An Outdoorsman’s Journal: A professional hunting dog trainer and his pup

Hello friends, I have something new for you and I think you are going to like it. My golden retriever Red was bred with an excellent sire named Max. Max is owned by Jim Steurwald of DeForest, who is a very ambitious grouse hunter. Jim would have had first pick of the litter, but he passed that on to Gregg Brda, who is the owner of Wind River Kennels in Fond du Lac County near Campbellsport. When Gregg came to pick up his pup, he proposed the idea of me doing a series on the progress of his new pup, Rio (“ree-oh”). This series will be updated every few months and could easily take two to three years.

Gregg has been a full-time hunting dog trainer since 1991 and has been a “finished” hunt test judge for the Hunting Retriever Club (HRC) for 18 years. Folks, there is so much to tell in this week’s column in the space that I have, that I am going to have to be very short on each subject. Friday, July 12 – High 86, low 62 I knew Rio would have the potential to be a great dog when I watched him until the day Gregg picked him up. Today, I would start my professional introduction into how you “really”start a pup. I would be given a tour of Brdas’ setup and most importantly, two men would take a day and get to know each other as they began a long project. I would spend two days total at Wind River.

First, the kennel. I have never seen such a clean, well-thought-out and easily disciplined kennel in my life. Gregg trains by the month, sometimes gives classes, and his low profile and effective discipline is something that should be on a TV show. Barking or whining is not tolerated. Generally, if a lab, golden retriever or Boykin spaniel gets verbal in the kennel, Gregg tells it to stop. It is almost like he has a connection and every dog in the building loves and respects him. The kennel has the ability for each dog to be inside and out and, for the most part, each dog does its business outside. I think it is fair to say that my new friend is very much on top of his game, as everything is clean enough to do surgery on each kennel floor.

Gregg is 74, addicted to duck hunting and in reality is very much like me, in that he created a full-time income out of doing something that he loves. Today I would watch Rio do land retrieves and the next day I watched Rio do water retrieves that were all of 40 yards. I watched Rio as Gregg would say “be a problem solver.”He learned to carry the bumper in the middle after realizing that swimming with it by holding an end was more difficult.

The basic rules are: first, start out with a paint roller with a pup, as it’s light to carry, and Gregg is not a fan of a tennis ball as it’s too easy to compress, which can later create damage while retrieving birds. Gregg does not like toys. Most importantly, never play tug-of-war with a retriever.

Today, we trained with two men who are very much into their lab and golden retriever, and were doing triples with well-disciplined dogs. Gregg showed me a blind retrieve he did with a golden retriever named Reno that was unbelievable to someone like me who will never hit that level. Everything is lining the dog along with hand and voice communication.

One basic tip I was told more than once was: training is training; when you take your pup out of the kennel, it is kept on a rope in the early stages. You work with it so it realizes that getting out of the kennel means work, which is fun. If what is being worked on does not work, that session is over; you do not want to make the pup dread training.

Eighty-five to ninety percent of retrieving is enthusiasm, and when a dog of any age is bringing back a bumper or duck, it is verbally rewarded as soon as it starts its retrieve back. Holding onto the bumper until it comes to your hand is a must and“hold”is mentioned more than once as the pup approaches. After two to three retrieves, you put the pup away, as you do not want to bore him or her.

Gregg does not care if you hunt, but he is a strong believer that if you own a retriever they should be active, as that is what they are bred for.

Last for this week: some dogs do not like riding in a vehicle. I was told more than once that too many people only put their dog in a car or truck to go to the vet. That is a big no-no. Make rides fun. Gregg pulls pups behind his ATV in a crate in a trailer and just putts along and makes it fun. In reality, everything Gregg does in his training is about positive and enthusiastic adventure.

In a few months I will write about the next step with a pup named Rio!

Sunset

Mark Walters