Sauk River Pointing Labs...

[Perch Jerker]

Bushwacker & Hossienda,
BW- I know that you currently have your pup there for training.
Hoss- You're getting your pup from him this spring.

I have a 6.5mo old yellow female lab from Hunters Point Kennels in Salem, IN and she is going to Sauk River for training all of June & July this summer.

I got Davids info from the Knutsons ( http://www.gunclub-labs.com/ ) and they said that they really liked what they saw in the dogs he has trained. For those who don't know who the Knutsons are, they literally wrote the book on Pointing Labs so recomending Sauk River Labs for training is a pretty high honor. I wanted my pup to be trained by the Knutsons, but the first opening wasn't until Sep 1st. That's no good on two counts 1) My pup would be 11mo old before 'formal' training would start and 2) she would be gone for most of the hunting season. David's first opening wasn't until June 1st so I took it and feel thankful I got it.

Anyone else with Sauk River training or dogs?
How much above the base training rate were birds per month (doesn't matter, I'm just curious)?
Anyone else with Pointing Labs?

PJ

[Ptman]

Perch Jerker,

I am thinking about getting my dog trained by Dave also. I have a PL from Northwings Kennels in Embarrass. The sire is Riks Risky Raider and the dam was out of Shooters Baxter Bing, both are GMPR's. I got this from Dave concerning training prices when I emailed him.

Birds: ($3 per pigeon lost or killed) ($10 per duck lost or killed) We can also get chukar and pheasant at market price ususally $6 and $9 respectively. Bird fees for the first 2 months are usually under $20.

I hope this helps and good luck with the pup.

Mike

[Bushwacker]

Perchjerker,
My pup is going on 3/27. About a week from now. My only concern is that she is up to his standards. David seems like a great guy and in all the research I have done I have never heard anything but great opinions of him and his training. I am really looking forward to seeing Libby after the force training and bird work. There are definitely times when the collar conditioning will help too.
Bushwacker

[Hossienda]

Hey Perchjerker,

Dave is just a top notch guy. I found out that my pup was born last week, and am going out there soon to say hello and get a look at the pups. I am also considering having Dave train mine when the time is right. Nice to hear that he comes recommended by others as well. It just backs up my opinion of him.

-Hossienda

[Koda]

I have a 2 year old Yellow lab out of Jake. I have nothing but positive things to say about David and his dogs.

[Bushwacker]

Just a little update for everyone on how the training went for Libby. She is a 100X better dog. I can say dog now because she finally acts like one, no longer a 8 month old puppy. She was there for a month and the results are outstanding. I can now tell her to sit, then I can toss out her Dokken's Mallard, I can then run into my house to answer the phone, talk for 2 minutes inside, walk out of my house, walk over to the still-sitting Libby, and then tell her fetch and she runs like crazy, picks it up, and comes back to sit in her same exact spot and hold the dummy until put my hand on the dummy and give her the drop command. This is the first dog that I have had and she is now the best trained dog I have ever dealt with in my limited dealings with dogs. David did an awesome job. I am so happy with Libby's progress that I would recommend Sauk River Retrievers to anyone. She is now a pleasure to deal with. Everynight I invite a different buddy over to watch us go through 10 minutes of training and they are all impressed, especially the ones that knew Libby before she went.

[Hossienda]

That is great to hear. I picked up my black female Grace, this weekend. It has not been a whole lot of sleep, but she is just a wonderful girl so far. She even went and sat at the back to whining to go outside, and when I took her out she went to the bathroom. Don't even ask me how she picked up on that, but it has meant no accidents in the house for 3 days.

-Hossienda

[Bushwacker]

Hossienda,
Congrats on the pup? I will be looking to David first for my next pup. One bit of warning is don't get your expectations too high for the potty training. Libby seemed to sense it when we would get a little trust in her. She was great from 8 weeks to about 12 and then came the occasional accident. Oh well, part of having a puppy, we are now way past that stage. Which dam is Grace out of? Jake is definitely a great dog and I'm sure your puppy will be one too. Sounds like you are off to a great start.

[Hossienda]

Grace is out of Magic. She is a great looking black, and hopefully she will be half as good as her parents.

I am just wondering, what kind of feeding schedule did you start yours on? I am feeding her in the morning and again at dinner, and it seems like she is super hungry and just devours it.

-Hossienda

[Bushwacker]

I fed Libby the same times I fed myself. I have the luxury of being able to eat lunch at home. I divided the amount that Eukenuba recommended by three and she seemed to be relatively full at all times. She never really devours her food, but she picks at it for about 5 minutes each feeding. She is in great shape and I have yet to see her tire out. I just switched her over to adult food on Saturday when I got her home from David's. She seems to eat it a little faster.

[Perch Jerker]

Glad to hear about Sauk River's training. In less than 3 weeks (May 30th) Bella is headed up there for 'summer camp' for a minimum of 2 months and possibly/probably longer. I cannot wait to get her back so we can shoot/hunt some birds. I think my father is even more excited than I am and he has been a member of a local Game Farm for 30+ yrs. I think getting birds over her won't be a problem

PJ