Welcome!
Welcome to the forum, tchug. It's a good group of (somewhat) serious bird folks and I've learned a lot this year by paying attention to what they're talking about.
If I can say so without sounding like a snot, you might have better luck getting these guys to tag along with you if you don't take an untrained, unproven dog along for the fun. My recommendation would be that you take him/her out to a preserve sometime after the season ends and test on pen-raised birds.
Just my two cents, I may get blasted for it, but please recognize that I mean to be helpful.
Anyway, best of luck next week. At least you'll be in the field. I'm in meetings all friggin' week.