When Cody Weis recounts his first experiences in the world of duck hunting and dog training, it's more than just a story—it's a testament to the transformative power of perseverance and the deep bonds we share with our hunting retrievers. From Wisconsin to Texas, join us as Cody and I explore the emotional rollercoaster that is dog training—from those first nervous attempts to the remarkable moments when everything clicks into place.
This episode isn't just about the technicalities of training retrievers but also the profound impact a positive mindset can have on both the trainer and the dog. The challenges of training a dog in an apartment, the creativity required to overcome distractions, and the importance of fostering a dog-owner relationship are all up for discussion.
This is for anyone who's ever doubted their training abilities or felt the pressure of unlocking their dog's potential—you're not alone, and your journey is part of a larger, inspiring narrative.
Want to train your dog with confidence like Cody? Visit: https://www.cornerstonegundogacademy.com to sign up today.
When Cody Weis recounts his first experiences in the world of duck hunting and dog training, it's more than just a story—it's a testament to the transformative power of perseverance and the deep bonds we share with our hunting retrievers. From Wisconsin to Texas, join us as Cody and I explore the emotional rollercoaster that is dog training—from those first nervous attempts to the remarkable moments when everything clicks into place.
This episode isn't just about the technicalities of training retrievers but also the profound impact a positive mindset can have on both the trainer and the dog. The challenges of training a dog in an apartment, the creativity required to overcome distractions, and the importance of fostering a dog-owner relationship are all up for discussion.
This is for anyone who's ever doubted their training abilities or felt the pressure of unlocking their dog's potential—you're not alone, and your journey is part of a larger, inspiring narrative.
Want to train your dog with confidence like Cody? Visit: https://www.cornerstonegundogacademy.com to sign up today.
Cornerstone Gun Dog Academy online resources to help you train your retriever.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Build From here podcast. On this episode, it's a great honor to have Cody Weiss on here, and, man, how are you doing? I'm doing great, josh. How are you Doing? Good? Cody is an incredible friend of mine. We've grown really close over the years since he's become a member and joined this process, so we go even far beyond just being just members. We're close friends. But I really am excited to have him on here just to share his story, just everything he's done the trials and jumps. He's had to train his dog. Like many members, you now have more than one dog.
Speaker 1:It kind of just goes that way you get one and then you get addicted to it.
Speaker 2:But let's just start from the beginning, cody, but before we do, where are you from and just give everybody a little background on just kind of growing up and your introduction to hunting and all that type of stuff.
Speaker 3:So I grew up in a little town called Cedarburg, wisconsin. I lived there up until about 2018 and my wife and I moved to New Mexico and we lived there for a little while, while she was getting her master's degree, and then we decided to. Well, she got offered a job in Houston, texas, and so that's where we currently live.
Speaker 3:I didn't really grow up hunting.
Speaker 3:It was something that I had interest in and I had gone deer hunting a couple of times with my dad, but my dad really wasn't a big hunter and I didn't really have anyone super close to me that was really into it.
Speaker 3:And I was super into hockey when I was young, and so that's pretty much what I did in the wintertime. It wasn't really until we moved to New Mexico that I met a bunch of guys out there and we were in the outdoors all the time whether it was rock climbing, camping stuff like that that they were really big into big game hunting. So El Camille, deer, stuff like that, and that's what kind of got me down that rabbit hole, I guess, of hunting. And then when we moved to Texas, I had always wanted to go duck hunting and had always wanted a working dog and to build that relationship, and so after my wife and I got married in 2020, I pretty much begged her to if we could get a puppy and I could train it, and so we bought a dog before I had ever even been on my first duck hunt. Really.
Speaker 2:Had you been on any hunt at that point? No, so you, just your buddies had told you about the big game, hunting, and it's like that sounds kind of cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I mean, besides just a few white tail hunts in Wisconsin, I hadn't really ever been out doing it.
Speaker 2:And what was your introduction to like duck hunting at this point? So there seemed to be an appeal to the dogs and the duck hunting.
Speaker 3:Well, honestly, 90% of it was the dogs. For me it really wasn't. It wasn't really necessarily that I really wanted to go hunt ducks or anything like that. I just I had always loved the bond between handler and dog and working dog and even when I was younger I wanted to be in the military and and work with like bomb sniffing dogs.
Speaker 1:I was like was something.
Speaker 3:I love those kind of relationships, and so I didn't even know if I was going to like duck hunting, you know it was just kind of one of those things. Well, we're going to get a dog and try it out. And then ended up going on my first hunt and I've just been hooked ever since. Really and now it runs my life basically.
Speaker 2:That's insane. Was your? Was there a dog on the first hunt or just the first duck hunt?
Speaker 3:No, yeah.
Speaker 2:And, like you, that's so crazy. Some people get into it and then they get in the dog, but you like I'll burst it. That's really cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we, and it was not an easy first hunt we went to. It's called Anowak and it's a public walk in spot. Oh man, really nasty, thick mud and alligators everywhere.
Speaker 2:Oh really.
Speaker 3:You're walking in at four in the morning Did you see an alligator?
Speaker 2:Oh really.
Speaker 1:I've seen multiples. Yeah, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:So walking in there, you're just shining your head lamp around and all you see is eyes.
Speaker 2:That's intense.
Speaker 3:It's pretty wild but it I had the time of my life, even as miserable as it was, walking in there and I didn't know anything. I had neoprene waiters and it was. It was not a fun experience, but it also a fun experience at the same time, and ever since then I just got hooked. You know some of those experiences are.
Speaker 2:They're fun to talk about after. Yeah, we went on this that just kind of reminds me of a hunt not the same thing and we didn't have alligators to deal with, but we had to walk across this field like a long way. I don't it may have been a mile, but it was in Kansas and it was like it was mud and and it was a good spot and this is with good all-weight skiing, this is okay. He decided to be a god, yeah, and he you know, he's always been a cj, remember, for a while and he, his eyes were like lit up. He was telling us all about man. I found the honey hole. We got a guy sounds great, I was a man. It's kind of a long way across. We get everything across and you know we weren't really thinking about coming back and we smoked them like we killed so many birds and they was like man, this is great. And then their reality hit us like, oh wait, we now have to carry all the gear we brought out here.
Speaker 2:Plus the birds back across that field. It took like a couple of trips. Yeah, it may not have been a mile, it was probably. It was a half a mile for sure, but it was like every step your feet are just getting stuck in the mud and those geese and the ducks the ducks weren't too bad, but you know, I'm carrying all these geese and then and carried everything like I'm like barely breathing get across this field on my man.
Speaker 2:This is, this is wild, but and that was very it wasn't fun. It was fun but it wasn't fun at the same time. But it's like I love to tell that story now because I look back fondly on it now. You know, I don't know that I walk across that field again today For the same situation, but it's fun to talk about no, I definitely, I definitely get that most.
Speaker 3:Most of the spots that I Well, I don't have a boat and so most of the spots that I hunt in Texas are all public land walk-in spots, and there's a couple of them that are probably mile, mile and a half, and most of it's through Marsh. You know nasty muck water, you know mud up to your knees and it can, it can get, especially if you're carrying, you know a dog stand and everything else it. It can be a lot for sure, but Most of the time there's not a lot of other people that like to hunt those spots because they're such a pain to get to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so Usually I'm pretty good.
Speaker 3:Yeah, usually it's. It's not bad hunting, but it's just the the workout of getting out there and actually setting up and doing it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that stops heavy decoys, you know guns, you got your dog stuff your own gear, it adds up. Yeah, so you got hooked. And when does the dog fit in? Did you already have a dog when you went on your first hunt? Or when did all this? And where did I did come? I guess you decided to see you already had the desire to Work with a dog. So you remind you were already planning to just train the dog yourself. Yep.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, so she was. I think she was about Six months old when I when I'm on the first hunt, so we were still just doing obedient stuff. I'm really focusing on that and trying to get that solidified. But yeah, I mean it just, I Really don't even know, like, really, I wanted to train my own dog just for the fact of Having that relationship, yeah, bond. You know, that was really the biggest thing for me is building that bond and that relationship. That's so important. Yeah, and you know that's where you guys came in. Yeah is, you know I did, it was doing research. Oh, like, what book should I buy? What YouTube should I check out? And you guys popped up and I know I checked out the you know pre stuff that you like, pre videos that you guys send out, and and watched all those and I was instantly like, yep, that we're good, like this is, this is, this is exactly what I need to fit into my lifestyle, and Just went off running from there.
Speaker 2:Wow, man, so cool yeah got you hooked and glad you found us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what was that?
Speaker 2:journey like for you man. So you and what Was Tom a concern for you at the time? And, as for some people, tom is like a concern, like okay, well, how? Because there's this perception out there that you know they need to be the trainer for like a long time.
Speaker 2:Yeah and they're gonna be being trained all day, but that's not really really how it works. They're trained for a period of time. Yep, whether you're doing it yourself or whether the trainers unit, you're training about 30 40 minutes a day. Yeah, take it, depending on the days you train. Yeah, was that kind of an issue, or for you, or you're more focused on? Like, if this is just something, did you have concerns coming in to doing it yourself?
Speaker 3:I guess I think you're just like sold on it. I think my biggest concern was, you know, I think, as most first-time handlers are is screwing something up. Right, that is Unreversible, you know. And so you put that pressure on yourself of Messing something up and you're gonna mess up like it's just. This is the way it goes, especially when you're learning something new.
Speaker 3:Like you don't know all the ins and outs, yeah, I didn't know anything. Like I didn't. I didn't know about readings. I didn't know about, you know, like anything I Mean. I remember even the first time when she was a puppy, she was so loud in her kennel just for digging. I remember that was the first phone call I had with you was like how do I get this dog to stop being so loud in the can? Like we're about to get kicked out of our apartment. I guess dog just will not be quiet. And I remember you know, working, working through that with you, and so it. It definitely isn't always an easy journey, but I will say it's, it's a hundred percent worthwhile. Yeah, just from the fact of that relationship that you build, and now all the people that I've met through CGA and building relationship with you, and it's, it's incredible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome, yeah so we should talk about that. So yeah, I've been in an apartment. There's probably many of our listeners there in that situation. Some have a house of. A house does make it easier, there's no lie, because you ain't got to worry about your neighbors when you got a barking dog and the the apartment starts calling and that's happening to me. That's kind of stressful. What?
Speaker 1:is.
Speaker 2:How long did you from puppy to what point and training? Were you in the apartment?
Speaker 3:We went all the way through. I Think when we moved to our house she was on. We were in like the week, like 32 33.
Speaker 2:So pretty much in there. Yeah, that was a while.
Speaker 3:Yeah, pretty much her entire journey was was at the apartment and I would. You know, most of time I would get creative, I would. I would go find a soccer field or a park or whatever. If we did, we had a little bit of space behind our, our apartment itself, but there was a pond behind there and she loved the water and I always had this issue with. Basically, she would, she would take off on me and then just run the water's edge and Just play this keep away game for me basically and she would run the entire apartment complex like the man.
Speaker 3:I would be running across the parking lot to the other side trying to catch her, and so after that I had to get creative, like I, we're gonna find some fields or something where this water is no longer distraction and we can kind of work through some of these things. But I think that's the biggest thing if you live in a city or or in an apartment. I think it's just Getting creative or reaching out to other members that are in your area, or finding a retriever club or something like that that Will allow you to get some access to some other places to train, and it's really just Getting creative and using, using what you have at your disposal to the best of your ability.
Speaker 3:I mean it can, it can be done. It's not, it's not always easy, it's but it it can definitely be done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it's definitely challenging and same for us. When we started filming the 52 plus Just recently got married and so we were in an apartment too and Some of a lot of the same stuff is. Like, you know, if you're training your dog out there, I was training my dog out in the little courtyard area. You know the neighbors would bring their dogs up, and these are more city dogs. Yeah like they think it's time playtime. I'm not training time, yeah but also don't want to be rude. Yeah, whatever, let the dogs.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and.
Speaker 2:It's, it's a process, it's a journey. So yeah, 32 weeks in the apartment, mm-hmm. So you got creative, and which is an awesome testimony that, hey, you can do it anywhere. It's just you've got to be creative, and which is part of dog training in general.
Speaker 2:Yeah being a creative individual and not being so black and white that you can't see the gray. The gray area is one of the best places to operate when you're training a dog, at least in my experience and just from what I've seen from everybody else, I'm gonna talk a little more about that. We found some, I know maybe it's from To your second dog you're. You seem to operate in that gray area a lot more, which is a percent.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about the feeling of your first time dog and that weight that was on their shoulders, because this is something that I think everybody has. Yeah, you know that, that weight of the. It's the fear of Screwing something up or the fear of the dog not turning out, you knowing that the dog has potential, but being worried that you yourself don't have the ability, yeah, to unlock that potential. What, what was that like on your journey? And was there a pivotal moment to where you started? Or was it just kind of a gradual time, starting to realize, okay, maybe I I'm actually doing pretty good at this, I think, I think I have the ability to do this what, what's? What did that look like on your journey?
Speaker 3:Um, I would say it was. That was probably one of the biggest stressors. Yeah, when I first started training Because it's like, okay, I just spent all this money on this dog. I'm new to hunting to begin with, like I'm new to all of this, I don't know a lick about any of this. What like? What happens if I screw? Like this is on me. Now I'm doing this training, like this is on me, and so that was a big stressor for sure. But I think it really was just a time thing for me. And now with the second dog, and the further of the experience, the more that I've I've worked with her and and seen the differences between how I interacted with the first one and now how I interact with our puppy and Just their just dispositions between the two is like it's night and day. So I think the biggest thing is just really just your experience and and Trying to, you know, trying to try to put it into words. I guess I'm trying to think it's kind of it's.
Speaker 2:It's, I think, cutting yourself some slack tea, yeah, in a first-time trainer. I Think that fear, do you feel like that fear Is not a realistic fear. I mean. Well, unless you just use it, them wild, but I mean, if you're, if you're following the program.
Speaker 2:If you're, if you're trying you know. If you're not, I've heard some crazy stories. I have, but in most cases things can be. Man, I think the greatest that fear is the most realized Actually fearing that and then allowing that to dictate how you train your dog. And training out of fear is really a bad place to be Because it actually can cause problems. Yeah, because you start responding, yeah, out of that. But when you're kind of, one of the things we talked about, I believe, is the confidence you have Now that you've kind of been there and you've done that and you realize, okay, everything's not really too big a deal, like, yeah, typically it's just like these natural things are gonna happen, yeah, they're gonna unfold in time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think the the biggest thing that I've realized with it all is is my mindset, yeah, and how I perceive things and how I handle things in the situation and that at the end of the day, they're they're dogs, they're not robots, they they're not gonna be perfect a hundred percent of the time. So I think that's the one of the bigger things is, with that fear level is realizing that they're not gonna be perfect a hundred percent of the time. Nine times out of ten you may have to switch something up that you did the day before, because they're acting a little weirder today or what you know, whatever the case is. So I think it's just Really being willing to simplify and figure out. Okay, if she's not understanding you right now, what do I need to do to take a step back and help her figure out what she needs to do and not forcing it. You know and I think that's that's another big thing that that comes along with the fear is you. You're so scared that it's not gonna work out.
Speaker 1:You almost Push it too hard to make it work out, make it work and with Sage.
Speaker 3:She was just not the dog that could handle that. Yeah, she's super soft, but also super stubborn, and so it was one of those things like the harder that I pushed, the more she would shut down, and then the more annoyed I would get with it. And then it was just this kind of like cycle that when we would get through these really tough times, there was plenty of times where I told my life was like I'm done, I'm sending her off, like I don't, I don't think I can do this anymore, like she just she don't, won't listen to me, she won't, you know. And and then you know, I'd, usually I'd call you and you talk me through it and talk me off that ledge, and then I'd, you know, find some other ways to, you know, figure it out, and we'd go back to training and, all right, she did awesome. All right, cool, all right, we're moving, we're moving along.
Speaker 3:It seemed to be like, as we're moving on to the next step, the next step, the next step is like, all right, we hit a bump in the road, call for calling for backup, calling for some help, and then talk me off that ledge and then get back to it and and figure it out, and that's cool. I think it's just a time thing I really do. It's just the more experience that you get and really the what's and what's awesome about CGA is like there are so many people that you can reach out to for that help, and so I think that's one of my biggest things if anybody's worried about anything, just reach out, just make a post on the group or, you know, reach out to. There's a ton of members out there who will be more than willing to sit on the phone with you or, you know, message you or whatever to help you through whatever you're working through.
Speaker 3:It just don't stress the little things too hard. Like the hat says, progress over perfection. Just work on moving to the next step and worrying about, you know, your relationship over that perfect dog.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you've hit on just so many, so many good things and it's the, it's the process of like letting go, I think, and it's hard to do that, yeah. But also I just want to hit on something too, the you said I'm trying to think of exactly what you said. Oh, you said you felt like throwing the towel and like quitting. Yeah, that's as crazy as that sounds, it's how you know you're like, actually on the right track.
Speaker 2:Yeah, me, when I'm training dogs. I've trained quite a few. I haven't trained I'm not the most, I haven't trained the most dogs in the world, but I've trained a lot. And at every point, with every single dog I've trained, there is a moment in time where I'm like is this going to work? And that's where that faith kicks in. You almost have to have that faith in the process. Like you know, it works out, and I've done it enough to know and I've been there enough to know it's like okay, it is going to work. And that's kind of when I rely on that experience. But as a first time trainer, when you're doing it the very first time, you really almost have to rely on the faith of what everybody else is saying.
Speaker 2:You know you got to trust like, hey, the other members you got to trust, like we are saying, our course really does work and it's not just what we're saying, it's what you've put into practice and it works and many members have put into practice and it's just, but it's hard, the feeling. That is the truth, but the feeling sometimes is is different than the truth right you feel really uneasy at times and that's totally normal.
Speaker 2:So I would say for anybody out there that's feeling that way right now, like that's probably a good thing, that means you're probably on the right track and it's, you know, I love. I'm going to quote Clark here, clark Kington, who's the hot desk guy. We work with them and one of the things that he says is that you're not really going to learn anything from success. It's in the failures that you learn, and that's actually kind of the way it works. So every week in 52 plus, we're covering a new skill, we're covering something new, so you overcome and then boom, you hit a new thing. You hit a new brick or new wall, and those little challenges are actually what builds the dog and it builds you as a trainer when you face those challenges. Just sometimes it's kind of painful. Growth is painful at times, but in the end it produces something that's really nice.
Speaker 3:Honestly, I'm I'm almost glad that my first dog wasn't just easy cakewalk of the train because it's it's made me get out of my comfort zone, it's made me ask for help and it's made me be a lot more creative in how I handle things. And now, you know, my mentality has completely flipped from, because I see where I went wrong the first time. And you know, she's still a good dog, she loves to work, you know all that. But I see where I messed up and so now I have an opportunity to change and to do better.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:And even with her, even though, yes, I may have screwed things up earlier, but that doesn't mean that I can't fix them now with her and I working, yeah, so kind of, let's talk about that for a minute.
Speaker 2:The mistakes and how I love what you said there, that you can fix them. Now I do want to address, like the, the stigma, t or fear that I've heard a lot of people say is you know that they're afraid to make the mistakes? The mistakes are okay. I mean, it's good to make the mistakes and, to some degree, it's good to make mistakes. You're going to make them. So it's what you do with those and how you learn to navigate the mistakes. I make mistakes.
Speaker 2:We were out there training today. I said, man, I just made a mistake, I did. I make mistakes every time I go out and train. That's part of it. Which is the beauty of this process is that it's okay to make mistakes. Your dog's gonna make mistakes, you're gonna make mistakes. It's not about mistakes, it's how you respond to all of that. So with, with Sage. So you've got two dogs. We've got Sage and Honey are two retrievers. Let's talk about one of the first great moments with Sage first, and she's the first one you trained, we've kind of talked a little bit about some of the the. I mean, the odds were stacked against you in some ways in the apartment and like for some of those things. So that makes some issues, but you were able to overcome that. Let's talk about one of the first moments where you're like where's like that. First I highlight oh wow, this is like really cool. My dog's like getting this.
Speaker 3:I think when we started stretching out memories and she could do just massive runs Like she loves doing memories and she's super good at them.
Speaker 3:So the first time that I like really stretched it out and you know she's hundreds of yards away from me and it's also like going through that process earlier, with me constantly having to like chase her around fields or apartment complexes. She wouldn't come back to me. It's like a scary moment Right Like also when you see your dog hundreds of yards running full speed, hundreds of yards away from you and you're like please just come back.
Speaker 1:Like don't you know?
Speaker 3:so I think, what like that first one, where she learned that far and then came right back right at heel, ready to do it again, it's just like okay, yeah, we got something here, like we got some momentum for sure.
Speaker 2:Wow, and y'all never come. All that and it's again. Apartments are one of the hardest places, but doable. But I love the before and after of that. It's like, man, we had all this chaos. Like obedience, you have moments of promise, but then the next day is like yeah in the tank and then, all of a sudden, you get to this place, it's like, wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's one of my favorite parts to love seeing them just and like the light bulb click and like they're looking up at you, like I'm ready for that next retreat, that's incredible.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and one of my favorite parts of working with her is she's always just she's ready for that next one, every single time, it doesn't matter you know how many year, and she's, she's ready to go for that next one. That's amazing.
Speaker 2:And that's part of the process too, to get them to that. You know a lot of people like overdue retrieves early on, but it's like if you kind of give them a little bit at a time, eventually they build this fire.
Speaker 3:That's unquenchable and I would say Sage has that oh yeah, that's what we saw today when we were out there. She was excited to work.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:She loved. I mean as soon as. As soon as I get home and I grab my vest and my whistle, she's ready.
Speaker 1:She's ready to roll, she's like all right where are we going?
Speaker 3:What are we doing? All right, let's go.
Speaker 2:That's incredible, yeah, so okay, sage, where is she at in training?
Speaker 3:right now I would say she's in. We haven't fully finished. I have been working through some, some whining problems and stuff, and so I wasn't sure how far I wanted to take her with, with how she's been acting, I guess you could say. And just the whining on the hunts and we talked about that yeah, exactly Some.
Speaker 2:Of that's genetic Some of it's. You know, we, we we'll get into, we'll get into the science in this yeah In a minute on the, so y'all hang tight. We're going to talk about that in a second, because it's like it's really good we actually I'm excited to talk about that, but so she's some somewhere around probably 30.
Speaker 3:Yeah, mid 40s Okay.
Speaker 2:So she's well into it yes. Got that last little bit, and so then you made the decision to get honey. Yep, right. So, which is understandable. If you got a dog for the context, I believe hunting you took her on a hunt and just whining.
Speaker 3:The first. The first time that I actually came home and was really like I think we might have to look for another dog was actually when I came out to the members weekend Cause I had never seen her act the way she acted when, when we were out here and it just was like I don't. I don't know what's going on here? I've never seen this side of her, but like it's just a straight up war cry all the time and you know it's just tough.
Speaker 2:That is not fun.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and so, and up until that point I was, I was really pleased with their training and, like we were, we were moving along and um, and so I, at that point I pretty much I sat down with my wife and I was like, hey, look like this is more than life, likely not something that's going to go away, yeah, um, so you know, and I ended after that, I ended up taking things like with your recommendations, taking things very slow, and I didn't hunt her right away. I didn't hunt her until I felt completely comfortable with putting her in the situation where I knew, obedience wise, she would be able to handle it. Um, but as the hunt went on, like she just, yeah, Still very vocal, yeah, no matter what. So that was kind of the point where it was actually a Christmas time. She was like, well, let's, let's put a deposit down. So we ended up putting a deposit down for another puppy.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Yeah, to get the next pop.
Speaker 1:Unfortunately, for the circumstances, but there is hope that's coming.
Speaker 3:We did yes.
Speaker 2:We did. We did discover some good things today, Just this morning when we were out there training. So let's fast forward to honey and we'll kind of come back to sage. In a minute We'll talk about, um, you know what's going on. What we're thinking may really work for that. And again, some of that is genetics. You know it's not all genetics, but a lot of times that plays a factor. I'm sure, being in the apartment and to a certain degree there's only so much of the extinction principle you can do when your dog is just welling as a little puppy and your neighbors are knocking on the door, I mean, at a certain point that's like you're having. It's a hard decision to make because you may accidentally reinforce it, Maybe it doesn't. That's a tough place to be. Yeah, Um, so I get that. So, honey, what? How is your perspective different with your second dog going through the course? And what, where are you at now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we're right now. She's just about 10 months old, um, and I'm taking things very, very slow. Um, I'm really focusing on house obedience place time when we're eating, place time when we're watching TV. Um, you know, obedience when it comes to feeding, feeding time, not busting out the door when I'm letting them outside, not busting out of the kennel, not busting in the door when I'm letting it inside. I just it's just one of those things that you know you can do the training in the field. But the training really never stops, absolutely, you know, it needs to be something that you know. Every little bit that you do with them solidifies those little things out in the field when you're doing an actual training session with your clicker and your treats too, um, and so that's really what I've been been hammering on with her, and the biggest thing is just my mentality through all of it has just completely one-aided.
Speaker 3:Um, I'm not, I'm not in a rush, I'm not in, you know, like this dire situation. My confidence level is way higher, and so now I just have that confidence to. You know, instead of getting frustrated and letting her get to me. I'm not going to let you ruin my day. I'm not going to. You know I'm not going to sit here and get frustrated with you because I know that's going to. It's not going to get us anywhere. You know, if she's wandering off and sniffing around and kind of done with the session, all right, cool, then I'll. When she's looking at me, I'll call her back. All right, let's go sit in your kennel for a little bit, go, you know, um, I just I haven't been forcing it.
Speaker 2:That's amazing.
Speaker 3:And I've really just been letting you know she she's also loves to work and loves to please. She's a lot more of a pleasing dog than Sage ever was. Um, sage is more of a do it for yourself kind of dog, that's right, um. But honey is very much a a pleaser, and so that's been easier as well. But on the flip side of that, she's also a lot more soft than Sage too, and so that's also made me take a step back of how I react in certain situations. Um, but yeah, the biggest thing is just mentally knowing that I need to be in in the right headspace when, when we go out to train, that I'm not bringing something from work or bringing something from, you know, like traffic in Houston or you know any any, any sort of little thing like just being able to turn that off and really just have a good time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like I train the dogs because I like to you know, like and I, I love the bond, I love the relationship.
Speaker 3:And if it's something that stresses me out when I get home, like if I'm stressed and I just I won't train that day and you know we'll work on some stuff in the house or whatever you know, or go on a walk outside or something small, instead of like okay, I know I'm not in a good mood today, we're going to, instead of just forcing it like I got to train. I got to train, you know, just taking it step back, realizing how you feel, where you're at and then moving forward with where you think you need to go.
Speaker 2:That's incredible training wisdom for a lot of you listening and for me too, just a good reminder. And it's not forcing it and it's it's counter to our culture. Like our culture in America is go out and take it, go make your way. And we I say this but dogs are still on ancient culture traditions, right, they're mentally wired that way and probably a lot of, in some cases, a lot of the world is. We're just in this interesting world in America to where you know you basically can go make your own way. But the dogs in that culture really it goes back to the ancient times where people trust each other and animals have to rely on each other. And it's it's more of a trust and a relationship transaction than it is an action transaction. And when you're operating out of, like our culture and we all do this, it's so easy because like, yeah, we got to get this done, this done, this done, get it your task checked off. Yep Talks just don't work that way.
Speaker 2:And when you're a trainer trying to force it like, hey, you've got a complete week, whatever 16 today. This is our goal. Well, you know what? Sometimes week 16 doesn't matter, sometimes the training session you're doing doesn't matter, and I think that's what you've learned, which is so incredible. Yeah, once you kind of understand that and, like you, you can just pivot and instantly, like you know what we're going to shift today, and those shifts are what allows you to keep momentum and progress going and, in a backwards way, you actually end up doing more than you did if you just kind of were, like you know, a stickler for checking off the box. It's not about checking those boxes, it's about that bond, which is what we all want anyways.
Speaker 2:And that's, I think, a hard thing for people to recognize, especially going through it the first time which is amazing is your second dog. You start to recognize it more. It really just makes you just realize that you know, we can just pace ourselves. It's not about accomplishing, it's about connecting, and when you connect with that dog, you can make so much progress. It's unbelievable. Oh yeah, that will do anything for you, because they want to, and the same for you. I love the thing you said, the statement you said I train because I like to train, which is really why we do that.
Speaker 2:Exactly, yeah, I think when we, I think when you're going through it and again, this is the faith process. So anybody who's going through it for the first time, I would encourage them to like realize, hey, it's not about training to prove to yourself that you can do it. It's about just training your dog because you like it, which is exactly the mindset you should have. It's not about accomplishing, it's about doing it because you enjoy it. And when you train that way, your dog starts to work because it enjoys it. Yeah, and it's like this perfect harmony of blend and that just has beautiful and works so well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's definitely been my biggest like epiphany through this whole thing and I think it's tough as as, like you know, we talked about the first time handlers like you're really trying hard and make this dog work and you know, you're not sure if you're going to get another chance or you know, and so you are just checking off those by that I remember doing it.
Speaker 3:You know, like all right, we're on week 20, whatever, like all right, we got to finish this week and get to the next one. And once, once I started taking a step back, like now with honey, with where she's at, it's like all right if I notice her, her recall, slipping a little bit, like I may push off doing the that week's worth of stuff and just work on recall a little bit or work on healing or, you know, pivot a little bit, Because it's like, at the end of the day, like you don't, you don't have to follow it, like absolutely to the T. You know, like you have to be able to, like it's there to help you and those, those videos and those weeks are there to help you get through your training process. But it's not something that like it's like this structured, like you have to do this, you have to do this, you have to do this, it's all right. Here's your guideline.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Here is where you should be and ready to move on, but if you don't feel like you're there, take a little bit more time. Yeah, and it's it's. You know it's.
Speaker 3:It's hard in the day and age of Instagram and TikTok and you know, you see, you see, you know guys like Barton's dogs are just crushing it right and you're like man, I want that, I want that and you know, you, you know it's. You kind of have to take a step back and realize that your dog will get to that point Absolutely. But you have to put the time in first to get to that point, like the hours that he put in to get to that point. So you just have to realize that it's gonna come. You just have to believe in it and you have to put the time and effort into it.
Speaker 3:Like it's definitely not the easiest thing in the world by any means, you, you still have to put time and effort into it but it's, it's easy when you enjoy it and You're not stressed out about it and like having to get to the next week and having to. You know I need to have my dog hunting this next year. Why, absolutely, you know like, yes, I understand they don't live forever, but at the same time, if your dog's not ready, your dogs not ready, yeah. So take that extra time to make sure that you and them are both ready and that bond, that relationship, will be 20 times better and I'm seeing it tenfold now with the second dog. Like I, there's so many things that I wish I Would have mentally recognized with training sage, that I mentally recognized now, yeah, and I'm very grateful and thankful for that now, but it also Makes me feel bad. You know that I didn't give her the same same opportunities, yeah, so.
Speaker 2:I think that's a that's a good point. It's interesting to you. That's one of those things. It's hard to balance it. It's like well, if that's the case, then should I do it or should I not?
Speaker 3:Yeah, dancers.
Speaker 2:Yes, I mean when it went. If you don't do it now, win. Yeah, you know, ten years from now exactly. Today is only that. I mean, today is today's the day, right, yeah, tomorrow, if you get tomorrow, then tomorrow's the day. But yeah we have today and we have the opportunities before us and just take the opportunities. And I think, man, I think the dogs don't care, I think the dogs are happy to be your dog.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying yeah even like those things that I wish I could have done this better. I think the dogs are just happy. Yeah, I mean personally. Oh, yeah, I agree, I mean your dog was happy. Yeah, we can talk a little bit about that. So I'll just confirm what you've said. With honey, y'all just out there training today this morning, just crushing. She was so in tune with you and you're very laid-back. You had this. It's a it's a relaxed approach to and a confident approach, which is really what good leaders do, and we all have our moments of being good leaders and bad leaders. Yeah, it's about not worrying about the bad leader moments and focusing on doing the next, your next opportunity, Yep, next opportunity, next opportunity, and we kind of talked about that a little bit today. But you relax, you're a confident and she responds so well and when you're, you know doing it for the first time. That's what your goal is to aspire to be, yeah, relaxed and confident, and you're not gonna always feel relaxed and confident.
Speaker 2:Definitely not yeah even when you're training your second or third or fourth dog at some point in time, you're gonna not be confident.
Speaker 2:Yeah and that's an okay place to be. Like you said, you said something really good too you don't be afraid to reach out for help. That's what the community is there for, exactly. You know, if you're at this place, you're like, well, how am I gonna learn those little things? Well, you can really only learn them one way, yep, and that's by number one trying, felling, asking for help Yep, and then humbling yourself and getting that help, like you've done, and it just turns out really well. When you do that, it's like a winning. That's a game plan to win every single day.
Speaker 2:And uh, but honey was so in team with you, so focused. Yeah, and it was, I'm pretty stoked.
Speaker 3:And she you said she's around week 15 or 16 somewhere right now 16, I think, something that's just perfect, 10 months old just taking her time letting her mature, letting her develop, given the dog time to be a puppy.
Speaker 2:Yep is a big thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What's, uh, what's been your favorite thing about honey thus far?
Speaker 3:Man, she Probably heard. Just her natural ability, honestly, has been like absolutely incredible to see, like what, um, you know, good breeding really does. Just that, that natural hold and that natural drive. Um, you know, even when we first brought her home, she was caring. You know, frozen teal around like it was nothing you know and, um, yeah, she's, she's super fun.
Speaker 3:She's just super fun to work with because she's so happy. That's amazing, like it makes me happy because, like her butt's always moving, she's wagging her tail. You know, it's like she's just she is super Like said, but loves to please, and so she's just happy. Go lucky all the time and it like it Put some pep in my step.
Speaker 3:I'm like, all right, cool, yeah let's go because she's just so happy all the time, um, and We've already just built a really good connection with each other and that's because I've I've really focused on on the eye contact and, you know, making sure that she is in tune with me, um, and that's just, and I say this, the biggest thing is just been my mentality, yeah, and Not stressing the little things, um, and realizing that at the end of the day, she's a dog and she's gonna do things that probably really annoy me, you know. But I also have an opportunity to either let it bother me and and affect our relationship negatively, or I have an ability to To change how I react to still, even though she's doing something that I don't want her to do, can make it a positive Absolutely on the other side. That's incredible.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, first of all I just want to brag on you. You've done so good with Two dogs. I mean, both dogs already are in tune with you, they listen, they come and called, you know they're just focused on you, and that's. Most people in America can't say that for their dogs. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:I mean, it doesn't happen all the trust me. There's plenty of times where my wife and I are outside like God, here, here.
Speaker 2:But yeah, thank you. Every dog's a dog. You know what I'm saying. At some point in time they're gonna make a mistake, yeah, but just generally, a lot of dogs are hooligans out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm saying they really are.
Speaker 2:They're rough to deal with, but you've done a great job with them and thank you. Um, that kind of brings me to. You were hitting on some things about Frustration, your mindset, how you're viewing what you're doing, how you're viewing the training process, and I think we covered a lot this morning. We went and trained and so, uh, we're gonna kind of follow back up with the winding thing. So one of the the the killies hill have you said to speak for sage Yep, was the war cry, the wine In high excitement situations like a test or a hunt, yep, or just general training with other people, yep. Didn't happen when you were by yourself, right, it was most of the time.
Speaker 3:No, sometimes with the the winger, if I'm like bowling on a call or something, she may wine a little bit. But yeah, it was. It's definitely not to the level that it is elsewhere. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Now a lot of that's the dog wanting to go and not getting to go. If you go into those situations like a test or hunt, if it doesn't get to go, or if it's seeing other dogs train, yep. So what we did today is, uh, we're, you know, we you're talking to me this morning, I'm just not sure. You kind of said the thing earlier. I just don't know how much further I want to go with her and we'll put my focus on honey just because of the barking. And we kind of had the conversation like, yeah, that is kind of a hard problem to fix.
Speaker 2:If you've got barking or winding, that can be a challenging problem to fix. If you got a friend, you got somebody that can help you, um, it is fixable, mm-hmm with patients. So definitely it just depends on what degree you want to go to to fix it. Yeah. But so what we did today is we went out, we had you work honey, yep, and I was going to work sage, and um, basically what we did is I had you I don't know how far you were, probably 50.
Speaker 2:Yeah, probably about 50 yards, yeah had him go 50, 60 yards away and he was doing a beady instance. Sages, she was whining already, she was already getting amped, uh, but I was just sitting there quiet and what I would do is I would reward the moments between the wine. So she wind, and then there was a silent period for like three to five seconds and then she wound again. I started looking for a pattern and I was able to find a pattern. Okay, she winds, she stops the minute, she stops wanting, and when she's quiet for like a second, I have my clicker with me, click and treat and she's looking up at me like, oh, okay, that's cool.
Speaker 2:After, I don't know we I think the first session was about 10 minutes. I did that for A little bit and towards the end of that session you started throwing a bumper. I was clicking and treat, clicking and treating, and she like started having longer periods of time where she was quiet. And then I kind of like doubled up on that reward and so like, when you threw the bumper and she was quiet, after I clicked and treated and the doll euro honey Came back and delivered to you and sage watched that and she was quiet, I also clicked and treated, gave her a treat. As soon as she did that, I threw the bumper fun bumper let her go and then gave her extra reward and we had 10 minutes that she had a few wines, but she was pretty quiet. Well, we got her back out and we decided, okay, let's take this up a notch and just see.
Speaker 2:And we're first of all, I was already stoked about that, because that was that in itself is like, like mind blowing I was pretty stoked about that, because the winding is normally just uh, and a lot of people fall, fall into the trap. We even talked about this last night Using an ecaller to fix one. It does not work, yeah, and he callers a reinforcement tool. So if you start shocking the dog when they're barking, you're actually making them want to bark and whine more. Yeah, it's a dangerous place to be. Yep, um, it's, it's. But also the extinction principle and those situations are kind of hard to work on. You can't just ignore it because that has to stay out there for days and hours. You need an ability to communicate to your dog that, hey, you're doing the right thing. Now, this is what I'm looking for. You always reward what you want. You don't reward what you don't want. Yeah, so she's wanting.
Speaker 2:I just kind of, when she started wanting or barking, I was just ignore for a second and then I again await for that period of time. But then we we went out there and we did a second session and we had the dog side by side. We did a little obedience and she already started out a lot more chill. Yep, um. And then what we did is we did a couple recalls. Then I threw sage a bumper first this time, let her get a first retrieve, then we let honey go. And then, as soon as honey was released, as soon as you let honey go, I would click and treat as she was. She was quiet, and then click and treat, click and treat and then give her a bumper right after and she was quiet, which I feel like in that circumstance normally seeing another dog work.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's not gonna happen. No, normally that is. That is not the case at all. Um, so yeah, like I said, when, when, even just when, I'm doing obedience, just healing around with honey in the yard, if, even when she's inside and seeing it, she's just whining the whole time.
Speaker 3:Well, you know she wants to be out there and working and, but so just the fact that she was sitting on place she's being quiet for, I would say, the majority of the time, or I guess she's still whined a little bit, but the first time that we did anything with it, um, that's a huge win in itself, you know that's incredible and I and I told you I had another epiphany moment during that was like I'm sure 90% of that is you, because you were the one handling, handling sage and you're detached from it, right, and I'm not frustrated with sage yeah, she hasn't bothered me.
Speaker 2:I haven't heard her bark in two years, since the last time you're here for a member weekend.
Speaker 3:So I came in with kind of a fresh clean slate exactly where when she's with me and she starts amping up, I get amped up because it's annoying the heck out of me and so then it makes that worse, you know it's, it's Reinforcing, like we just talked about reinforcing that. That behavior, yeah, um, and so that was kind of something that, like you know, switch to is like man, I, if I'm, if I just you know, and you texted me this when, when I first started working with honey is Ignore the behaviors you don't want and reinforce the behaviors you do want. And that was another just ginormous light bulb in my head and like mind shift of it's that easy you know like, you know like.
Speaker 3:Reinforce the thing and the things that you're looking for. Make sure you're telling your dog good or giving him a treat or a bumper or whatever you know, like reinforcing those good behaviors and then those annoying behaviors. You don't have to sit there and say no or you know. You know Corrections are a good thing but but also you don't have to constantly Say no or get mad at them or whatever you know, because you are reinforcing that behavior. So sometimes it's better just all right, they're not doing something I want. I'm not going to give them any attention. Let them know that. Or they're whining a little bit in the kennel. Signal them when they're quiet. All right, I'm gonna let you out. Yeah, you know, it's just. It's crazy how all these just little minute things, just honey, really Add up into something much bigger, like this whining problem. That I thought it was something that you know and it may be something I don't know how she you know.
Speaker 3:It's something that I'm gonna have to continue to work on and it's something that I know now that I'm gonna have to change my mentality of it and not let it affect me emotionally because she's picking up on that and it's amping her up even more, which is amping the volume up even more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's like a vicious cycle.
Speaker 3:And it it's tough when you're when you're on a hunt and you got eight guys in the blind and they're whaling on goose calls or whatever, and you got this dog next to you Screaming its head off.
Speaker 2:You know and you just, that's so you're like oh my goodness, like just stop.
Speaker 3:like it'll be, like you're gonna get to pick something up, I promise like if you're quiet, I promise you're gonna get.
Speaker 3:You're gonna get what you want eventually. But it's just you know. And then it gets you in this headspace of man these guys probably are annoyed with me and my dog, and you know so it and then in turn amps me up, which amps her up again and it just, yeah, it's just this vicious cycle. So yeah, seeing how calm, cool and collected she was with you someone she's never worked with before, like it's just that Confidence that you have as a handler, right, that or that you give off, she's feeding off of you. She's seeing, oh, he's, he's calm, cool and collected. Like I can, I can do that too.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I just gotta hit on something too. I mean, it's not just because I know what I'm doing, but it's more. That would have been possible if you hadn't done an incredible job training her. So this dog Hasn't seen me in two years. Yeah, steps out of the car. I put a lead on it and it works for me like that Instantly obedient. If I say place, it gets on place. If I say heel, the dog heels One time. One more commands. So you crush the training on that dog.
Speaker 2:She like knows what to do, which is incredible, so you did a fantastic job. So if you haven't done that, what today would have looked like it would have been her pulling all over the leaves, like not listening to me about. We can't do anything right now because you have another problem. That would be obedience, but you don't have that problem.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It was just that wanting problem. And I think one thing we need to highlight too is the mindset of not we kind of talked about this because I was working through something with Rhett, I think, when he was out there Yup, and it's like you don't want to solve every problem today, you're focused on one thing at a time with a dog and reward what you want and don't reward what you don't want.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and keeping it real simple, like that goes a long way. So, like the minute Sage hopped out of the car, I mean, it's all a mountain game. So what are we focusing on when we're training? And it really comes down to being positive and focusing on the dog being focused on good things, right. So for me, I was focused on Sage's eagerness to work. She wanted to as soon as. That was the first thing I noticed when she got out of the car. She's eager to work. Yeah, she's wanting a little bit, but she wants to work, that's a good thing, yup, okay.
Speaker 2:So I'm automatically trying to think on the positive things because the trap there's so many fall into and we talked to people. I thought to people on a reasonably regular basis you'll see people posting the group. You're focusing on all the things that are going wrong. But if you focus on only the things that are going wrong and you don't celebrate the things that are going right along the way, you're in this perpetual like washing machine of just suck Yup and it's just suck in the life out of you. So mindset is so important, like okay, that's good. Oh, yes, I love that she's eager. Oh, that's a good hill. She just did exactly what I said in place. Yeah, she was kind of flopping the bumper a little bit on the way back. I don't care about that right now, because she was just quiet.
Speaker 3:Yup.
Speaker 2:Those are all wins, yeah, and there's always something to correct, or? Work on but it's just about focusing on the little things and making progress from there 100% yeah, and.
Speaker 2:I think you've done a great job with, just generally, even with the dogs, even with that wanting man. I think you've done a great job, including with honey, just how she was just just so eager to work with you. Same for Sage. The one beautiful thing about your dogs is they clearly love you, they have a bond with you and they want to work with you. Yeah, and that's that goes a long way. Yeah, I was stoked about today. I think we've made progress and, like you said, you know it's something that has to be worked on. So if you're listening to this wanting to solve your problem, it's not a one day fix.
Speaker 2:Yeah definitely not, and I will hit the science and then I'm going to stop talking, we're going to finish letting you share your story. But this is just such a good topic to cover because we talked about the science behind kind of how this works and we typically don't get a lot of the science but this is worthwhile. When there's a behavior created, you know your dog has a brain and there's like those neural pathways right, the more the pathway fires, the easier it is for that pathway to happen. So for the wanting, for example, that's a neural pathway. The dog is like amped up, it's excited, it's done it enough and it becomes a habit. So what we're doing out there today was training. We're creating a new pathway and that's where when you're creating new behaviors, those pathways, they're not really firing too good to start with. So it kind of takes time to kind of pound through that. Eventually, if you run in the new pathway of being quiet, that becomes a stronger pathway and the barking becomes less and less over time. That only comes with time and precision. So the only thing I did today was bring precision to reward. I just rewarded the quiet and that's literally the only thing I did. So anything you want to train your dog is just as simple as that new pathway and that's kind of and that's a rough saying of it.
Speaker 2:I'm sure some scientists out there listening is like, oh, there's all this fancy stuff. I don't like to be too fancy with it. Let's keep things. Let's keep the cookies on the bottom shelf, let's keep it super simple. It's this path or this path. Which way do you want to go? And you can choose to allow the. You know it's like a dam or a cattle pasture, right? Do you want the cows to go in this pasture, the cows to go in this pasture? Well, open the gate and then make it happen, set the situation up. It heard the cattle in there, right? I'm kind of speaking in left field here, but basically the long story short you want to make and set your dog up for success. That's what we mean when we're setting our dog up for success is we're literally just creating a pathway. That's so obvious that the only answer is I have to go this way. And then we repeat it over and over and over, and now that becomes a habit yeah it's.
Speaker 2:Uh, that's the science behind that. But anyways, I want to get back to your dogs and it kind of is on your dogs but you've done such a good job with them and they were just so obedient and just which is uh, that goes a long way.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean I'm that got me beyond stoked, so it's something that you know, I always grew up my parents were very like, always had obedient dogs, right and um. So it's something that, like. I remember our, our lab that when I was a kid he wasn't even allowed in our, our bedrooms. Wow, and I, I went through some sickness when I was, I think, like seventh or eighth grade and that dog was my buddy, and so they let him come back and into my room, but my room only. And I remember, like he would not he was, you know, he would not go down that hallway because he knew going down that hallway would get him in trouble to go
Speaker 3:to those rooms, um. So, but even after they allowed him to do that, he would only go into my room. He wouldn't even, you know. So I always grew up around obedient dogs and I think it's just, it's one of those things that makes your life so much easier.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it makes your relationship with your dogs so much better, because you can take them more places, you can do more things with them, um, and you can just enjoy your time with them, you know, like they don't have to be out and about and jumping all over you and you know to, to love you, you know like they love you, no matter what and whether that's sitting on their place board or in their kennel or or sitting next to you, um, so I think it just it solidifies that bond and that relationship between you and them when you can rely on them to do what you're asking them to do and they can rely on you that you do the same thing. You know, when they need something, that you're there to help them too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's what it's all about yeah, and I would say you've done it. Yeah, your dogs definitely rely on you. They're paying attention to you, they're looking to you, which is which is so awesome to see. So right you gotta. You got a dog. As tim is old, you got one. I don't know how old it is, but it's, it's well in the training three this this July, three this July.
Speaker 2:So really, two young dogs three years old. Three year old is still pretty young for dog. You've got two really good pupils here. You got a lot of good duck hunting years ahead of you with these dogs. What, what are you most excited about kind of moving forward and kind of where's your mind thinking so we, we just got out of hunting season. At the time we're filming this, it's like February, probably third, yeah, february 3rd. So we're, uh, you know we're really thinking about, for a lot of people are about next season, yeah, the spring. I'm and I'm excited for spring and just beautiful weather. Yeah, what, uh, what are you most excited about with these dogs and kind of, what's your game plan moving forward?
Speaker 3:you know, honestly, like today was even just talking with you, um, just more little nuggets. You know that I'm pulling from here in there and so now I'm excited to even get back to just training um with that new found little nuggets. So you know, like, what you're just talking about before, about, um, not always, like, you may need to focus on one thing and kind of let something else absolutely slide a little bit so that you can really hone in on and and enjoy those winds of that little thing and then build off of that. And I think that's something that you know she you say would you a huge retrieve or something really cool or whatever, but then she would come back fumbling the bumper and I would just get frustrated because she wasn't holding it properly, and so then it you know it ruined that entire thing.
Speaker 3:Like that's cool thing that she just did, yeah, um, and so you know, like it's just getting my mind working of like man, okay, like now I, you know, don't there again, just don't sweat the little things, focus on what you're trying to focus on and build off of that. So I think really the biggest thing I'm excited for is just the, the future of like where now where my head is at and wow how I feel about training and, um, now building that relationship even more, and it honestly has given me a ton more hope with Sage, because, yeah, it's kind of one of those things where I'm like you know, I might just, you know, it might be a shed dog or you know a pheasant dog or something, um, and you know, if the winding is still one of those things that's super annoying in the in the blind, then it's just something that okay, then I won't.
Speaker 3:I won't, duck hunt with her but, that's okay. You know, like I'm still gonna give her a job. She loves working more than anything, so I'm still gonna give her a job. Um, and then on top of that, uh, my wife and I are bringing a baby boy in this world in next month or two.
Speaker 3:So um, I'm really excited to, like you know, raise him in in the lifestyle of of dogs and duck hunting and stuff that I didn't really have when I was a kid. So I'm just really looking forward to building those relationships even more in the blind, with all these you know great people that I've met. Um, and just thankful for it, all that's incredible.
Speaker 2:I cannot wait for your baby boy to get here. He's gonna be a good trainer man, yeah he's got a good trainer to look up to is that a bumper boy, you know, that's right, get that precise bumper throw, is it's gonna make a?
Speaker 2:big, make a big difference for you guys. Well, I'm pretty excited for y'all moving forward and, um, this next year will be really cool to just see how they unfold. I'm excited about Sage, too, that I mean that was just massive to uh to work navigate that today. So I believe there's promise there.
Speaker 2:But I know, with honey for sure she's your star pupil she's doing great so far, and by the time you, know, year from now or year and a half from now, you'll probably be finished with a course and then just this time next year you'll be really looking at just tuning her up incredibly.
Speaker 3:She'll just be so sharp, yeah, and that's gonna be incredible yeah, I'm just just taking my time and taking it day by day with her. You know, just biggest thing is I want her to enjoy it. I want her to love doing it, and she's already shown me that she does. That's really all I can ask for out of her, you know next to you know being obedient and following a set of rules that we set, but as long as she loves to do it, we're gonna keep doing it.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. So what, uh, as we kind of wrap up here, first of all, it's an honor to have you on thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:I appreciate it great friend and just someone that I think you've really become a student of the process and I love like just the conversations we've had today about the things that you've learned, about how you're. I mean, you really can't make these conclusions on your own. Yeah, you just kind of through, you're going through the process and you talking to members and just you you've kind of uncovered these nuggets for yourself. And which is really part of the process is, you know, it's one thing to just give someone the answers, but it's another thing for you to experience them and know it for yourself, and I think that's where you're at now. You know it for yourself.
Speaker 2:You've experienced it. Yep, what would you share to someone in your shoes like right now, if you could tell yourself some advice for someone like yourself, if they're listening, what would you, what would be your encouragement for them if they're thinking about doing this journey?
Speaker 3:yeah, I would say, biggest thing is just just go for it yeah you know, don't, don't be scared to to try it. And you know, if worse comes worse, you don't like.
Speaker 3:It all right, send, send your dog off absolutely at the end of the day, I wouldn't take it back for anything because of the relationships that I've built with the dogs and that's what's been most important to me. So the fact that you're able to really just get to know your dog as much as you are through this process, um, and just not, like I said, is not sweating the little things, like just taking it step by step. If you need to move back, then move back. If you need to simplify, simplify. It's really just. You don't have to follow that structure of this, then this and this and this week by week by week. It's a guideline, absolutely 100, just a guideline, you know, like it gives you the tools of what you need to accomplish, but you don't have to necessarily accomplish it in those exact like yeah, stricken rules right, so take your time, don't, don't worry about all the you know big things at the end that you you want to get to, like you're gonna get there it's just absolutely.
Speaker 3:I think it's just, you know, really just believing in the process, believing in yourself that you can do it, and then really just focusing on building that relationship with your dog and focus on all those little innuendos that end up meaning so much in the end of that relationship that's amazing man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like that. Believe in yourself. That that's it, dude. You just gotta believe in yourself, know that it can happen, and I know it's hard to like believe in yourself if you've never done it before, but I mean, you're an example. There's so many people that have tried it for the first time. Everybody starts from somewhere. Everybody doesn't know anything when they start.
Speaker 2:You just gotta get out there yeah, man, and I'm so proud to have you on here it's an honor to be able to share your story and just thank you for sharing and thank you for encouraging all the other members that are listening and those that are not members that are they're trying to try to talk to you. It's just an honor to have you to share that and I know it encourages them so much just get after anybody if I can do it.
Speaker 3:I promise anybody can do it. It's it's a lot of work. I'm not gonna say it's not it is a lot of work, it's 100%. But at the end of the day, all the work that you put in will be 100% worth it and you will be very glad that you you chose to do it. And if you pick a program like cga, you're not alone, and I think that's been my biggest thing with with it. All is like you're not alone. Yeah, you have, you know Josh and Keith and Barton, and then on top of that, you have all of the members in the group who are more than willing to help out or give you guidance, and then the members you know like there's, you're not alone, like don't don't feel like you're alone, because if you're running into problems, reach out.
Speaker 3:Reach out for some help. It's everyone was in your spot at some point in the training. You know they. They were stuck somewhere and they had to have a mentor or somebody help them figure out how to move forward or a new way to look at it. Even it, that's all it takes. Sometimes it's just someone from the outside perspective looking at it a little differently than you're looking at it.
Speaker 1:That's what it's about, man, yeah thanks for listening to the build from here podcast. To learn more about retriever training or our podcast, visit cornerstonegundogacademycom slash podcast.