NorCalHunt Feature
Dog of the Week
Celebrating the hard-working hunting dogs of Northern California
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!