The Invisilab is one of the most versatile dog blinds on the market because it can be used as a hunting blind, a retriever platform, and a soft-sided crate.

JOSH MILLER OF RETRIEVER ROADMAP

We're gonna dig into a couple products here that are very common products that we use in the field, but it's important that we take the time to get our dogs conditioned to them in training. We preach a lot, practice how you play. So we need to practice first before we go and put our dogs in a game time situation with a new product like this.

There's a lot of different options and a lot of different, uh, things that vary on each one of these options. And you might be sitting here looking at this going, Gosh, there's a lot of differences. What is the right one for me? Well, let's find out what the right one for you is. First let's let's talk about the field blind here.

FIELDHOUSE This is the MoMarsh Field House. The reason I call it a field blind is because often when we would use a blind like this would be in a field hunting situation, a dry field, especially in a field that we're trying to be low profile and we're trying to do our best to hide.

Something that is more high profile, like the INVISILAB here, which we'll get to in a second, is likely gonna stick out in a situation like a dry field hunt, where something like the FIELD HOUSE which just gives that lower profile, it hides the dog well, and the dog can be a right out there with in your blind or beside you in your blind.

Now, one thing I do really like about the FIELD HOUSE here is that you can see it is still slightly raised up off the ground. Still low profile and down on the ground, but it's still raised up even just a couple inches. Why do I like that?

Well, because even though we are dry field hunting, there can still be situations that we're laying in mud and water, or snow and ice. There's so many different things Mother Nature can throw at us. Where this blind right here keeps the dog elevated off that ground a little bit. So your dog doesn't have to be uncomfortable as they lay in, say that mud for hours on end.

This FIELD HOUSE gets them up, keeps them dry, keeps them comfortable. So that's why I really like, you know, that blind. It's. Just that little bit, but that's a big part and a big feature of that blind. InvisiLAB Let's move over to the INVISILAB, because as you can see, this is a very similar product, but there's one glaringly obvious difference, which is of course, those long legs.

So where would a blind like this come into play? Any time that you're hunting in water, specifically deeper water where you want to keep the dog up and out of the water, INVISILAB is gonna be a great option for you. Couple places that come to mind for me would be as we hunt the timber down in Arkansas, or maybe a slough in North Dakota, you know, something that, you know, we need to get them up outta that cold water.

But in a situation that we may not have a lot of cover, right? That's where the canopy comes in. We can still brush this INVISILAB in. We can still keep our dogs hidden, but they can be out there with us, but they're up out of the water. We do not want our dogs standing in water for hours on end. It's very uncomfortable and your dogs are just not going to be able to stay as attentive as if they're dry and they're comfortable and they can do their job. FINAL STAND So this is a very good product for that. As we move over to the FINAL STAND, again, very similar, but a big difference, right? So essentially this is the FINAL STAND is the INVISILAB without the canopy. Okay. So where does this come into play as you fall along in the program? You know by now that the Place Command is a major command that we incorporate into so many different aspects of our training.

This is essentially your place board, and we use this as a place board literally every single day while we are training. But what's so neat about this is that you can also take this into the field. Okay, so let's look at this. We can use this as a place board while we're training. It packs up super nice that you can tote it and carry it around, so you can take it to the kids' baseball game.

You can take it to the backyard barbecue, and you can still be training while in those environments. But then you can also take this into the. In a situation that maybe now you're in the timber that you feel like you don't need, you know, a hide with the canopy. Great option, right? What about in that slew that you feel like you don't need, again, that canopy to hide a great option?

This is gonna be a great tool that you can take with you everywhere you go, and you can use this as your place board. As you can see here, there's a lot of different options when it comes to blinds or stance to take in the field with you. What my hope is that after digging into these, it's a guide for you to go pick out the right one for you and your dog in the situations that you hunt in.

But I can't stress enough. Make sure to get the dog proficient with these products before hitting the field. There's gonna be enough going on in your dog's mind as you hit the field on opening day. Don't make learning a new product. Be one of those. Use these, work with these, get your dog confident with them, and then go have a successful season.

JOSH MILLER,
RETRIEVER ROADMAP

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Thanks, Josh, for your insight on training before you hunt and how these products work!