Roanoke VA area trainer

[vabrittfan]

Okay so I've got my new Brittany puppy & I'm interested in seeing if there is somewhere I can take her in the Roanoke, VA area (willing to drive 1-2 hours) to introduce her to birds. Is there such a thing as training lessons for hunting? Where I would go & work with the dog myself under the instruction of the trainer?? (kind of like when you go to obedience or agility lessons)

I don't hunt & the extent of my experience is going with my dad & the family Britts hunting. Our Britts never had any formal training & seemed to pretty much know what they were doing already. My goal would be to possibly enter her in hunt tests and/or walking AKC trials depending on what apptitude she shows. If nothing else I think we would have a good time & she would enjoy herself immensely.

Or does anyone know of any clubs that would welcome a Britt to their training sessions? Unfortunately, the closest Brittany clubs are 5 hours away.

[DeadwoodDogs]

Check out the chapter locations and contacts at www.navhda.org

I know of the Potomac Chapter and Rappahanock Chapter that might be within driving distance. Even if their training locations are farther than you want to drive you will likely meet members that live in your area and can help you get your dog started.

[bwjohn]

check out bruce shaffer at Almost Heaven GSP's. He is in W VA, go to winchester then cut back over to W VA. It is a little longer than your 2 hours, but he is a quality guy.

brandon

[RayGubernat]

VA britt fan -

There is a GSP club whose secretary, Mary Durham lives fairly close to you. You might want to contact her. I have met Mary and she is one of the finest ladies in the sport. If she can point you(no pun intended) in the right direction, she will.

Go to the AKC site and search for clubs in VA. Most are a bit further East than you might like, but, as mentioned before, there are probably members out your way somewhere.

Good luck to you both. Have fun.

RayG

[Hotpepper]

I would like to recommend Dave Pomfret of VA, he is a good trainer and and nice man.

Pepper

[Ruffshooter]

Donald Bowyer is a good trainer in Moneta VA. Very nice guy.

[vabrittfan]

Thanks to everyone for your input. I will be following up on the suggestions. At this point I'm not looking to send her away anywhere. Just want to go somewhere that I can work with her myself.

[jetto]

Alot of trainers will work with you and your dog in say 30 minute sessions give or take. We broke Flynn that way. We'd take him to Jesse once or twice a week and then work on yard work, etc. at home in the interim. The one thing to remember is they probably will not be available during trial season if they compete. The best time to get them is in the summer months when they are breaking young dogs and not busy with trial season. Kristi

[vabrittfan]

Thanks Kristi that was kind of my thoughts too. Pup is only 11 weeks old now so I'm thinking summertime would be perfect to get her started on this. Although a lot of trainers it seems head to Montana/South Dakota/etc during that time. I did manage to find a gal with Weims that has a place at the lake that can help me introduce her to water & she also has access to some birds so we may check that out until we find something more formal this summer.