Hunting with a Tallgrass British Lab

British labrador retrievers are bred for strong hunt drive, intensity in the field and calm temperaments, making them the perfect hunting companion. These versatile dogs can be mellow in your house or hunting camp and then "turn it on" when it's time to go waterfowl or upland bird hunting, shed hunting or bumper retrieving.

Black male British Lab peering through duck blind grass stalks

Handsome black male British labrador camouflaged in fall grass duck blind

The British Lab Hunter Partner

Our Amos recently turned 4 years old & has been an impressive overall dog. Amos has an extraordinary disposition with people, including children and other dogs.

Amos has been impressive to me and my hunting partners in the duck and goose field. He was chosen from the litter for a larger size in anticipation of goose hunting. He's a lean 80 pounds and a heavy 84 pounds. His parents were considerably smaller as I recall.

As always, the dog's retrieve of waterfowl is one of the highlights of the hunt. This past season, Amos was released to chase a cripple in a flooded rice field. As Amos approached the cripple, it dove below the water surface as expected. However, much to my surprise, Amos stood on his hind legs to get a better view of the cripple swimming / causing turbulence in the 12" of water. Once he got the bearing on the crippled duck, he would take off like a rocket to make the catch. He successfully used this technique multiple times. I've hunted ducks and geese for 30 years and have never seen a retriever use this technique. He's truly an amazing dog with a very keen nose.

Thank you so much for providing such a quality companion.

~D & J

Griffey & Kyle

Happy owner of Tallgrass Kennels British labrador with his black male british lab sitting by Canada geese they hunted

I wanted to just give you a life up date on my man, Griff!
I can’t tell you the amount of compliments he gets from his demeanor and look! Y’all really are amazing!
He is an amazing dog and an even better bird dog!

Tallgrass Kennels black male British lab in camo hunting vest on shore with ducks hunting

Happy Tallgrass British black lab with UKC orange ribbons on his collar

Man with 5 year old birthday british black lab from Tallgrass Kennels

Duck hunting with british lab Shiny Tallgrass Kennels black male British labrador wearing camo hunting vest holding mallard duck in his mouth by blue lake

Walker had to go about 1/4 mile to get this goose. I was a little late getting the video going. It's in a harvested pea field. We estimated there were about 2,000 honkers, lots of snow geese, and a few hundred ducks feeding in this field the day before we set up. Our group limit was 36 Canada geese, with no limit on snow geese, and 48 ducks. It was another great year for hunting waterfowl in Canada.

Tallgrass Kennels Black male british labrador carrying large Canada goose hunting in field

The guys were trying to estimate the number of waterfowl retrieves Walker has made over the past 8 years. We think it is in excess of 2500. Whatever the number, it's a lot. Add in all the pheasants over the years and he has more than earned his keep! 😀. As Walker ages, we are hoping Asa will take over some of his duties. It will be Asa's first year on pheasant so it will be a learning year, but Walker is more than willing to help teach.

Wrigley, Tucker & the McKays

The ole boy (Tucker, not Dan😊) is still getting along pretty well for 12, & Wrigley is amazing. He is the sweetest boy ever, and
when I turn him loose in the field, he turns into a hard charging bird dog. Can’t say enough about our Tallgrass boys and what a huge part of our lives they have been.

Two yellow handsome male British labs from Tallgrass Kennels sitting in snow pheasant hunting in South Dakota

Handsome block headed yellow british lab from Tallgrass Kennels next to upland birds retrieved in the Midwest. Grouse hunting with british lab

Handsome block headed white british lab from Tallgrass Kennels pheasant hunting in South Dakota with a british lab

Handsome wide headed yellow british lab from Tallgrass Kennels lying on carpet at his home wearing a McGough bandana

Our boy Wrigley is 5 years old now and although we thought Tucker was the best ever, Wrig is every bit as good. He’s smart, athletic, great around the house and awesome in the field. Just a sweet boy. Truly a tribute to you and your amazing Tallgrass dogs!

The Labrador Retriever!

Tallgrass Black male british lab with teal duck in his mouth

Here is Rigby’s first retrieve.
He’s an amazing dog and we are incredibly happy with him. Can’t wait to get him on some upland hunts.
Tons of energy, drive and wants to please.
Plus, he can turn off and be calm in just about any situation when asked (not hyper, just driven).

young controlled British black male lab on lakeside sand with duck

Tallgrass Kennels black male British Lab retrieving a duck out of the water while waterfowl hunting.

Blake, the Great Black British Lab

Good morning Robert & Kiply! I wanted to share some pictures with you from Blake’s first hunt! We went out duck hunting on a farm pond last weekend and he did amazing. For being just a few weeks away from his first birthday I couldn’t be happier with how he performed. It was a fairly slow hunt (probably a good thing for his first time out) but he did great! 3 long retrieves across open water swimming against a strong wind. His drive to retrieve and find birds continues to impress me. I can’t wait to have many more great hunts with our new friend and family member, all thanks to you! We hope you all had a great thanksgiving and wish you an early Merry Christmas!

Joel & Deb

I have had so much fun
with the training and hunting with Dixie.
She has far exceeded my expectations & is already my best trained pup. I know the upside is enormous.
She did not miss a retrieve or cripple this year
both waterfowl & upland.
Over the last week she retrieved 10 Canada geese that were more than half her size. Yesterday she swam over 400 yards to catch a wounded goose then swam in circles until she caught it. Then the long swim back. It was a bit concerning but great to watch. She wouldn’t be denied.
More often than not, she sees the birds before I do.

I do think I will be talking to you soon about a sidekick for her.
~Jeff

Tallgrass British labrador black female in duck boat with owner and duck limit in Pennsylvania

Tallgrass Kennels female black labrador in boat duck blind with hunted wood ducks

Tallgrass Kennels handsome black female British labrador sitting in snow with happy hunter wearing orange next to pheasants after a hunt

Intense black female British lab from Tallgrass Kennels watching for ducks from duck blind while waterfowl hunting

British lab, Dixie & her person, Jeff

Dustin & Zeke

Through my cousin, I was invited to guide at a pheasant outfitter last Sunday - just bring Zeke. So, I did for two reasons - one, I wanted to get him on some pheasants before hunting ND and two, I was curious to see how he would measure up against pro trained birds. I was anxious about the latter as I expected more from dogs that hunted regularly for outfitters and had trained on hundreds of birds.

Well, Zeke blew them out! Flushing and retrieving in some very difficult shelter belts. Going in “amongst them” (birds) in extreme cover without hesitation and moving the birds - good thing he had a kevlar vest or I’m sure the thorns would have got to him. He was the only dog that flushed birds from the cover, all of the others (pointers and spaniels) hunted the grass and flushed no birds. I would guess that Zeke put up at least 30 birds in two miles of work. It was a work of art by the prettiest dog there and I received many comments such as “I loved watching your dog work” and that was from a dog handler! I could have sold him but there is no was I could betray my best friend. It was so much fun and I learned that my dog doesn’t lack in ability, courage, and strength, and knows how to take care of business. Anyway, you were a big part of this day and I just wanted to let you know - so, thanks for your part in a great experience.

The weekend before, my cousin and I took his boat across Oahe reservoir to the west Missouri River breaks north of Ft. Pierre to hunt grouse. The day was beautiful - no wind, temps in the 50’s, blue sky and sunny. The falll colors were full and it was just a great day to be alive and in the outdoors wondering over our Creator’s handiwork. I was alone with Zeke just cresting a break when Zeke put up a lone sharptail. Zeke was skylined and held for the flush. The was the grouse crossed right to left at about 30 yards. My Browning 20 ga Citori came up without thought and the bird crumpled. Zeke rushed to the bird and immediately brought it to me. I wish I had a video because it would be perfect, but the moment will have to be stored in my head. I’ve got several of those videos that I can replay but over time they seem to fade. I’ll enjoy this one as much as I can while it is still fresh. ~ Dustin