Gundog Nation
A show to bring together gundog enthusiasts, trainers, and handlers with discussion focused on all breeds and styles of gundogs.
Gundog Nation
Kristin Best - From Foundation to Field: Training, Whelping, and Building Better Retrievers
#55 Want a calmer, sharper, more reliable gun dog without guesswork or gimmicks? We sit down with Kristen Best of Best Retrievers to unpack a training approach that starts with relationship, not reflex. She maps the Five Love Languages onto dogs—praise, petting, treats, retrieves, and quality time—and shows how meeting a dog where they are unlocks focus, trust, and speed. If you’ve ever struggled with steadiness at the line, a “doer” who won’t think, or a pup who needs confidence, this conversation delivers practical steps you can use today.
We go deep on “formal fetch,” a humane, 50+ step protocol that builds true hold and fetch on the table before moving to the ground. Kristen explains why birds come last to protect positive associations, how minimal, precise pressure adds clarity only after understanding, and why timing a single “good” can beat any clicker you forgot in your pocket. You’ll hear how patience actually makes training faster by preventing the costly setbacks that happen when you rush. Real examples—from high-drive retrievers like Floyd to motion-loving upland dogs—illustrate how to tailor setups so the dog can think, perform, and enjoy the work.
Beyond the field, Kristen opens the doors to their whelping service and the BR Best Chance program, where the team pairs behavior-first breeding decisions with rescue training that transforms shelter dogs into great companions. We cover what to ask breeders (health clearances, titles, temperament), how to match puppies to real lifestyles, and why weekly client videos and transparent progress reports make owners better partners in the process. If you care about foundation, fairness, and results that last through hunt tests, SRS challenges, and wild-bird seasons, you’ll find a blueprint here that’s as kind as it is effective.
Enjoyed the conversation? Follow, rate, and share the show with a friend who trains or hunts with dogs. Subscribe to our email list at gundognation.com and join the community—then tell us: what’s your dog’s love language?
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I'm Kenneth Witt and welcome to Gun Dog Nation. Gun Dog Nation is much more than a podcast. It's a movement to build a community of people around the world that like to watch a well-trained dog do what it's bred to do. Also, we want to get our youth involved into the sport of gun dogs, whether it be hunting, sport, or competition. We want to build a community of people united to preserve our gun dog heritage and to be better gun dog owners. Tune in to each weekly episode and learn about training, dog health, wellness, and nutrition. We will also offer tips for hunting with dogs and for competition hunt tests, field trials, and other dog sports that involve gun dogs. Please go to our website, gundognation.com, and subscribe to our email list. We will keep you informed weekly with podcasts that are coming out. We also will be providing newsletters with training tips and health tips for your dog. You can also go to patreon.com forward slash gundognation and become a member. There's different levels of membership on there. Just go check that out. Also, would like to thank Sean Brock for providing the music for this show. The introduction and the outro is Sean Brock. He played everything on there except the banjo by Scott Vest on the Dobro by Jerry Douglas. Sean is a neighbor of mine from over in Harlan, Kentucky. I'm just across the mountain in Hyden, Kentucky, and he's a super talented guy. But most of all, I want you guys to check out the Creakers. They are also from Hyden, Kentucky. This is an up-and-coming bluegrass and country band, and these guys are hot. They're all over TikTok and YouTube. You will hear these guys because in a year or so that they will be on the radio. They are very talented. Their videos are going viral on the net. These boys are family. Two of the lead singers, one grew up with my daughters, and the other one is my cousin's son. So he's family. But check them out. Check out the creakers. Also, last but not least, if you want to buy a hat, koozie, t-shirt, or even gun dog supplies, go to shopgundognation.com and you can purchase any of those items. Thank you so much for listening. It's a privilege to have people that want to put up with me talking about dogs all the time. I actually enjoy what I do, and I'm so glad to have this opportunity. And thank you. Let's see. All right, hey, welcome. It's Kenneth Whip, Gun Dog Nation. Uh, I'm actually coming to you today from Grand Rapids, Minnesota at Lake Hale. Uh, I've been up here grouse hunting. Actually, I've been grouse hunting in uh Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and I'm with Minnesota uh this week. Uh and real quick announcements before I get on with the with a podcast I've been wanting to do for a very long time and so honored to have this person on. I've been aggravating her to death, texting her all the time at weird hours, uh because I think it's stuff at the last minute. I'm uh my brain works real weird. I'm sure it frustrates people to death. But anyway, we just tried, I just got back from hunting. We use this retriever fuel, it's a brand new product that's not even on the market yet, but I'll tell you more about it later. But it's a really good recovery product, especially formulated for hunting for working dogs, right? Uh, and I've got I've put a little commercials on my social media platforms, you can check that out. Next thing, and I'll I'll get started. Got a big announcement today. So, my cousin's son, who I've had on the podcast, Tanner Horton, and uh uh the the band, the creakers that I preach about on here all the time. I actually talk about in my introduction, they signed a record deal today, as was announced today, September the 24th, in Nashville with Warner Brother Records. Someone just sent me a file where they're going to be opening up somewhere for Chris Stapleton. I don't have the details, but these boys are from my hometown, Kristen. And uh I watched, you know, watched one of them grow up because my cousin's son, and uh uh one of the other singers grew up with my daughter singing in church, and and these boys write their own songs and play their own music, and they're they're music that's out, they're doing all the music on it. It's not studio music, which is what you normally hear. They're very authentic because they're bluegrass, for the most part, background, who have crossed over some. I guess that's hope they don't mind me saying a crossover band, but uh just stay tuned. It's they're really fun, and these guys are real country. And you when you hear them talk, you'll know you'll know where I'm from, and uh I'm proud of it. Anyway, Kristen, I wanna I want to introduce you quickly and then let you tell everybody a little more about you. But uh well, let's just do that. Kristen, you introduce yourself and then I'll talk about you.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, that sounds good. My name's Kristen Best. Um, I am one of the owners of Best Retrievers. Uh Rhodie and I started this whole thing up, and um so and I kind of run a lot of the foundation side of the training um and the office stuff and our welping service.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and that's the welping service. Remind me to come to that because I'll I'll ramble a lot. Uh Kristen, first of all, I won't say this to everybody listen. If you've never been to their facility in Texas, and I'll let her correct me, it's it's near the Gittings area, outside of Austin, about how far, Kristen?
SPEAKER_02:Uh we're about 45 minutes east of Austin and about 10-15 minutes from Bass Drop and Giddens.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. It's a beautiful facility. They actually host the Masters there, right?
SPEAKER_02:Um we've hosted some of the Master Test, but we're not hosting like Master National or anything like that.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. But you all had some other big tests there, right?
SPEAKER_02:We've had some Super Retriever series, and um we've held some field trials, um, and like we'll host a lot of like just like the regular AKC hunt test, junior, senior master tests.
SPEAKER_00:Well, it's y'all have a really nice grounds, a really nice facility. I actually I I've been there hunt testing, I've been there done by AKC judge apprenticeship there, which is really fun. That guy y'all had me paired with as a was arrived. Is it Kevin? Big Tall.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00:What's his last name?
SPEAKER_02:Kevin uh um Buckman.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yeah. It was he and his wife.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, Kevin and Yolanda.
SPEAKER_00:He was a hoop, he kept me uh uh rolling, and he was very helpful informative to me, like he was teaching me while I was doing my apprenticeship under him.
SPEAKER_01:That's it.
SPEAKER_00:But uh you guys, you have great trainers. You're the only pro trainers that I've had con uh uh business with that send me weekly videos. I've had trainers that will never answer my text or give me an update, and it drives me insane. And and just and I hate to say this because you're all not one of them, but you know, when you're paying money and it's not cheap, you know, that's the least, and I don't I don't like to I never text you guys and buck you ever. I never text Roadie or you or Dakota, but I don't have to because you all give me updates on my dog. My dog Floyd is there and they're they've done a wonderful job with him. Uh anyway, so one of the first things that I'd like to talk about, Chris, and this is when we when I first wanted to get you on several months ago, is you you talked about some we had a phone conversation and you talked about how you had read the the book and I messed the title up, you correct me, about the five love languages, and how you as a dog trainer and you reading that as a married couple, a young married couple maybe at the time, you thought, hey, I can incorporate this in my dog training. Will you tell us about that?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so whenever we started Best Retrievers in 2006, um, to be honest with you, it really um we'd been married for 13 years, we had three little boys, and we moved to a completely different place. Um, and it, you know, it rocked our our life in a sense, you know, trying to yeah, trying to survive and provide for our family and everything. So what we um while when we first got started, um Rhody was teaching me how to train dogs and um someone we were also, you know, because everything was just so so overwhelming, someone shared the book with me called The Five Love Languages and said, you know, it'd be great for you to read this book because, you know, guys, y'all have a lot of changes in your life and a lot of things going on, and it might be really good for you to uh to you know read this to kind of get a better solid foundation on your marriage because you know that was very, very important. So started reading the book, and at the same time, Rhodie was teaching me how to train the dogs, and so I started realizing that dogs had the same love languages that we do. And um, for probably eight years I just tested it out and just made sure that what I was believing was hap was real and that what it was really making a huge difference with the dogs. And um then I started sharing it um with others, and I just realized that you know, they love like we love. They're different, dogs are different than people, but at the same time, they love like we love. So our program, all of our dogs that come through our programs start with um us basically figuring out what their love languages are and um then meeting them where they are and then building off of that.
SPEAKER_00:So I I guess then this is my limited knowledge, Chris, of that book. I I I don't know that I've ever read all of it, but uh you know, I I've we won't say why I know a lot about it, but I do. Um so uh I must not be that good at it. But anyway, you you in the in the love language book, you see what a person responds to the most. Like, say it might be physical touch or words of affirmation or gifts, whatever that is, and so you're learning what that works for that particular pup because we know you know more than me, every puppy in a literature's got some differences.
SPEAKER_02:So you're you're saying that you you try to determine what that pup responds to, and yeah, so I have adjusted the the love languages to um so like words of affirmation is praise, gift giving is treats, acts of service is like interactive toys or retrieves. Um and then uh let me think about what I say physical touch, words of affirmation, petting treats. Um hold on, let me start again. Um so we've got gift giving is treats, words of affirmation is praise, physical touch is petting, um, acts of service would be like interactive toys or retrieving, and then quality time is quality time. So that's kind of where it it lands. And so when dogs first come in, we will like spend the first two weeks looking at how they like how they think, how they work, how can we build a team player, you know, and the best thing to do is to meet them where they are.
SPEAKER_00:And and you know, that's obviously working, Chris, and you guys are have a great success record in in the in the hunt test world as well as the SRS world, which to me is so complicated. Uh, do you all field trial too?
SPEAKER_02:Uh Rhodey does a little bit.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Um when we first got married, that was one thing that we made the executive decision just for our family, that it wasn't the direction that we were going to focus because we knew honestly there was a huge divorce rate in the field trial world and it wasn't something that we wanted to take the risk of.
SPEAKER_00:That makes a lot of sense. And you know, and that's interesting. I I matter of fact, one of the reasons I'm probably here today and not in my law office somewhere in Kentucky or Tennessee is because I did divorce work. I just didn't want to go back to um so what how have you how has that using that that philosophy and that ideology that you you found through reading, through working with dogs, and incorporating that give me an example of what you would do. Just just take a particular pup that you can think of and how you use that to to train that that particular dog. And which method you used, or which love language.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So basically what we do is whenever they first come in on day one, we take them into like kind of a sterile environment and we just start flooding them with petting, with praise, with treats for behaviors that we want to see. So when they're not jumping on us, we'll like pet them, praise them, give them treats. Um, we'll do the retrieve stuff once we get them more comfortable outside. And then um quality time as well, just spend some time with them and just get to know them. And we start figuring out. So, like, I'm gonna reward a dog when it gives me eye contact. So I'm gonna give it petting praise treats. I'm gonna try to flood it with that information or with that stuff, and then um you'll see all of a sudden they'll just, you know, if you're if you're focusing on eye contact and you give them a treat every single time they give you eye contact, and you quickly figure out that treats are very important to them. So then we just continue to use the treats. We weed it out later, um, but that if that's where we need to meet them so that we can get the full potential and to build a team player out of them, then we're gonna meet them wherever they are. I kind of take pride in a sense of we're not a cookie cutter trainer where you have to a dog has to fit into our program. We meet the dog where they are and build off of that. So every dog is trained very differently. We just get tried that our goal is to try to get to the same end result.
SPEAKER_00:Hello, this is Kenneth Whipp with Gun Dog Nation. Many people quickly become frustrated and confused when training the retriever. Cornerstone Gun Dog Academy's online courses eliminate all the guesswork by giving you a proven training system that will help you train a dog that anyone will be proud to have when they're blind. Learn where to start, what to do next, and what to do when problems arise. Visit Cornerstone Gun Dog Academy.com to learn how you can train your retriever. I have used this method myself. I have been through it a couple times with different dogs. I refer back to it lots of times when I'm trying to get dogs fresh and back up for hunt test season. I highly recommend them. I have actually been a subscribe member of Cornerstone Gun Dog Academy since 2016, and I would suggest anyone use it. I highly recommend it. They have an app that you can get to on your phone. You can do it from your phone, your laptop. You can't get any more convenient than that. I I've used it, it's proven and tried, and I know literally hundreds of people that have done the same thing that I've talked to. Visit Cornerstone Gun Dog Academy.com and learn how to train your own retriever. Hello, this is Kenneth Witt, and Gun Dog Nation is proud to have one of their sponsors as Retriever Training Supply, based in Alabama. Retriever Training Supply offers fast shipping on quality gear. Your dog will love it. Visit Retriever Training Supply.com to purchase gear to help you train your retriever. Listen, they have some of the best leases I've ever found. Good stuff's made in America. Their leases are and they source them locally. They have anything you want. Fast, friendly service, fast shipping, just good people. Retriever Training Supply. I like that. How long does it I know it I know every dog's different, Chris, but on average, about how long does it take you all to assess a dog and think, you know what, this is what makes it learn the best?
SPEAKER_02:Uh it depends on who it is. I've done it for so long that I can usually figure it out in the first day on the first session. Um, but yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And and we haven't said that, Chris, and I'm not trying to I'm way older than you, so I can ask this question. But how long have you been training?
SPEAKER_02:Uh I've been training since 2006, so almost 20 years.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And Roadie, he's uh he's he said this on here before. How long has he been training?
SPEAKER_02:He started when he was in college when we were first married. He went hunting with a buddy, and that guy had a hunting dog. So that would have been probably 10 plus years before me, but or before I started. So probably around 30 years.
SPEAKER_00:Oh wow, okay. I didn't think he all was that old.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I'm not just saying that I already think y'all that old. So yeah, you're welcome. Um do you and he ever get competitive who the best trainer is?
SPEAKER_02:You know, honestly, no. I'm I'm we both do such completely different things. Um, I do just the foundation work. I'm fascinated. He's so he's the competitive, he loves the competitive side of things. He loves also we both agree that we love to take a dog that's like the underdog and bring it up like, you know, and and that that's so rewarding. And um so we just we just have two completely different niches. My goal, I mean, my goal is just to take a dog that maybe is scared and terrified, those are my favorite, and to be able to build trust in them with showing them the love languages and then getting them to do anything that I want them to do and to be happy and excited to do it. That's what I that's what I love. And he loves to take that and then take it even further and do the competition side of things.
SPEAKER_00:Well, you know, I I like that you say that because I feel like, and just my own experience, you know, I'm I'm definitely an amateur trainer at best, but I find that the hardest dogs that you take make you the best trainer, right? It's it's like if you can make this dog good, brother, you can do anything. Is that kind of what you see?
SPEAKER_02:I do, and I always tell my trainers whenever they get a challenging dog, I'm like, that dog's gonna make you a better trainer. I'm like, you have to look at it that way. Is that dog's gonna make you a better trainer? And then they can see it on the other side. They're like, wow, I learned so much, you know, from that dog and makes them better for the next dog.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. It's um, so have you now have you gone? I I know your role is is is the more the foundation work was highly important. Have you ever gone yourself and been the handler like SRS and those stuff, or you leave that to the boys?
SPEAKER_02:I um I run, I used to run junior when we were first started, um, and we were growing a lot quicker than we had anticipated. And so um I used to run junior, but I've never ran any of the hand signaler stuff. I'm fascinated from a behavioral standpoint to watch those dogs work, and I love to ask a lot of questions because it does fascinate me that they're able to get the dogs to get to do as much as they are.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You know.
SPEAKER_00:You know, Kristen, I uh I I've watched, I've got one out one day until Lightning made us quit and watched Roadie work on SRS field trial events training. And then I've spent a few days with Clark Kingdom watching him prepare SRS dogs, and I I just it's I mean, that's like to me, it's like having a high school diploma versus a PhD. You know, it's just a whole different level of training. It I mean, I admire all those guys and ladies that do that. It's uh it's not easy.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's not.
SPEAKER_00:Uh and if you know, another comment I'll make is I found doing this podcast, I've met so many really neat, interesting trainers of different breeds. And I'm I'm almost come to the conclusion myself that you know, I almost think ladies might be better with dogs, you know, on all the way around. Uh, and and you're seeing more and more. Uh, there's a lady I I've talked to, I'm gonna try to get her on here, that Leah Spivey out of Georgia. Every time I see an SRS number one amateur, she's there. I was like, that's doing it once or twice, maybe that's lucky, but every time you see it, she's on the top three. That's impressive. So, you know, ladies are on the scene and and making a statement. Um Chris, and I know you and I had a brief discussion before the show, but and and we could probably have four or five series of podcasts with you. But one of the things that I it's just it's itching me to talk about with you because uh and it is force fetch, and I'll I'll introduce the people this before you you start laying it out for me. I was down, I I go down sometime and and train with Justin Drake because he's training me, right, to handle my own dog. And he's not really training my dog, he's training the trainer, which needs it worse. Uh but Justin was just bragging one day, and here he's a fellow pro trainer and competes too, but that you all had just this most comprehensive force fetch program that was just you know unparalleled. So do you mind sharing that with us?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's fine. So um I actually do change the name of it. I call it formal fetch because I don't like it to be completely compared to a lot of the force fetch programs and the techniques because we don't do it the same at all. And um so basically the way um we start is we it's a six to it's about a four to six week program. Um yeah, and we have 50, uh I think there's 57 steps. I would have to go back and double check. But um we do we when we train on the table, we spend a lot of time building the dogs up and encouraging them. We teach them a lot of table treats. We do a lot of table treats in the beginning to help them to get comfortable on the table. We have a we tie them in on the table. We don't do it on the ground. We feel like if you have if you're doing it on the ground, first of all, it kills your back. Um, second of all, um, it gives you the opportunity to be face to face and eye to eye with the dog. And I feel like you can learn so much from the dog whenever you're face to face with them. Um you can read their behaviors a lot better. And um I also so yeah, so that that is really important. Um, and then uh when um so we start on the table, then we start doing what's called maximum hold. We start them with hold. And whenever we're doing that, we use multiple objects to get them to hold hold it. Um and we start with like a glove and put the glove in their mouth and just teach them the word and then have them release and then we'll move to different objects after that. We use dumbbells, we use orange dumbbells, bumpers, and then we use a bird at the end. I don't use a bird in the beginning. I wait till the end. And the reason for that is is because I do not want there to be any negative association to a bird. A bird needs to be a positive association. So whenever you're working with them on holding or fetching, you want to make sure that um if there happens to be a confusion or an in a situation where you have to use some type of correction for it, then you're not using that on an object that you want them to have a positive experience with in the field.
SPEAKER_00:That makes all the sense in the world. Uh I assume do you ever use that method on breeds other than retrievers? Like do people bring their pointing dogs to you guys?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so we've done when we first when in the beginning, whenever Ruddy taught me how to do a lot of the training, I would say that probably 60% of the dogs would would actually complete the the formal fetch program. It wasn't formal fetch, I'd probably say it was more of a force fetch program. Um but as time has gone on and I've learned a lot of things and adapted the program, um, we now have a hundred percent. I can do it on any dog. Um I will show you, tell you an interesting thing. With the upland dogs, I have learned that so with with the labs, when we have them tied into the in because we have them tied onto a pole so that we can focus completely on their on their mouth um and their face. And but the upland dogs, they learn quick, they learn a lot better when they're moving. I mean, that's what they're bred to do. So they learn when they're moving. So we do not we do it completely different with them, so we don't tie them in the same way we do the labs, because we've learned that I can actually get them to think better if they have the opportunity to have more movement. So that was something I learned over time.
SPEAKER_00:Interesting. Do people, you know, now that I'm hearing this, I can see situations from lots of people that that talk to me that would want to bring their dog there just for force fetch trying or formal well, I didn't use the correct word.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, I get it. Formal fetch.
SPEAKER_00:Formal fetch. I like that. And then I'm gonna ask you about that in a second. But does that happen, son, too? And do you all do that?
SPEAKER_02:So it used to happen, but we don't do it anymore. And the reason for that is is because the way that the program works is once we get them onto the ground, people would try to take them home at that point. Well, there's still a learning process that's going on that needs to happen and be applied in the field. So if we just do the tablework and we get them to the ground, we've noticed that the transition to their to their owner is not a smooth transition at all. And so there's a lot of hiccups there because the owner is also learning and the dog is still learning. So if you do that, it it just wasn't, it wasn't showing to be, you know, beneficial for us or for the dogs. So we don't do it anymore. They have to go through the whole program.
SPEAKER_00:I can see that. Because they you need to apply from what you've learned in the field and then learn how to uh you know work the dog when it comes in. I can I can see that being an issue, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Because once you get them on the ground, then um you're still dealing with them testing to see if it's a must. You know, do I really have to pick up whatever it is that, you know, is a dumbbell or whatever it is? Do I really still have to do that? And you have to tell them, yes, you still have to pick it up. And the owners are need the dog to be in a position to where they're already it's second nature for the dog before they go home.
SPEAKER_00:Now, can you explain to me and and maybe this is a a trade secret, and if it is, I understand. Um, can you explain to me too why formal fetch versus force? Because we know, I mean, let's just say so. My idea, Chris, and correct me if I'm wrong, is force fetching, and I don't know how to do it. Matter of fact, I won't do it with my dogs because I know that I would mess them up. Um it's either like a toe pinch or or or an ear pinch or something like that. That's uh that's my knowledge of it, and that's very elementary. What what enforcement method do you all use, or can you say that?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I don't mind saying it. Um, because I'm not scared of it, you know, because what we do is I feel very confident and I feel like it is so much more successful than to be honest with you, anything out there if you want a very solid formal fetch and you want the dog to hold it with the right amount of pressure and you don't want them just to let it slip out of their mouth, um, and for them to have complete clarity in what your expectation is. And um, so when when I first start, so I get them, and like I said, I get them tied in so that they are not have a lot of a whole lot of movement, and I will put like a glove in their mouth. Sorry, I'm gonna use my hands. So I put a glove in my and uh put the glove in my on my hand and I put it in their mouth, and I just let them kind of battle, battle, battle, battle. And as soon as they're calm, good. So with dogs, I don't know if you know this, but with dogs, you have 1.3 seconds to praise or discipline them for a behavior. So our goods and our no's have to happen within a second for it to make sense to them on exactly what it is that we're we're working on. Um, so as soon as they're they, you know, you put the glove in their mouth in your hand and they're like, I don't like that, you know, they're like moving around and stuff like that. And then as soon as they stop and they take a breath, you're you know, and they calm down, then you're like, good, good hold, good hold. And they're like, oh, and then you take it out of their mouth, they figure that out real quick. And so we teach the hold on a positive note like that. We'll do the same thing with the dumbbell. And this is the same we do on our foundation training um as well, is we don't teach with pressure, we teach things on a positive note, and then we will create a correction if they choose not to follow it once they've we know that they have clarity in what it is. So put the object in their mouth, and then after I know that they have clarity and understanding the word hold, and then if they do go to drop, then I will use I I say it's an ear pinch, it's actually just the butt of my thumb on their ear just to create a level of pressure so that they see there's a difference. And then um, when the object falls, I this is another thing that I've noticed when I'm training other people how to tr to do this, they want to rush to get the object and put the object back in the mouth. Well, I'm not putting enough pressure to for the dog not to be able to think, but the longer that it takes me to get the object into their mouth, the the more time the dog has to realize that it's gonna go, that pressure is gonna go away as soon as the object is back in their mouth. And so everything is just taught in that, you know, like that.
SPEAKER_00:So Hello, this is Kenneth Witt with Gun Dog Nation, and I've got to tell you guys about something that I've gotten hooked on lately. It's folicious. These are gourmet instant faux and ramen bowls that actually taste like the real deal. When I'm out in the field all day, and the last thing I want is a settle for bland camp food. Folicious is what I go to. It's authentic, the flavor, it's real ingredients, it's ready and just Minutes. It's perfect for hunters, fishermen, or anyone on the go. And you can get them over 1900 Walmarts nationwide at your local ATB here in Texas. Or you can just go online at Polishes.com. Trust me, once you try it, you'll keep a few stuff in your back, in your pack pack, or for your next adventure. I just want to say this, I'm going to add this to this commercial because I know the owners of this company. They've hunted on my ranch. Joseph, he and I were actually met in Colorado on a hunting trip that was a real adventure. They are true hunters. They've hunted the ranch, you know, and I've hunted with them. And Anna, she is just amazing. She's the one that came up with this idea. They were both on Shark Tank. They are amazing people. So I love seeing people like this have a business. And I just had to say that in addition to the commercial because I really believe in the product and I believe in the people that made the product. Be sure and go to Folicious.com or go to Walmart or HEB and try their product. I promise you, you will like it. Okay. I like that. Um, I had a discussion this week with an amateur trainer that I have a lot of respect for, uh, who's very successful in his own right. But uh I was doing, I'm I'm training a little lab puppy on my own, and I'm documenting it. Did you see it?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I did. It's so cute.
SPEAKER_00:And I got that off of, you know, you probably knew that, Chris Rudd and Clark Kington, because I really just love that breeding crossing. And I wanted I'm always up for a challenge. And so anyway, so I'm working on that. And so I won't like to I want your advice. So do you use clicker or use good, or how do you what's your method of marking a behavior?
SPEAKER_02:So I use good. Um used to use clicker, but I felt like it was the same as good. And I felt like I was kind of just adding an extra step in. So anytime I see a behavior that I want to see, I will say, well, and like I said, going back to the love languages, if your dog, if good, if if praise is your dog's love language, then good is going to do a lot and it's going to be great. If treats are their top love language, then you know, I'm gonna treat instantly as soon as I see the behavior that I want to see. If they want to pet, if they love to get petted, I'm gonna pet them whenever they give me the behavior that I want to see.
SPEAKER_00:See, I like this. So now I'll just vote to it who it is. So, you know, Chris Rudd had had sent me a text, he'd seen the video, and obviously he's interested. You know, he wants to see this dog's succeed and succeed, and me uh too. But he was like, hey, is there a reason you're using a clicker and not good? And I was like, Well, never thought about it, but I was trained, I went to Napopo school, silver and gold. So, you know, I was just it's just habit, right? And I told him why I was using that. I said, but hey, listen, anybody that knows me, I'm never an O It All, and I'll never be have that attitude. I said, but I'm open to suggestions, and I am for anybody listening. So Chris just sent me a couple real long texts and kind of gave me an explanation. He was being nice, he wasn't trying to criticize me, and he wasn't telling me I was wrong. He was just saying, here's why I do it. But his reasonings were, and I think it's probably what you're saying too, but anyway, it was like, you know, I hope I don't misquote what he told me because I'm I don't want to do that and I don't want to read his text, but uh in essence, you know, hey, for one, you you don't want to always you can't always have a clicker in your hand, you know, because you're gonna be using maybe maybe a healing stick or or your your trainer, your e-collar trainer, or your gun, or lots of, or your and your garment, so you know you may not have the clicker. And I thought about that, that makes sense because I've got my clicker on a wrist thing, and it is kind of aggravating. And then he said, second, you know, what do you do when you're controlling your dog at a distance if it does something really well at 60 yards? You know, you can say good. But anyway, he made a lot of sense. And I'm gonna make a new video and I'm gonna change my method, and now you've reinforced that positive reinforcement by telling me that works. So, but anyway, thank you. I that I'm that was off script, but uh, well, you and I don't have a script for anybody that's listening. We're just Chris and I are just shooting from the hip here. But thank you. So that's that's what I'm doing. Uh so we've talked about so I'm I'm your your force your formal fetch program impresses me. And and now I see what makes that successful. And it's really you're just taking you're all really just taking a lot of patience and time.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we're honestly the key to any relationship is communication and being fair. And um, I mean, whether it's humans or whether it's dogs, and so that's why I'm an and you'll hear me say it over and over and over, I love to meet the dog where they are because it's just like us, if you meet them where they are, you're gonna be able to make so much progress with them and work at the pace that they need to work at. So, you know, if you have a dog that picks up on everything really quick, then you can move forward a lot quicker. If you have a dog that comes in that has a history, you have to, you know, kind of the way I usually explain it to people is is if there's like if they came in and they already have training, you know, it's like you've got the whole alphabet, you've got to teach them the whole alphabet. They might know half of the alphabet already from where they came from, but we feel that they don't have the whole know the whole alphabet so that they can read, so that they can move on, and so they can write and you know go into paragraphs, which would be like the SRS kind of a thing. So our goal in the foundation training is to make sure that A is there, B is there, C is there, and so on.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I could almost sum up some of your philosophy in one word. It's patience. You all really take your time. I mean, Kristen, we all want a quick fix, don't we? We all want our dog to be do this instantly, and we want the quickest, easiest, fastest way to get there. But that's not what you guys do, is it?
SPEAKER_02:No, but you know, the cool cool thing about that is is the patience actually speeds the process up way more than you would think. Because if you lose your patience, then you actually will set the dog and yourself away back.
SPEAKER_00:Sorry. That's okay. Expound on that, because I I really need to hear this about how patience actually speeds up the process. I love what you just said.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so you know, a lot of times people, just like you said a little bit ago, people want to rush and get this stuff done and they want to take these steps. And patience actually is faster than doing that, because if you take those steps too fast, you're gonna set yourself back. You could set yourself back a week or two just from one session. And so the more patient that you are, the the the faster you're gonna move. Because the more you're gonna get the trust in the dog and the more confident that you're gonna be able to build in it. And I really feel like every dog is intention is is to do the right thing. They're you know, they're like us. They there's the there's ones that are gonna be testier than others, but overall, if you get the relationship established right, you can fly. You can your training can fly.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. You know, this this podcast actually generates AI notes. That needs to be a quote that I need to save. I I really like that. So and to sum it up, you know, patience can actually speed up the process, and we don't think about that. I like that.
SPEAKER_02:Well, it's hard in the moment. It's really hard in the moment because you feel like you really feel like you need to be further ahead, or this dog should know this by now, or whatever the situation is. But if you step back and take the time to take the extra steps in a situation where the dog is struggling, then you're going to make a lot more progress for the long haul.
SPEAKER_00:That's that's well spoken. I I need to sit and dwell on that, what you said, and and and read it back to myself. Um Chris, you you have y'all have so much knowledge, and this is your life here. I mean, this is your your industry, your business, your life. Uh, y'all poured a lot into it, and it shows. So I'm gonna do this with you. I'm gonna ask you, what would you like to talk about? Because you know so much, I really don't know what all you know. What what is something that's that's that's dear to your heart in dog training or dog psychology that you'd like to share with us?
SPEAKER_02:Wow. Well, what's coming to me right in the moment is is um one of the things I'm very passionate about is the well-being service side of things and getting uh taking in these dogs, having a help having a big role in deciding which um breedings were gonna take place. Um we don't actually, we aren't I'm not actually a big breeder supporter. And um that can, you know, I don't know how people can will receive that, but I there's a lot of breeders out there, and there's some good ones too, but there's a lot of them out there that are out there for a paycheck. And in the process of that, the dogs suffer um because of that. So in saying that, being able to provide a welping service has been able to fulfill for me, you know, uh the opportunity to better the breed in the sense um we don't like we don't do very many breedings with the females. We don't own any of the females. Uh we have a few of our own personal dogs that we have bred over the years, but we welp litters for our clients and um we raise those litters. But the part that I really enjoy is I enjoy when those puppies get to be like three or four weeks old and I actually start behavioral stuff with them, then I can art I can take a litter of puppies and within 10 or 15 minutes I can get them all sitting just by offering them, you know, the love languages. Um I what I'll do is is I'll just sit there and whoever actually is offering me a sit, I'll give them a treat, and I will just give them a little bitty piece of uh of a treat, and then all the ones that are sitting are gonna get that treat. And within fit 10 or 15 minutes, I can have a whole litter sitting in front of me, which is so fascinating to me for a four-week old puppy. Right as we're starting to even wean them off of mama, we're already being able to make get them to learn, want to learn, and to be excited to learn. And that's one of my most that's one of the things I love most.
SPEAKER_00:Well, can I ask you this? Because I won't I won't steal this idea from you when you tell me. What treat do you use? What do you find? I know I know some are more effective than others for certain dogs, but what do you use?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so we use um a frozen dog food called Billjack.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And um it is kind of hard to find. I know Walmart a lot of Walmarts carry it in the frozen section by the ice cream of all places. Um and so we'll tell people that. I know some Brookshers brothers, I'm not sure where everybody is that's listening to this, but Brookshers does carry them. That's where we get it. We have it special ordered and sent to Brookshers. But it's um it's because it's frozen, whenever it thaws out, it's very pliable. And so it's easy for us to give very small amounts. Like when I'm giving four-week-old puppies, I don't give them very much because they're just starting to, you know, wean off of mama. I don't want to give them too much of something that could upset their stomach.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:But um, yeah, so that's what we use.
SPEAKER_00:So what else when you say welling service to to someone who might fully understand it, what all else do you do? I mean, do you do you help pair dogs together that you see traits in? Tell me about that. That that's interesting.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so um basically what happened and how we got started was in I think it was 2008, so it was just a couple of years in, you know, we were getting a ton of backyard breedings coming into our program, which is, you know, there were health clearance issues, and you know, it was just it was a lot. And Roadie was getting some really nice dogs coming in for competition, and we were asking the owners, hey, are you interested in breeding these dogs? And they were, they were like, Oh, I don't know how to do that, I don't know how to welp a litter, I'm too busy, you know, you know, the doctors are, you know, they just didn't have the the the time or the space or the even the desire. But those dogs were so much better quality, those dogs that were coming in for the competition. And so we were like, man, we should try to come up with something, some way to be able to provide provide the opportunity for those dogs to get bred a little bit. And so we just started welping in our bathroom and um for a couple of different people. But what we didn't think about, which has been super cool, is it's actually helped build our program up here at Best Retrievers because a lot, you know, probably 70% of the puppies that come through our welping service come back into our training program. So that's been really neat too. But um, yeah, so we have studs that are here for training, and then we have, you know, we have some females that are here for training as well. And so we will it it's cool. The whelping service fascinates me too because going back to the behavioral side of things, we've trained both of the parents. We know the ins and outs of both of the parents, we know their strengths, we know their weaknesses, and so we can, you know, the female's owner will come to us and say, Hey, we really want to breed her. And we're like, well, we definitely don't want to do this one, we definitely don't want to do this one. And then on top of that, we make sure all the health clearances are done and everything on both of the parents so that we're providing, you know, healthy dogs and you know, bettering the breed. I mean, the the breed was starting to really diminish in inequality for there back in about 20 years ago.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, it's Kenneth Whipp, the Gun Dog Nation podcast, and I'm very proud to have as a new sponsor Cable Gangs. That's filled G-A-N-G-Z. Brandon Landry at Cable Gangs has developed, in my opinion, and I have, and I'm a customer, the best timeout systems on the market. They're easy to pack, easy to store. They can cull up just like an extension cord. They use premium galvanized steel cable coated with durable, UV resistant PBC coating. The branding can make custom products, anything you want that's related to a dog timeout system or a cable system or a way to safe and secure your dog. They've even made a system that works with a bicycle so you can go and exercise your bicycles and have your dog running along with you. It's it would be impossible for me to describe to you all the different custom applications they have, so just go to their website at cablegangs.com and check it out. They make dog timeouts a way to safe and secure your dog. If you're at a field trial, a hunt test, coon hound competition, whatever that might be, these guys make the best product on the market. Check it out for yourself, cablegangs.com. You know what you just said is so important. I mean, we can all look at a piece of paper and look at titles. But when you work with a dog, you know its quirks, its weaknesses, its strengths, and you're training with it and how smart it is, how it responds to this, and how it responds to that. There's nothing that's there's nothing more valuable than that when you're picking dogs to breed, I would think.
SPEAKER_02:That's what we feel is more important sometimes than even the pedigrees. Because you know, you've got to have, you know, if you have a crazy, crazy male that's just like crazy and doesn't focus very well, then you definitely do not want to breed another crazy female to him. You know, you want to make sure that it's a good, very good balance.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna take a second to just pick your brain a minute about uh one of your one of your students, uh Floyd.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:Floyd, as you know, is a son of the Floyd, right? Yes, and he came out of North Dakota, and uh uh there's a guy up there that provides some dogs to to the all the guides, and Scott and E neighbor got helped me get Floyd, and then he ran him at Paul Nelson Farm for five weeks, and then we ran him on Wild Pheasant for three weeks, and then I bring him back. Well, so Floyd, and I'm I've I'm I've got a purpose of this conversation, I promise. I feel like I'm I feel like somebody's gonna object to my questioning uh from court. So uh Floyd had hunt drive off the charts. When I take him to a hunt test, he'd run through a wall, and that was not a problem. The problem was, and a lot of those, a lot of the guys up there in the in the pheasant wood, you know, they don't teach steadiness the first season. They want to have a season just let them run and gun and and retrieve, and they've got a reason for that, and I'm not criticizing it. I understand why they do it. So I had this big, huge male lab, and I've been used to British labs, you know, where generally calmer, not always. I got two that would that's fire-breathing dragons. But so Floyd just could not, I mean, he would vibrate, he'd get the holding blind at a hunt test, and it was I felt like I was in an MMA wrestling match, you know, and he's a big old strong dog, as you know. And I if I called Roadie and I said, you know, I'd already got his HRC started title, and he needed one more pass for AKC junior title. And Roadie told me, he's like, you know, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but taking him to a more test until we get this under control is gonna make him worse. He was right, because I kept actually Roadie told me that three passes ago beforehand. So I uh then I realized, okay, now see what Roadie was telling me was right. So I bring this dog to you who natural ability in my mind is is he's a 10. Uh drive is a 12, you know. But I was like, I I don't he I've never tried to teach steadiness to an adult dog. And uh you guys have taken him and just you know, worked him, and that's why I brought him there. Tell me about just let's use him as an example of what you guys did when you get a dog brought in to you like Floyd, what you started. I'm I'm impressed with what y'all have done. And but just just for the listeners, because I'm sure there's other people with dogs like that that may think, hey man, I've got I've got to get this dog under control. There's nothing wrong with his retrieve, he'll retrieve 5,000 birds a day if you shoot him. But you know, you don't want to take him in a duck line because he's gonna be like the Tasmanian devil.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you have to so he's a natural doer. That's that's what he and he and like you said, he's a very talented dog, but he's a natural doer. He just wants to do. He has to learn by and our goal as a trainer is is to teach them. So you're you're gonna get either doers or you're gonna get thinkers. And when I call when I say a thinker, it's an overthinker. So you'll get dogs that like overthink situations. Our goal is to take a doer and teach them how to think, and take a thinker and teach them how to do. So to meet in the middle.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. I've never heard anybody say that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so so Floyd is a doer, definitely. He was very passionate about what he was. Yes. And he was very passionate and still is very passionate about what he does, but he didn't think through what was the right things to do in those situations. And so our goal was to teach him how to think. So what we would do with him is this he would, whenever we started working on his foundation training, he got rewarded with a retrieve, or he got rewarded with praise or petting whenever he gave us a behavior that we wanted to see. It goes back to the whole love language thing that I was talking about. So definitely retrieving was his love language. So we didn't give him retrieves unless he gave us a behavior we wanted to see. So that way it made him think, okay, I want to retrieve. That's all I want to do. What do I need to do to get to retrieve? And we were like, well, you need to sit and you have to stay in a sit and you have to learn, you know, and taught him his commands through him getting rewarded for his retrieves or petting and praise. He he he liked those too. Um but yeah, obviously retrieving is his uh is his top love language.
SPEAKER_00:So that just made me think of something to ask you then. So if let's just say he and maybe retrieving being his love language, meaning that's what makes him happy. Is that is that type of dog who has that love language is retrieving, does that make him more of a candidate for field trial SRS stuff? Do you find that the love language for that dog makes him a better candidate for certain tests or abilities, or is that not the case?
SPEAKER_02:It can be a weakness uh as well, because like for instance, we were just at the um Super Last Chance Super Retriever series and Roadie was running Woody. Woody is a lot like Floyd in that he is so driven to retreat. Well, whenever Roadie goes to run him, he's either gonna work with him or he's not because he wants to get that bird so bad. So that's what I can see with Floyd. I mean, he already did it to you in c some of the competitions as well. I mean, he was just like he was all about himself. So when you have a dog that has that type of personality and it's it can be frustrating because you see the talent that's there and the potential, but if they're not willing to be a team player when it comes to it, then you know, that will hold them back from being as talented. Like Woody's very talented in the SRS, he should have he should be running the crown. You know, he should be. He's he's got the talent, but he gets to those tests and he just loses his mind because he wants to pick that, you know, ATB up so bad, he he just can't help himself, you know. And it's frustrating for Roadie because he is one of his most talented dogs, but he, you know, that's just that's his his struggle.
SPEAKER_00:You know, and it's uh that that's and I think that might I agree with you. I I think that might be Floyd. So you, you know, I know he's got the nose, I know he's got the drive. Uh so maybe, you know, in your back to your welping scenario, he might be better bred with a dog who is a thinker. And uh because his ability is is valuable. I mean, but but it also I could see where you're saying it is a hindrance.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. It it can be. It's just a matter of how much is he willing to stay a team player in the midst of something that he's so passionate about.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And that's just a you know, that's just a you gotta figure that out as you go. You know, you don't know if that's how what what is he gonna do in that situation. You know, Roadie does a fantastic job of building that relationship with the dog too, like a dog that has that kind of drive and passion. He's able to that I feel like that's so important too, is just to get the dog, get that relationship with them so that they actually want to work with you even when they have that much desire and drive to go pick it up, go pick up whatever it is.
SPEAKER_00:Interesting. You know, uh this is yeah, you've you've you've taught me a whole lot just on that subject. Um is there any big news coming out of Best Retrievers that you've not told anybody yet? Anything coming down the pike that you've not announced, or something that is news you have announced that you'd like to talk about?
SPEAKER_02:Well, I I will say this might be completely off what you've ever talked about before, but we have started over the last year, and I'm very passionate about this as well, is um we it's called the Be Our Best Chance program. And we actually will go to the shelters, the local shelter, the Bath Shop Animal Shelter, and we will pick up dogs and we bring them here and we donate our training to those dogs to help them to have a better life. And um, you know, my cousin brought it up to me. She worked for the Chamber of Commerce, and I was like, How can I get to the community? How can I because I'm big, big small business owner supporter, huge community supporter. And I was like, How can I get into my community? How can I reach? And um, she's like, You should go to the shelter and get a couple of dogs, train them as a don basically as a donation. And um, man, I'm we have had so many incredible success stories, you know, to be able to take these dogs and to it, it and it makes our trainers a lot better, to be honest with you, because you get some completely different personality of dogs, some that have history, some that don't have a history, all different breeds, all different everything. And um, so that's actually been incredibly rewarding, the the program.
SPEAKER_00:So that they can go back into the home and be productive and be more adoptable. Yes, I love it.
SPEAKER_02:And it's we've actually started uh we started in November last year, and then uh in January I made a 501c3, so it's a nonprofit organization now where people are able to help in ways that they can help to help these dogs get homes. So yeah, and it's been it's been actually it's just been really um it's been way more than I even expected it to be, to be honest with you.
SPEAKER_00:And um so and I bet that is a heck of a task for your trainers. What great project for at homework.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you got to meet those dogs exactly where they are, because I mean you're gonna you see such a wide variety of personalities, and we had one dog, just this past group that came in that was dumped on a road in Austin, and a lady actually saw it dumped on that road, and she'd go out there for months but couldn't catch him. Finally, the shelter caught him, and we happened to show up at the shelter about a week later, and we were like, we want to take him, bring him here, not knowing his story. And then ended up finding out that the lady that dumped him is the one that ended up adopting him. She had been wanting him the whole time, but she couldn't get them. So she went to the shelter and got him, or went to go get him and found out he was with us and came out, and then we did all the training on him and built his confidence and taught him how to just be, you know, a family dog, and now he's living his best life in a home. So, you know, those moments like that to me are so are just as important as you know, some of these competitions that we run, you know. Where if we can give that dog an opportunity to have the best life it possibly could, then that's that's all that matters to me.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, it's Kenneth Witt with a Gun Dog Nation podcast, and we are so proud to be partnered with the National Shoot to Retrieve Association, also known as Nastra. Nastra has a common love for producing the best bird dogs possible. It's a great community that builds and bonds everlasting friendships. I've actually got to meet a lot of the Nastra members who's taken me hunting and some other grass hunting and stuff in different places, so I can honestly say I'm a member and I'm proud to be partnered with them. NASTRA hosts national and regional field trials and emphasizes the working ability of bird dogs. They have been around for over 50 years. There is a reason that NASTR has been around that long. Please check them out at www.nstra.org. And belong and support your local Master Club. They do have national and regional events, and it's a good place to help learn to be a better dog trainer, a better dog owner, and to compete with your bird dog. Thank you. Yeah, and you know, then you're also giving someone an experience of pleasant dog ownership, right? I mean, you can people get dogs and they don't realize uh, hey, this is a huge responsibility.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:And uh and time consuming. I know. And uh, you know, and uh, but it's so nice you've got a dog, it's already trained.
SPEAKER_02:And that's you know, and just like you said, having behavioralists be able to take these dogs and get their hands on them and you know help them find the right homes on top of that, because we get to we get to decide where they go. And so that's been really cool.
SPEAKER_00:Now I know it jumped around on you, Kristen, but back on welping again. So how how many do you all do you have a limit on how many of those you want to try to do a year? I know you don't do a lot because I I I I follow you guys, but what how many litters do you do you try to? I know you don't try to welp, but how many litters do you uh on average whelp a year?
SPEAKER_02:Um we on average eight to fourteen. I would say I would say probably closer to eight to ten. We've had fourteen before and that was a lot. That was that was a lot more.
SPEAKER_00:So if someone's looking for a pup and you have that service, are these dogs pre-sold, or do you all place them with because you all have a lot of clients who are looking for hunting dogs? How does that work?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so um we have two different options. You can either do like where we'll welp the letters for our clients, and then we we make we do all the phone calls, take all the phone calls. Everybody calls us if they're looking for a puppy. That's another great thing about the welping service over um, I mean, I'm I uh most breeders, let's just say it that way, um, is the welping service going back to the behavioral side of it, people call me, hey, I've got I'm looking for a hunting dog, or I'm looking for just a very active family dog, and then I'll tell them, I'm like, this litter is not for you. This litter isn't for you. This is not gonna be the best environment for your dog or for y'all with a dog that is got this is this much caliber. Or it'll be a lazy litter, you know, just and then when I say lazy, just like completely chill and and you know, and somebody's calling me wanting a competition dog, I'm like, this isn't the litter for you. You know, it's not like I'm just putting these puppies with just whoever calls, I'm making sure that that it's the right match.
SPEAKER_00:You know, that that's so important. Uh I I think I had a a gentleman come up to me that you could appreciate that. This this weekend, I was at a grouse camp, and at the end of it, I was actually getting ready to leave and pull out. Um, and the guy comes and says, Hey, I didn't realize who you were. I listened to your podcast. This is in Wisconsin. And uh I saw, Oh, well, thank you. No, it's just flattering when that happens. And uh he said, and he was he said, I'm a hunter, but I don't hunt with dogs. He said, But after I've listened to your podcast, and I which I found it odd that he listened to my podcast, and he apparently listened to a lot of episodes because he was telling me about them. But anyway, he said, now I'm wanting to get a dog. I said, Man, there's nothing like hunting with your own dog. I said, Whether you train it or have it trained by a pro trainer, you know, it's it's just once you do it, it's addictive. But anyway, so fast forward, we kept talking and talking, and he was asking me about dogs. I said, Well, you know, I'm not an expert, but I know breeds, and and you know, once you call me when you get time and we'll talk about your lifestyle and what you're looking for, and maybe I can help you find the breed that's right for you. But that's I think that's important. And I'm not trying to be I I'm not on this podcast proclaiming to be an expert, Chris. And you should know that.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely no.
SPEAKER_00:I know. But but I I do think that I I know dog breeds. And like if you're wanting a chill, calm, lay-around, basset hound looking dog, and you want a hunting dog, a GSP may not be the dog for you. Or a field trial lab, right?
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Um, so or a Floyd. But uh so I think it's important, and I guess my rambling is I think it's so important to research the breed and call people, call people like you, and and ask about stuff like ask those questions. Hey, you know, I'm a runner. I uh I had Malinois for a long time, and I actually sold a Malinois to a couple, a young couple, never had a dog, and I was like, hey, y'all don't need this dog. And long story short, they were both runners, like marathon runners, and but they wanted something to feel safe with, and it ended up being a great fit. I told them to take it for two weeks and see how they thought, or you know, and if it didn't, bring it back. But it ended up being a great fit, but you know, a mom was not a dog for everybody. Uh it's it's a lot of dog. So expand on that because you I'm sure you get that's what you do, right? I mean, you you you're kind of a dog consultant for people because you you guys got a huge customer base, and so many people, you know, respect your all's opinion, and I'm sure call you with questions like that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, we we get those calls all the time. And um, that's a nice thing, is that I, you know, I was gonna say this earlier too, is one of the things that I do whenever people do call about puppies and stuff like that, I will tell them, I'm like, they'll ask me a lot of questions, and then I'm like, and here's the rest of the questions you need to be asking. So when you're making these calls, these are the questions that you need to be asking. A lot of times it has to do with like finding out the parents' health clearances and stuff like that. Find make sure that they're tested for EIC, they're tested for CNM, do they have a health, um, do they have a 26-month health guarantee on them? You know, did their hips get done after they were two years old? You know, can and one of the things I always hear from them is, you know, well, this is like a lot of times with people who are calling about getting their dog trained, or they're like, I want, you know, the dog hat is a hunting, it comes out of hunting bloodlines. Well, or they're talking to a different breeder and the breeder has told them that it comes out of hunting bloodlines. And I was like, every retriever, every breeder can say that a retriever came out of hunting bloodlines, whether it really genuinely does. Because a lot of times I'll tell people the parents have health um have um titles, like, you know, whenever we we come these we compete with these dogs, they're like, Oh, I'm not interested in in any competition. I said, Well, what you need to understand is the competition tells you that you have a very smart, intelligent dog. The hell, you know, typically health clearances are done on those dogs, and the um you know that you're gonna be able to get a lot further with that dog in your even in hunting, whether you have titles on it or not. If the parents have titles, that's proven that they have good hunting lines.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. No, I love that. And I think you know, we would probably have a lot less dogs end up in shelters if people did their homework. And you know, and I've I was a young guy getting dogs when I was really young in my life, and you know, I didn't really I I've got burned a few times by not doing my homework, and now obviously I'm older and know better, but it's uh it's important. So anybody out there listening to this podcast, you know, if you're thinking about buying a dog, we're all for it. Just do your research. Call people like Kristen, call a breeder that's got a good reputation or trainer and ask those questions, right?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, ask those questions.
SPEAKER_00:So uh Kristen, I know you you guys have you know this a wonderful business there and stuff. What all roles what I I know you're one of the CEOs. What are the roles? What's Kristen's other roles there?
SPEAKER_02:Um wearing. Yes, I wear a lot of hats. Um and they it evolve the hats evolve. I change them periodically. So, you know, I do obviously do um the office side of things and make sure that manage the office and make sure that we have two amazing girls in the office that um take care of ever most everything, but I have to oversee all of that stuff. So I manage that. And then um, I would probably say one of the biggest roles is is training trainers. So I do a lot of training trainers, which is a really uh, you know, when I first started training dogs, it was just me, and that was just me and the dog and learning the dogs. Then when you start training trainers, it's a whole different, it's like going from 2D to 4D, because you have to teach these trainers how to train a dog, and you have to teach them how to train each individual dog. So you have to go back to relationship. Like I have to have a great relationship with whoever it is that I'm training. We have an internship, they have to go through a three-month internship before they can actually even become a trainer. So they have to work side by side with me to make for me to make sure, like what do they what do they already know? What do I not want them to know? What is um you know, how much experience do they already have? How trainable are they? And um, you know, it's it's honestly easier to get somebody super green that has absolutely no experience whatsoever than it is for us to get somebody that actually has experience. And go ahead.
SPEAKER_00:No, I was gonna say you all have a very uh talented graduate from the best retrieving school of dog trainers, and I know you don't officially have that name, but uh Luke Coer, you know. I mean, he got a lot of success. Well, you know, you guys really uh helped him and he worked under y'all for a long time. And I mean, uh it's impressive. I tell and and I've got to say this, you know, like everyone that I deal with that you're at best retrievers is so polite to me. I mean, Roadie and Dakota are are amaz are so friendly and nice and and just down-to-earth good people, but everybody that's ever called me from there, text me, it's super nice, folks. I I I love dealing with you guys.
SPEAKER_02:That's awesome. I'm so glad. I appreciate I appreciate that information because you know, we going back to communication, you know, not only with dogs, but also with our clients. We just feel that that's key. And, you know, we're an open door here. We don't have anything to hide. We want people to, you know, feel comfortable coming out here. We want them to see the videos of their dogs working. I'll hear that too, you know, like you were saying, where other trainers don't communicate, and there'll be like a month or so before they even hear anything from their owner and the or from their trainer. And I'm like that we we make sure that we get weekly updates out and make sure that we send them progress reports and are completely honest with them about what's going on with their dog. Yeah, and I feel that is a why.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, and I'll tell people this that that's listening, you guys do detailed weekly videos that are detailed. Hey, here's how here's where he's come from from the last time. So you know that you're getting what you pay for, and you see it, and you see the progress. And if there's you know, dogs aren't gonna progress every day, y'all show that too. Yeah, hey, at least it's it's pure transparency, and I love that.
SPEAKER_02:Awesome. Well, thank you for that. I appreciate you saying that.
SPEAKER_00:You're welcome. Hey, it's it's credit go, you know, that's where credit goes where it's due, and you guys are due the credit for that. I I really like that. Um, so I know you wear a lot of hats there. Uh, I know you stay extremely busy. What's the what's the next chapter down that will look like for Kristen Best? Purina Pro Plan. Here at Gundog Nation, we use Purina Pro Plan for our dogs. We actually use the Sport Performance Edition, which is 30% protein and 20% fat, the beef and bison. It contains glucosamine, omega-3s for their joints. It also contains uh amino acids for muscles and antioxidants. It also has probiotics that's guaranteed to have live probiotics and eat certain. There's no artificial colors or flavors. We see the difference in our dogs, we see the difference in their coat, their performance, their endurance, and also in recovery. Be sure to use Purina Pro Plan Dog Food. The reputation speaks for itself. There's a reason that Purim has been around for such a long time. We suggest that you use it, and we are so proud to be sponsored by Purina Dog Food. When you're getting ready to go on your next hunting trip, make sure you pack the most efficient and reliable ammunition on the market. Myra Ammunition brings you the most diverse loads on the market. Migra's patented stack load technology is the epitome of efficiency. Two shot sizes stack together to create the most diverse and efficient line of shot shields in the industry. It doesn't matter what flyaway, what state, or what the weather, the standard remains the same. At Myra, reliable loads that perform in any condition every single time. We're proud to have Migra Ammunition as a sponsor for Gun Dog Nation.
SPEAKER_02:Oh gosh. I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. I love living in the moment. I love doing what I do. And, you know, as things come along, just like this the shelter thing, like that's something that's new that we wasn't in our in our plans initially. You know, when we first started this business, we had 25 kennels, and Roddy was like, we'll never fill them. We'll never fill them. And um we thought five of them would be, you know, just like open kennels, and we would just have 20 dogs. And here we are, we you know, we have eight full-time trainers. Pretty sure we have eight full-time trainers, and um, I would have to go back and confirm that. But eight full-time trainers, we have a hundred dogs in training year round. And uh and so, but we have a system our the way our program works is we have foundation trainers who focus on the foundation work. Obviously, even our field trainers know how to do foundation work and and the the obedience and the we we feel that that is so important for the long haul for these dogs is the foundation. It's just like pouring concrete for a house. Like you've got to have a solid foundation on your house or it's gonna fall apart later on in life, like mine is right now, because we don't have a solid foundation. But um, you know, that is something that honestly I I can say that I think that a lot of times the a lot of trainers get try to push the dogs to the field way too quick and they don't get that solid foundation in the beginning. If you get that solid foundation, you'll be able to make a lot more progress, going back to patience, like you were saying. You don't want to get them to the field, want to get them to the field, get them to the field. And we're like, let's let's you don't you don't want to go and teach a dog or you don't take a kid and teach tell them that they need to read. You want to teach them every letter of the alphabet, you want to make sure that they have that clarity and that understanding before they learn to read. Because if they don't understand the sound of the letter and they don't understand what the letter looks like, then they're not gonna be able to read. So we feel like if you skip any of those steps in the very beginning, then the dog's gonna crumble in the end and you're it's gonna fall apart. And so that's just kind of what we live by around here.
SPEAKER_00:Uh yeah. I mean, you know, and actually Floyd's kind of an example of that. You know, it's really no one's fault, but uh he just didn't have the foundation because it just the style training, and and now I'm you know, a year and a half he's getting it too almost.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00:Now you you I know you you all have there's three you have three sons. Yes. The only one I've met's Dakota. Do the other two work there?
SPEAKER_02:No, the other two don't work here.
SPEAKER_00:You all scared them off.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:No, we didn't scare them off.
SPEAKER_00:Well they do.
SPEAKER_02:Or the more um, my so Dakota's the oldest one, and then Dylan is our middle son, and he is trying to think how old he is. He's 26, and he actually is like a manager at a golf course.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:And um he I think he would be really great at training dogs. He's fantastic with behavior. He he loves people behavior, he loves to build relationships with people at work. So it definitely is in our blood, I will say, because you know, and then our youngest son, he um works for a roofing company. He's one of the ones that goes out and you know, knocks on doors and and builds relationships with people by knocking on doors. You he has never met a stranger. That boy will talk your head off. He's then but they're all just such great. I mean, I'm so proud of all three of the boys are our boys, you know. Don't know if you're gonna survive raising them while you're raising them, and you get on the other side and you're like, wow, you know.
SPEAKER_00:You know, uh I I've only met one of them. He's a fine young man in Dakota, and I've got four kids, and uh I've that thank God they've turned out even way better than I did, and so it's it's an accomplishment.
SPEAKER_01:For sure.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah. Um well that's interesting. I I don't know why I never asked Rhodey that. I I just because I'm always C Dakota, I see him in hunt tests, and you know, every hunt test I go to, basically. And I didn't I was wondering where the other where the others were.
SPEAKER_02:Um Are you going to the Crown?
SPEAKER_00:Pardon?
SPEAKER_02:Are you gonna go to the Crown?
SPEAKER_00:I I don't when is it?
SPEAKER_02:It starts next week, October 2nd through the through the ninth. October 2nd through the 9th. I think it's actually October 3rd is then it actually starts starts.
SPEAKER_00:Unfortunately, for some reason, I'm missing every dog thing because I'm gonna be in I'm gonna be in Montana hunting.
SPEAKER_02:Well that sounds like a lot of fun too.
SPEAKER_00:It it is, but I'm missing, I was gonna go to the Grand, it's in Nashville, which is where I I'm getting ready to move to. And my family my brothers are there, and I'm from eastern Kentucky. I'm not from Texas. I've just been there for 13 years. But um, and I'm gonna miss so much stuff because it's hunting season and I'm gone. And I've never went been gone this long. This is I don't normally have this, you know, get to do this. I I usually get to hunt here and there if I'm lucky. Probably about like Roadie, which I think Roadie's starting to get the bug pretty bad, isn't he?
SPEAKER_02:Roadie does work.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, yes, he's living the dream. But uh, hey, he deserves it. You guys work hard. Listen, I tell people, I was like, you know, you know, dog trainers, let's just be honest, they make good money. Well, if you think it's easy money, go try it. It's not. I I I I said on, I don't know if I said it on a podcast or not, but I I'll I'll say this just to show, just to give you all respect and dog trainers' respect. I spent three days with Clark Kington, uh, just up in near Kansas City there, and it was in the summer, and I I I thought I was gonna die. And I was just really observing, I I wasn't doing anything of any benefit. And it was nine, ten hour days, you know, rain sleep. I mean, it's just hey, it's brutal. And to be successful at Roadie's level, Clark's level, and these guys that have the proven results on the field, it it will it's no easy task. They didn't get there by being lazy. Definitely having patience.
SPEAKER_02:That's right. Lots and lots of patience.
SPEAKER_00:So I really admire and envy those people like y'all and and and and these other trainers that do that. And and it's so competitive, right? I mean, there's so many good trainers, and but no, no, it it's it's uh so he deserves to go hunt. Uh yes, he definitely does. You deserve to do whatever you want to go do.
SPEAKER_02:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:What's your hobby?
SPEAKER_02:What's what do you do when you're not I love gardening? I love gardening. I just that's my outlet. All of the above, all the above. And then um Paige in the office actually and I are going to Australia in January, and I'm super excited about that. Are you there?
SPEAKER_00:Hey Kristen's Yeah. I lost you just for a second.
SPEAKER_02:That's okay.
SPEAKER_00:You you you were talking about gardening. Say that one more time, please.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I was saying I love all gardening.
SPEAKER_00:I like to eat stuff out of the garden, so that counts. Um so anything else that that I need to know about coming out of the best retrievers?
SPEAKER_02:I'm sure there's more. I just can't think of it what it is right now. I would love to come back on again.
SPEAKER_00:I I want you back on again. I want Roadie back on again. It's been a while. Uh Roadie did extremely well on my social media. My so I I've meant to respond to you. Uh my son, my youngest son, Gage, makes all my reels. Uh so these short reels of the podcast is what we post. And Roadie's had two of them that just blown up like crazy. And I told you I would send you those to share, but I've got to get them from him.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's fine.
SPEAKER_00:But I will. He's at the University of Kentucky in college, and and he's got a real this semester is his biggest load of his whole semester. So I'll get him to send those. Matter of fact, what I might do is have him text them to you directly, is the easiest thing to do.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, that would be great. Yeah, we we had a lot of a lot of, you know, whenever you sent those to Roadie, it was like I went ahead and posted them, and we got a lot of hits, especially on the one about the 40, 40, 20.
SPEAKER_00:Oh wow.
SPEAKER_02:Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00:It's a it's just I think he's over 16,000 views on TikTok. I don't even know what the reels are on Instagram. And then we did a reel of him originally after the podcast was released way back. And that one I have to go and look, but I think that one he was either on TikTok or Instagram, got it, it went way over 25,000.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So he's he's fought up the road, he's really popular. It's like I can put his name on my stuff, and hey, it helps me.
SPEAKER_02:So it's awesome.
SPEAKER_00:Uh but no, we'll do that. You remind me, and I'll have I'll have my son Gage. I'll I'll I'll get a group text and it's y'all can exchange numbers and he can he can send those to you.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that'd be great. I'd love to get some more stuff out there. I'm really I really look I really enjoy watching the stuff that you do. I think that it's it's awesome. I'm glad that you're doing what you're doing.
SPEAKER_00:Well, thank you. I I've really enjoyed it. You can probably tell that, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But uh I don't have a lot of talents, Kristen. I'm not a pro trainer. I I never will be at that level. Uh I was a very mediocre lawyer, probably wasn't even that good. And uh I was a decent landman, I think, but I can talk. That's the only talent I have, so you know, use what God gave you, I guess, right?
SPEAKER_02:That's exactly right. For sure.
SPEAKER_00:Well, hey, this won't be our last one, I promise. And uh I'll try to be more I won't try to text you at the last minute and say, hey, can you do a podcast in five minutes? Or I know that probably drove you insane.
SPEAKER_02:Uh oh, you're good.
SPEAKER_00:But uh, we'll get back on here again. You tell everybody they're hello.
SPEAKER_02:I will for sure.
SPEAKER_00:And uh I'm I'm gonna have to I'm gonna plan a hunt trip with Roadie.
SPEAKER_02:That would be awesome. I'm busy.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:If you're gonna have him take you in the backcountry, be re be ready.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I tell you what, uh my overweight body got is getting in shape up here because it's rough. I mean, this month we walked you know, the prairie stuff we're walking around 17,000 steps a day. Wow, and you know it's not level, but this rough grouse stuff and this thick woods, we're only walking about 7,500 to 8,000 steps a day, but it's it's jungle. Oh it's harder. But hey, I've lost about 15 pounds and that's awesome.
SPEAKER_02:I'm glad you're having a good time.
SPEAKER_00:Well, thank you. Chrissy, thank you so much for taking time. I know you're crazy busy, and I thank you for being on here.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, well, thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00:All right, and tell everybody how can they get in touch with best retrievers on social media or what what's the best way to get a hold of you?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, social media is yeah, social media is great. Um, we do a lot of social media stuff. You can also, you know, reach out to on our website www.bestretrievers.com and look look things over there as well as you know, page in the office. She would be happy to answer any questions that you have. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:And what's that phone number for everybody?
SPEAKER_02:512 uh 409-8222.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you. And you guys do some great social media stuff. I uh it's entertaining. I always watch.
SPEAKER_02:That's actually what I do mostly now that now that now that you say that, I'm like, yeah, that's actually one of the top things that I do. I've I've I really enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I wondered. I wonder who was in your social media. It's great. Y'all do a lot of neat stuff and it's attention getting because I'm like, what are they doing now? What's what's roadie wearing a clown suit, or you know? I love it. I love it.
SPEAKER_02:Well, and that goes back to relationship too. That's what whenever I started doing all of that, I was like, we got to build relationships with people from the outside. I mean, everybody is drawn to relationship. It's a it's all all beings desire relationship.
SPEAKER_00:Well, which I'll shut up. I swear I'm gonna shut up. Okay, it also looks like a fun place to work. You guys, every time I've you know, it's always crazy stuff on social media, and I'm like, man, they're having fun, you know, and and uh so I uh hey, who wants to go around with a frown on all day, right?
SPEAKER_02:That's right. Work hard, play hard, right?
SPEAKER_00:That's right, I agree. Um Kristen, thank you again. Thank you so much. You have a great rest of the week.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you too.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you all for everything you do for me.
SPEAKER_02:You're welcome. Thank you for having me on the show.
SPEAKER_00:You're very welcome. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_02:Bye.
SPEAKER_00:Hello, this is Kenneth Witt with Gundog Nation. I'd like to encourage all you listeners and viewers on our YouTube channel to check out patreon.com forward slash gun dog nation. For$10 a month, you can become a member of our community and we'll have access to lots of stuff. Mainly we'll do a monthly forum, an open forum where you can ask me anything gun dog related and we'll learn from each other in the community. Should be a lot of fun each month. We will do that. So check it out patreon.com forward slash gun dognation.