Quote:
Originally Posted by bbrown
I agree with Nick on the trainers but do not overlook a trainer that goes north for the summer. I will only put a competitive dog with a person that goes north for the summer for 2 reasons.
1)It is much cooler up north and you can get more out of a dog when the weather is under 100F and 1000000% humidity
2)The dog will have more opportunity to run tests during the HT/FT as most test are held up north during the summer months.
With that being said its all about who you are comfortable with and echoing what Sprunt said, go and train with the person prior to sending your dog there. If he is training what you are comfortable with them move forward with him. Everybody on this site has an opinion however with your dog, yours is the only one that matters.
Good luck in the process and I hope you enjoy it.
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To the OP or anyone else interested in running dogs competitively.
Not so much in the HT, world but the FT world, a working class Amateur almost doesn't even stand a chance because of these reasons. A young dogs average day on a pro's truck is usually some yard/drill work in the morning and then head out to the field to run a marking setup that afternoon. The pro will have hired, full time bird boys who are trained to throw and/or shoot birds for him. The setups will increase in difficulty throughout the week, M-F. Then after a full day of training, they will crank up the 4-wheeler and run all the dogs for 30 minutes to exercise and condition them. That's 5 days a week of training in a knowledgable trainers hands. And when it gets hot, they travel 20 hours north where's it's 60 degrees in the mornings.
In contrast to an Amateurs dog, when he/she doesn't have work, honey-do's, T-ball games, dance recitals, a wedding, a funeral, work again, visiting relatives, another baby being born, illness, or just life in general, they will go out and train said dog. If they're really lucky, the other Amateurs that he/she trains with, don't have any of these things to do that day either, and can throw birds for each other. And most of the time when these stars do align, it's usually a race against the clock/sun to get all the dogs some work in before it gets dark or the the wife calls and says get your a$$ home now!!! All while trying to balance the fine line between getting a good session in, and killing your dog from overheating. And if that Am is REALLY lucky, they'll have a pro on speed dial to help them through the bumps they'll encounter in the training process.
Sending your dog with a pro, is money well spent. When you go to the line, you'll have a dog that has seen plenty of marks, been trained by a knowledgable trainer, and still has plenty left in the tank in the 4th series because of the conditioning it received. Just use due-diligence when choosing the pro you will use. Some good pro suggestions already. Give em a call and see which one is right for you.
It's a great sport but be careful, it's highly addictive.