Asking for opinions on what kennel i should send my dog. I want him ready for this next duck season, i already have obedience down, just want basic gun dog training

Bear Creek Retrievers Owners name is John Watts best around.

BBFF Kennels in Brilliant,AL

Ethan Corkren is the trainer. He's produced some good dogs over the years.

Hunted with an amazing dog in Jonesboro AR this year. Guide said he was trained in Athens Al, can't remember name of kennel.

Blackbelt retrievers Demopolis Alabama brandon smith will have him ready

I have a really good trainer here in Montgomery. He's a young guy but his dogs are awesome. Ben Graham at 334-991-0492. I was going to send mine to him for some refresher on blind retrieves but we lost him when he was hit by a car before the season began. I think you will really like him.

Dr. B

Mr jim on here laidback

River Bottom Retrievers in Fairhope Alabama Noah Spitzer

Do it yourself it is cheaper and you get more satisfaction out of knowing you did it yourself. If you have the obedience down to your satisfaction then you are half way home. Believe me I do not know a whole lot but I do know dogs.

I disagree with geezer obedience isn't even an 8th of what goes into one. That's what most people say they hit a wall after wall then off he goes to pro and the pro has to fix the holes that were made by the do it yourself guy

Do any of you guys have experience with oak bowery kennels in auburn alabama? I am close to there and was thinking about just trying that out.

Yep. Chris Adams worked wonders on mine. My old lab is semi retired now at 11 but he went from started to advanced at Chris's place. He stayed there for about 3-4 months for started then i hunted him for dove and duck season then sent him back for advanced after i seasoned the dog and myself. Chris is a stand up guy in my book. I also know several other folks that sent their dog to him also. Just remember all dogs aren't cut out for that particular line of work. If that's the case don't get discouraged and figure out where your current pups drive's shine and build on that and plan for the next pup.

thanks man i think im going to try him

Chris is really good. He helped me with Rascal when I first got started.

JWM be careful...Geezer knows what he is talking about.

And anyone who can train a dog that's not 100 percent obedient wastes alot of time saying here, come back, and heel...and the worst one...NOOOOOOOO!

Geezer has trained more dogs for more years than anyone I know. He was one of the original founding members of the HRC. He was a very respected judge for many years. If you are fortunate enough to get to know him consider yourself lucky.

Limestone Kennels maybe, my budfy Hunter shell owns it. They have some awesome dogs.

I appreciate the kind words from Laidback and JayHook but I just used to love to see a dog that was trained by the owner. It seemed to be a special bond between them. I do not say that a pro trainer is worthless they have some very good qualities. Unless you are going to run your dog in competition I would take time, fifteen to twenty minutes a day and train the dog myself. In competition if your dog runs the bank to retrieve a downed bird you are pretty much out, but if your dog runs the bank in real life and brings back the bird what the heck? Competition and real life are two totally different things. It is up to you to what you want. mho One last thing when I was judging I loved to see a dog come to the line wagging his or her tail because they were happy, but when a dog came to the line with their tail between their legs I knew they had been mistreated and were afraid they were going to made a mistake. Once again completion and real life are two different things.

I trained my lab (Rio) myself. He is the first lab I've ever owned and I couldn't be more proud of how he turned out. I still train with him now even though he's 4 years old and does everything I want him to do.

Geezer this thread and your knowledge of dogs is just another reason I'd love to meet you one day. If you're ever down in South Alabama look me up. We can probably even find a hog for you to shoot so you can check that off your bucket list.

Geezer,
FYI Central Alabama will be having a hunt test at the cattle ranch April 8-9th. You are always invited to any and all of our events. Judges dinner will be the Friday before and if you are interested P.M. me. Ronnie H. always asks about you when he judges. We would love to see you and possibly have you cover gun safety at Finished if you are available.

Mark Land

I suggest reading up and training yourself. The reward is priceless. Check out Bill Hillmann's videos on YouTube. If not Jonathan Watts at Bear Creek Retrievers is your go to guy.

Train yourself. Go buy Water Dog. Been in publication since the 60's and still one of the best ways to train your dog yourself. Start at chapter one and you will be amazed at what the dog can do by the end and the bond you will have will make the dog better for you. I have a ton of experience with this and currently have a British Lab that is top of his game.

HCV is spot on. Simple. Be consistent. Your dog will fully handle at 6 months if you are able to put the time in. The internet has made alot of "trainers". No replacing threading about it.

And enjoy old man Wolters hairdo...looks like Einstein! LOL

Water Dog is a great book written in the 1950's or 60's. It was cutting edge at the time and Richard Wolters was a great salesman. Times have changed and there are easier, faster and much better ways to train a dog today.

I trained my last lab and it was awesome. She would out hunt and work most professional trained dogs, people were amazed that I did it. A huge part of it is how much drive they have. I tell people she trained me on how to train her. Lots of satisfaction watching her. I sure miss her.

Assuming you dog has a hunting background/good drive, you couldn't go wrong doing the training yourself. I trained my current dog with me hunting in mind, not hunt tests. From personal experience, when duck hunting, the majority of your birds will be somewhat easy marks for the dog. Repetitive marking and denials helped really turn it on for my dog. Essentially, if you can train your dog to be obiedent, sit still and be quiet, the natural instincts will do the rest.

That's just my .02, for what it's worth.

If you were closer, I would help you out. I have the facilities to work both land and water.

I Second that. Jwattsmojo on here

If you want to see some really good dog work come to the HRC Grand starting Monday at Forever wild formally State Cattle Ranch in Greensboro Alabama. There will be a ton of pro handlers there. I understand there are over four hundred dogs entered.

I trained 3 duck dogs using this book. It works

always wanted to go to this when I lived down that way. I bet it's awesome watching those dogs

Chris is doing an awesome job with my dog it only took him 2 months to get basic gun down 100% and he thought it would take 3. Doing hand signals and stopping on the whistle now. Anybody want any videos I'll be glad to share