Cannon River or West Country Kennels?

[lenny7]

Has anyone here ever used Cannon River or West Country Kennels for retriever training?  I'm sending my lab  off for a puppy training program this fall and these are the two I'm considering.  I'm also looking ahead to the next level of training.

Any information on your experiences with these two would be appreciated.  I've visit both places and in my mind they're running neck & neck.  I need something to push me one way or the other.

[NDGUY]

Both Brian or Jason will do a good job for you, Things to ask, if they do the training or who will do the training and how many dogs at one time in the program ( you don't want them to have to many) 6-8 is a good # and very workable, now they might have dogs in for different programs you ask and a total for each guy might be 10-12 dogs and thats normal. the bird and gun intro should last at least a couple weeks to give your pup the time it needs! other Q's would be swimming work, boat intro, blind intro, dead bird hunt use of nose, tracking 1/4ing the field,live ducks and live birds pigeons, pheasants, chukar, ducks or are they just using dead. and they should show you the good and the not so good stuff so you know what needs to be worked on. hope this helps. both these guys learned all the foundation training from the same guy "me".HA  tell them hi from Terry in ND

[lenny7]

NDGuy, thanks for the info!  I didn't realize when I set up appointments to see them that they used to work with each other at Dokkens.

For both places the bird & gun intro was 2 weeks.  Both programs focus only on introducing live birds, and then introducing the gun in every increasing volume and conditioning them so that when they hear a shot, they get excited and look for a bird falling.  In this intro course there is no swimming, boat, or blind work, etc that I know of.  I'm not sure how they'd have time in only 2 weeks. 

Cost was not a factor in the decision, but one was $400, one was $450 for the two weeks.  Jason described in great detail how they set up the drills and that probably was what tipped me towards going with him. 

Both brought out a frozen pigeon to see Kody's reaction and Brian brought out a live pigeon after that.  After some initial hesitation and fear, his instincts kicked in and he loved retrieving the frozen bird and catching and retrieving the live bird.  It was great to see!

I picked Cannon River, but I'm not sure where I'd go for the next level of training, if I go anywhere.  Jason does his next level of training for a 10 week session.  Brian breaks it down  into a 4 week and a 6 week session.  Both appear to cover roughly the same training in that time.

I'd be interested in hearing your opinion on these session lengths.  I can see the benefit of going 10 straight weeks for continuity for the dog's sake, but do you think there'd be big detriment to splitting it up into 4 and 6 week sessions?  My family is already beating me up over sending him off for 2 weeks next month.  A 10 week stint might cause there to be mutiny.  Splitting up the costs would be helpful too.

10 weeks at CRK covers:

    * Basic On and Off leash obedience commands
    * Conditioned retrieving skills with concentration on delivary to hand
    * Voice and whistle commands
    * Introduction to the remote collar
    * Training for both upland and/or waterfowl hunting

4 weeks at WCK coveres:
Retrievers - (4 weeks) working on all on-leash and off-leash obedience, water and field skills, e-collar training, whistle training and upland & waterfowl training.

and their 6 week program:
Pointers & Retrivers - (6 weeks) working on retrieve to hand (force fetching), steady to shot and upland & waterfowl training.

Where I go for follow training will be based on what I decided to do for session lenth.

[NDGUY]

In a intro program the dog should get water work so they learn to ret. birds in/out of water and also be shot over while swimming, you ask them I bet they do it?? and there is plenty time in 2 weeks to do it all and when done hopfully they show you your dog in the field flushing and ret. birds. the next step the 10 week or 4 then 6 do the same basic thing but dont know why brian would split it up?? to get the dog force broke both manual and collar forced and del. to HEEL and hand takes a solid 6-7 weeks to get it done with good retention and habit forming. with the all the new collar tech. short cuts can be taken and are just that short cuts. both should do a good job just giving you some thoughts!! in comparison here is what I do 2week bird/gun/water then 12 weeks yes 12 weeks the same as those guys with your individual lessons around 8, 10, 12 weeks by the time your dog is done it should do everything for you and not be too sloopy at it. it takes some time to get respect from the dog to you.BUT you shouldn't have to do lots of drills when he is done just know how to handle him correctly I do go a bit slower and take a bit more time but done, and done well anyway if you have Q just ask me

[SMIGRATOR]

I have had 2 dogs trained by Jason and JJ down there and they do a Great job.
 

If you would like to pm me i would be happy to answer any ? also. 

[pheasantman2121]

i brought my dog out to brian at west country and a friend of mine had his 2 labs trained there also.  Brian is a very good trainer and a very nice guy very informative and knowledgable

[lenny7]

i brought my dog out to brian at west country and a friend of mine had his 2 labs trained there also.  Brian is a very good trainer and a very nice guy very informative and knowledgable

How long did they have your dog for?

I dropped my lab off at Cannon River Kennels last Friday and spent almost an hour doing the paperwork, demonstrating what Kody could do now, going over the training plan, and general BS'ing.

Sounds like J.J. will be doing the actual training.  I talked with him at length and am very comfortable with that.  It's a 2 week course.  They'll have 5 pups total in his class (two had dropped out recently).  They start with frozen birds and work their way to live birds, then bring in the gunfire...starter pistol on up to 12 gauge.  They also work on water retrieving.

J.J. also showed me how he'd like me to set up some training at a hunt club after he's through with this program....buying a few birds, marking them in the field and getting the dog to quarter his way there.  He suggested that 2 or 3 times doing that before the real hunting would go a long way towards having a successful first hunting season for him.

We've been working on OP and retrieving dummies and frozen pigeons since I go him and I think he's doing great.   He's my first dog though, so what do I know. 

I cant' wait to get him back.

[pheasantman2121]

Brian had my dog the first time for 4 weeks and then the second time for a 1 week refresher.  My buddy had both his dogs out there for the 4 week training.

[golddogs]

Has anyone here ever used Cannon River or West Country Kennels for retriever training?  I'm sending my lab  off for a puppy training program this fall and these are the two I'm considering.  I'm also looking ahead to the next level of training.

Any information on your experiences with these two would be appreciated.  I've visit both places and in my mind they're running neck & neck.  I need something to push me one way or the other.

Sam Daly of Northfield Kennels. Jeff LaTour at Elk River, Tim Springer of Dynamic Retrievers, Greg Shriener or Greg Ye would be really good choice if you are planning to push beyond basic gun dog. All have proven records of high level HT and FT dogs.

Can't same nything against teh guys you named, just more familiar with the others.

[ATM]

Brian with west country is top notch. i would not hesitate to bring a dog there.  Adam

[skyblaster]

I was recommended to West County Kennels by a hunting buddy who had his dog trained there.  I had my female black lab, Sadie, trained by both Brain and Jason at West Country Kennels.  Sadie was trained in both field and water and has been wonderfully successful at both.  The thing that I was most pleased with about West Country Kennels is that they are straight forward.  If they find that there is a problem with your puppy at the very start they will let you know rather than proceeding and wasting their time and your money.  The will also take the time necessary to train you, the owner, about what they have done and the proper way to proceed in the training to insure greater success.  They are also very reasonably priced as compared to other trainers locally.  If you have any other questions just let me know.

[kingfisher1]

Brian at West COuntry Kennels does a wonderful job at training.  I have had one dog trained by him, as well as knowing him as a personal friend.  He's a great guy both personally and as a trainer.  If you are ever in his office, take a look at all the trophies on the wall.  All those trophies he got with dogs he trained himself.  If that isn't evidence enough, just talk with him for a few minutes and take a look around the facility.  He does a wonderful job and is a great guy to work with.

[Herm]

Lenny send me a PM or an Emails if you are still thinking about using Cannon River Kennels.