As a veterinarian, I refer my clients to Quinebaug Kennels without hesitation and have been doing so for approximately four and a half years. It is common for me to hear on a dail... (more) - Dr. David J. Lambert, Quinebaug Valley Veterinary Hospital
Max
Date of Graduation: Sat, Feb 11th, 2012
Max is a smart dog with great potential. When he first arrived for training we could see his eagerness to please and understanding of basic commands. Max quickly got to work and did well conditioning to the e-collar for obedience learning heel, sit, down, here/come, place, kennel, and "okay, hunt 'em up," but he hit a bump in the road when it came to gun shots. Max has a good prey drive and this will be essential to help him overcome his reaction to shots but it will take time, patience, and repetition. To help him with his sensitivity, our trainer worked Max chasing birds with a few of his training buddies while two dozen shots were fired from a 22 blank gun and Max showed no reaction at all, but he is still not ready to have birds shot over him yet. Max also learned some whistle commands off leash. Now all he needs to be a fantastic hunter is a little more maturity, and to get better with the gun shots. Max is a great dog, and as long he continues being worked on gun shots, he'll be amazing hunting companion in the end.
Jennings
Date of Graduation: Fri, Feb 3rd, 2012
Jennings is a fantastic pup and has made remarkable progress over her four weeks of training, especially for such a young age. She exceeded so well in her obedience training, that we even started her on force fetch for a head start towards being an exceptional hunting dog. Jennings learned all of her obedience commands on leash, transitioned to the e-collar, and worked a tiny bit off leash before she went home, but she still needs to mature a bit more before continuing on to more formal training and advanced skills. She did spectacularly at recall, at one point working with five other dogs chasing pigeons and at random coming back to heel and sit, and she also did wonderfully in force fetch, progressing from working fetch, hold, and leave it on the training bench to retrieving drills with bumpers and birds off the bench, and boy does she love those birds. Jennings loved learning force fetch and is super adorable and energetic but also focused and determined at the same time. She’s an incredible young future hunter.
Jager
Date of Graduation: Fri, Feb 3rd, 2012
Jager has been one of our favorite German Shorthairs to work with at Quinebaug Kennels. He has a great disposition, is very biddable, and has a lot of natural talent. When Jager first arrived he had very little exposure to birds and gunfire. He didn’t walk well on a leash and didn’t always come when called. Now Jager knows many commands, on and off leash, including sit, down, heel, kennel, place, whoa, and “ok, hunt ‘em up.” Jager not only knows how to find birds but will hold a very staunch and stylish point until told to release and will retrieve shot birds to hand. He’s made tremendous progress in a short period of time, however, these new found habits are not etched in stone and will need practice every day to keep him sharp. Jager is super talented and we look forward to working with him in the future!
Bailey
Date of Graduation: Thu, Feb 2nd, 2012
Bailey has come a long way in four weeks. Initially, Bailey was a little timid and needed more confidence which she developed during her training. Her good nature and willingness to please made her an attentive student who excelled in our program learning heel, sit, down, come, place, and kennel off leash first and then transitioning to the e-collar. Toward the end of her training, Bailey even had the opportunity to run loose in our wide open field after given her release word “okay.” E-collar pressure kept her from going too far and she always responded appropriately. We are proud of Bailey’s accomplishments and ability to now work 100% off leash with infrequent use of the e-collar. She’ll remain just as obedient as the day she went home with proper follow up and reinforcement. That is essential to Bailey’s continued success. She now has all of the tools necessary to be a great family companion.
Bailey
Date of Graduation: Thu, Feb 2nd, 2012
Bailey came in as one tough determined dog that lacked manners and was aggressive towards other dogs. Our trainer Joe remembers her first private lesson well. Bailey needed to be muzzled around other dogs. After a four week stay at Quinebaug Kennels that is no longer the case. Bailey has learned many obedience commands on and off leash with reinforcement from an e-collar and now respects other dogs and people too. She has learned her boundaries and as long as her initial excitement around other dogs is controlled, she can play and have fun muzzle free. We still would not leave her around other dogs without supervision, however. She still has a tendency to play a little rough now and then, but that can now easily be corrected. Bailey is a brand new dog and her cute face was a pleasure to have here at the kennel.
Tigger
Date of Graduation: Wed, Feb 1st, 2012
Tigger is such a good boy. Some of his biggest issues were his need for multiple commands often (specifically the down command), and testing our trainer about maintaining the heel position by wandering or pulling ahead, but these are easily addressed with proper reinforcement from an e-collar or leash. With those two small faults Tigger also has some great skills. He has very reliable and steady sits, steady stays, and is excellent at going into and staying in the crate. He often needs some convincing, but Tigger is getting more and more compliant. Our trainers also worked Tigger on the treadmill. It not only serves a great exercise, but also a way to desensitize. Tigger is coming along. He is sufficiently e-collar conditioned and ready for more reinforcement and training at home.
Baloo
Date of Graduation: Fri, Jan 27th, 2012
We noticed that Baloo was an extremely nice boy and very willing to please right from the start on his first training day here at the kennel. Our trainer started him on a few of our agility obstacles to build trust, as well as attention and polite entry/exit drills before beginning his leash obedience. Baloo progressed right on schedule in our program, learning to respond to sit, down, kennel, place, and heel with the help of leash pressure, and transitioning to the e-collar nicely. With just a few bolting attempts by Baloo while learning to behave off leash, by the end of his training he was far above average with stellar behavior and a super work ethic and willingness to please. He was a quick study and very easy to train, but the most important piece of the obedience puzzle is the follow through after he returns home.
Tiva
Date of Graduation: Fri, Jan 27th, 2012
Tiva arrived at Quinebaug Kennels one energetic playful girl with a nice foundation in obedience. However, she did not like to retrieve birds and would break on the flush. With Tiva only being here a few weeks, we had to focus on her obedience skills and teaching her force fetch. We started with e-collar conditioning and a lot of fetch and hold drills on the training bench. With Tiva’s great attitude and work ethic, we were able to achieve a nice fetch with e-collar pressure and establish more control out in the field with the reinforcement of the e-collar. With this under her belt, Tiva is now ready to start steady to the flush and steady to the shot drills so we hope to see her back again!
Eloise
Date of Graduation: Sun, Jan 22nd, 2012
Eloise is a gorgeous, happy girl, but was a bit of a hard head in the beginning of her training. We did not have a single problem with her when things were her idea, but when things were not her idea she needed quite a bit of convincing. Her first training session went extremely well. It was evident that she did know a bit of obedience already and seemed very willing to please. It wasn't until her second session, however, that our trainer ran into some trouble. Eloise was not very happy to work the kennel command, throwing a bit of a tantrum when asked to go into the crate, but persistence and leash pressure let Eloise know that she was to be obedient and follow the command, not just in this situation, but in all instances when she is given any of the regular obedience commands. After four hardworking weeks of obedience training and debolting drills for Eloise, because she did have an issue with recall, she was working 100% off leash and behaving impeccably. She is a very strong girl, both physically and mentally, and can be stubborn at times, but we can say with confidence that Eloise has very reliable recall and being obedient is more of a way of life for her now. She has proven to be a star pupil, but of course, all of her training will need to be properly reinforced. We are very proud of her progress and with her new education, she will be a controllable, content, and spectacular family companion.
Grace
Date of Graduation: Fri, Jan 20th, 2012
Grace was such a joy to work with over the four weeks of her training. When she first arrived, we could certainly tell that her cute little face got her pretty much whatever she wanted, and we could see that because it even worked on us. Grace struggled, in the beginning, with her obedience and would not come when called, but with time, patience, consistency, and repetition, she learned many new commands and realized that certain words have certain meanings and are not just sounds. This is where the leash and e-collar came in. They are what reinforce those words and give them meaning, and when that is continually practiced, responding properly to those commands will become a habit for Grace - such a habit that the verbal command alone will cause her to respond. She is also such a bird lover, but she is still young and new to the game. Gun fire will take a lot of getting used to for her so it is important that she is only exposed to a fair amount of gun fire in a positive manner. Again, Grace was amazing to work with, and with some practice she will be an excellent hunting companion.
