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Started Dogs and Finished Dogs

What is a Sporting Life Dog?

Consider this: you are investing in a companion that should hunt 10+ years and may live 12 to 15. If we don’t have a dog ready when you contact us. We can Custom Build for you if you want. It’s worth the wait.

A Sporting Life Dog is a dog that has come from generations of British and Irish bloodlines bred for their hunting abilities but just as important as their hunting and retrieving is their temperament. They are quiet calm companions both at home and the field. We feel that a Lab should be part of the family. And consequently we feel it makes them better hunters. To most hunters in America, hunting / fishing /the outdoors are a way of life. Its who we are. Our dogs may be the ultimate reflection of that lifestyle. Nothing speaks of “The Sporting Life” more than a good honest dog. The constant companion, with the ability, beauty and grace of a well bred Labrador.

Through careful selection of imported dogs from contacts in England, Scotland, Ireland, N. Ireland and Wales, we are able to produce such a hunting companion. We start with the right genetics, and then we build on those natural God given traits. One of my favorite things is to take a puppy and then through careful guidance and discipline bring out the instincts and ability’s that turn him from a floppy eared pup to the kind of dog you can take anywhere: Flooded timber for mallards, goose pit, dog park, neighborhood gatherings, fishing in your drift boat, on morning jogs, and then to work. Its what I gain immense joy from. Knowing that this pup born in my house, trained in my lakes and fields will one day bring many years of happiness to their owners.

Started Dogs/Basic Trained

My Started Dogs are really basically trained dogs. They will be 8 - 11 months old and will have had some form of training since 8 weeks or so of life. Through long walks through the fields and bogs, retrieving wings from early on, through being introduced to water in my “Puppy Pond” that is specially made to be no more than 6” deep, and then on to birds both live and dead, we want to imprint the sights, smells and feeling of what his or her purpose in life will be.

We also believe in socialization….big time. From the time they are born they have human interaction daily….Cuddled, caressed, held and talked to. It makes a difference. They grow to love humans. We are their protector and friend.

weeks they are introduced to our puppy training yard. They learn to follow the handler up and down ramps, kenneling into field blinds, hopping into a johnboat…on land where its nice and stable, as well as over jumps. We also have them follow us into a real duck blind. We do this with treat training so it is all positive and rewarding and pup thinks all of these exercises are great fun. We follow this as well as throwing lots of marks and introducing swimming water as they grow. We want pup to love water and hit it hard. After all most will be waterfowl dogs and we want that love of water to help propel them forward when its cold and icy and demanding. For a couple of months we work on sitting and steadiness as well as lots of exciting short fast fetch work thrown in. Teaching them to “turn it on turn it off”.

We start formalizing training…depending on pup….somewhere in the 5-6 month range. Bringing all of the puppy training together. Then on to formalized field work.

When we think pup is ready to go to his or her new home, we will expect the pup to be:
Steady to shot
Doing multiple retrieves
Love a shotgun
Picking up live and dead game
Working from a duck blind
Working from a platform such as an Avery Rough stand
Starting to honor another dog
Working from a boat

Know:
Sit, Stay, Heel, Here, Down, Place, Kennel, Wait...to exit a doorway, Ok...to release.

In short, the pup is ready for their first season and to be an easy companion at home.

Advanced Retriever/Finished Dog

After basic training some clients want to advance their dogs by having us teach them to handle. It adds greatly to the enjoyment of the gun dog when he or she will line out to take blind retrieves, stop to whistle, and cast multiple directions. It adds more to the partnership between the dog and its owner, not to mention that it makes the dog a more complete hunter.

For basic handling the dog usually goes through the program in 3 to 4 months. We try to keep the exercises simple so that when the dog goes home the owner will be able to work together with the dog to keep it sharp. Most of our training is for duck dogs, meaning most retrieves are kept within 220 yds or less.

After basic handling we can continue training. We can extend the distance, add literal casting, more pattern blinds, and more complicated cold blinds. This is usually about 4+ months. There is nothing like a dog that handles well. It adds so much to your hunt.

Upland

We can also add in quarter and flushing for the upland hunter, making the complete gundog companion.