Bird Dog Trainers

[rdid_lewis]

Im looking to send my pup away in the spring for his upland training. Anyone have experience with trainers in Alberta?? Mixed reviews on lots of places, and no reviews on others! Any personal experience with local trainers is appreciated! My pup is a GSP.


All i can find is old threads on here, not very many recent reviews.

[elkhunter11]

Contact wwbirds, he trains bird dogs, and raises his own birds for training .

Or join a NAVHDA chapter , and learn how to train your dog with their help. The handler has a lot to learn as well, a handler can actually undo a lot of what a dog has been taught.

Or send your dog put to a professional, then join a NAVHDA chapter, and work your dog with them afterwards.

[bessiedog]

What Elk said.

It’s not that hard to train a hunting dog. These groups will train YOU up real well and you’ll have a great life experience.

This mail away training thing, while effective... makes a bit more of a robot dog. It dosent bond to you as Alpha as strongly. Oh yes... it’ll work Awsome for you. But there’s a relationship piece there too that seems to be lost.

That bond is a huge thing for me.


Maybe it’s kinda like when kids get sent to boarding school... I dunno.

[Evan83]

Got a new pup this spring as well and we have been doing the obedience classes but there doesn’t seem to be much as far as bird training at least in the Medicine Hat area. Not interested in sending her away as I want to learn as well. Anyone a member of a NAVDHA chapter that could give me more info?

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Evan83

Got a new pup this spring as well and we have been doing the obedience classes but there doesn’t seem to be much as far as bird training at least in the Medicine Hat area. Not interested in sending her away as I want to learn as well. Anyone a member of a NAVDHA chapter that could give me more info?

https://www.prairievistanavhda.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/156167118188333/

[Evan83]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

https://www.prairievistanavhda.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/156167118188333/

Thanks!

[pavilion]

I have a GSP, she went to gold wing kennels in magrath, I'm happy and I know a few other guys in the city with the same dogs that are happy as well

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[rstan]

Randy with Blackfoot Kennels did a great job with our pup. As first-time bird dog owners, Randy did an exceptional job training both the owner as well as the dog. He regularly invited us to his facility to understand the training process and gave us some drills and advice to continue training at home.

We had a great experience.

http://www.blackfootkennels.ca/

[Little fish 89]

I took my GSP to ring neck kennels just outside strathmore for obedience training. They did a fantastic job there. I did the bird training myself after that but the obedience training they did at ring neck was worth every penny.


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[birdman86]

For guys that have sent dogs away for training, do you feel like the dog's personality or bond changed at all? My guys 18 months so we're solidly bonded but obedience.....shaky at best. This thread got me thinking about sending him away, but man, Ringneck wants me to be completely absent for the month of obedience training and that's a tough pill to swallow.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by birdman86

For guys that have sent dogs away for training, do you feel like the dog's personality or bond changed at all? My guys 18 months so we're solidly bonded but obedience.....shaky at best. This thread got me thinking about sending him away, but man, Ringneck wants me to be completely absent for the month of obedience training and that's a tough pill to swallow.

And yet Randy Blanchard encourages the owner to visit the facility to better understand the training process. I know which one I would choose. Randy Blanchard did run some courses for our club, and he is excellent.

[sns2]

I know people who are extremely pleased with bird dogs from both Randy (Blackfoot Kennels) and Maunty (Ringneck Kennels).

To provide some balance, I understand Maunty's position.

I sent my first dog to a pro trainer back in 1985 as a 17 yr old kid. She was a GSP I bought as a 3 yr old derby dog after becoming friends with the owner who was Pres of the Edmonton Pointing Dog Club via the sportsman's show when they used to have a display. She was a tremendous hunting dog, with Derby placements, but the owner had 4 dogs and wasn't giving her the time she needed. She had promise, so I made my dad a deal that I would pay half the monthly fee to send her to Bob Dietering, a well known pro in Spokane, who is now in the GSPCA Hall of Fame as a trainer.

She got down there and he broke her in short order. The first Open Gun Dog Stake she ran in (Inland Empire Brittany Club), she beat 35 other dogs to win first place, with at least half being run by pros. She was good. Anyhow, I flew down to Spokane during Spring Break to visit her. What a wonderful thing for a kid who lived and breathed hunting dogs. I was in my glory. Later that summer, in July, I drove down to spend more time with her.

Bob and his family were great with me, letting me stay in their home. However, after leaving, both times, he told me he had to back up in her training as she was not the same after I left. She acted like a different dog.

The point is, that there is more than one way to get to the same destination, and I know firsthand that Maunty is not being unreasonable. It may seem harsh, but he wants his clients' dog to succeed as much as the owners do. His livelihood is based on it.

Both are good. Add WWBIRDS to your list and you have the three best upland trainers in the province, IMO.

Good luck.

[wwbirds]

There is a lot more to it. I generally ask owners to stay away for 2 full weeks as that is the assessment bonding period for me with their dog. At first the dog has no idea who this guy is that is giving them commands and insisting on 110% compliance first command every time. Having the owners stop in during this time frame gives the dog hope they will be rescued and return to the same rules and commands they have become used to.
That behavior is often what landed them here in the first place.

The other side of the coin is that unless I know you are a very experienced dog handler I will not accept the dog unless you commit at least 1 per week session to train with me.
I have had it happen in the past where the owner was too busy to come out and train (maybe that was part of the problem?) so when the dog leaves here they may not be capable of handling the dog properly.
Many handlers don t realize how many times they repeat commands thus training the dog that obedience is optional until they hit a certain tone of voice. Many handlers also ask the dog to do something instead of insisting. rule of thumb is you should not be giving the command unless you are in the position to lead the dog to the correct response (think check cord or leash for yard training). If you don't have immaculate close range control you wont have any at distance or with distractions.
Often the dog listens to what he has been trained but the new owner/trainer doesn't know what to train and why they should be training it.

[drake]

Let me be clear....I have nothing against folks who send their dogs away for training.

Would I do it?....nope. I have really enjoyed learning how to train a dog. Especially though these Covid times. I plan my lessons and study up, then head out to the training ground and execute the plan. It’s been a blast. Has there been some frustration?.... a little bit now and again, but the fun part is when you get home and try and figure out what went wrong in a lesson and how to fix/prevent it from happening again. In my case it’s been moving to quickly and assuming my foundation was stronger than it was. It’s been cool to see the pup mature and catch on to different concepts. There will be no one to blame for any of his failures or shortcoming....but no body will be able to take credit for his accomplishments either. People always talk about time (or lack of it), but it’s like 10-30 mins of formal training a day (and it’s fun).

Just another perspective.

[wwbirds]

Old analogy is you brush your teeth everyday but when you have a problem you go to a dentist.
Not all dogs come and stay for months at a time.
Some get a puppy and admit they dont really know what or how to train or dont have the equipment or grounds for land and water training without traveling great distance so leave the dog here.
Some fall into the trap of only playing and socializing the puppy for the first 6 months and realize the obedience (or field work) now needs to be accentuated.
Some just want a little help with the head start program or a training plan they can do themselves so they avoid as many rookie mistakes as they can so they (or me) don't have to back track and spend time fixing things.
Many of my "clients" have become friends and hunting partners and are on their third or fourth dog self training since I trained the first dog for and with them 30 plus years ago.
As I have probably said 100 times on this forum training the dogs is easy it just takes consistency and control but showing a new owner the do's and don't before they become bad habits often avoids an expensive session in the future. Sometimes the training of the owner is the most challenging and it is often not because of their attitude but rather the information overload. Why we instill certain skills in a puppy we don't expect to need until a year or two down the road just because they are more receptive at a young age. Whistle sits and remote whistle sits comes to mind as an example and I generally start this by 4 months so it is ingrained in the first year.

[Versatile]

It amazes me how many pointing dog owners sent their dogs to lab trainers simply because of convenience.

Lots of good pointing dog trainers in the north west USA and transport is easy. Do yourself a favor,goethe most out of your dog by sending it to an a pro who has experience working with your breed or better yet working with that line of dog and has some accomplishments to back it up. It wont be cheap but in the end using the right trainer over the most convenient trainer is better in the long run.