You can train a retrieve to hand, go to a Hunt Test, and have the gunners wound a bird who may run or fight back when your dog arrives to pick him up. Many dogs will hesitate at this point if they have not been trained to do this, and you are out $50. If you don't live on a duck farm, there are several things you can do now, but in the end you will have to proof with live birds. The intent here is to list some things that you can do in the back yard to prepare for training with live birds. These preliminary steps are also compatible with clicker training.
1. Wings on bumper. If you have removed a leg from a roast turkey, you will find this easy-get the knife point into the joint socket (of a dead bird). You can put the wings on a bumper with heavy rubber bands but Cabellas among others sell elastic bands that are terrific for this-you do not want the wings to be falling off. Train "take it" with one wing, two wings, three wings until it is secure. Then train (in the yard) with frozen birds thawed overnight (don't use the microwave-this makes the birds yummy for the dog). This aspect of training will be covered more thoroughly under the clicker retrieve.
2. Fast pick-up drill-progressing from bumpers, winged bumpers, to frozen birds. Sit dog and lay object on ground ten feet away. Return to dog and attach leash. Say 'take it" and run full out at the object. If dog gets it quick-in one stab then C/T-if not, he gets jerked by the lead ending up ten feet away on the other side of the bird. Ask him respectfully, and calmly, where the bird is, think it over together, and repeat drill. Dog should quickly start lunging and grabbing bird like the labs do. Now take off lead and run with dog and C/T only fast pick-ups. Then run only part way out and C/T fast pickups. This is a drill we come back to again and again. (Don't worry if dogs drops bird after click!). Shown to me without the clicks by Bob Hux.
3. Duck-on-a-truck. Get a child's remote control car or truck ($10-20). Try to get one with a flat top as you are going to attach a bumper, or a frozen duck, with rubber bands. My truck has forward and reverse so I turn on reverse and put it down next to a stick, which stalls it. Return to dog and send him to retrieve. As he approaches the truck use the remote to put it in forward so it scoots away. Dogs quickly get used to this and to the wheels turning on the way in. This introduces them to retrieving moving things. I also purchased a battery operated decoy wobbler (a disk that goes inside of decoys to wobble them on the water) and sewed it inside of a soft bumper (with the switch accessible). These really wobble, shaking the dog's head side to side while he is returning it to you, thereby mimicking a struggling duck.