07. Finding a Professional Trainer

Post date: Aug 16, 2011 6:00:39 PM

For the new pointing dog owner, working with a professional trainer is well worth the time and money. The trainer will want you to leave your dog with them from the start - resist this temptation. When you pick your dog up, the trainer will show you a well trained dog but you'll have no idea how it got to that point so you won't be able to keep the dog trained or fix problems that come up. Find someone who is willing to train you. At then end of the day, you need it way more than the dog anyway so the money is better spent on teaching you how to interact with the dog. Make sure the person works with Brittanys. They're a unique breed and trainers who work primarily with other breeds can be too harsh for a Brittany. Once you're comfortable with the trainer and his or her techniques, sending the dog to "boot camp" for a month or two isn't a bad idea. Your older dog may also need a refresher course before hunting season if you haven't kept up with birdwork during the off season.