are not working the blind, you will find them lounging around the house or logging as many summer days as they can up at Lake Almanor.
Erick S, Durham, CA
Week of July 26, 2026
Gunner
Black Lab· Age 1 · Durham, CA
Gunner is a black Lab who just turned one, and the drive this young dog has for waterfowl is like nothing we've seen. All heart and all business, putting in work every single day to be ready when the season opens. Come those first cold, foggy mornings in the rice, this pup is going to be a problem for the ducks. Keep an eye on him.
Abe D., Durham, CA
Week of July 19, 2026
Rhett
Black Lab· Age 12 weeks · Chico, CA
Rhett is a 12-week-old black Lab and future duck dog with an obsession for water and a relentless drive to retrieve. He's projected to top out around 80 pounds, but for now he's burning that endless puppy energy chewing on anything he can reach. It won't be long before he swaps those chew toys for retrieves in the duck blind.
Rowan T, Chico, CA
Week of July 12, 2026
Mae
Orland, CA
Mae is officially our first "occasional good mutt" to grace the briefing, proving you don't need a fancy pedigree to get your hunt on. She has found her one true calling: flushing gophers during irrigation season. Working alongside her partner-in-crime, Apollo, she keeps the local pest population firmly in check. She might not be good for much else—but as her owner freely admits, at least she's kind of cute.
Mike and Betsy K., Orland, CA.
Week of July 5, 2026
Shadow
Springer Spaniel· Age 8 · Durham, CA
At 8 years old, this seasoned Springer Spaniel is an absolute mallard machine in the rice, proving year after year that heart and drive beat size every single day. He cuts through the heavy winter tule cover with ease and sits dead-quiet in the blind when the birds are working. When he's off the clock, Shadow likes to unwind with a dip in the backyard pool and stay sharp playing with his local crew—Chewy, Cali, and Tilly.
Connie A, Durham, CA
Week of June 28, 2026
Bent
Labrador Retriever · Durham, CA
Bent is an 80 pound, muscular, heavy coated yellow male. He attained his AKC Master Hunter title at the age of 2 with ease. He is extremely quiet and all business in the blind. Bent has been hunted over many seasons now with his foster family - both waterfowl and upland. He has a big motor and loves to bring in big geese back to the blind. Bent has thrown solid pups, proven to be excellent hunting partners, detection dogs, and active family companions.
Matt P, Durham, CA
Week of June 21, 2026
Chewy
Springer Spaniel· Age 13 · Durham, CA
“Chewy has spent her life tracking down ducks, geese, and pheasants across Northern California's best fields and blinds. Now that she's growing older, she has happily stepped into the role of backyard security coordinator and mentor to the pack. These days, she spends her afternoons guarding the lawn and dropping serious, seasoned veteran retrieval knowledge on the younger dogs.”
Alex A, Durham, CA
Week of June 14, 2026
Willow
Labrador Retriever · Age 4 · Orland, CA
“Willow is a 4-year-old black Lab who was born for the Sacramento Valley rice. She’s a steady, hard-charging retriever who lives for cold mornings and falling greenheads, and she’ll punch out into flooded check after flooded check without a second thought. Come summer, she’s the official supervisor of decoy maintenance and the first one in the truck every time the keys come off the hook.”
NorCalHunt subscriber, Orland, CA
Week of June 7, 2026
Boone
German Shorthaired Pointer · Age 3 · Redding, CA
“Boone is a 3-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer who splits his time between pointing mountain quail in the high Sierra pines and retrieving greenheads out of the Sacramento Valley rice. When he isn’t in the field, he lives for truck rides and guarding the garage while gear gets cleaned.”
NorCalHunt subscriber, Redding, CA
Week of June 1, 2026
Ranger
Labrador Retriever · Age 4 · Redding, CA
“Ranger is the best hunting partner I've ever had. He nailed his first blind retrieve on the Sacramento River at just 18 months old and hasn't slowed down since. Last duck season he logged over 200 retrieves in cold water and heavy tules. He lives for the marsh.”
NorCalHunt subscriber, Shasta County
Every Week We Feature One
Is Your Dog Next?
Got a hard-charging bird dog, a loyal Lab, or a scrappy little flusher that deserves the spotlight? We want to hear about them. Submit your dog and they could be featured right here in next week's Dog of the Week.
What to include in your email:
Your dog's name, breed, and age
Your name and where you hunt in NorCal
A favorite story or memory from the field
A great photo of your pup (action shots welcome!)
Send your submission to [email protected] — we feature a new dog every week!