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PUPS, OLDER DOGS, MIXED-BREEDS WELCOME

PHILOSOPHY:

A downed bird brought back to the blind is a SUCCESSFUL retrieve.

We cater to the hunter whose main concern is shooting ducks or geese and having them brought back to him.  Not all hunters can afford to have their dog receive the training required to be Field Trial-ready.  Fine tuning your dog's performance so he can challenge for a blue ribbon takes a lot of time.

We train well-behaved retrievers who will respond to voice, hand, and whistle commands, and bring back your downed birds.  Would he be competitive at a field trial?  Maybe not, but he WILL bring back your birds.  If a Field Trial Champion is your main goal, we can put you in touch with a couple of other trainers who train dogs for that specific purpose.

Frankly, if the dog goes out, hunts for the bird (if he doesn't find it right away), follows commands and brings the bird back with him, that's a successful retrieve.  If he doesn't quite return on the exact same line he took on the way out or hold the bird until it's taken from his mouth, he won't be punished.  While those things are nice to see, they're basically for show and have no actual bearing on whether or not the retrieve was successful.

PRE-TRAINING REQUIREMENTS:

• Your pup must be completely weaned from its mother
• Your pup must have proof that all shots are current
• Your dog must not be pregnant
• Your pup/dog must pass an examination by our vet, at your expense, before he is allowed to stay in our kennel
• You must supply the vet order and an ample supply of any medications required for your dog
• All documentation provided by your vet will be reviewed by ours

Jack - Age 3 months

Jack - Age 5 months

Jack - Age 9 months

Zeke - Age 2 years

Zeke - Age 4 years

Zeke - Age 10 years

Zeke - Age 12 years, LAST RETRIEVE

OUR TRAINERS:

Training runs in the family.

Our head trainer, John, was raised around dogs when his father bred and trained German shorthairs and beagles.  As he grew older, his love of waterfowling took him down a different path and he has been training his own retrievers for the last 12 years.  

John's assistant is his 12-year old son, Conor.  He assists in all facets of training - from the basic commands to throwing or hiding dummies for long and/or blind retrieve practice - and is 'trainer-in-charge of morale' for all dogs.  He does a fine job of ensuring that each dog has plenty of food and fresh water, as well as ample love, petting, and play over the course of a day. 

You are encouraged to visit your dog as often as practical, but please call us ahead of time so we can be sure to be here when you show up.  Kennels are locked so you won't be able to visit your dog unless we're here.

TECHNIQUES: 

We don't train with pain.  There will be no electric collars, no pinched ears or lips, and no beatings.  We may occasionally swat your dog's behind during 'SIT' and 'LAY DOWN' training and he may hear the occasional raised voice, but we train by using the reward approach - do well, receive praise and love.

Once your dog is nearing the end of his training, we will request that you make yourself available for your own training.  We'll show you what commands to use, when and how to use them, and how to react to what your dog does.

BREEDS TRAINED: 

We'll train traditional water dog breeds and water dog mixes.

We have a mix (lab/golden retriever/chow) who has hunted with us since 1996 and has retrieved nearly 2,000 birds.  The number of birds he has failed to retrieve can be counted on one hand.  Those who have seen him work, from regular hunters to owners of Field Trial Champions, have expressed awe and praise for his skill, heart, and ability to retrieve birds considered irretrievable.

He has retrieved dead mallards by using his front paws to break through ice until he could reach them; he has dived completely under water to catch a crippled ringneck; he has come back to the blind with multiple ducks in his mouth; he has retrieved downed wood ducks that sailed into a cattail marsh almost 1/4 mile distant; he has fought crippled Canada geese; and he has done an 8-goose retrieve, no bird under 10 pounds, in 32-degree water. 

So we know mixes can become excellent retrievers.

THE TRAINING:

Your pup will be worked with at least twice daily and played with as time permits.  No day will go by without some play time.

His retrieval training will be done with dummies and actual duck and goose wings.  No pigeons.  Birds taken during the current or previous seasons will provide the wings (frozen and thawed as necessary).

Severe weather may cut back or cancel training for the day.

We will teach these basic voice commands:

• Sit
• Stay
• Heel
• Come
• Lay Down
• Fetch

We will also teach these hunting commands.  Dogs will learn to obey by hand, whistle, or both:

• Go
• Stop
• Stop and Stay
• Lay Down
• Directional
• Come

We will teach your dog that these things are GOOD:

• Loud Noises (guns)
• Being Quiet in the Blind
• Water
• Diving for Cripples
• Dead Birds

Optionally, we will also teach your dog these special voice commands (more time will be needed with your dog):

• 'Shake It Off' - This is for when he has completed a water retrieve and you don't want him to shake the water off in the blind.  When you tell him to shake, he will shake BEFORE entering the blind.
• 'Decoy' - If you want to hunt water for ducks and geese but can't do it because you don't have a boat to set-out and retrieve decoys, this command will teach your dog to retrieve your decoys for you ON COMMAND.  We have NEVER had a dog who, once trained to this command, made the mistake of retrieving a decoy instead of a bird.

YOUR DOG'S ACCOMMODATIONS:

While your dog is with us, he will stay in his own clean, fan-cooled / lamp-heated 10' x 10' indoor kennel, including his own doghouse.  He will have his own food and water dishes, as well as his own pool if the weather is hot.

Your dog's water, including his pool, will be changed no less than once a day (whether he needs it or not).  We will feed him only the food you provide.  No table scraps.

We will also make sure your dog is given the proper dosage of heartworm medicine if he stays with us for at least one month.