@Gary, thanks, you're right and I agree. I just had a couple of shots of the monster bird we shot and I wanted to post it.
Rob, my dog is probably a little pissed off. She doesn't like the big honkers. She's a fairly small Lab (53 lbs) and she has a hard time getting a grip on the birds and lifting them to carry. I've worked her with a Dokken goose retrieving dummy in prep for goose hunting which has the size of a medium goose but no mass. She did really well, very steady, marked well, did a little "shopping" (picking up one bird, dropping it and picking up a different bird), but, all in all, she did well.
@Fodal: those snowy hunts like that bring the magic of a winter scene, hungry birds, fast shooting, laughter and hunting buddies who shared the misery of wet, cold blinds, and scary drives on icy roads. Thanks for sharing that. Our hunt on Saturday was dry, warmish, and an easy drive. Your experience has more flavor and is what I would call a REAL goose hunt. Plus your birds were much more educated that the ones we shot on Saturday. For me there has to be some suffering to be a real waterfowl hunt. Plus, there has to be some skill involved to fool the birds into the decoys. It's like steelheading: which I picture as done in the winter, snow flurries (or at least moderate rain, cold water, and temperatures in the high 30's. I'm not a steelheader; I don't mind hunting in the rain but standing in former rain to my waist hoping for one strike, well, I'm just a woosie.
