The Upland Disciple Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome back to episode 10 of season 3 at the Upland Disciple Podcast. We continue on with our summer shorts series this week, diving in to the topic of handling. An often under discussed and under appreciated part of bird dog development and hunting/trialing is the working together of dog and handler in the field. This doesn't just mean following your dog around the field but being able to cast your dog, bend them in the field from objective to objective or cover to cover. It means not hacking at your dog but communicating with them via cues, body language, and direction...all built in your training time before you get to real life scenarios!

Handling is also one of those parts of training that is as much about you the handler as it is the dog. Being able to read a dog, put them in the best place to succeed, and have a partnership that overcomes tough situations, tough conditions, and new environments. With that being said handling is an art NOT a science, and is often caught more than it is taught. So tune in and listen to the experts lend their experience, advice, tips, tricks, and training styles to develop a good handle in the field!

Welcome back to episode 9 of the Summer Shorts series. This week we take a deep dive with our four Pro Trainers into the topic of Honoring or Backing. Whether for safety, etiquette, or more birds in the bag, honoring is one of most important skills we can teach our dogs. Nobody wants to hunt with the guy whose dogs blow up everyone else's points! As we dive into the four different methods, you will find a baseline of similarity in the desired outcome, with unique approaches on how to train honoring. Some use launchers, others throw birds. Some use ecollar, others prefer no pressure in this training skill. Whatever your cup of tea may be, take a listen and I promise you will be able to take something if not many things away from each pro's method of teaching a dog to honor or back!! Sit back and enjoy!!

Resources:

The Hickox Method

web - www.georgehickox.com

Instagram - @georgehickoxbirddogs

Facebook - @georgehickox

The Method Dog Training

web - www.haycreekkennels.com | www.jwellskennels.com

Instagram - @the_method_dog_training

Facebok - @themethoddogtraining

Perfection Kennels

web - www.perfectionkennel.com

Instagram - @perfection_kennels

Facebook - @perfectionkennel

The Smith Method 

web - www.smithkenels.com

Instagram - @smithkennelsbirddogs

Facebook - @smithkennels

This is an introductory episode letting you, the listener, know what we have coming this summer. We will be doing roughly 10 "shorts" on a variety of different skills or developmental areas for dogs, bringing you directly from the top professionals, their tools, drills, application, and resources. The goal isn't to tell you our opinion, but to give you four different ways of training each specific skill, so that you can decide for your own situation which method works best for you. We will at the end of each episode spend a little time highlighting some similarities, differences, and advantages to each method to help you lean into the method that works for you!

Welcome back for another episode of The Upland Disciple Podcast. On this episode we welcome in Sonny & Jordan from "The Method" dog training based out of both Connecticut and Wisconsin. Sonny and Jordan have found a unique niche in bird dog training, combing strong elements of obedience through the use of an obstacle course to develop cooperation, understanding and the ability to problem solve for the dog. It is a fun listen to hear how they envision bird dog development from this perpsective and how it translates to the field time and time again. Hope you enjoy another episode of The Upland Disciple Podcast!

In this episode we switch it up a bit, still talking bird dogs and bird dog training/development but from a tools provider perspective. Mike Neiduski owns Ugly Dog Hunting, and as an avid uplander builds his business based on training tools, devices, and apparel that make sense and work for him and his customers. His product lines aim at longevity, usefulness, and not overselling the unneccessary stuff we all seem to get early on in our training lives!! 

You can find all things Ugly Dog Hunting at www.uglydoghunting.com or on Facebook or Instagram @uglydoghunting. 

We pick up where we left off in reverse pod episode 1, talking about training dogs to use their natural drive to extend or shape their range/pattern. We talk primarily about avoiding yo-yo-ing and getting your dog to stay to front from a young age using birds and the dogs natural drive to shape an up front dog. While we talk edges, this could be done in a patterning format as well if that is your desired hunting style with your dog!!

We pick up where we left off with field trials, training, and all things bird dogs!

In this episode we jump into all things bird doggin' with Kelli Aitken of Quantonas Irish Setters. It's a 2 parter so come back for part 2 in a couple weeks! Kelli gets into her story, her love of the Irish Setter, training, learning, field trialing, and even a a bit of judging! Kelli is a very accomplish trainier/handler in the field trial world, with some of the nicest Irish Setters around!!

This week we welcome to the pod, legend in the making and national champion and dog of the year handler, Jamie Daniels. Jamie has trained and handled multiple champions, including recent AA dog of the year Miller's Blindsider. Jamie has been in the bird dog world since his youth, and we dive into his origin story in bird dogs as a helping hand, all the way up to his decorated career (so far) as a handler, as well as his dog development program, and what he looks for in developing the next great bird dog. It is a wealth of knowledge from Jamie, and well worth the listen.

I apologize up front for some of the recording issues as we recorded this on the phone while working a bit, so it is heavily edited to try to help your listening experience!! Enjoy!

In this episode we turn things upside down just a bit. Rather than me, Josh, interview a guest, long time friend and bird dog guy Jake Faas w/ True Loyalty Dog Training out of MN, asked if he could interview me about the history and my experience and thoughts of the breed I work the most with, the Epagneul Breton. With over 35 years of life spent around and with the breed, we discussed everything from breed standard, to personality, to breeding philosophy, to understanding the breed for what it is and can be.

There are some controversial topics within the breed, as there are in any, from the common misunderstanding of what "foot-hunters" dog ought to be, to what the "range" of these dogs should be, to outcrossing versus line-breeding or inbreeding in a successful breeding program. We tread the waters lightly and try to address the truths behind some of these myths, the reason these small but mighty pointing dogs have the following and fanfare that they do, and reframe the converastion over some of these topics all while weaving in stories and examples of EBs who have been trained in different styles, to different nurture environments in their development, all in a pursuit of a fully formed bird dog that can be that demon in the field and angel in home.