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This is a painting of a black lab named Gunner in his prime on the bow of his owner's stump knocker marking another flock of blue bills out in the sound. The command "Mark" is often used with gun dogs such as this one to remember a fallen bird to be retrieved later after he completes his current retrieve. Also, I've seen it used in field trials for "blind" retrieves where the owner places his hand beside the dog's face to guide his eyes in the direction of the fallen bird while saying "mark" and then giving the retrieve command which is often the dog's name or the word "Back".
‘Ol Gunner has aged a little over the years, but I was fortunate to hunt a couple of times with him a few years ago and see him mark and complete multiple blind retrieves. I'm not so sure he feels the same about me because my finger is more steady on the brush than it is on the trigger. The dog loves and knows his job well and expects birds to be shot. One scorching September afternoon, we were dove hunting in a cornfield near Lewiston, and Gunner was sitting and panting hard trying to cool off under the blazing sun, looking almost oblivious to what was happening, but when he heard the safety switch click off on his owner's gun the panting ended, the ears went to full attention, and he immediately looked up in the air already on the mark for another retrieve.
