Dog Training

OVERVIEW
With over 30 years of experience in working with all types of hunting and sporting dogs, Vickie has perfected various methods using low-impact, motivational techniques accented with a positive approach to the big picture of any hunting or competitive goal.

Vickie's background, beyond both teaching herself and observing and working with pros during college, includes "going back to school" after college with some of the country's top retriever trainers, including Hugh Arthur, Jim Kappes and Rex Carr, before embarking on her own.

She has raised, trained, handled and campaigned (in some cases also bred) numerous dogs from seven-week old puppies to top level competitive titles in both the coonhound and licensed field trial world of retrievers. In doing so, success has been achieved with two completely different types of dogs, those being retrievers and coonhounds, to attain a mark few have accomplished in separate competitive canine venues.

In addition she has always enjoyed training and hunting with other types of hunting dogs, including bird dogs and beagles. Vickie's approach to hunting with dogs truly underlines the fact that there is a unique and shared fundamental basis for all types of training with dogs.

In an effort to help others, she has written extensively about the methods that she first learned from her mentors and then perfected in various ways for practical applications to sporting and hunting dogs, including teaching dogs with high prey drive to come while hunting when called.

METHODS
Vickie's approach to training is straightforward. The bottom line is: "Just train the dog"... [Rex Carr quote.] Always flexible, Vickie accomplishes this with a variety of methods, depending on each individual dog and his/her owner's goals.

Traditional training is offered with emphasis on excellent attitude, momentum in training progression and pleasing overall style. E-collars, which offer instant communication, are used in a responsible way with excellent timing and low intensity to achieve the ultimate learning environment. (Think of an e-collar as an invisible one-mile training rope or leash. E-collar training can be phased out over time.) Behavioral experts call this 4-Q (Four Quadrant) training. Force-fetch, or the trained retrieve, is also taught in 4-Q training for retrieving dogs of all breeds.

Positive 2-Q (Two Quadrant) training is also offered with reliable results. This method is offered for those owners that don't desire force or e-collar usage in their dog's training regime; an evaluation must be done prior to training as often this type of training may take longer to achieve results. (For retrieving dogs, force fetch is not done but instead the "orderly retrieve process" TM is taught.)

Whenever possible, owners are encouraged to interact and participate in their dog's training progression.

In every case, an individualized program is designed for each dog based on needs, owner goals, and the dog's personality and development.