Dog Training
Conway Kennels has been in the business of training hunting dogs for over thirty years. In addition to the hunting dogs, Conway is the home of over 30 Field Champions and Canadian Field Champions. While we have proven ourselves in the competitive sport of field trailing, we have never forgot our roots: providing customers with the best-trained hunting dogs in the Northwest.
Hunting Dogs
Our philosophy is on training hunting dogs is extremely straightforward. Owners can throw their dogs all the bumpers all day long at home, but having access to land or live birds is not typical for most people. Land and live birds are our main focal point. The secret to training great hunting dogs is simple, get their bird drive going strong and then teach them what rules and standards to hunt by. Our facilities are tailored to this simple secret!
We understand that some owners may only go hunting 4 or 5 times a year and the rest of the time your dog is a pet around the house. It is your best friend when you have had a bad day at work, and the kid’s best friend when they are having enough trouble just being a kid. Your dog is an integral part of the family. Keeping those thoughts in mind, we have an obligation to give your dog every chance to become an average or above average hunting dog. We certainly do not want to waste your money trying to make something out of nothing, but we hope owners realize you have this amazing dog for its lifetime. In our eyes, it is best we work extremely hard at not only making it a good hunting dog, but also a good citizen around the house.
Not every dog is a great natural hunting dog. Just because Willie Mays was a great ballplayer doesn’t mean his kids will be. They may opt to play the piano or teach school but have very little interest in baseball.
Anybody can train a really good dog, but really great ones are few and far between. In the last 30 years we have trained nearly 6000 hunting dogs and 5% of those hunting dogs you could classify as great, the remaining 90% of those dogs were good dogs that needed a sense of direction. After being trained and hunted for a few years they became way above average hunting dogs, and eventually developed into great dogs. That leaves the 5% that we can not do much for no matter how hard we try. Your chances of getting an average or above average dog are really good if your puppy is given the right socialization, home life, and a chance through an excellent training program.
Our Hunting Dog Program
The hunting dogs are here for two months their first year. The result is by no means a finished dog but they are far enough along for you to hunt with them that first year. We do have a progression plan for the first two months but it can vary from dog to dog.
If it is an average dog with no special problems, at the end of two months the dog should be:
- Hunting the field properly (quartering and not either heel hanging or hunting out too far)
- Delivering birds to hand on both land and water (not because it wants to but knows it has to)
- Steady enough to shoot a single in the water
Week One
The first week of training emphasizes the dog’s adjustment to the kennel and to the dog trainer. There are walks in the field and learning to get on and off the truck. During the first week, we provide a basic introduction to birds to see if they are birdy. If that all goes well then we introduce them to the gun. (Remember there has never been one born gun shy -- it is a man made problem.)
Week Two
If all is in order we get them shot over with both the blank gun and the shotgun and start planting them some birds to get them out in front of us hunting. We know there OB is sloppy and there retrieving skills are not good but we still want to make sure they have some push before we start working on those skills.
Weeks Three, Four & Five
If they are plenty birdy and everything is going fine we can start doing some leash work in the yard and start teaching them to deliver to hand. Their fieldwork and yard work should be starting to come together. Then it is time to start steadying the dogs for a single retrieve. We collar condition all the dogs we train, as a majority of owners now opt to use the collar to maintain and re-enforce known commands.
Weeks Six, Seven, & Eight
After the beginning field work is begun, the training program is adjusted based on the dog’s progression. From this point forward, we want participation from the owner, and would like them to come once a week to train with us until the dog is ready to go home. This gives the owner the opportunity to work with the dog and follow the progress more closely in the last two weeks of training. After the dog is home and adjusted, we would like the owner to come back for two more workouts with the dog. (There is no charge for these two supplementary workouts.)
Dog Training Rates
Hunting Dog Workouts: $50 plus birds
Field Trial Workouts: $50 plus birds
Hunt Test Workouts: $50 plus birds
Obedience Workout: $50
Hunting Dog Brush-Up Training Daily: $30 plus birds
Hunting Dog Brush Up Training Monthly: $900 plus birds
Obedience Training Brush Up Daily: $30
Obedience Training Brush Up Monthly: $900
Hunting Dog Training Monthly: $900 plus birds
Field Trial Training Monthly: $900 plus birds
Hunt Test Training Monthly: $900 plus birds
Obedience Training Monthly: $900
