Ranger Flys Solo

Ranger got to be the only dog on the duck hunt today, and he was a all the dog we needed. He fetched four widgeon,(one a cripple) a gadwall, and a green wing teal. I got to fetch a mallard. All the birds were drakes. He was great in the water and along the shore of our little stick pond. If he saw it fall, he brought it back.

Our only issue was a land fall at a distance across the pond from us and up a burm. Ranger is a bit of a velcro dog and I couldn't send him out far enough. When I went across the pond to find the bird he came with me, but since it was on land and I was on the way he didn't see the need to do any more than indicate to me where it was. Obviously, he's not force-fetched.

My dilemma is this. Since he is working well enough to handle most situations we encounter under hunting conditions, is a force fetch really necessary? He's a common sense dog. He's quiet and patient in the blind. He brings cripples to hand and stacks the fully dead birds in a pile on the bank. That's where I'd have to put them if he brought them to me, so he's saving me a step. He's not munching these birds and he's not running off with them. Is putting that WC or JH at the end of his name really that important to me? I would like to be able to send him a distance after a blind, though. In the mean time, I know that the way we hunt is bad for his field test and hunt test performance, but I like how he works. I'm in a quandary.