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Sight To Sea is available for
training all breeds of Retrievers,
 pointing
breeds and flushing breeds for upland and waterfowl.
We train at the Delmar Waterfowl Club/Marshtown Hunting
Preserve facilities and surrounding grounds. Dogs
are housed in an indoor/outdoor climate controlled
facility which is disinfected daily.
We train for gundogs and for hunt
tests. We do not do field trials.
Evaluations of your dog are free and done by
appointment.
The Waterfowl Program
Training is conducted on a month
to month basis. I ask that you commit to each
month, but you do NOT have to commit to 3-4 months
at a time. Many families find it very hard to
send the pup away for that period of time, and I am
very willing to piece it together. It is,
however, much more productive to go the full 3-4
months, get it done in one fell swoop, without going
home and undoing training.
 The
first month is introduction to marks and
singles in the field using dead birds and bumpers.
The dogs will be introduced to duck/goose calls and
gunfire from a distance. They will be in and out of
a john boat. The first month is also the time for
obedience training in the yard. Sit, whistle
sit, Here, whistle here and Heel are the primary
commands covered at this time. The dog may or may
not be introduced to an e-collar during this month.
The second
month is continuing marks, shooting live
birds, follow up on obedience, and an intro to
e-collar and force fetch. The force fetch is a
trained retrieve to turn retrieving into a command
instead of a "if I want to" behavior. Handling
skills and blind retrieves are based off of a formal
fetch command. Force fetch can take as little
as 2 weeks or up to 6 weeks, all depending on your
dog.
The third
month is continuing marks in the field,
adding complexity to marking scenarios, following
through with force fetch to the T pattern, Swim
by's, and general handling skills.
The fourth
month Is putting it all together. At the end
of 3-4 months your dog should be able to do simple
doubles and simple blind retrieves. A dog that
has done the full program will be ready for JH hunt
tests and have a solid foundation for SH hunt tests.
If your retriever is to be an
upland dog also, this training schedule gets turned
around a bit and I train for the upland field in the
first 6 weeks.
Pointing Dogs and
Flushing Dogs
 We
take a limited number of pointing and flushing dogs
each month.
For
pointing dogs, the program is 8-12 weeks for
a started pointing dog. Started pointing dogs
will be collar conditioned to "here" and whistles,
possibly collar conditioned to "whoa". They
will be pointing birds, hunting effectively, holding
birds to flush. They may or may not be
retrieving, depending on the natural aptitude of the
dog. I do everything that I can to develop a
natural retrieve. This dog will make a nice
hunting companion with miles and birds (experience).
Steady to wing and shot, and force fetch, can be
discussed on an individual basis.
Flushing
dogs are a 6-10 week program. They will
be collar conditioned to "here" and
whistles, hunting effectively, finding and flushing
birds. They may or may not be retrieving,
depending on the natural aptitude of the dog.
I do everything that I can to develop a natural
retrieve. This dog will make a nice hunting
companion with miles and birds (experience).
Sit to flush and force fetch can be discussed on an
individual basis.
All Breed Obedience
The 2-3 week program is for Sit,
Heel, Here, Down, Off, Wait, and Stay (on leash
work).
The 3-6 week program is all of
the above AND off leash work.
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