In the rolling plains of West Texas, Sam Porter and his wife Amber operate Dirty Texas Outfitters, a renowned hunting outfitter. While DTO guides hunt for a variety of game, they’re particularly known for upland and waterfowl hunting—and their team of dutiful birding dogs. We checked in with Sam to learn about DTO, their crew of hunting dogs, and why they choose Rex Specs for their four-legged team.
Rex Specs: First off, tell us a little about Dirty Texas Outfitters. How did you turn your love of hunting into your work?
Sam Porter: I grew up hunting with my dad and other family members. They were big quail hunters, so that’s where I spent a lot of my early days. My grandfather was the one who first introduced me to duck hunting, and from that very first hunt I was hooked.
When I went to Texas Tech in 2014, I decided to take my passion and turn it into something bigger. I started guiding hunts to put myself through school, and that’s really how Dirty Texas Outfitters was born. It was a lot of trial and error, but I learned quickly, worked hard, and built everything on honesty and doing right by the people who hunted with me.
A fun fact: I actually bought my wife’s engagement ring with money I made from guiding hunts in college. Hunting hasn’t just been a career for me; it’s been a way of life that’s shaped who I am.
What’s the best part about hunting in Texas?
The best part about hunting in Texas is the sheer volume of birds. We’re in a really unique spot where the Central Flyway converges, and a huge number of birds spend their winters here escaping the northern cold. That makes this part of Texas truly special.
Another big part of what makes Texas so great is the variety of places and species you can hunt. You can chase sandhill cranes in certain regions, geese in others, and even go after different species of ducks and geese depending on where you are. The diversity is hard to beat.
On top of that, the people here make the experience even better. Folks are genuine, kind, and always willing to lend a hand, which is a big part of what makes Texas hunting culture so strong.
Can you introduce us to the dog staff members of Dirty Texas Outfitters, their favorite hunts, and favorite post-hunt reward?
Rip is a five-and-a-half-year-old yellow lab, and he’s all about sandhill crane hunting. His favorite treat is Mrs. Baird’s powdered donuts, and when it comes to the hunt, he has a signature move. He loves to linebacker cranes, hitting them like a freight train, and that has become his claim to fame in the field.
Sadie is a 13-year-old German shorthaired pointer. Quail hunting has always been her passion, and after a hunt she has earned her favorite reward, a cheeseburger. Over her long career, she has pointed countless birds. One of her standout moments came during a recent quail hunt when she caught scent of a bird mid-sprint. She stopped so hard she actually flipped, but popped right back up and locked back into her point without missing a beat.
Heidi is Sadie’s daughter, a 10-year-old German shorthaired pointer. Like her mom, quail is her favorite hunt, and her snack of choice is McDonald’s french fries. She is also known for her knack for finding porcupines whenever we are out in quail country. She just cannot resist it.
In addition to those three, we have some younger dogs on the team. Stormy is a one-and-a-half-year-old English setter who shines on upland hunts. Her favorite hunts are chasing quail in the West Texas mesquite flats, and her post-hunt treat of choice is Ritz crackers. We have Chili (yellow lab), Sadie Mae (red lab), Butter (yellow lab), and Spur (black lab), too.
And then there is Sunny, our two-year-old miniature dachshund. She may be the smallest of the group, but she has a big personality. Her favorite hunt is dove hunting, and when the work is done, she enjoys SkinnyPop popcorn with her mom.
How long have these dogs been a part of your outfitter?
Our dogs have been a part of Dirty Texas Outfitters since day one. It all started with Sadie Bell, our oldest German Shorthaired Pointer, and from there we’ve grown the kennel over the years. Along the way we’ve lost some dogs, just due to life and unfortunate circumstances, but the dogs have always been at the heart of what we do. They’ve been with us from the very beginning, and we truly love our four-legged friends more than anything.
How do you get your hunting dogs ready for the season?
The first thing we focus on is conditioning. We want to make sure our dogs are in shape, so they don’t risk pulling a muscle or tearing a tendon once the season starts. After that, we move into training and fine-tuning. Obedience is a big part of it, but the real difference comes from real-life scenarios, because birds make a bird dog.
For our upland dogs, that might mean working with pen-raised quail, and for our retrievers it’s pen-raised ducks. We run through a variety of situations to simulate what they’ll see in the field. By the time season rolls around, they’re conditioned, sharp, and ready to work.
Take us through prep for a hunt with your dogs and how you get them ready to go into the field.
By now, most of our dogs know the drill. The second they see a shotgun come out of the safe, they know it’s go time. Our job is to make sure they’re safe and set up for success.
If a dog is wearing an e-collar, it is there so we can correct them if needed and keep them out of dangerous situations. We put a big emphasis on obedience because that is what ensures they will listen when it matters most. A well-trained dog is a safe dog, and that is always our top priority.
We also focus on protecting them in the field. For our upland dogs, running through mesquite and grass can put all kinds of seeds and debris in their eyes, so we make sure they are always equipped with Rex Specs for eye protection. On waterfowl hunts, it is just as important. Sandhill cranes are notorious for their razor sharp talons, and Rex Specs help keep our dogs’ eyes safe from serious injury.
What dog gear necessities do you bring out on a hunt?
The first thing I always bring is Rex Specs. Protecting our dogs’ eyes is critical. Keeping their eyes safe means they can stay on top of their game and see clearly throughout the hunt.
The main Rex Specs gear we use every day in the field are the V2 Goggles. Without them, our dogs could be seriously harmed. Before we started using them, we had a crane scratch a dog’s eye so badly that he lost all vision in that eye. That was a turning point for us, and ever since then the V2 Goggles have been non-negotiable.
For our upland dogs, the goggles are just as important. They protect against scratches from brush, seeds and grass, and even encounters with things like porcupines or skunks. Out in the field, there are so many unpredictable variables, and the Rex Specs V2 Goggles give our dogs the protection they need to stay safe and keep working.
Beyond that, I always carry some emergency gear just in case something happens. A staple gun, plenty of gauze, a tourniquet, and Benadryl are must haves. If a dog ever gets hurt or has a reaction in the field, those items give us the ability to stabilize them and keep them alive until we can reach an emergency hospital or veterinary clinic.
What’s the best thing about working with a good hunting dog?
To me, working with a good hunting dog is a lot like raising a kid. You pour your heart and soul into them, give them the resources and training they need, and do everything you can to make them the best they can possibly be. Watching a dog do what it was bred to do and seeing that switch flip in their head when it all clicks, is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
A good hunting dog does not just make the hunt more enjoyable, it can also make it more accessible. For people who may not be able to walk as far or keep up physically, a dog can save countless steps and still keep them active and involved in the hunting world. That partnership is what makes it so special.
Any tips and/or advice for people who are training their own hunting dogs?
My two biggest pieces of advice are dedication and patience. At the end of the day, these are dogs, not people. They are incredibly smart, but they need time, consistency, and repetition to really learn. Routine is everything. There is no gray area in training a hunting dog. It is black and white, and you have to stay on top of it. A dog is like a ball of clay. You can let it sit there and get hard, or you can mold it into the tool you want it to be. That molding process takes consistency, discipline, and patience.
If a dog does something wrong during training, you cannot reward that behavior. For example, if you are running drills and throw a bumper, and the dog breaks before being sent, you stop them immediately. Bring them back, maybe even sit them out while you run another dog. That way they understand, “I messed up, and I need to do better next time.” It takes time and commitment, but the payoff of a well-trained hunting dog is worth every bit of effort.
At Dirty Texas Outfitters, the hunting dogs are an indispensable part of the family, dutiful companions that thrive on working alongside their humans—and enjoy head scratches and their favorite treats after a long day in the field! Of course, in order for Sadie, Rip, and the rest of the pups to give it their all when out on the hunt, safety is paramount. Rex Specs is proud to provide the trusted eye protection of V2 Goggles for Dirty Texas Outfitters’ four-legged crew.
Interested in learning more about hunting in West Texas? Follow @dirtytexasoutfitters on Instagram.