NATCHEZ — In the springtime, most people expect visitors in Natchez to be of the two-legged variety, but this weekend will feature over 70 guests of a different breed.

The Miss-Lou Retriever Club will host a qualifying round of competition as a part of the Super Retriever Series Wednesday through Sunday in Natchez and Woodville.

The competition will feature teams of trainers and dogs in amateur and professional divisions from around the southeast including as far as South Carolina, Texas, Missouri and Florida.

The event will run from 7:30 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. each day and will begin at Hillside Plantation on Hutchins Landing Road in Natchez.

“Natchez is a great venue for any event,” Miss-Lou Retriever Club member Leo Joseph III said.

The 53 professionals will compete Wednesday and Thursday and the 26 amateur participants will compete Saturday and Sunday. Each division will feature the same events.

Dogs will have to run a series of courses and will be judged on how well they are able to hunt fake ducks.

The course is aiming to simulate a realistic hunting situation. While some ducks will be shot into the air and left for the dogs to remember, other ducks will be placed throughout the route for the dogs to find.

“We are trying to find the best hunting and field dogs around,” Joseph said. “I’m excited to see the level of performance.”

The top three dogs in each division will be invited to the overall Crown Champion competition in November in Huntsville, Ala.

Joseph said in order to host the event, his club had to contact the SRS and prove that they had the land, resources and staff to put on the event.

Joseph said the judges will decide the location for the remainder of competition days, and the best way to keep up with information and scores is to follow the Miss-Lou Retriever Club on Facebook.

The Woodville location is 10391 Highway 61 N.

Admission is free to the public, and Joseph asks spectators to not wear any bright clothes.

“I think any duck hunter would enjoy coming out and watching these dogs,” Joseph said.