Labs · Goldens · Pointers · German Shorthaired Pointers · Vizslas · Brittanys · Spaniels · Hounds · and similar sporting breeds and mixes
These dogs find a scent and disappear into it. Give them room to run and they'll go for hours without asking to stop. They'll work with you all day — right up until something downwind is more interesting than you are.
Nobody bred this dog to sit still. That's not a flaw — that's the job description.
Book a Puppy AssessmentThis puppy runs on one setting: go. Every smell is the most interesting thing in the world and every trail must be followed. Every walk turns into the nose taking over completely, and the rest of the world gets a lot less interesting than whatever's on the wind. And then there are birds. Not "notices birds" — obsessed with birds.
These dogs are also incredibly good problem solvers, and when faced with a problem they will solve it — the rest of the world doesn't exist until they do. People admire this brilliance right up until the problem they've figured out how to solve is how to avoid listening to you.
Most owners underestimate just how much energy this puppy actually has — and once they realize it, they find themselves trying to burn off an engine that doesn't seem to have an off position.
You didn't get this dog because you wanted an easygoing couch potato. You got it for exactly this — the drive, the athleticism, the nose that never quits. What you need is a dog that can be all that, but still listens when you ask it to and can calm down and relax when needed.
That's exactly what this program is built to do.
Every program here is custom-built for the individual dog and what you actually want to get out of it — which is exactly why the assessment matters. Below are the areas most programs end up covering, but yours may look different depending on your puppy and your goals.
We build a relationship first — one where your puppy sees you as part of the adventure, not the obstacle they have to get around in order to do the things they'd really rather be doing. That's the foundation everything else is built on.
For these dogs to live their best life, they need to be able to have their nose down, exploring, completely absorbed in a scent or a trail — without you having to manage every second of it. What we build alongside that is balance: the ability to switch back to you just as easily, so your puppy can move between "fully in the environment" and "fully with you" without getting stuck in either one. A dog that only comes back because it's avoiding a correction isn't actually with you — that same problem-solving brain will find a way around it. A dog that can genuinely switch gets to fully disappear into the environment and fully enjoy being with you, actually engaged in both, not just tolerating handler time while waiting for the next chance to bolt.
These dogs are notoriously bad at settling — no matter how tired they get, winding down doesn't come naturally. It has to be taught, and it starts with impulse control. That same control is what shows up at home — door manners, calm greetings, and living well alongside kids and other pets, instead of a free-for-all every time something exciting happens.
The typical enrichment advice for pet dogs — a snuffle mat, a frozen Kong, a walk around the block — doesn't even scratch the surface for these guys. That's busy work, not fulfillment, and it simply doesn't satisfy these dogs. What they need is real, structured outlets that actually use what they were bred for — so that energy has somewhere to go instead of coming out as destroyed furniture or a dog that can never be trusted off leash.
Meeting new people and dogs is important — it's just not what these puppies actually struggle with. Where they need real help is being around people and dogs without getting to say hi. We teach your puppy to handle that frustration calmly, not just to be friendly.
Sit, down, stay, and the fundamentals, built to hold up around real distraction — including recall, coming when called even with something far more interesting pulling the other way.
Loose-leash walking for a dog who pulls toward every new smell and every open stretch of space.
These puppies are usually friendly enough about being handled — the problem is holding still. We build real tolerance for nail trims, ear checks, and vet exams, not just good intentions and a lot of wiggling.
The vast majority of behavior problems in dogs trace back to anxiety and fear — not defiance, not dominance, just a dog that doesn't know how to handle a situation and reacts instead. A confident dog is different. It can handle novel places, surfaces, and situations on its own footing. But confidence without control is its own problem — an overconfident dog that doesn't listen is just a different kind of handful. What we build is confidence balanced with control, so your dog can handle whatever comes up and still listen while doing it.
A diagnostic evaluation, not a training session — so we know exactly what your puppy needs before we start.