I just finished reading a great article in the current issue (December 2011/January 2012) of Gun Dog, titled “The Professionals” which lays out guidelines for selecting a trainer. If you don’t subscribe to Gun Dog Magazine, I highly recommend that you pick up this issue just for the article.
It took me about a year to find a trainer who fit my criteria, and in the process I learned a great deal about techniques, training and trainers. Although Elvis and Mia didn’t have a training program their first year, I did introduce to them to the basic concepts and didn’t make any of the critical mistakes that could have ruined them. For example, I was told of one Weimaraner owner who sent his dog off to a trainer to get “finished” and it came back a complete wreck, unable to ever hunt again.
I personally would not send my dogs off to a trainer, but not everyone has that luxury. However If I were to send my dogs off to a trainer, the only one I would unquestionably consider is the one I work with, who I know from personal experience. There are two other trainers that I would consider, since I and my trainer follow their methodologies, but even so, I would not send my dogs to them based solely on reputation.
Tags: bird dog training, dog training methodologies, guidelines for dog trainers, gun dog, gun dog magazine, selecting a dog trainer, training mistakes
January 17, 2012 at 5:04 am |
We have sent our dogs off to trainers, but you have to do your homework. When we were looking for a trainer, the first thing we did was go to tests and just watch them with the dogs. They didn’t know we were watching, but we were. We watched how the dogs interacted with them when they were airing them, how they came to the line, how they ran the test and how they interacted with a dog should the dog NQ. Just watching can tell you a lot. Then we trained with our trainer to see if we would mesh. We were checking him out, but he was checking us out too.
When we were looking around, there were several trainers that we thought would do well with our dogs, but they lived so far away we felt that was not a good option because it makes it hard to check on your dog’s progress.
Storm will probably be off to the trainer again come Spring to get her in shape for Masters. Sending her off last Spring was one of the best things we did for her. She came back a more confident dog. She got to train 6 days a week and she loved it. Puppy will go off for a bit when he is older for FF. With the right trainer, it can be a great experience for the dog.
January 18, 2012 at 7:49 pm |
Thanks for some great insight and glad you found a good trainer. Keep us updated on Storm and Thunder… and of course, Freighter too!