It’s easy to get overwhelmed with training and focus on the more fun drills with your dog — advanced drills are exciting, and there’s a high sense of accomplishment when you stretch your dog out over long marks or even blinds. However, don’t forget the importance of reinforcing the basics. Recall (coming to you on command), heel work and extended sit drills are all great basic obedience drills that will maintain your duck dog’s manners in the blind next season. Try routinely using the first 10-15 minutes of your training session to keep your dog sharp on these basic requirements. That will also give your dog a warmup and a marker that it’s now training time, not playtime.