Utah Hunting Dog Training Blog

Had a good day training with a friend of mine who is working with a 6 month old german shorthair puppy. We planted several hens in some cover at the pheasant farm and just let the dogs work game. I was working with my Lizzy dog, a 7 month old female american brittany from Blueridge Brittany Kennels in Texas. Lizzy did a great job with the challenging cover (thick cat tails) in a marshy area. She dove right into the cover in true britt fashion and found a few birds. When the situations were just right we shot a couple of birds over her. We were careful of the distance between her and the gun fire. And we made sure she was intent on the bird before firing. She marked both birds very nicely and with a little encouragement retrieved them both to hand. The two dogs ended up busting a couple of rooster pheasants as well in some heavy cover.

Choosing a Puppy American Brittany, Gun Introduction, Pheasant Hunting, Retrieving

These past few months have been a little bit sad for me since my best dog training buddy Chris Colt took a job in a neighboring state and moved. Chris runs Cove Mountain Kennels and trains hunting dogs for others and is good at what he does. I was always glad to plant birds for him or do whatever I could to be helpful. I learned a lot from being around him and watching him work with pointing dogs. He is really good at reading dogs and bringing them along at their own pace. Training pointing dogs can be a lot of fun, sometimes even more fun than hunting behind them. But, without a good training partner it can get a little ominous and not quite so fulfilling. I’ve got a couple of new brittany pups to work with this spring and am on the prowl for a couple of new dog training partners in central Utah. However, If you ever get up to Idaho and need your gun dog trained or tuned up for fall, give Chris a call. You won’t be disappointed.

Dog Training Journal American Brittany, Bird Introduction, Hunting Buddies, Professional Trainers

This past week I was able to attend the 2010 American Brittany Club Western Futurity competition in Sonoita, AZ. There is a field portion and a show competition to evaluate the litters from 2008 brittany breedings. While some dogs were owner handled and trained, many folks prefer to pay someone to handle and show their brittany dogs in competitions. These professional trainers/handlers are good at what they do and have all the gear and knowledge to do it right. I was able to meet a few of these pro trainers and see what they were like in person. What a fun trip it turned out to be.

Ben Garcia owns and runs Hideaway Kennels in Colorado and is a respected handler and gun dog training expert. It was great to meet him and ask him about some ideas I have had on putting on a skill level based training seminar with 2 or 3 dog trainers. Can’t wait to pick his brain some more and develop a curriculum for a 3 day seminar to be held in Utah.

One of my hero’s in the dog training world is California based pro trainer Paul Doiron. He has handled and trained an astonishing number of field champion brittany dogs. You couldn’t go wrong sending your brittany to Paul for a few months of training.

Another California brittany man is Tom White who ended up winning quite a haul in the Amateur All Age stakes in Sonoita, AZ. He and his partner in crime Margaret Hostmeyer are know for their tireless efforts in their local brittany club as well as for their brilliant brittanies.

Last but not least is my good friend David Downing of Blueridge Brittany Kennels in Texas. He is one of the few trainers that is actively paricipating in both show and field competitions handling and finishing several dual champions. Dave introduced me to Hank Hartnek of Sunquest Brittanies in Arizona. Hank was in charge of securing the field trial grounds and greasing the wheels for future use of the property.

Dog Training Journal AKC Hunt Tests, American Brittany, Dog Training Supplies, field trials, Gun Dog Training

Annie had been getting a little pudgy before she was bred to Buster for her first litter of puppies. It certainly didn’t help her post-whelping recovery to be out of shape and overweight to begin with. So now we are trying to get back on track and keep her lean and fit and happy. I admit it is hard sometimes to get out of bed and get the dogs all loaded up to go for a run when it’s not yet light outside or when there’s 12 inches of new snow. But, working dogs need the physical exercise and they need it daily. It makes a big difference in training as well. I had a hunting buddy that would unload his shorthair 3-4 miles from the hunting grounds and make him run alongside the truck. The end result was a focused dog that was settled down and ready to go to work. I have had some of my best and most productive training sessions after our daily runs or a good workout. During the hunting season it isn’t quite as hard to keep the dogs in shape because between hunting and guiding we are at it 3-4 days a week. It’s when the hunting season is over that you really have to buckle down and keep the dogs active.

Dog Breeding

We got to take the new dog training truck out in the snow to see how it would handle the dirt roads where I run the dogs. Switched it to 4wd high and didn’t have any problems with the grade in 12 inches of new snow. The dogs are getting the hang of loading and unloading from the new dog boxes. The door height is a little small so they have to hit it just right to jump in there. Also, since the doors are side facing there is no landing pad or platform. They have to go right into the opening. The height from the ground is pretty low, lower than a standard pickup truck tailgate height. Overall, I am very pleased with the new dog training truck. In January we are hoping to go on our first road trip in the truck for some Arizona quail hunting.

Dog Training Supplies

Pheasant Hunting Journal American Brittany, Annie, Gun Safety, Hunting Buddies, Pheasant Hunting

This week we got to try out the new dog training truck and take our litter of brittany puppies to the vet for their 6 week shots and a checkup. They did well on their first ride in a dog box and were a big hit at the vets office.

My Gun Dogs American Brittany, Health and Nutrition, Puppies For Sale, Socialization

My custom dog box arrived today from Diamond Deluxe, it was a pleasure working with Warren Brown and his team. The box was exactly what I had specified and better quality than I had hoped for. I am excited to have the last part of my dog training truck and get it all put together. I tried to design it to leave room for an ATV (four-wheeler) on the back of the flatbed. It looks like the fit is gonna be just perfect. I still have to go to Home Depot and get some bolts and L-brackets to permanently mount the aluminum dog box. I was really surprised how light it was and how well-built the dog box is. I’ll try to take another picture when everything is installed.

Dog Training Supplies aluminum dog boxes, Dog Training Supplies, Gun Dog Training

Buster has been carrying the load at the pheasant farm this past month as Annie has been out of service while caring for her litter of brittany puppies. The puppies started eating solid foods a week ago and I thought Annie could use a break for a few hours. This was Annie and Buster’s first time hunting together as a team and I was real pleased with the duo. Sometimes 2 dogs just don’t work well together and you can’t fix it. Other times two dogs can seem like they read each others minds and truly compliment the other. We had a great pheasant hunt even if it was a bit cold and snowy, the dogs did well and our clients got 10 out of 12 birds released. It was fun working the ditch banks on these large alfalfa fields and the birds were holding good with the snow cover. All in all it was a fun day but the pups were glad to see Annie when we got back.

Pheasant Hunting Journal American Brittany, Annie, Hunting Preserves, Pheasant Hunting

Back in September I made some great friends at the Dave Walker training seminar. Two of them are Ruth and Mike Zangara of Overton, NV. They have a small brittany kennel down there called Medicine Rockz Kennel. Their nice little female Chloe was due to have puppies right after Annie and they whelped a beautiful litter of brittany puppies on October 19th. You can see the puppy pictures here and their pedigrees. Should be some very nice puppies for hunting homes and Mike and Ruth are great to work with. If you are in the Las Vegas area looking for a good hunting dog puppy, give them a call.

Choosing a Puppy American Brittany, Puppies For Sale, Seminars