Training Tips
Here's how we make the most of each hunt

Ben Garcia
1 article
Ben Garcia believes there is one secret to dog training: "Know where you want to go and where you want your dog to finish." Ben says that goal is the key to develop your best friend in the field. With this in mind, Ben treats every dog as an individual,...

Billy Mosley
1 article
He decided to make the leap and make training retrievers a full time occupation. Billy has successfully trained and titled dogs in all levels of HRC hunt tests, as well as trained gun dogs and taught basic obedience for companion dogs. Billy has also competed in SRS events as well...

Shawn Kinkelaar
3 articles
Shawn Kinkelaar was born and raised in the town of Effingham in central Illinois. Kinkelaar grew up hunting quail and pheasant over pointing dogs with his grandfather and uncle. He began field trialing in the early 1980s and in the late 1980s he began working for and with several of...

Craig Leair
1 article
With ten years of training experience specializing in German Shorthairs and yellow Labs, Craig currently works as a guide and lives on a 750-acre game preserve that raises over 40,000 pheasants, chukars and Huns annually. Wern Valley Sportsman Club allows him to constantly train dogs in a bird-rich environment, resulting...

Matt Mates
1 article
I’ve hunted upland game birds from North Dakota to Northern Maine, spending most of my time in my home state of Michigan. My love for pheasants dates back to my days as a youngster, first chasing them with our Labradors, German Shorthaired Pointers, or the occasional contact while running beagles...

Greg McGuffin
1 article
Greg McGuffin has been professionally training hunting dogs for 8 years. 3 years ago he and his family sold their house in Tulsa, Oklahoma and decided to dive head first into Retriever Training. They now live on the 2,000 acre family ranch in south central Oklahoma where Greg, his wife,...

Ben Busby
1 article
Ben Busby has hunted since he was old enough to walk. He was fortunate enough to have a mother and father who introduced him to hunting at a very early age. He harvested his first whitetail deer with a 12 gauge out of a lawn chair at age 10. From...

Tom Dokken
16 articles
Dokken brings more than 45 years of retriever-training experience to the SportDOG team. He is well known as the inventor of Dokken’s Deadfowl Trainer, which has become standard equipment for retriever trainers everywhere. He is the owner of Dokken Dog Supply and Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennels, the largest gun dog...

Bob Ford
1 article
Bob has hunted with beagles from Alabama to the Quebec border in pursuit of swamp rabbits, the eastern cottontail, and hare. He has owned beagles since 1985 and trains his hounds year round, sometimes competing in field trials, but always conditioning his pack with an eye looking forward to the...

Chris Akin
9 articles
Chris has spent most of his life duck hunting or training in the field. Over the years, his program evolved into one of the most accomplished hunt test programs in the country. Webb Footed Kennels, Inc. has produced more than 350 Hunting Retriever Champions, 175 Master Hunters, and 35 Grand...
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Lyle Steinman
2 articles
Lyle Steinman began his competitive career at the age of eight, traveling all over the United States showing cattle. He won more than 300 championships on the county, state, and national levels throughout the following 10 years. Lyle competed with Labradors as an amateur for many years before turning a...
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The SportDOG Staff
33 articles

Jed Finley
1 article
Jed started coon hunting with his brother and his friends when he was 7 years old. When he turned 16, he started competing in United Kennel Club (UKC) hunts. At 18, he started competing in Professional Kennel Club (PKC) hunts. He has numerous accomplishments in winning state championships, final fours,...

David Siple
1 article
Dave has been training dogs with SportDOG Brand® remote trainers for over 6 years. He has trained numerous labs for upland and waterfowl hunting.

Charlie Jurney
14 articles
Charlie Jurney has been training performance and hunting dogs for more than 30 years. During that time he has produced hundreds of titled dogs including Grand Hunting Retriever Champions, Hunting Retriever Champions, Master Hunters, Grand Master Hunting Retriever Champions, and Master Hunting Retrievers. His writings have been featured in The...

Aaron Robinson
3 articles
Aaron has a long history of dog training and upland bird hunting. His passion was so great he pursued a master’s degree in Wildlife Biology. He has an education in upland game ecology and management. He has presented numerous technical papers about upland birds. Aaron was a board member for...
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