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By Andy KohlyGun Dog Editor
I recently made a big decision regarding the training of my youngest GSP, Max. Faced with a very hectic work schedule and trying to juggle family life and my time as Dad to a new baby, it became obvious that Max was quite often getting the short end of the stick when it came to having time for training. So, what to do?????
Having never employed the services of a professional I wrestled with this decision considerably. I had always taken a great deal of pride from doing my own training and found it to be a very enjoyable pursuit. After all, isn’t that why we do it??? The fact is though, that in the course of one month, a pro-trainer can probably spend the same amount of training time with Max that I could in an entire year. Not really a good program huh???? Not to mention, a pro trainer has much more access to land, birds and other training essentials that in the long run cost me the amateur just as much as the services of a pro.
I contacted Gene Wullkotte and that I was indeed lucky as he just happened to be taking on a limited number of dogs. One of the first hints to finding a good trainer is whether or not he or she has availability. This one is pretty simple; a trainer who is in demand is pretty much a safe bet. In talking with Gene he described in detail his “Gentle Touch” approach and it seemed like the perfect program for Max. Before dropping Max off though, Gene had a few questions for me. The most important was “what did I expect this training to accomplish?” As I discussed my expectations with Gene, I explained to him that I wanted a better than average hunting companion, family dog and also a dog that could respectably compete in field trials. Gene agreed that these were all reasonable goals so long as I realized that achieving each of these goals took some time and moreover Max was still a baby and that in order to achieve the performance goals I had in mind, Max needed the chance to be a puppy first.
After the first week, Gene called me to give me an update on Max’s progress. Max had been snake broken and despite that trauma, Max has been socialized with the other dogs and has found a “buddy” in Gene’s puppy, “Bucky”. Gene explained that without the period of socialization, beginning any training regimen would be a waste of time. Before Max could learn even the most rudimentary lessons, he had to be comfortable with his surroundings and the people and animals that shared his world. Gene also said that he was beginning to work on one of our goals, which was to make Max bold enough to run a little bigger and work a little more independently. Both of these are critical to my hopes for Max’s success in field trials. All in all I had a very good conversation with Gene and as always, learned volumes.
Another part of Gene’s program is interaction with the dog and owner/handler. As such I will be traveling to Strawberry to visit Max this weekend and will share more on his progress next week.
All the best,
Andy
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