My path into the world of dog training was not an easy one. It took grit and tenacity. But like many things in life the challenges were worth it.

The first time I shot a shotgun I was eight years old. I had just received my hunter safety license and was excited to go out on a cold morning duck hunt with my dad. In a rare moment where ducks flew over us, my dad shouted at me to shoot. I stood up in the blind, put the old Browning to my shoulder, and pulled the trigger. The gun blasted, a duck fell out of the sky, and my shoulder ached from the impact. My dad swears I hit the one duck, even though our friend also shot. If I did it would have been a great stroke of luck. I hadnt even aimed.

I set down the Browning and picked up a recurve bow with zero interest in ever shooting a firearm again. I’d still go duck hunting with my dad, playing around outside the blind with my dog Jake whenever we were allowed and effectively destroying any chance of ducks or geese flying over.

 When I stepped into the training field over fifteen years later, it was with no shotgun experience. I had experience with dogs but knew nothing about training and handling birddogs. For the next two years I spent every Saturday learning. About this time, I realized if I wanted to be a birddog trainer I had to learn how to shoot.

One Wednesday afternoon I made my way to a local five stand course, where some of the best shooters in the state held a league night. I hit one single clay out of fifty and left that night wondering if I could ever actually learn how to shoot.

Thus began my journey of enduring being terrible at the sport. I’d watch guys be frustrated hitting fortyfive out of the fiftey and I was shocked the first time I hit eleven. There is something to be said about being around people who are better than you. Soon the guys were adjusting different parts of my gun and offering tips on how to improve my mount or swing through a fast-moving target. Within a few years I was shooting sporting clays competitively. The best part was that I no longer had to make jokes about firing blanks as I missed bird after bird while working with clients.

It wasn’t just shooting that made my path to training dogs difficult, though telling people where I started with the shotgun makes for a much better story than the other troubles. All I’ll say is that when I was ready to make the leap from part-time to full-time dog trainer I was met with opposition. This opposition followed me years into my career. But for every person against it, I had many more cheering me on.

Stash

In the beginning I wasn’t getting far turning dog training in a career. So I did what any sane yet determined person would do; I decided to buy and train my very own German Shorthaired pointer to show everyone just how serious I was about training.

I ended up with Stash. A male german shorthaired pointer puppy that ran like the devil was chasing him and pursued birds like his life depended on whether or not he could catch one. I’ve trained hundreds of gsps since and can say that he was, for the first three years of his life, exceptionally stubborn. He challenged me as a trainer and taught me many of the dos and don’t of building a partnership with a high-powered furry missile with his own agenda.

Birdie

My second birddog had the same engine and drive as my first, though she was much more methodical in her ways. I did my best to not make any of the same mistakes with her as I made with Stash, and in turn made new mistakes instead. I attribute much of what I know to the training process with my own dogs. They’ve taught me not only about the training field, but how to transfer those skills to real world hunting.

When I finally made my way into the field as a hired trainer, I felt confident. Since then, I have learned every dog will teach you something and just when you think you’ve seen it all a dog will surprise you.

I love what I do, and am always looking to grow my skills and knowledge of training.