Foundation Program
Our foundation program is our most basic training program. Simply put it lays the proper foundation that will allow your dog to become a great family companion and successful bird dog. Our program uses a balanced training approach to teaching your dog the things it needs to know in order to be successful. It’s important for your dog to have fun during training but also understand that a command isn’t a request. This is why a balanced training program is so important.
During this program, we focus on developing your dog’s natural ability, building it’s confidence, and teaching it the basic obedience needed to be a great family companion and successful bird dog. We will properly introduce your dog to birds and develop it’s natural pointing instinct and prey drive. We will also properly introduce your dog to gun fire during this time. This is absolutely essential to your dog’s future as a bird dog and unfortunately this is a process many people do incorrectly. We want your dog to love the sound of gun fire and understand it’s a good thing. We will also teach your dog how to handle in the field so that it will turn on it’s name and go with you. During this program your dog will also be properly introduced to water and we will make every effort to develop your dog’s retrieving ability naturally. This development often leads to a dog that has a sufficient retrieve for hunting purposes without the need for doing a trained retrieve at a later date.
Your dog will also learn the basic obedience and structure needed to make it a more enjoyable family companion. Your dog will learn to reliably come to you on the HERE command. We will teach your dog to KENNEL and LOAD UP. During this program your dog will also learn the basics of the commands HEEL and WHOA. Your dog will heel on lead extremely well at the end of this program and be ready to transition to off lead heeling. Your dog will understand that whoa means to stop and stand at the end of the program but will not be whoa broke. Remember, this program is meant to build a dog’s confidence, teach it how to learn, and create a solid foundation that will allow the dog to be a great family companion and successful bird dog.
Your dog will also be properly crate trained during this program which will greatly help in it’s transition to living in your house. Your dog will be let out on a frequent and regular basis so that it learns to relieve itself outside. Your dog will also eat each and every meal in it’s crate. Thru this process of frequent and regular let outs and feeding your dog in it’s crate it will learn that the crate is a good place. It will learn to love it’s crate which will help to prevent the unnecessary whining and barking that often occurs when a dog is crated.