Shady Grove Kennels - Ricky Coward

[Smilee]

Take the dog and visit the perspective kennels. See how the trainer and dog react to each other.

I have a dog that Ricky force fetched as that is all she needed. I referred many people to him in 2010-2012 timeframe. I was out of the dog training/buying market for a while. He does have a good reputation.

Rhett(HuntinCosta) seems to have a good reputation and comes highly recommended as well.

I have no experienced with Lakeside beyond passing there billboard in Newberry. Never had a voice of the customer referral so they must be new to the county.

[coot nasty]

Coot- have you had a dog of yours trained by Ricky recently?

A couple years ago I did and had not one complaint. Not just saying this because Ricky and I are good friends. I do agree with labhumper. If you are looking to take the dog to higher levels such as hand signals and stuff I would check out other trainers. Ricky can do it for sure but I don't believe he does left and right backs just a back command. But like I said if you want a damn good hunting dog that won't break and deliver to hand. You will not be disappointed at all by Ricky.

[beanhunter]

Ricky is good people and an excellent trainer. He's trained all my dogs.

[LabLuvR]

Thanks Coot, you splained it much better than I did.

[SCTRITON196]

Ricky is a great guy and did a great job with my dog. He finished with him in July and he retrieved to hand all dove season at 18 months old. He gave me exactly what I wanted, a steady hunting dog.

[skrimp]

How well trained do you want your lab? If it's basic obedience, about any trainer can do it. If you want a trainer that can get everything out of your lab he's capable of, it narrowsit down to a very few. I used Bay Creek. I still use Rhett at Bay Creek for tuneups. I can't say enough good things about Rhetts training or his ability to coax the most out of a lab. One thing with Rhett is he won't bs you to keep your dog there longer then you need. I also like that he runs a lot of dogs in hunt tests and field trials and is very successful. If a trainer can carry 12 dogs to a hunt test and all or even most of them pass, that shows he knows his stuff. I'm different than a lot of duck hunters in that I want a great family dog but I also want and demand a well trained retriever.

[trkykilr]

How well trained do you want your lab? If it's basic obedience, about any trainer can do it. If you want a trainer that can get everything out of your lab he's capable of, it narrowsit down to a very few. I used Bay Creek. I still use Rhett at Bay Creek for tuneups. I can't say enough good things about Rhetts training or his ability to coax the most out of a lab. One thing with Rhett is he won't bs you to keep your dog there longer then you need. I also like that he runs a lot of dogs in hunt tests and field trials and is very successful. If a trainer can carry 12 dogs to a hunt test and all or even most of them pass, that shows he knows his stuff. I'm different than a lot of duck hunters in that I want a great family dog but I also want and demand a well trained retriever.

How did the pup do up north? I heard it was a good trip

[LabLuvR]

Yes, Rhett is a damn good option as well, but I think the OP was looking for someone closer to home.

[skrimp]

He did great Boozer! 118 ducks in 7 days for 3 people. Did shoot one snow as well.