Dad got his last lab in '95 or '96, a long and lanky lab that was an ungainly swimmer. His back end was always a little deep as he tried like the dickens to keep his head completely out of the water. He'd readily go swimming and/or go in the water to retrieve a bird, it was just awkward looking, slow, and kind of clumsy. My 1st English Cocker could swim laps around that lab.
Our 2nd lab HATED retrieving waterfowl. He'd do an aggressive retrieve on them. Charge into the water, swim hard to get them, swim hard back to shore, and promptly spit them out when he was on land. He'd stand on a wounded bird but wanted it out of his mouth ASAP. Shoot a pheasant over water or drop it into the wet part of a slough and he'd retrieve the wet bird to hand just like you'd expect. He musta not liked the taste of ducks, and, I can't say I blame him.
We had a lovely golden retriever female for about fourteen years as a family pet. She liked hunting quail and pheasant. But she hated ducks. We had a live drainage ditch through the property fed by warm water springs. Some winters it was the only open water for miles, and you could not see the water for the mallards swimming. My young teenage son and I would step up on the bank and shoot five or six as they vaulted off the water.
The dog absolutely loved to swim, and practicaly lived in that drain ditch during the summer. But she would swim out and take a sniff of the ducks, and come straight back to our side. No way was she putting one of those nasty things in her mouth.
