Gun Dog Forum

At the end of Feb. I am sending my 8.5 month old Brittany "Si" to a kennel to be trained. Before we send him the trainer is going to evaluate him to make sure his nose is ok and he is trainable. I am just wondering if it will change his personality at all, so anyone with positive or negative experiences please share!
Thank you

I've only done it 2 or 3 times but with one exception, it was also a positive experience for the dog - liking kids to camp - helps them to mature and become more independent.
It's hardest on the owner , which is why it is nice to have a good trainer nearby, so you can work with him/her on the weekend.

PS perfect age to do this.

BenJohnson wrote:At the end of Feb. I am sending my 8.5 month old Brittany "Si" to a kennel to be trained. Before we send him the trainer is going to evaluate him to make sure his nose is ok and he is trainable. I am just wondering if it will change his personality at all, so anyone with positive or negative experiences please share!
Thank you

You should be able to test his nose yourself. Take about 7 or 8 pieces of kibble and put them in a small pile in 4 inch high grass where he can't see them. Take him down wind of the food and work him back and forth perpendicular to the wind. Keep working him a little closer each time. Pretty soon he'll turn into the wind and find the food. I do this all the time with 6 week old pups. I bet he finds the food
Getting him exposed to birds by the pro and gunfire by a pro is probably a good idea, if you don't want to do it yourself or have no access to birds.

The only personality change you'll probably see is a change in drive. If its a good trainer he'll have you pup on a lot of birds and build his confidence.
See the pup as much as you can. A trainer that has a problem with you showing up out of the blue is a problem to begin with.

campgsp wrote: A trainer that has a problem with you showing up out of the blue is a problem to begin with.

Within reason Good trainers might appreciate a phone call before you show up. Training is their job, but there is a ton of peripheral work they need to do in order to train and you need to respect that. They have to maintain the property with mowing, clearing, and fencing; buildings and facilities need maintenance; feed for dogs and birds needs to be hauled; if he's a horseback guy he has to deal with farriers, cleaning stalls and paddocks, and moving hay and feed; sometimes he has to take a dog to the vet; the work just goes on and on and on, not to mention that trainers also have a life with family, friends, and other clients. So realize that while you could pop in whenever, you might find that your trainer has something besides your visit on his agenda for that day.

IME you don't need surprise visits to ascertain the condition of his facilities or the progress of your dog. No one can spruce up a chronically neglected kennel or get a dog up to speed within a day or two of your call, let alone within a few hours. But when you visit the kennel to see your pup, the trainer ought to be able to explain what he's done and how and why he's done it, to keep you in the training progress loop. You should see some sort of progress from visit to visit, keeping in mind that sometimes your dog will look like a star, but sometimes he might be having a bad day; it's the overall progress that counts.

I've never noticed a change in my dogs' personalities after being with their trainer, except that the bird huntin' light bulb was really switched on to the max. Once the dogs returned home, they all became the same goofy pooches around the house that they were when they left. No problem readjusting at all.

Good luck with your pup

Ben, I have a question? How is it that you have a 8.5 month old pup and you don't know if he has a nose or is trainable? How did your puppy training and socialization go and what did you do during the past 6 months? Might hold the answer to your question about changing his personality. Don

Duckdon wrote:Ben, I have a question? How is it that you have a 8.5 month old pup and you don't know if he has a nose or is trainable? How did your puppy training and socialization go and what did you do during the past 6 months? Might hold the answer to your question about changing his personality. Don

With everything my family and I have done with him I think he will be fine, but the trainer said he does a evaluation with every dog before he takes it.

OK, that makes sense. I have never used a trainer but as a dog matures his personality will change. I bet it will change and you will notice the change because you won't be with him 24/7. I would not worry to much. Don

shags wrote:

campgsp wrote: A trainer that has a problem with you showing up out of the blue is a problem to begin with.

Within reason Good trainers might appreciate a phone call before you show up. Training is their job, but there is a ton of peripheral work they need to do in order to train and you need to respect that. They have to maintain the property with mowing, clearing, and fencing; buildings and facilities need maintenance; feed for dogs and birds needs to be hauled; if he's a horseback guy he has to deal with farriers, cleaning stalls and paddocks, and moving hay and feed; sometimes he has to take a dog to the vet; the work just goes on and on and on, not to mention that trainers also have a life with family, friends, and other clients. So realize that while you could pop in whenever, you might find that your trainer has something besides your visit on his agenda for that day.

IME you don't need surprise visits to ascertain the condition of his facilities or the progress of your dog. No one can spruce up a chronically neglected kennel or get a dog up to speed within a day or two of your call, let alone within a few hours. But when you visit the kennel to see your pup, the trainer ought to be able to explain what he's done and how and why he's done it, to keep you in the training progress loop. You should see some sort of progress from visit to visit, keeping in mind that sometimes your dog will look like a star, but sometimes he might be having a bad day; it's the overall progress that counts.

I've never noticed a change in my dogs' personalities after being with their trainer, except that the bird huntin' light bulb was really switched on to the max. Once the dogs returned home, they all became the same goofy pooches around the house that they were when they left. No problem readjusting at all.

Good luck with your pup

Shags post is right on.. If a client shows up here without calling they might not find me here since I train at different places. If I am here at the kennel training and other clients are here that have a appointment and you just show up you might get the see your dog work but you will have to wait.. Just showing up out of the blue is not the best way to treat your trainer imo. I had 1 guy show up before dawn 1 morning, no email or call that he was even coming.. Most trainers do kennel chores before they start training, I do. The guy ended up waiting around for a couple hours and its not a good idea to catch me before I have had a pot of coffee lol

Mo

I just picked up my gsp up from winter camp with Chirs Goegan she slept for 2 days but is back to normal, she will go back in May to go at it again.

Check, double check and verify everything you can about your trainer and his/her methods. Like any industry, there are good ones and bad ones and it's up to you to find out which are which. Be sure you know what you are expecting and then make sure the trainer knows what you are expecting and get it all in writing. Find out how many dogs the trainer will be working with during the time your dog is with him/her. If they will have 60 dogs and they plan on spending just 20 minutes with each dog working 10 hour days, do the math; your dog is going to get handled once for 20 minutes every third day or so. Is that what you are expecting or are you thinking that this trainer is going to be spending time with your dog every single day? Will there be yard work involved or just running the dog on wild or liberated birds and hoping the birds will do the training. I know of several trainer who promise nothing more. Just do your homework, ask a lot of questions and make sure both you and the trainer know what each other is expecting. And get it in writing. :roll:

Good luck.

BenJohnson wrote:

Duckdon wrote:Ben, I have a question? How is it that you have a 8.5 month old pup and you don't know if he has a nose or is trainable? How did your puppy training and socialization go and what did you do during the past 6 months? Might hold the answer to your question about changing his personality. Don

With everything my family and I have done with him I think he will be fine, but the trainer said he does a evaluation with every dog before he takes it.

I have been told this from three different trainers. I am shopping around a little to find the right one. It was explained to me more that the evaluation is simply to see where the dog is at so the trainer has a better idea where the dog needs to start and an idea how long it will take him to get the pup where you want him to be. It is all about keeping the expectations realistic so there are fewer surprises on both ends.

The fench britt i have know is the first dog i have sent to a trainer and i do not regret it at all,as much as i wish i had the time to train them myself i don't with the hours that i work among other things. My wife was worried what he would be like after being in a kennel for two months at the trainers and besides needing a bath and being a little excited it was business as usual.

Dropped mine off at the trainer this morning... It's going to be a long two months without him around the house!

Dropped my 6 month old Boykin off about six weeks ago. Miss her like crazy!

I was wondering from you guys and gals that have had your dogs trained by a professional, what is a normal or acceptable monthly fee you pay for the training? I don't really have the training area to complete exposure and gun training. He is good with the cap gun, but can't go much louder than that without having cops here:( I'm going to send him to a professional for his complete gunfire training and he is going to take him several days to a preserve owner/friend's place to expose him to as many live birds as possible while he has him.

My question is though, for the sake of just taking the dog to stay for a month at the trainers, what is the norm to pay for that month's training?

My pup is away right now. I'll get her back next month. Total she will be gone for almost four months. My trainer charges $500 per month. He also charged $100 bird fee. I think the bird fee was on the low side but he was training on a plantation. I've seen ranges of $400 - $700 per month for training. Pick a trainer that is proven and someone you feel comfortable with. I'm a first time bird dog owner. It took me a while to decide on a trainer. Good luck!

I would say 400-600 is the norm.

$500 flat fee per month.

$425 per month will military discount.

$700/month

Back wrote:Dropped mine off at the trainer this morning... It's going to be a long two months without him around the house!

... One week down with seven more to go!