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Danielle's approach to training retrievers is tailored to fit the needs of an everyday companion in the style of a true competition dog.

 

We will groom your retriever to become an obedient, confident, & socially stable companion with a strong foundation for retriever work. Danielle's focus is to always lay strong groundwork for your future titled Master Hunter and/or your best friend in the duck blind. At BlackFoot is is our philosophy that; "the house will fall" without a sound foundation, so we start with a very detailed and planned approach to teaching the basics. Gradually building toward the most complicated training methodology and behaviors over time. 

 

Our retriever puppy raising program focuses greatly on direct and indirect  environmental exposure and socialization practices.

Danielle works diligently to build and maintain a working retriever's drive while still teaching impulse control. No matter the age, our goal is to develop a dog that will enjoy working with YOU and paying attention to YOU, not always be focused on the distracting world around them. 

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Some puppy raising skills taught: 

Pups are started with positive, balanced and fair methods. All pups are marker trained (clicker and/or verbal) and taught with POSITIVE motivational techniques.

• Housebreaking.

• Place training (& casting to place).

• Crate training (loading into vehicle safely and under control).

• leash walking.

• Target "touch" training.

• Proprioception exercises. 

• Basic puppy commands including:

  • Here

  • Heel

  • Place

  • Sit

  • Down

  • Kennel

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All-level and advancing skills and practices trained: 

• Age and maturity appropriate Introduction to:  ​

  • Marks (singles and graduating to doubles and triples)

  • Remote sends and platform casting

  • Handling (running taught and cold blinds with gradual increase of difficulty)

  • working alongside other dogs & honoring. 

  • travel to off-site grounds for training in new environments and terrain 

• As a dog's maturity and education develops, we introduce fair/consistent pressures (leash, collar & proximity pressures as well as e collar conditioning) so that understands both reward and consequence.

• Our goal is to develop dogs that will be eager to learn and prepared emotionally and mentally for his/her future no matter if for sport or pet & hunting partner!

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Skills focused on during retriever foundation training (basic obedience as described in puppy raising above plus) : 

• Intro to shot ducks, crippled birds, frozen and live birds

• Gunfire intro. 

• water retrieves.

• Force fetch & collar conditioning (pending age / maturity)

• Holding blind practice

• Simulated hunt test setups.  

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Because every retriever is a unique individual, each will learn / develop and mature at varying rates we can not guarantee a dog's projected rate of advancement. 

 

However, if a dog has good drive and solid nerve, it is not uncommon for a young dog who has completed 6 - 9 months (depending on age at start date) of our foundation program to be ready to run an AKC Junior Hunter test.