Leaving a young rescue dog at a trainer .

[Dave]

I was wondering about this. I am considering taking my young owner surrendered Brittany to a trainer for bird hunting training . I was wondering about the aspect of getting him back three months later and he will have forgoten I was his new home . I did find a trainer that will train us by the hour and work with us once a week .I'm not comfortable about sending off a dog that hasn't bonded completely with me . Am I being too nervous and overprotective ? I figure to hunt this dog only , not field trial him . You know how that goes though , especially if he is good . Dave

[Jeanne]

My opinion only as I have no experience with sending off any of my girls, much less a rescue, but I would not send him off for three months. Go with the trainer who will work you and the dog. That way you both get to learn. And what better way to bond.

[Barb Wright]

DITTO what Jeanne said No matter what "events" you will be doing with your dog it is always better to be a part of and totally involved in the learning and training process

[Dave]

I contacted several trainers and they wanted him (Levi) for three months at $500 a month .Well I thought , no way , he wouldn't know me when I got him back . Karen noticed I'm not referring to Levi as my current foster Rusty I always called my foster even though I had him almost 6 months .Anyway thanks for answering me , I thought I was being to protective Dave

[CJ]

Well, here comes the dissenting opinion. He really doesn’t need to bond to you before he goes to training. While I haven’t done it myself, I do know (personally) several dogs that have been sent off for several months shortly after having been purchased and returned with no problems (but… they were sent to very reputable trainers) and bonded just find with their owners after having returned home.
That having been said, I personally wouldn’t send mine off just because of the $$$ (which while to steep for me, is actually right at and maybe a little less than the going rate in our neck of the woods Dave), and because I have the space/area, time, and knowledge to do it myself.
That being said too, even if I didn’t have the knowledge, if I had the space/area and time to do it myself. I would. There’s just to many good books, video series, seminars, and articles in GunDog & PDJ, and area breed clubs to pay someone else to do it full time (unless I was making an investment in a high$$$ FT dog… then I still might consider sending him off). But, the idea of training WITH a pro is a great middle ground. It’s a great way to get access to good training grounds and glean knowledge from a pro. You’ll know the program that pup is on because you’ll be a part of it and not have to adjust to his training when he comes home.
So anywho, the not bonding with you before going is more of an emotional issue for us (owners) than I think it is for the dog (unless it is a socially messed up rescue… but this doesn’t sound like the case here). In any event, sounds like you made the right choice.

[JimC]

Dave,

I really encourage you to work with the trainer once a week. I did that with Ryker and am so glad I did. I gained knowledge that I never would have had I sent him away. The trainer worked with both of us. He taught me how to better work with my dog. He taught me how Ryker learned, not how he should learn. He also pointed out subtle nuances in his behavior that I probably wouldn't have picked up on and I'm able to "read" him so much better. He'd bonded with our whole family before we began bird dog training but he has bonded so much closer with me since the training. He is never happier than he is hunting up some birds. He associates that happiness with me. He's still bonded with the rest of my family, but 95% of the time I'm home he's in the same room I'm in and follows me where ever I go. I have to step over him to get out of the shower. As CJ said, make sure you have a reputable trainer. Check his references. My Vet recommended my trainer. He also trained her dog. Good luck.

Jim

[Dave]

I am going to work with the trainer together with Levi . I believe that's the best way especialy since I don't know alot about training a bird dog from scratch . My bird dog I had before was already fully trained and all i had to do was take her out and bring my shotgun . Her name was Amber , my first rescue and the dog that got me into rescue . I didn't adopt her out , she was a keeper Dave

[MDriver]

This is an old post - but just in case someone else looking for information on this comes across it - here is our experience.

We did send one of our boys off to training camp for 2 1/2 months to Chief's Brittany's. He was the breeder/trainer featured on Animal Planet's - Breed All About It episode on Brittanys. It was sooooo hard on us, but he did really well. We went and saw him almost every weekend after the first 2 weeks (during this time he really recommend that we NOT come out yet - not enough time to establish a trainer/student relationship)

During our visits, my husband and I would have our training sessions. I grew up on training with the book Gun Dog - Dave is much more modern with his approach, keeping his dogs in the house, consistant with your training and commands. the hardest part of the training is for YOU to be consistant and not be lazy when it comes to correcting every time!!

But anyway - he came back ready to sleep on the couch again, cuddle and all of those other house dog traits. his training was great. for such a stubborn Brittany (and boy is he that!!!!!), this was the right choice for us. We will not do that with our newest addition, as we will not hunt him. But, there is nothing wrong with this approach. Boomer is a great loving dog and the training has made life easier for both of us.

[CJ]

Gotta love a happy ending!