Build From Here
Build From Here
Trust the Process: How CJ Built a Steady Young Retriever
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Will my dog actually turn out?
It’s a question most retriever owners feel — even if they never say it out loud.
In this episode, CJ shares what it’s been like training his very first hunting dog and how trusting the process is already producing a calm, steady partner he’s proud to hunt over.
From resisting the urge to rush exposure… to watching obedience hold up in real hunting scenarios… this conversation is packed with encouragement for anyone walking the training path.
If you’ve ever needed reassurance that the work you’re putting in today will pay off tomorrow — don’t miss this one.
Have you ever felt like your retriever might not turn out like you hoped for it to? We get it. The truth is, training a retriever isn't simple, but it doesn't have to be hard. On the Build From Here podcast, you're gonna hear real stories from real people who used to be stuck with their retrievers, but are now confident they're on the right path to training their dog successfully. Welcome to the Build From Here Podcast. On this episode, I am excited to be introducing you to CGA member CGA Justice, an amazing member. It's been really cool to see his journey thus far. You know, he's still reasonably early on in the journey, but he's already just made so much progress and uh really a great guy. We've already had some great conversation before we got on and started recording this. So I'm confident that as we get through this episode, there's gonna be some things you're gonna want to hear, some great stories. But uh now that I've bragged on it a bit, man, welcome aboard, CJ. So glad you're here.
SPEAKER_02:No, thank you. Thank you for having me. Um we just got in from a pheasant hunt, so we're uh me and the dog. The dog got a few retrieves today. It's still really early on. Um, but he got 11 like good retrieves, like good retrieves. Wow. Even one that was about 150 yards. So what was good what was good about today was um, you know, we're still super, super, super early. Um, but what was good about today was uh just the amount of denials, you know, denials that he got um as far as just saying.
SPEAKER_00:He's young, so those denials are fantastic for us.
SPEAKER_02:Um man, like I I mean from the even the beginning of the hunt today to watch him just through those two hours while we're sitting there hunting, um, to watch him see those birds go down and how in the beginning he was just so excited and wanted to, you know, wanted to break and stuff like that, and to get him to sit on that placeboard and sit steady. Uh it was it was it was super important. Super, super, super important. But was this a um flushing type hunting?
SPEAKER_00:Was it a tower shoot?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, this was a tower shoot. Um, those are so good. Two two or three a year. Um we actually have another one next week he's he'll probably get to go to. Um, but again, just the to watch for for him, especially early on right now, for him to see the other dogs retrieve some of the birds and him not get get to get it. But you know, those 15, 20 yard retrieves were there right in front right in front of him. Um, but the denials were were really good. By the time at the end of the hunt, I mean he was he was sitting perfectly steady, didn't have to, you know, didn't really have to hold the collar or anything like that. And he was he was just doing good. And the la the la very last retrieve was he saw a bird go down and he watched it the entire time. And uh I let him go and he went and got it, and it was it was a hundred and fifty yard retrieve back to a tree line. So wow he came straight back with it.
SPEAKER_00:Was this his first like experience with in hunting type setup, or has he been on something like this before?
SPEAKER_02:So he hadn't been on a tower shoot or a pheasant shoot. We had an opportunity early in October to take him, and you know, I didn't really want to introduce him too much too quick, you know, too fast. You know, again, there's you know, there's a lot of people there at these hunts, there's a lot of distractions. So at that point in time, he was uh six months old, something like that. It was it was October, so he was about six months old. And I'm kind of glad I didn't. Um, you know, it would have been good for him to kind of see everything, but to really just sit steady, he wasn't quite there yet. Um just a lot of things.
SPEAKER_00:It's pretty hard on a young dog like that.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah, yeah. And you know, there's like I said, there's a lot of other guys, a lot of other, you know, dogs, and you know, you you I'm not gonna say you wouldn't feel intimidated being there. Um to you know, to to you you want your dog to perform, but you also uh you know, you want to have a dog that's that's uh very well mannered whenever you go to some of these places. Um so I didn't think we were quite there yet. I knew we weren't there yet. I mean, I was like the day that I went to that, uh, there was a six-month-old dog, you know, retrieving birds. And that's great. And I I think that's awesome. I think it depends on, you know, now knowing what I know now, it depends on what you want out of your dog. Uh that's you know, he just basically he won, he wanted a dog that, you know, the dog went out, grabbed the bird, came back, dropped it 10 feet in front of him, came back, came back to place next to him. He still had to go out, get the bird, still, still, you know, got some reps, but probably not the quality reps that he really wanted to get. So it was next day. Yeah, he so he's he went out to Arkansas with me twice this year.
SPEAKER_01:Um again, and it was just mainly it was mainly just for uh basically, you know, being in a boat, being a line, just getting used to those things, um, but not really unless it was a retrieve that I thought that he could do, um, that was very, very close, something that he saw go down, never sent him. Like just never, never cast him out to, you know, to go and pick up the bird. Um But you know, we'd we'd just been able to see him grow. Um, and just you know, watched him even in those two uh two two trips to really grow into you know what what what I saw today, you know. But it just wow really good, steady, steady dog.
SPEAKER_00:That's amazing, man. Well, where did so clearly you're big into this? Where did this where did the love of waterfowling begin for you?
SPEAKER_02:So as you can see behind me, there's there's a few mounts back there. There's a few more in the other rooms. I have a very supportive wife, uh, because I've been doing this even today. This has been five months we've been going since uh early September. And so she's super supportive. I can't give her enough credit for how much time I'm not around here. Um but but uh you know, we've got one last trip uh right now to Mexico, and that'll kind of end us for the year. But basically where I got started, because we're in west central Georgia, um I got started on the Flint River. I know a lot of people probably know the Flint from a lot of country songs, but I got started on the Flint River, and my dad was a huge, huge deer hunter, and he kind of wanted me to go that route and get buck fever, and I had it for a while. But uh when I first asked, we we used to have a uh a lot of customers come through, and he one of the customers said, Hey, let me take uh your son duck hunting and we'll you know trade this out and work. And uh he had access to a thousand acres right there on the flint. Wow. And man, I could I could I didn't have any waders. I mean, there's water coming over my boots, you know, and I I had just the rubber boots, and so he sent me out there with his shotgun. And uh man, just watching, you know, back this is this is late nineties, and watching ducks back then like flutter in to the swamps, like it's just I mean, they were wood ducks, but just watching them, you know, watching them flutter in, it was like there's nothing. I came back and I was hooked. And you know, as we progressed, uh yeah, I still did it, I still did it a lot with with some of his friends. He wasn't too in tune with it. He didn't want me to get consumed by it. He still wanted, you know, the big deer hunter. But uh we, you know, we I got into it. We I started working on a ranch and I had access to about 8,000 acres. And um it just it it it grew from there. So I went from you know, okay, we're just gonna hunt the flint, might get to hunt maybe you know, two or three times a year. Um, I had access to a uh swamp on the on the ranch that it butted up to uh Michael Waddell's place, right? So Michael Waddell uh bone collector, he uh he we had a swamp that was in Booger Bottom. And so I had full access. Yeah, I had full access to that swamp. It butted right up against and it was a it was again, you know, it's still early 2000s, late 90s, and just the the ducks that we had back then in Georgia with this flyway was just incredible. Um so it's like you know, we still have some great hunts. Well, we went on a couple of really good hunts around here even this year. Um but just like back then, the nostalgia days, I guess, of of Georgia, uh it was just it was some great hunts, and that's kind of where I I cut my teeth there and and and you know, on the flint. Um but once that's pretty special.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, that's that's incredible. Wow.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah, it was it was you know, to I didn't know what I had back then. Um you know, it was it was one of those things where you kind of took it for granted because you're so young. Um you know, hunting turkeys and hunting ducks out there and keep being able to, you know, shoot a deer, you know, big deer right there on the property. Uh didn't really know, you know, didn't really know what we had, you know. And and to to see even Michael Waddell to kind of transform into what he became, it was like, man, it's like, okay, you know, you know, Jeff Fox were right down the street, right down the street from there. Um, but it kind of in college, uh college kind of did my own thing. I was more, you know, traveling the world and stuff like that. So it kind of took a step back. And it wasn't it wasn't until recently. Um I had my I had my first daughter. And when I had my first daughter, and I say recently, this is probably about this is 11 years now, uh, I really wanted to get back into it. And you know, and I really wanted to focus on just I had so many different things that I was doing. I really just wanted to focus on one thing and and my passion was always hunting. And uh my passion was always bird hunting in general. Yeah. And so it kind of it became one of those things where I was able to share it with my daughter and she enjoyed it, and it just kind of kind of grew from there, and and now we're back into it. And uh, you know, I was just I don't know, it was it was good to it was good to be able to share it and be able to share this with you know with family.
SPEAKER_00:So Yeah, I mean that's what it's all about and inspiring future generations to do the same, which is what you're doing. I mean, and it's pretty cool to like get your family out there, your daughter, and this is something we share in common. We're girl dads. Oh yeah. Uh you know, it's that's a life, and getting to introduce them to the things that introduces us, which I think is awesome as a father too, when you start thinking about it, you know, my my daughters are gonna know what a man's man does, right? You get out there, you hunt, but also you're you're loving at the same time, you're kind, you're tender, but you're also rugged. And like you're teaching them the ways that it should be. And there's a lot of people out there that may not have those same characteristics, and and my hope is instilling that in them will give them vision of what to look for one day when the time comes. But it's uh it's really is amazing to carry that on. But you know, one thing that you're talking about there that I think is awesome is that relationship and connection. You know, that's one of the values at Cornerstone, the core values is prioritizing relationship and connection. And you know, it starts with family, it starts with people you know, but also kind of the dog thing. Now, you got into waterfowling again kind of heavy when you had your daughter.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Did you have a dog back in the day? Is this something that came later? What's the story there?
SPEAKER_02:No, all right. So this is my first dog, right? And I've I've got I've got the privilege to be able to um to hunt all across the country. And every year, every trip, I would always come back. I mean, it mainly mainly in South Dakota, um, pheasant hunting, I would always come back and I would always, you know, I'm like, I've got to get a dog, you know. I'd I watch all these great dogs, and I'm like, I, you know, love dogs, but I always wanted a working dog, you know, and so I'd always, you know, I'd always tell myself, like, all right, this is a season, this is a season. But you know, it's with work and travel and having kids and you know, just all that, you know, life in general, uh, it's a commitment. And it's I didn't want where I wasn't gonna be able to give that full commitment to whatever, you know, whatever time that I was gonna give to the dog. And I went back and forth with guys, you know, they're like, oh, you know, just get you uh, you know, just get you a failed, you know, uh field trial dog, you know, just get you, you know, get you a uh two or three-year-old, you know, almost finished dog. You know, I'm like, eh, you know, that's probably not exactly the way I want to go, you know. Um, and we ended up so very first dog, had no clue. I've been around enough hunting and enough people that had great dogs that do I kind of know what's you know what's going on or what come you know, what the different commands are? Yes, you know, but was it enough to really excel or train my actual dog? No, not at all. I'd just be perfectly honest with you know, but being able to hunt all these different places and hearing all these different you know things from everyone, it was it it became like all right, this was things were starting to settle down in in my household where we were able to you know go up and get gauge. Uh, we actually we this past year we lost my wife's dog. And he was a uh great Pyrenees, big, huge, 175-pound um couch potato. But we loved him. He was an amazing dog. He was not a working dog. Uh the most he would do is go sit out in the sunshine, or if it snowed, he would go sit in the snow. Um, but when we lost him, you know, it was it was it gave us the ability to not only heal her heart with a new puppy, um, but also kind of divulge into something that I always wanted to do. And uh we made the decision to, it was spur of the moment. Uh I knew somebody that was having a litter up in Kentucky, and um we just decided I told I told my wife, I said, hey, we're gonna we're gonna make a road trip this weekend. And she's like, to go where? And I was like, we're going to Kentucky. And she's like, for what? And I was like, we'll figure it out when we get there. So so I got him out of uh big tracks, kennels up there in Kentucky. Um uh his father was a joker, um, and just a just a very good bloodline. Um very uh not temperamental, very, you know, very calm. Um so it was like, you know, it was a it was a good fit. It was right point in time, and now kind of fast forward to where we're at now with Gage. I'm glad we started when we started because we've got two twin girls on the way. And they'll be here in June, and he'll actually be almost finishing up with his training. Um so it's uh it's it's kind of good.
SPEAKER_00:But that's perfect timing.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna have to take just a slight step back in some of the trips that that I take every year. Um but but it'll be it'll be a lot more local hunting and and stuff like that that we get to go on.
SPEAKER_00:Man, how's the family feeling? Are you the you've got two other girls currently at an 11-year-old and an eight-year-old. How are they feeling about twins on the way?
SPEAKER_02:So one is uh the youngest one is incredibly open to it. She she loves the idea. Uh she says that it's now gonna be more workers for all daddy's work and chores around here. Uh the oldest one. That is smart right there, man. Uh the oldest one, uh, so we told both of them on Christmas Day the we and we videoed it. The oldest one did not, we did not get the reaction that we thought she was gonna get. So she she's always been my hunting buddy. And um she, I think it's one of those things where she doesn't really it was okay if it was boys. Uh she was okay with that, but with it being girls, uh, you know, she knows that she has to kind of share more of that love with two other little girls and and see that, you know. Boys, it's different, but she she just feels like, oh, well, you know, now I'm gonna have to split the split the duck blind with with you know three other girls instead of just her and and Ava. My youngest one, she she hate she hates cold weather. Oh, really?
SPEAKER_00:Well, that's all right. More more shooting for her, those little ones that come along, and she'll be a good shot by the time they're old enough to hunt.
SPEAKER_02:So Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. But we're you know, we're excited. Um, you know, God bless us with two two identical twin girls that are coming on the way. And uh we are we just keep praying that uh you know everything keeps going the way it's going and we get uh we get to see them in in June, if not late May. So we'll see what see what happens.
SPEAKER_00:I'll tell you what, that whole process is never uh it's it's nerve-wracking every time. I can't imagine with twins, but even just having a baby in general, that's a scary process in your eye. I mean, you can just all you can do is pray and trust God and and wait for the uh the present, the package to arrive. Yep, that's right, that's right.
SPEAKER_02:But like I said, we'll have to take a little bit of a a step back in in how many big trips I do uh next year, which is you know, it's to finish him out um and really, you know, kind of cut his teeth into, you know, where he's uh where it's gonna be his prime, you know, really prime years. Um, you know, it it I wouldn't say it's uh a little heartfelt that I do want to go, do want to go out there and go as much as I do. I mean, we hunt, you know, like I said, beginning of September to you know, basically February. You know, if we get a conservation hunt. I mean, we just just came back from Arkansas last last week. And uh, you know, it's just awesome. You know, bird hunting is one of those things where you know deer hunts, deer hunts a little bit different. It's just you know, you're there with another person and you get one shot, one deer, that's it. Um bird hunting, it's it's the uh brotherhood, you know, it's kind of the camaraderie, in the blind, being able to talk, um, being able to to do all these things uh together, you know, for one for one purpose, and being able to share that and share those stories. And uh, you know, I'd like I said I've been blessed to be able to hunt with some amazing people. Um, you know, my quest is is the 41. Uh, and me and you know, Ramsay Russell were just sharing the blind the other day, and we were talking about uh we were in south uh southeast Arkansas and we were hunting together, and you know, he's asked me, he's like, hey, you know, what do you have left? You know, what what can what can I help out with? You know, what what do we have left? You know, and we're talking about you know making a trip to uh Louisiana to get my model duck, um, going up to Alaska and uh getting you know get my king eider, get my Harlequin. Um, but if everything goes correctly in uh Mexico in a couple weeks, I should only have eight of my remaining birds left.
SPEAKER_00:So we're getting close.
SPEAKER_02:That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, but truly amazing.
SPEAKER_02:A good bird dog would really uh really really help out for sure.
SPEAKER_00:That just makes the experience, you know, as a waterfowler, you know, it my goodness. I couldn't imagine doing it without a dog. I mean, I do love the camaraderie and all that, but I love just having the entire experience.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And it's just I think that dog adds to that entire experience. At least it does for me. Because then then uh you have more camaraderie. It's not just who shot what dog, but it's like everybody bonds around that dog going out there. Like they know that if there's a good dog in the blind, you can have more connection with the people around you. And everybody gets that opportunity versus every everybody's running out there chasing birds themselves. Like a good dog can really, I believe, also get you more birds, at least in the hunts I've been on with those good dogs, that's allowed us to kill more birds than we would have.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, even even you know, having a successful hunt and having, you know, just a good dog with a good nose, you know, for some of those birds that you're not gonna find in the weeds, you know. For I mean, that's that's one of those things where there's been several instances where like, man, if we just had a dog, if we just you know, if we just had a dog, you know, we would we'd be in good shape. But yeah, um, you know, gauge is gauge has really progressed nicely. Um, I'm glad we kind of did it the way we did it. And and my friend uh out there in Arkansas, you know, I was kind of hesitant to, you know, it's like I'm trying to follow the program in its entirety, you know, I'm trying to follow it to a T. Uh this is my first time. So it's like I don't, you know, there's a there's a lot of purists out there. Uh there's a lot of a lot of things that you you you feel like you should and shouldn't do. Um and like I said, I've I've known a lot of people with you know with a lot of good dogs and and I've listened to them. And uh I just what I didn't think I was fully prepared to to make that step yet. And this this year has been awesome with him. It's been an awesome experience with um just the community, uh, and being able to put him through this and watch him grow. I mean that's that's that's one of the you know, one of the things is to watch him see what he was before when he was just a puppy and getting to experience like you just don't get that, even you know, making that decision, even say, Hey, I'm gonna either train them myself or I'm just gonna send them off for, you know, six months and go take them to a trainer. Nothing wrong with that. But I just felt like to really build that bond and that connection and it make it more personal with me and him. Um I felt like I I was lacking the the handler experience to really know what I was doing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I c you know, it's if if I had, you know, you came up to a dealership and I handed you the keys to a brand new Ferrari, you know, six months later and I said, here you go. Good luck driving it. Right. And, you know, I kind of showed you the controls, but you have no clue how to drive it. You know? And that's the way I felt is like, you know, I thought, you know, we have some really, really good trainers around here. Um, like I said, Mossy Pond, uh Brad Arrington's right down the street. Uh, but it's it's one of those things where I was kind of hesitant on it. Uh just to to really to build that bond with him was very important with me uh to be able to get a finish what what I wanted as a finished product and be able to be able to be a good handler.
SPEAKER_02:Because I just don't think I'd I'd have a clue what I was doing in the very end.
SPEAKER_00:But but really good point, you know, because I mean a lot of you might not even really think a lot about that. You think having a trained dog, but a well-trained dog in the hands of someone that doesn't know how to run it, not not so good. The dog gets independent, loses its abilities, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I've seen it out in the field numerous times. Out in, you know, out in South Dakota. A lot of you know, some of the guys I hunt with, you know, they they they send their dogs off for the entire year. They get them back during hunting season, they take them out there, it's you know, their first real trip out there with live birds, and they're no more than than you know, just a dog that sits on your sofa, you know, because the the the owner doesn't know you know what what they're doing with it. Uh they try to send them on birds, send them on pheasants or goose, and just doesn't respond the way that the the trainer trained them. Um so I've I've seen it firsthand. And I, you know, and that played it big into making the decision to go with you know CGA. That was like a very, very big decision.
SPEAKER_00:So you wanted to have the best dog you could have, but also have that education. What let me ask you this. So it seems that the first decision you're making, do I send my dog to train at a trainer or do I do it myself? Then you know the next decision is okay, I'm gonna do it myself. But you know, there's a lot of options out there. What made you choose to go with CGA like out of all the, especially with your, like you said, your experience, you know, you've known a lot of purists that are gonna kind of go more of the American style. You probably had some friends that were saying go that way. What made you go with cornerstone out of everything out there?
SPEAKER_02:So I happened to be, um, I was watching a YouTube video, and um, you know, this is kind of me and my wife wrestled with this decision. She obviously, you know, she got a brand new puppy, you know. We just got it in from Kentucky, and and on the way home, we're trying to make this decision. She's like, well, what do you mean you might send him off?
SPEAKER_01:You know, I'm like, well, you know, we're I'm I'm still thinking, you know, I'm still thinking.
SPEAKER_02:Let me let me I haven't fully made the decision, but you know, let me let me see, you know, let me see what we're gonna come to, you know, conclusion of. And so we're we're driving back, and uh, you know, there's there's so many YouTube videos on how to train a dog, and none of them go in order, and that's just not how my brain works. You know, I want something that's very systematic, I want something that's very like you can follow. Um, and the week by week really, really, you know, was in tune with what I wanted to do. But I just happened to come across it. I'm sitting there watching, I think, a YouTube video coming back home from Kentucky with this brand new puppy in in my wife's lap. And I was just like, well, maybe this is the answer. So I decided to uh sign up for the free trial and kind of you know do a little test run of it. And I was like, I started watching the videos, I was like, I think I can do this. Like, you know, I think it this this is like a step-by-step guide. You know, I watched, you know, even some of the you know further progress videos, um, and it was just like it, it's just the way that my brain works. And and you know, that's not to say that you can't make some changes, you know, as a handler uh or as a trainer, you know, as you go, because not all dogs are the same, you know. And and and I I've I've learned to how to kind of adapt, you know, certain certain lessons that we that we have going that maybe he's not taking exactly the way I want it, and we have to, you know, we have to we have to go outside the box just a little bit. But other than that, man, I've been so happy. And then we're we're in week 27 now. We we got a little off track for with a couple trips to Arkansas. Um so that's okay.
SPEAKER_00:There's yeah, there's permission to do that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's what we're here for anyway, as you bought this to go hunt. Yeah, but we're we're we're a little off you know track just a little bit by a few weeks. Um, you know, obviously he's already got an intro to Gunfire. Um we kind of did that one a little bit early before we went the first trip, early December, to uh to go out there. Uh so I s I skipped ahead just a little bit for that. Um, but you know, he did great. And and and to watch him even out there, um, because he he's only he went to Arkansas twice and then he's done this pheasant hunt. And that's only, you know, again, it's not meant for every dog. Just the the guy that I know that's my friend out there, Harrison Banks. Um, he he was like, man, bring him. He's like, just bring him. Let's just put him in the blind, you know. We can just you know kill him up, let him just watch birds, let let him watch the other dog, just let him get that experience of you know, being in that blind, you know, watching those birds go down, knowing that, you know, shotgun goes off, most likely a bird's you know gonna be, you know, got by another dog, uh, seeing those denials, you know, because he ooh, he he does not like it when another dog gets a bird. And um he's he's just grown into what he, you know, what even what I saw today, uh, it's just been amazing. And you know, I I know we're only halfway there, but if it's this good, you know, at this point in time, it's only gonna get better. And I'm I'm ready to see the finished product, but at the same time, uh, it's just it's so uh cool to see just to watch him progress and watch him learn. So it's like you don't want to take for granted like watching him, because like you know, you go from I'll tell you, those first 18 weeks, 19 weeks of obedience, those are tough. And and and that was you know, that was one of the things where uh, you know, trust the process. We were talking about trust the process. It's like, man, those are rough. And uh, you know, uh to watch him sit there and fetch hold condition, he was like, those are rough, those are some rough days, but there's light at the end of the tunnel, and it's like if you just trust the process, man, you're you you get there. And you know, like I said, I got to see just a little a little portion of it today to see what he's become. He was in in Arkansas his first trip, he was one of the most uh well-behaved, obedient dogs out there, and to see that and to you know, for people at he would at that point in time, he was he was eight months, eight months old, his first trip out there. Or he was or he was about to be eight months. Wow. Um but for people to ask, and they're like, man, you know, do who who trained your dog? You know, and it's always the question, you know, and and and it's like who who trained your dog? I had I had a guy today, he asked, he said, uh, he said, um, it was a it was a younger kid. He said, he said, hey, he's like, yeah, I'm thinking about getting a dog. And I'm like, this is my first dog, you know. I I have no idea. I was like, but he said, he said, well, you know, who did all your training? I said, I've been training it myself. He said, Really? He's like, well, you know, how have you been doing it? And so I, you know, I got to tell him, you know, exactly you know what I've been following. And he's like, well, this year, like they just they just came back from Arkansas, they run a conservation goose hunt. And um, he's like, Well, that's that's what I want to use, you know. Because he, I mean, just just seeing the reps that he got today, just by by him standing next to me, he was like, that's what I want to use. You know, that's that's what I want to use. But you know, it's it's um it's uh it's a lot of work. It's um it it definitely you gotta put some time into it. You know, we train four or five days a week sometimes, depending on you know what my schedule's like. Um, but it's at this point in time in my life, I was able to give that to him. And um, I just don't think early on, especially with with kids and stuff like that, I don't think I was able to able to make that kind of commitment.
SPEAKER_00:And it probably slows things down when you've got very young kids like you. They're very needy. You gotta take care of them. So I've noticed my training has come to a much slower pace, which they can go with me, but I've slowed things down a lot because it's like, well, they need a snack, so I gotta go get them a snack now. It's like, okay, hold on, dog, let me go get a snack. Then you come back out. Well, now I need to go to the bathroom. Well, all right, let's go to the bathroom. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:No, it's it's uh it's it's it's a lot of work, but it pays off. And to have a good finished dog, if you if you hunt as much as you know I do, or you know, even if you're just a weekend warrior, like a dog changes the game, especially for around him around here. You know, you're you're going on more successful hunts, you're retrieving more birds. Um, you know, on the flint, we can't access certain, you know, certain areas without you know having a dog from being on one side, you know. So it's it's one of those things where uh we're able to do that now. We're able to, you know, hunt off the boat and and not have to go move the boat to go retrieve birds and kill a lot of time. You know, you kill half the time you're moving the boat, there's birds overhead that are you know, you're trying to go and and retrieve birds, and then all of a sudden more birds are coming in. Um, so you're able to have more successful hunts. So that's we're we're ready to see the finish line, but at the same time, we're trying to enjoy watching him grow in the process that we get to see of what he's become in front of your eyes.
SPEAKER_00:You know, that's incredible. And that's our ultimate hope, hope for everyone. That's what I tell everybody coming in. Like, hey, our goal, you know, people I think are shocked by the support they get with Cornerstone. Like when I'm talking to someone when they're thinking about it, they're like, you know, well, what if do I am I gonna get help if I get stuck? And like, well, I tell them all the ways they're supported between the live calls, the community. Like, for example, we're doing this podcast because I saw your post and you decided to encourage others. Like you said, hey, you know, here's where we're at. You just had a great moment with your dog, and you were encouraging people that were following in your footsteps just behind you, saying, Look, guys, like this is gonna just like what you said, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Like this is really incredible. And it can be a challenge. Like when you start thinking about how we train versus like what a lot of people recommend out there, you know, we are on a totally different track, and it sometimes seems a little backwards. Like a lot of people say, Yeah, get your dog out as early as you can, get it at as much exposure as you can. There's one problem with that, and that that can work, and that's fine. But with our methodology the way we're training, we're focused on gets to, not has to. So we're not gonna try to you know force any of this later. And I understand in that methodology, if you if you want your dog to do some of that, you can always reel it back in a collar later. That ain't our goal. Our goal is to get the dog to do it because it wants to.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Tying that back in, sometimes you're gonna take, like you said, those first 18 weeks were long. Well, there's also a reason for that as well. It's number one, we're not gonna reel it back in later. And the reason I say that is if you get your dog too much exposure too early and it's an out-of-control exposure, we know from learning theory principles, and it's been proven time and time again, every time you see a dog do something, the only reason dogs do stuff is because they are reinforced or rewarded. So if you get a dog out of control too early, and it gets this hunting exposure, the smell of birds, gunfire, and all of that, and things go wrong and it's not under control, what you have done is you have and it's really, in my opinion, a hyper reinforcement. I believe when the dogs get into that environment, their God-given environment that God made them to do, which is go pick up those birds, there's something special about that. So it's like it reinforces things even more, which means you're in trouble because you're gonna have a lot of work to clean up some of the problems. But in your case, you trusted the process of feel slow, but now you've got a dog that's very thoroughly trained and you will not be inhibited as you move forward in training. Versus a lot of other people are spending the the weeks where you're now getting into the fun stuff. Most people did a lot of fun stuff early, and the trade-off is they're gonna have to do a lot of cleanup later. In your case, you're not gonna be doing any cleaning up. You're gonna just be doing more and more fun stuff as you go. And it's really that investment mindset. Are you willing to trade off a little bit of the fun, big stuff early to get even greater, big, more thorough, a better trained dog later? And that is what I'm hearing from you saying. I mean, the fact that at eight months old, because you started training, what, eight weeks old, I imagine, is about the time you got cornerstone, to have people notice and take notice of that, or in now the case where you're at week twenty-seven, to have people take notice of that just proves that you've clearly done something right and you've just done the work, which is awesome.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And and you know, that's not to say it's like, man, some people get to even this point where, you know, like he was able to retrieve some birds today, and they're just like, you know, hey, this is good enough. Like for me, repetition, like in perfecting some of those things even early on, like has helped so much to just slow it down and just you know, and and demand not really perfection, but you want to be as close to perfect as possible in the very beginning. And and it's like it's helped so much to what he is now. Um, you know, like I said, I can't tell you how many compliments I've gotten as far as obedience goes, like how, you know, how just like his commands, his sit, his stay, you know, like he's he's just there, he's on place, you know. He he, you know, we we had some moments this morning where you know he early on he's super excited, he sees the birds, you know. You can say, hey, we're gonna go, you know, you want to go get some birds, you know, you want to go get some ducks, you know, and he he knows what it is. He knows when I put on my jacket, he knows we're about to go kill something, you know, and so it's like you know, those moments that we see like today, where he was super excited in the beginning, but at the very end, by the time, you know, we he kind of calmed down, saw what you know what was going on, like completely different dog, like completely different dog. But I think, you know, when I first went there in October, and I'm sitting here watching the six-month-old, you know, puppy, you know, retrieve birds to this guy, I'm like, I should have brought Gage. You know, Gage could do this, you know, and at the same time, and sitting there like, mmm, but how many bad habits am I going to create from this? You know, that might be what he wants to do. You know, that might be what you know he's requiring of his dog. And that's okay. But at the same time, yeah, and that's okay.
SPEAKER_00:You want more, right? You want the higher. I like the word you used, quality. I might steal that. I might start using that. The quality that you're looking for in that dog. It's just uh we're talking about, and there's nothing wrong with dogs like that.
SPEAKER_03:But we would know what you have to do.
SPEAKER_00:And some people end up settling just because they don't know that they can have more. I'm interested in that for you though. This was your first dog ever to train. And so what made you were you just confident in Cornerstone that it could get you there? Or basically that the the first decision was, well, it doesn't sound like my wife's gonna let me send this dog off so now I'm gonna just do my best and go as far as I can.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, I'm not I'm not gonna say there wasn't some of that. There was definitely some of that. She, you know, she grew attached to him like from the get-go. And I wasn't gonna say that there's there was none of that, but you know, um my wife, she she she supported whatever decision uh that I made, but at the same time, she didn't want to lose a lot of that quality puppy time that that we would have been missing out on. Um, but it was just it I like how it just lays everything out there for you uh day by day. You know, you've got a sheet, and just going back, and and and I encourage this to people, is videotaping a lot of your training sessions because you get to go back and and watch and see like where he's progressed from, but also you're able to kind of go back. Like I was able to watch it, you know, maybe on my way to work or while I was at work, and I could see you know what he was struggling with and really say, okay, well, we need to work on that a little bit more. Um it's not, oh man, I'm I'm demanding perfection, but that's that's just what I want out of out of him. And um it it's all about what you want out of your dog. And that's that's just for Gage, you know, this is my first dog. Uh I I couldn't be happier, but this CGA has definitely taken me, you know, to the next step of where where I want to be. And for having other people ask, you know, hey, you know, who did your training? And it's like, you know, it's it's a nice compliment even to yourself, even though you're following a program, it's a nice compliment to yourself that you know you did do some things right. You did it right. Yeah, you you follow you followed the steps and you did it right. But man, I can't tell you how many people have asked me, you know, since some of these trips, or you know, just even here, you know, at home and getting to, you know, getting to watch him, you know, on all his commands. You know, people, you know, people here, my next door neighbors, they see me out here training every day, and they've they've got to bear witness to it too. But uh we're you know, we're encouraged, we're encouraged to see you know where this really takes us. We're encouraged to see the finished product, but again, but not in a hurry to see the finished product.
SPEAKER_00:Um the last half goes a lot faster. I'll say that. The first half uh it's the same amount of time legitimately when you think about half. The the the feeling of it goes faster because you're I would say is what you're as much as you're teaching, you s teach significantly more on the last half. Every week is basically one plus to three new skills per week, new concepts you're teaching per week as you move into the latter half, which makes you feel that you're doing a lot more because technically you are. It's still the same amount of training time, right? 30, 20, 30 minutes a day, four days a week. But because of the foundation you built, your dog has the ability to handle all that you're gonna throw at it. So we just throw a lot, so it's that walk, jog, run. You're you're at week 27, you're pivoting from that jog to like you're turning, you're about to turn on the afterburners, it's about to be sprint time. And so as you take the which is perfect time before June gets here when your baby girls get here, perfect timing. I don't think this could have gone any more perfect on time.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I'm glad we made the decision that we did do. Um, you know, it was it was it was the commitment that I needed, but uh for him next year, I think is we're really gonna be able to shine. But it also gives me a reason to, you know, not hunt, but focus on hunting while it's not hunting season. That's right.
SPEAKER_00:It gives me something to focus on. I mean, I think about it year round too, and that's what the dogs, you know, deer hunting, duck hunting, all of it. I'm fishing, I'm kind of ate up with it all. I just want to be thinking about it year-round. Like I was the guy in school, the kids in school, I could not focus on the schoolwork. And I had the ability to do that stuff, but I mean, why would I want to think about this complicated math problem and when I could be thinking about these deer and ducks that are moving around? And let now if you wanted to frame it up like, hey, this is how you can calculate the trajectory of your bullet so that you can get a smoke of deer, I think I would have been extremely focused. But you're they're talking about stuff that I wasn't interested in. I was I wanted to be out there. I mean, I think all of us share that same commonality, like we just want to be because there's something about be freeing about being out there. You're just it's a great place to be.
SPEAKER_02:Man, uh just being able to be out outside and being able to just see the sunrises that we get to see on the on every hunt, and being able to get to see the sunsets on every hunt. Uh, it's just man, I don't know. And and being able to share a blind, like that's my best friend now. You know, he he does everything with me. And it it just uh being able to share that and being able to watch him, you know, grow into what he's grown into, it's it's awesome. But he loves it. You know, he's it's it's I mean it's what these dogs are bred to do. And when you unlock that, to really see the the dog's potential, because you know, there's plenty of labs, there's plenty of labs out there to see and unlock his potential as a dog, as a gun dog, uh it's just it's pretty incredible. But also, you know, to see you as a handler slash trainer and what you can, you know, what you gain by doing that with your own dog is pretty special too. And I think I think that's something that's been uh for me has been pretty, you know, just pretty cool. I mean it's I never I never thought that I could do this, I guess you'd say. And really, but to be able to find the program, find a program that worked and you know still has that systematic approach to it that I really need for for my learning abilities. Um I think it was it was nice. You know, it's just it's laid out there, it's step by step, it's week by week. Um, you know, and it just it's it's created a a beast of a dog and we're not even we're not even done yet, you know. So we're we're we're excited to see what next year really has in store for him. But uh I don't know. It's it's been really it's been really good so far. So far he's got uh seventeen retrieves. Um good retrieves. Um nothing sloppy all the way, you know, to you know, to the blind or to the kennel um or the placeboard, you know, whatever whatever we're hunting out of the boat. Um he's gotten 17 good retrieves where it's two two hand. Uh two hand.
SPEAKER_00:Two hands. That's pretty special. You're doing something right. I mean, and honestly, like we talked about earlier, it's easy to kind of get this mentality of, oh, you know, let's just get them introduced. Like with my kids and stuff like we're not worried about precision like with a young kid. Like we want to get them just falling in love with it. And you do that with a dog, but with the way the dogs learn with that reinforcement, if you start getting that sloppy reinforcement of dropping at your feet and doing all that early, you've just got 17 good retrieves. That's 17 steps in the right direction. Yeah, if you get those sloppy reps, that's gonna hold you back. And not to say if you have the sloppy reps, that's fine. You can work through it and you gotta have the ability to communicate and train your dog, but that's a huge win to be able to have that for your first 17 retrieves.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah, and and you know, again, it's uh for everybody, it's different. Um for for me, it was it was one of those things where I was just trying to get him the experience of being out there, uh, get him the experience of being aware we always hunt in the blinds that we always hunt, and and being able to, you know, kennel up in some of those blinds, uh, and just being able to get him to watch the birds, watch the other dogs work. I mean, he's learned a lot of stuff just by watching other dogs, you know, go and go and get the bird, um, you know, whatever we happen to be shooting. And, you know, it's it's I wouldn't say, you know, hey, everybody take that approach. Uh uh, every dog is different. Um, but being able to to kind of slowly, you know, it put that in there, uh, I think it helps a little bit with the with the progression of what you're you know, what you're gonna see in the very end. Wow. Um, but again, it was that was one of those decisions. I'm glad I didn't make it early on. Um because definitely six, seven months, you know, he was not where he needed to be. And I'm glad I, you know, I I didn't take the opportunity to take him out there. Um It's tempting though.
SPEAKER_00:I won't it is tempting.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I mean, you you know, when you start this program and you see, you know, you see the length of time and you're sitting there, you know, for me, I was counting the lessons in the in the seven first 17 weeks, you know, obedience training. I'm not gonna say like I said, those are rough. There's a lot of lessons there. Yeah, you're sitting there counting the lessons, and I'm watching them as I'm hitting the complete button and I'm watching them go down, and I'm like, okay, I'm so close. You know, and then I'm I'm looking ahead to the to the next, you know, the next uh onboard or not onboarding on the next lessons, and and it's like 18, um uh I forgot, 18 to like 20, 22, 24, something like that. Sounds right. But I'm looking into that and I'm like, I'm I'm peeking ahead, you know, and I'm like, where's the good stuff at? But I'm I'm I'm telling you, it it has helped him, and I've gotten so many compliments on on taking really having success in those first 17 weeks and setting up a very good um knowledge base of obedience uh to to to have a foundation to build this dog up into what it is. And and so uh we we still we still you know do the reps and we still you know like his heel work, his heel work from the time he started to now, uh like it's it's incredible. Yeah, it's incredible. We were sitting there, we were doing some heel work out there before we kind of got started just to kind of set the pace of what the hunt was gonna be. And um, you know, to to just be able to be able to heal him and to be able to stop and him sit right next to you and look up. I never thought I was gonna get to that point. Like to from where he started out at. I'm like, you know, you you watch plenty of videos, you watch your videos, and you're like, uh how do we get there? And how and how do we get there quick? Yeah, yeah. So um it to to see that even today, you know, like you can just heal him out here in the yard and uh, you know, do a square, go straight to the mailbox and stop a couple times, and he's like right at my knee. And he's you know, stopping, you know, not no commands needed. And so it's it's it's all about what you want out of your dog. Uh, if you want to kind of skip through those steps, I don't recommend it. Um, those first weeks are very, I would say critical. Where you know, I was the same way. I was thinking about skipping ahead a little bit, but I'm but I'm glad it, I'm glad I didn't and I'm glad I just, you know, I followed uh what you said, and it's it's led me in a great direction.
SPEAKER_00:It definitely seems like a lot, and I can promise you, we didn't put any videos in there that didn't need to be there. And we tried to keep it as condensed as possible, but we also kept nothing, we wanted to hold nothing back. So when you think about that, it's like, well, if you're gonna hold nothing back, this is just what it is. That's just the reality. I mean, it's just a lot, but it's it's it's worth it. Now, what about your transformation? So going from knowing nothing to where you're at now, um, I mean, you would have gained a lot of knowledge. Obviously, you know, you follow the videos and implemented what you learned, but you know, there's nuggets along the way that you're gaining, like um what we talked about earlier, just one little nugget is dog any the behavior dog exhibits, barking at the door, any of that stuff, it only happens because it's reinforced or rewarded. That's one tiny nugget. There's thousands of nuggets through the course. How would you say your transformation and your knowledge base has gone from just having been exposed to waterfowling and duck hunting, like you you're a big duck hunter, waterfowler, but maybe you've been exposed to the dogs and kind of having general ideas. Well, how would how would you describe that, you know, your knowledge base now and your personal transformation as someone that know nothing than now where you're at now?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so I I don't think I could have done anything um without watching endless YouTube videos. I don't think I would have been able to gain the knowledge in all these weeks that uh that would set me up for where I'm at now. Um, you know, again, I had all that field knowledge of listening to other guys and uh being around a lot of great dogs. I mean, a lot of great dogs. Um and so I knew, you know, I knew some of the commands and stuff like that. But that's what was kind of a little bit um, you know, bringing home a dog and deciding you're gonna train it. It's like bringing home your first kid. They're handing it to you, and and you you know what you want out of it. You want an end result, you want to, you know, you want a kid that is obedient and uh that does the right things and has the right morals and values. But how do you get there? And you know, to to be able to find this and become a good handler and trainer as you go, it's like it, it's it's just uh it's it's just great. I mean, it's I there's no way that I would have been able to make it and and have all these uh like not just terminology, but all of these lessons uh to be able to incorporate, not just for him, but even for any future dog that I'm gonna be able to train uh moving forward. Um, you know, this the sad thing is they're they're not here with us forever. And so we know that you know another one be coming you know down the line, but uh it's it's it's evolved me into there's not there's no way I would have known or done it without having something like this, you know. And it's it's created, you know, it's it's been able to help me introduce those things for long term to be able to um train other dogs in the future. That's awesome. The the wife's already talking about getting another great Pyrenees, so and she wants me to train it just like he has like maybe it's not the same. Well, you can get that good obedience in there. That's me. Well, we'll get some get some obedience, but yeah, it's I mean it's it's helped me leaps and bounds, you know, to to be able to be a better trainer because there's there's no way I would have been able to to catch on to all this stuff without a program like this. Wow. Uh but it's it's definitely hell for sure.
SPEAKER_00:Well man, I'm I'm so happy that it's gone well for you so far. Um and at week 27, like I said, you're getting into the fun stuff now, but the cool thing is at this at this stage, like you've built a lot. Like you said, some of it you know may you have felt tedious because you're being so thorough, but what you've already built is probably above what a lot of people's standards would have been, anyways. And you've got an amazing dog that's got everything you could want and the potential to go as far as you want. So I'm really excited about these next series of weeks for you. And I really look forward to, I think we'll have to have a follow-up with you at some point. Let's maybe do another one where once you've graduated the full course, I would love to hear that, or maybe we can talk about a hunt or something this fall local, close by. That way you can spend some time with the family. That'd be that'd be sweet.
SPEAKER_02:That that definitely that that sounds good. You know, we we're we're hoping the direction that we're going um right now, uh we're we're really hoping to possibly uh get competitive with it and see, you know, maybe where it's not just gonna even lean towards just hunting, um, but also just you know, to be able to, you know, not just do his hunt test, but go and do some competitions and see see where he stands. You know, you you kind of wanna you kind of want to see where they stand against other dogs and you see it, you know, hunting. But um that's that's what I see in the future. Now, you know, what my wife sees in the future might not be that. Oh yeah. But I mean, we're you know, we're gonna be we're definitely gonna be running and gunning until you know the good lord slows us down. But uh Gage uh Gage is he's done great. He's progressed well. We like where he's at now, but we're encouraged to what we are work what we're gonna get in the future and see you know see what he does. But it's a you know, I think we all go through this transition. Um and like when I first started hunting, and even when I first started back hunting, when you're you when you're younger, it's one of those things where you know you just want to see like piles of birds, you know, you you want to, you know, you always want to have a great hunt and stuff like that, and and being able to uh have my kids and have being able to share the blind with you know with my daughters, and now being able to share the blind with you know my pup. Um it's that transition and from you know being a a prideful hunter and and just being, you know, being being one of the prideful hunters into, you know, hey, just being a teacher, you know, and that's that's something else that the that the course has has taught me. It's like, man, what can I share that maybe I didn't get as a younger hunter with even training a dog? And that's kind of what we we also see is like I think that's where you know the fleet future you know may lean towards this, is that's what we're trying to you know graduate to. Wow.
SPEAKER_00:So that's special right there. Yeah, I love that. You're brought into the vision and mission. Inspire future generations to do the same. And I mean, there's really no way to get even better than to help other people along the way too, right? It's one thing, go do it yourself. Now you you've done it yourself, then you go help other people pull them along. It's you know, you got someone above you pulling you along, helping you get to the next step, and you've got someone below you that you're mentoring and helping grow as well. And that's a beautiful model that just will continue to produce, you know, memories and experiences for people for generations to come.
SPEAKER_02:Right. Uh and you know, there's a there's a little bit of an intimidation factor when you when you get around a lot of guys with uh, you know, a lot of good gun dogs and you know, that are maybe four or five-year-old dogs, uh, sometimes they're not always willing to share that same experience with you and and you know, and being able to teach you. Uh and that's just what I kind of want to be. It's like, hey, y'all are giving us these, you know, these skills, these lessons to be able to teach. And it's like to be able to share that even with you know, the guy I talked to today, it's like, hey, if I can do this, I know you can do this, you know. So uh it's it's something that you know I hope to share in the future to be able to, you know, help the the kids or you know, people like me that was just young and dumb and you know, didn't didn't get that same kind of help from certain people, uh especially with with a gun dog.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, we gotta get you to member week. I was talking, we had our member orientation call Friday for we do that every week for new members, and um we had a couple of veterans hop on, Marty Haynes and then Kevin Wright, and I was just kind of bragging on them because they're the dudes that ha has those, you know, four, three, five, seven-year-old dogs. Uh Marty's got a couple and then Kevin's got them. And but they're always willing to help. And that's what I love about the community. Like you will see our the cornerstone community is a very special community. Like the cool thing is we're all sharing the same playbook too. So no one's here to ridicule anybody. It's more of, hey, how can we help you navigate this playbook? How can we help you take those next steps? And Kevin and Marty has always been able to to do that. But I've also been you know impressed to see people like you like jump in there and encourage people along the way. Like, like you said, even you don't have to be this guru. In fact, honestly, sometimes gurus are the worst people to listen to. If you've ever if you're if those if you're around a guru who thinks that there's nothing else to learn, that's not a good thing. And I never want to be that. I've got so much still to learn, and I'm constantly trying to learn. But when you're around someone that you know has some experience that is still hungry, hungry is the key, then you can have that humble sharing of an experience. And that's what I feel like the cornerstone community is. Just like you and Kevin and Marty, like you've got people like you guys that are hungry for more, but you're also always willing to land. Like, hey, let me help you out too. And that I think that just makes you a better. I personally have gotten obviously significantly better with my dogs when I started teaching others, when I started helping other people. That made me be even more serious and made me pay attention to the details even more, maybe a lot better. I can promise you that. And it's uh it's cool to see that you're you're already doing that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, it's uh, you know, to see the people on the hub, um, and and that was my first ever post. And, you know, I I like to read a lot on there and see what everybody's kind of struggling with, and and to be able to, you know, I see all this, you know, a lot of guys that you know they might be struggling with um with fetch or hold um or heal. You know, how how can I, you know, train this part out of my dog? And to know that you are on that same step, you're like, hey, look, just keep pushing forward, keep doing the same thing. Like I promise you it's it's gonna come, you know, or you know, there might be something else that they're struggling with. And you know, like you said, some of the older guys that have been around for a while will step in and and and give them a little bit of you know advice for what their dog is particularly doing. Um, but that was, you know, I'm not a big social media guy, I don't have any social media. Um, so that was one of those things where you know to post on there, uh I I just don't I don't I don't really do that a lot, but I've been watching it and to be able to see um you know some of the things, same things, like this especially early on to see some of the same struggles that I was having. Like, okay, well, you know, this this same person is having those same struggles, you know. Let me look through here and let me see what they're you know, what what's recommended for what they said. Um and and again, small tweaks, um things, things like that. Every dog is different. Uh you know, what you get in the the training lessons are are very, very helpful, but it might just be one little small thing that you have to realize as as the handler, as the trainer, uh to make a to make a little bit of a difference. And so that's that's kind of proven, but the course in itself is proven. I mean, I'm excited to see what 52 is. Um but it's it's it's been it's it's already proven enough. And like I said, a lot of people would just stop right here where I'm at. They're like, hey, I got I've got a dog that'll go and retrieve a bird. Um, you know, it's got great focus, it's steady. Uh I want to see what else where where else we can we can go with this. I know you said we're getting into the fun stuff, and and it's it's encouraging, but it's been a pretty cool process to watch along the whole way. But for the all the guys that are struggling with other things that are doing the course, just just keep going, just keep going. And and you know, really hone into a lot of those like foundation skills to to get what you want or get the most out of your dog. Because it it it helps. It it helps a lot when you get out in the field and you get because my first hunt with him, it was, you know, it got real, you know, and you see, you know, you see some of that behavior come out, but once it kind of settles down and you really uh you get to those, you know, basics that we that we learned from the very beginning, it really help really helped him out. It really helped him settle down, you know, to get him, you know, to get him on place and just watch for birds, you know, and not to not to have him break, you know, very early on. It was it was very helpful.
SPEAKER_00:So that's incredible. Well, CJ, man, I'm so honored to have you on this to have you speak so highly of the course, but I want to speak highly of you as as we wrap this up. And I mean, the course is great, but if you if you weren't willing to follow it, and that's the key, you followed it, you've put in the work, and you deserve the a big high five for that and and a big knowledge for that, because I mean it totally is up to you and you've you've followed through thus far. And so you deserve what you've gotten, you deserve those amazing results, and and I'm proud of you for doing it. I really do appreciate you. And it's an honor that you would trust us with the process. You know, out of every out of everybody out there, all the different options, it's an honor that you would you would trust us because when you when you get down to it, you know, we all we are nothing without our members, and we have a lot of people like you that are incredible. But I just want to thank you for being a spokesperson of that and and encouraging other people along the journey too. Because I know there's a lot of members out there that are going to listen to this episode, and that's gonna be the encouragement they need to be like, you know what, let's do trust this process because there's a lot of confusion out there, especially if you get going. If you have a bad day of training, and then you if you're not close to a cornerstone member and you go talking to somebody else, they might have you thinking you're doing the wrong thing.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Getting off track, and then you're like, oh man, I did the wrong decision. When in reality it didn't, just had a bad day. Because it happens. That happens. Yeah. I appreciate you, man. You've done a great job, and it's been incredible to see it for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Well, thank you. I appreciate you having me on here. And you know, like I said, I hope you know later on we can we can share, you know, another podcast of uh of the finished dog that he is, you know, uh looking forward to the future and see what see what he's gonna become.
SPEAKER_00:We'll certainly do it, man, and maybe we'll share a hunt to you. I would love to see it in person. That's one of my favorite things to see for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02:You just let me know. The the the truck is always pointed west, so you just let me know when you want to get in it.