Episode 2: The Science of Training Hunting Dogs

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Overview

In this episode of the Hunting Science podcast, I talk with Mike Gould about his 48 years of experience training and breeding hunting dogs, mostly labs.   I consider the science that Mike brings to the table as Traditional Knowledge, based more on experiences than any specific education, although he has worked with a number of important teachers in the field, notably Bill Tarrant.    Mike is the author of several books and of specific interest for this podcast is this title: The Labrador Shooting Dog: Training the Labrador Retriever as an All-Around Sporting Dog.    Mike discusses his training philosophy, which unlike most others does not include the use of e-collars.   As the owner of 4 dogs from his Grand River Kennel, I can attest that his training methods and dog are the real deal.   We unfortunately didn’t have a chance to discuss his music.

Photo Caption: Jeff Baguley trains with Obi at one of Mike’s seminars.

Show Notes

If you have had the pleasure of interacting with Mike, you quickly realize that conversations with him are quit fluid.   Therefore, these show notes are rough.

0:30 – Introduction and background.
5:30 – Mike discusses his training program and the principles of influence training.
37:40 – We discuss electronic collars, which Mike does not use.
52:00 – We explore the application of the influence training technique to different breeds of dogs, which leads to a conversation about breeding and the Grand River line of labs.
72:00 – We loop back to talk about Mike’s hunting resume.
89:00 – We return to Mike’s breeding program.
99:15 – Mike talks about the future of dog training and breeding.
101:00 – Story about Rambo the ugly pointer.

Additional Resources