Online bird dog training courses?

[ericacymcdonald]

We picked up a Griffon pup this weekend and I am somewhat new to training, I do have an older wirehair but I got him as a 4 year old rescue. I while I have shot birds over him most of his training was just obedience and the birds stuff just happened. This time I got a pup and want a little more structure. Does anyone have experience with any of the online courses? There's a few but I'm leaning towards Talmage Smedleys courses as he seems successful in the pointer world but am having a hard time finding reviews of his training courses. Picture for cuteness
https://tsdoghouse.com/dog-training-courses/

 

[Russp]

I have utlized the standing stone kennels videos quite a bit. I like them. I utilized the youtube videos for free, but my buddy just got a GWP that he paid for the online videos/training program and really enjoyed it.

 

[ericacymcdonald]

I have utlized the standing stone kennels videos quite a bit. I like them. I utilized the youtube videos for free, but my buddy just got a GWP that he paid for the online videos/training program and really enjoyed it.

The standing stone videos are great, I just find myself skipping around too much

 

[Russp]

The standing stone videos are great, I just find myself skipping around too much

There online class is a step by step process that seems pretty good. Might be worth checking out. I think the cost is 500 dollars.

 

[JGood]

What are you trying to accomplish?

Retrieve? Honor? Obedience? Bird Intro? etc

 

[ericacymcdonald]

What are you trying to accomplish?

Retrieve? Honor? Obedience? Bird Intro? etc

All of the above, he's only 12 weeks old now, I was just looking for more structure opposed to just random training whoa today, recall tomorrow then force fetch the next day.

 

[JGood]

I dont know of anyone who does a really good complete online course. I have heard good things about Standing Stone.

Unfortunately some people are REALLY good at teaching certain things and not as good at teaching others.

The issue with online courses is they tend to teach you more about how to set up drills than they do how to read a dogs behavior and train around that behavior.

Griffons TEND to be pretty softer handling dogs. If that is your pup, positive reinforcement programs that utilize clickers and rewards are going to get you further than force breaking dogs.

The best books ive read have been the Smith books....though they certainly angle more towards harder headed dogs.


I have seen the best success with folks who find a good training club in their area with a good pro.

Where do you live? is there a local NVHDA chapter?

 

[ericacymcdonald]

I dont know of anyone who does a really good complete online course. I have heard good things about Standing Stone.

Unfortunately some people are REALLY good at teaching certain things and not as good at teaching others.

The issue with online courses is they tend to teach you more about how to set up drills than they do how to read a dogs behavior and train around that behavior.

Griffons TEND to be pretty softer handling dogs. If that is your pup, positive reinforcement programs that utilize clickers and rewards are going to get you further than force breaking dogs.

The best books ive read have been the Smith books....though they certainly angle more towards harder headed dogs.


I have seen the best success with folks who find a good training club in their area with a good pro.

Where do you live? is there a local NVHDA chapter?

I would LOVE to do NAVHDA and have joined but my closest chapter is 4+ hours away so I'll most likely not make it as often as if like.
I have already purchased the clicker and a book "how to help gundogs train themselves" which was written by a griffon owner.
The softer thing with griffons is why I was looking into Talmage Smedley opposed to standing stone and upland institute, I just can't find any reviews

 

[longhorn8011]

Check out Perfection Kennel [https://www.perfectionkennel.com]. They sell a video series and are always doing Facebook Lives with tons of free content to show you how to read dogs and apply their training principles. I've audited one of their training clinics before and was very impressed with how they are able to understand what the dogs are thinking and apply their tactics to different dog breeds and personalities. Outside of dog training, Jon and Jessica are also just good people.

 

[Irish Miner]

Boy, lots of good stuff online. I spent countless hours watching You Tube videos when working with my pup. A few good books out there too.

"Griffons TEND to be pretty softer handling dogs. If that is your pup, positive reinforcement programs that utilize clickers and rewards are going to get you further than force breaking dogs."

Agree with the above statement. Positive reinforcement was key with my griff. Repetition and consistency was/is key!

 

[MOwhitetail]

I really liked Bill Hillmann’s puppy program. I used it on recommendation from my breeder. He trains retrievers (some of the best ones in the country) so his later series may not be quite as applicable, but his puppy program is all about obedience/steadiness, retrieving, introducing birds, and making training fun which I feel like every dog can benefit from. Biggest thing I liked about his program was how easy he makes it for the dog to learn. I feel like some programs use brute force/repetition to train a dog, which does work eventually. But Hillmann does it in a way that the dog picks it up so easy it makes the dog seem like a natural.

 

[ericacymcdonald]

I really liked Bill Hillmann’s puppy program. I used it on recommendation from my breeder. He trains retrievers (some of the best ones in the country) so his later series may not be quite as applicable, but his puppy program is all about obedience/steadiness, retrieving, introducing birds, and making training fun which I feel like every dog can benefit from. Biggest thing I liked about his program was how easy he makes it for the dog to learn. I feel like some programs use brute force/repetition to train a dog, which does work eventually. But Hillmann does it in a way that the dog picks it up so easy it makes the dog seem like a natural.

I'll look into that one as well! I agree with making the training fun. For me the pup is a family member first, hunting partner second and a tool last. I want training to be fun for the pup and the family.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Unpopular opinion, but you shouldnt need more than obedience training for a bird dog with good genetics. They hunt/point because that is what they are bred to do. I did some mild force fetching on top of general obedience with my GSP who turns 10 this december. We have probably shot close to 1000 birds over him the last 10 yrs.

 

[ericacymcdonald]

Unpopular opinion, but you shouldnt need more than obedience training for a bird dog with good genetics. They hunt/point because that is what they are bred to do. I did some mild force fetching on top of general obedience with my GSP who turns 10 this december. We have probably shot close to 1000 birds over him the last 10 yrs.

That's what I did with my wirehair and he turned out okay for what I do. I think the training is as much for me as it is for the dog

 

[SageOcean24]

There online class is a step by step process that seems pretty good. Might be worth checking out. I think the cost is 500 dollars.

I dont know of anyone who does a really good complete online course. I have heard good things about Standing Stone.

Unfortunately some people are REALLY good at teaching certain things and not as good at teaching others.

The issue with online courses is they tend to teach you more about how to set up drills than they do how to read a dogs behavior and train around that behavior.

Griffons TEND to be pretty softer handling dogs. If that is your pup, positive reinforcement programs that utilize clickers and rewards are going to get you further than force breaking dogs.

The best books ive read have been the Smith books....though they certainly angle more towards harder headed dogs.


I have seen the best success with folks who find a good training club in their area with a good pro.

Where do you live? is there a local NVHDA chapter?

I purchased Standing Stone's full training course for my first bird dog and it was very good. A portion of the videos are from their public YouTube channel but it adds a good amount of non-public videos, structure in terms of a course outline and schedule, and all of the info a new trainer would need, including training equipment and cheap alternatives. I would say it is a good complete course.

It's focused towards the NAVHDA system so it includes tracking, retrieving, and pointing. I was able to train my first bird dog to a Prize 1 Natural Ability test on the first try and it was both of our first times at a NAVHDA event. It has additional content beyond the NA test that gets you working towards your UPT/UT.

For your consideration ericacymcdonald, I was about 5 hours from the nearest NAVHDA chapter. I was able to self train my dog and make the drive one time for the test and it was worth it. It confirms whether you're on the right path and is a lasting memory of your dog. I would strongly consider it if I was you.

If you have any specific questions on the Standing Stone course let me know.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Unpopular opinion, but you shouldnt need more than obedience training for a bird dog with good genetics. They hunt/point because that is what they are bred to do. I did some mild force fetching on top of general obedience with my GSP who turns 10 this december. We have probably shot close to 1000 birds over him the last 10 yrs.

I agree with most of this. The exception I take is retrieving. A properly force fetched dog will almost always be a more reliable retriever. Tracking ability is a hereditary trait, but can also be enhanced with proper training. Also, steadiness to wing and shot are a trained trait.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Echo standing stone. I utilized their free stuff and patreon and if I would have dedicated more time to training my dog would be less of a pain sometimes. But she will chase a tennis ball this she passes out!