Dog training.

I am thinking about opening up my kennels to other dogs to train for people. I am fairly new to training retrievers but I have been to training seminars and read lots of books and watched many videos, and have successfully trained my lab to do almost anything I ask of her. Since i dont have much experience I will charge next to nothing if your willing to give me a shot, and if you do not like what I have done with your dog when you come to pick it up I will refund you your money completely. All I ask Is that you pay for the feed and make sure the dog is current on all of the shots. I live and own a 300 acre ranch with 4 ponds which I do hunt on. I have a brand new set of dog kennels, that have concrete floors with a drain in the back that makes them easy to wash, they also have custom built dog boxes in the back so they can get out of the weather, they are 4' wide by 13' long and 10' tall so when I'm not working with your dog they will not be cramped up. They are located in front of my house by a 4 acre pond so I will always be able to see your dog. I know this is a long shot but I truly love working with dogs and want to give it a try if someone is willing to give me a chance. Thanks.

If that's what you want to do you should get with an experienced trainer and mentor under them. You said you have trained your Lab to do anything you ask of her. Have you ever trained a dog to a high level such as Hunt test or field trial titles? If not its gonna be a hard sell for people to trust you with their dogs. Most trainers start working under an experienced trainer first and build a good reputation in the business and in competitions before going out on their own.

Thanks for the advice huck18 and I've talked with a trainer locally and he said I could work with him a little bit in his free time.

Nope, ALMOST anything. Getting a mentor would help him get his dog to do anything, whatever that means. Then you can fix some of your own mistakes because there will be many others that will have the same ones. Good idea.

When I was a young gun in high school the oil business was booming, early 1980s. I was headed to the oilfield like everyone I knew, but the oil field craash came in 1985. I begged people I knew for a job. I begged my father's old business contacts for a job. They all turned their back to me and told me to go to college and find my own way. It was as if they all had the same flash card that said the same thing. They were brutally honest with me.

They were doing what my father would have wanted them to do, be honest and not coddle me. I didn't like it, I took it personal. I did go out and find my own way. I ate a whole bunch of crap sandwiches before I figured it all out.

I am sure people who read this will not understand but I am now that guy who will tell the truth and let the pieces fall. To answer your question, no I would not bring my dog to you to get it trained. Training your own dog, reading books and watching videos tells me you are interested in dog training. It does not tell me you have the experience level to take a dog, that I will pay $1000 to purchase, and attempt to train it.

If you are going to be a dog trainer, then be one by all means. I encourage you to go and be the best trainer ever. But I will say you are taking the wrong steps to achieve that goal. When you build a house you don't build it roof first, you have to lay out the foundation, supporting walls and then the roof.

I encourage you to mentor with some of the big hitter dog trainers. Not for a year but for several years. Travel to seminars, learn all you can. Get your own dogs to a master hunter level. If you are going to sell your wares then show them. Good luck my man.

Brutally honest but true. Of the pros that I know personally they mentored for several years under an accomplished trainer before they ever thought of going out on their own. They also trained their own personal dogs to a very high level (think AKC Master Hunter or QAA, FC, AFC) before they ever took someone else's money to do it. You may be willing to do it cheaper than other trainers but as with most things you get what you pay for. You should first train your dog to a high level while mentoring under an accomplished trainer and learn the trade. Also you may love training your own dog but I can assure you that professionally training retrievers is no cake walk. They work their as# off. On weekends when everyone else is off work you can expect to be working at a hunt test or cleaning sh%t out of kennels at 6am. It is more or a lifestyle than a job. But if your willing to put in the time by all means go after it. Just know that's its not as easy as training your back yard dog to fetch a bird.

Thanks for all the advice guys and I promise I do not take it personally. Y'all's information will be a great help to me as I figure out the steps that I need to take to one day become a great dog trainer. Thanks again