Upland Bird Dog Trainers?

[Lisa Allen]

I am just getting started in upland bird hunting. I got a beautiful golden lab for Christmas and I am looking to find a trainer in Western Wyoming or Eastern Idaho. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Ikeepitcold]

Are you willing to train on your own or prefer a pro to train your dog?

[Lisa Allen]

I would ideally like a pro to train him for a couple months to build a good foundation. Then I would like to work together with the trainer to train both my dog and me really.

[Lisa Allen]

I am open to different options and suggestions.

[Ikeepitcold]

I don't know of a pro trainer for you but I've trained mine by using George Hickox's videos. I have had great results. He has schools to train your dog too. Check him out. Good luck

Welcome to the forum too

[Kevin Root]

I've found Richard Wolters awesome to read and he is a awesome dog training source of information. I've had a couple Black labs that did well with his book, "Water Dog" but he also has a book for the upland hunter, "Game Dog" using retrievers. I'd highly recommend his books. His training outlined in the book makes it fun for the dog. It does not take that much time each day and you see results quickly.

I've used my labs more for retrieving and had a Lewellyn English setter for pointing upland birds but I've seen some labs that really enjoy pointing too.

[In God We Trust]

If you want to check out a good read on training look up Tom Dokkens Book "Retriever Training". I have used the book to train 2 labs and they have turned out well. I hope you are well into the training already, the earlier you start the better off the dog will be. If you are looking to send the dog off still I know of one great trainer here in Colorado that doesn't overdo it with the shock collar, some trainers use the things way too much. Bear Point Kennels run by Dale and Brenda Merritt, I have bought 3 labs from them and they are very nice people.

[In God We Trust]

Gun Club Labradors is another reputable trainer here in Colorado. I have never dealt with them but People I have hunted with say they are top notch. Good luck with the training and happy hunting.

[Colorado Cowboy]

Have you started anything with the dog yet? You should work on obediance training. Sit, stay, heel at least to get a good foundation. I've trained several dogs myself and it is really not as difficult as you might think. I like to start a dog when they are about 8 weeks old. The basic obediance stuff has to be there before you can start much else. Get yourself a capgun and work on the noise part of it too. Hold it behind you so the dog can't see it and shoot it when you feed. It won't take long for the dog to associate the noise with pleasure...eating.

Everything I've trained are flushers/retrievers. Labs and Springers.

[In God We Trust]

Good point CC. You need to start them young on the basics. I personally like to train my own dogs. It takes time and they may not be as polished as a dog trained by a pro but I know I did it myself and I take pride in hunting with my dogs. They still hunt like hell and get the job done!