Hi all;
I registered several weeks ago and even posted several times. I like it when people introduce themselves to the board; it gives the reader of subsequent posts an idea of who we are and where we are coming from. I learned about this website from another websiite and decided to check it out. I liked it right off and decided to hang around. At this stage in my training, I have more questions than answers so I tend to read more than I post.
My name is Brian McMillan and I live in Macclenny, a small town in Northeast Florida, USA. Nearly three years ago, I picked up a little chocolate lab puppy with the idea that he was going to be the familly pet. We wanted to train him to be a good citizen and with that in mind, a friend of my wife's gave her a book called Water Dog to aid in our training. There is a section in that book on basic obedience; but what caught my eye was how the man trained his dog to retireve. I wondered if I could train mine to do it too. So using that book as a quide, we started. I don't duck hunt and had no idea that such things as hunt tests and field trials existed or were available to me. I just wanted a good activity to keep my dog physically and mentaly active.
As one could imagine, armed with an outdated training manual, and a few bumpers, we struggled and made some mistakes. But we were having fun and learned despite ourselves. I feel like the best thing that happened to us is that I found an experienced amatuer trainer in my area who sort of took me under her wing and helped us. We meet together once a week to train. She introduced me to hunt tests and convinced me that my dog had it in him to do it. Two years ago this March we entered our first test got a pass the first day and eliminated ourselves the next day. (long story) We run several tests a year and now have two legs towards a Hunting Retriever Champion title. We need two more legs.