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The Retriever Program at Thunder Force Kennels is designed to produce a retriever that performs well in both the family and hunting environments. We provide one on one training for you and your dog, so that you may learn how to communicate with your dog more efficiently and will learn the handling skills that you will need to maximize the efforts of both the handler and retriever. We encourage you to visit your pup once a month so that you may fine tune your skills as the handler and review the progress made since your last visit.
Our training fees are very reasonable and start at only $425 per month!
We offer several training programs to suit your needs:
  
To see some of our training grounds click Here.
We also offer Professional Handling at Hunt Tests and Field Trials, Retriever Private Lessons as well as All Breed Obedience Private Lessons, Pre Season Tune Ups and Boarding (Space Permitting).
Basic Program:
There are four steps in our Basic program, each one builds a foundation for the next. This is where your retriever will learn the basic mechanics of his job as a working retriever. On average each step typically takes one month. Depending on your pup's circumstances they may move at a faster or slower pace.
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Step 1: Obedience: Obedience training is the foundation on which all else is built. Your retriever will be taught six very useful commands: sit, down, here, heel, off and place. These commands will be available for your use in both the field and at home. We will utilize various distractions to test these commands to ensure that your retriever will be obedient under very exciting circumstances.
Step 2: Conditioned Retrieve: Here your retriever will learn three more commands : hold, fetch, and drop. This process is designed to teach your retriever to retrieve an object on command, hold it in their mouth , and finally deliver that object to your hand. This ensures that your retriever will have a fast and dependable delivery on each retrieve. This process also helps to address and even prevent both soft and hard mouth issues before they occur. |
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Step 3: The Single Marked Retrieve: Now that your retriever is Obedient and has a reliable delivery, we'll teach them the fundamentals of the single marked retrieve in the field. First, is steadiness, they will learn not to attempt to make the retrieve until you have released them. This is for their safety as well as the safety of those hunting with you and yourself. There are hunting accidents each year that would have been prevented by this type of training. They will be taught to watch the bird, mark the fall on both land and water, and retrieve it once they're released by you. This is where they are taught to immediately return to your side once they have the bird, heel, and deliver the bird to your hand. |
Step 4- Fieldwork: Your retriever is now Obedient, delivers to hand is steady and can mark a bird. They will now be taught to use what they have learned over the past three months and apply it to use in the field. Here they will encounter heavy cover, boats and duck blinds, decoys, duck calls, goose calls, gunfire from multiple guns and various other situations that they may encounter during their life as a gundog. They will be at home in any hunting situation ranging from a Louisiana rice field to Mississippi flooded timber to field hunting geese in North Dakota and even a West Texas dove hunt. After this training you will have a dog that can easily function as a field worthy retriever that you can be proud of.
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