To many bird hunters a big part of the pleasure of a day in the field is found in watching the dogs work.  Whether it be a German shorthair on point or a big Labrador splashing back to the blind with a mallard drake in his mouth, the thrill is the same.  While the HVCC is not a gun dog club, our members include some of the most knowledgeable and experienced dog handlers in the Province.  That shouldn’t be surprising.  With the decline of upland bird numbers and the loss of so much bird hunting habitat on Vancouver Island, the HVCC offers dog handlers a great training environment for their retrievers, spaniels, pointers and setters.

Many of our members are also members of the three gun dog clubs on Vancouver Island.  We encourage HVCC members to also consider membership in these clubs:

The Salt Chuck Hunting Retriever Club (http://www.schrc.homein.ca/)

The Vancouver Island Retriever Club (http://www.viretrieverclub.ca/)

The Vancouver Island Pointing Dog Club (http://www.vancouverislandpointingdogclub.com/)

HVCC regulations require that members use a dog on walk up shoots for pheasant and partridge.  However, the member is not required to bring a dog for our high pheasant shoots as dog handling is provided by Club dog handlers.  These high pheasant shoots are terrific events for dog handlers as the dog can make as many retrieves in a few hours as normally it would make all season.  For the shooter these shoots are a chance to witness a level of dog handling that few are privileged to see. At our waterfowl farms members are encouraged to have a dog with them in the blind but this is not mandatory.

If you don’t have a dog, don’t let that put you off membership in the HVCC.  Many of our members don’t have dogs of their own.  Our high pheasant shoots allow members without dogs to use up all their birds during the season.  If you prefer walk up shooting or waterfowl shooting you will find another member with a dog to shoot with you.  Currently the Club is putting together a list of its members with dogs who are willing to hunt with members who don't.