Ken Witt: 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 be better gun dog owners. Tune into each weekly episode and learn about training, dog health, wellness. and nutrition. will also offer tips for hunting with dogs and for competition ⁓ hunt tests, field trials, and other dog sports that involve gundogs. Please go to our website gundognation.com and subscribe to our email list. We will keep you up for them 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 gundog nation and become a member. There's different levels of membership on there. Just go check that out. Also, we'd like to thank Sean Brock providing the music for this show, the introduction and the outro is Sean Brock. He played everything on there except the banjo by Scott Vestal and the bro by Jerry Douglas. Sean is a neighbor of mine from over in Harlan, Kentucky. I'm just crossing mountain in Highton, Kentucky and he's a super talented guy. But most of all, once you guys to check out the Kreekers. They are also from Highton, Kentucky and 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 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. Check them out, check out the Kreekers. Also, last but not least, if you want to buy a hat, koozie, t-shirt, or even gundog 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. Hey, it's Kenneth Whip, the Gun Dog Nation podcast coming to you today. We're starting to thaw out today in Texas. I'm in Fort McCavitt at the ranch. Man, it's been cold here. Say me before I introduce you formally and get started. I'm going to thank my sponsors real quick. You can probably appreciate that. ⁓ We have great sponsors. So fortunate, so blessed that people actually want to support the podcast and it makes their job a lot easier. ⁓ First of all, it's Dog and Hunt Supply. Sam, you got to check her out. Summer Reynolds, dog hunts plow on YouTube and she's more so on TikTok, but she's got a hunting store down in Equipment, Arkansas. It's literally kind of in the middle of nowhere. And I mean, one of the largest garment dealers in the US, she has every kind of dog supply. She focuses mainly towards hounds and, know, coon hounds especially, but she's got everything. Fils and clothing, sitka gear, you know, all kinds of, it's just. I don't know how to describe it, but people drive across states, several states to go there. That's awesome. really neat. Yeah. And she's hunted all of her life. She's got a son that's a hunting guide and runs dogs. It's a family owned business, really neat place. But anyway, everybody check out dog and hunt supply. Next, Sammy, think me and you may have a mutual partner here, Mygram Munition. Oh yes. I love the Mice and Taylor and yes. Yeah. So it's a really good group. And they kind of started sponsoring me when I was really up and coming. I'm still growing. Right. But I was literally not known by anybody and they took a chance on me and I really appreciate that. And I've, you know, I've hung a lot. So, and you have to, we've used a lot of ammo. I'm with those guys. I totally get that. And they're so good about connecting with people who like are just like you and me and just out here, like trying to figure it out and do it. And they just, when they get to know you and they. can like be like a real human to you. love that. So they're great people. And same with what I like. They really have a, they want to build up from the grassroots, don't they? I mean, it's like, it's the people like me and you, know, and, and, you've got big, you got big sponsors too. One of yours is one of my favorite stores in the country and they don't sponsor me, but I shields. ⁓ Shields is the best. I drink the shields Kool-Aid. I'm like a kid cut loose at Disney world. Until people know what a shields is they have no idea how great it is They'll be like what is that and I'm like just wait like come with me to shields and it's like yeah exactly like a kid in a candy store They just can't even handle it. Well, you know, it was last Actually the year before so it was in 24 in the fall. I was in I was here on South Dakota Scott knee neighbor who's the very first guest I ever had on my podcast as a he's an outfitter up there and I was going to pheasant and forgot my garment. Oh, no, I'm gonna do And he's like, I'm going to go down to Sioux falls, which is an hour or so South. And anyway, long story short, he's like, man, don't go to Cabela's. They don't have anything. They're hardly, they don't have any thing to choose from. Go to shields. I was like, what is shields? Yeah. We won't have them in the South. do now. Yeah. found out. Yeah. It was a bad thing. Anyway, unbelievable. I mean, I did a video there one day in front of their store and they sent me a gift pack. You know, and I wasn't trying to, I was just like, man, I love this place. I'm biased, but I think Sioux falls is like the best one. Our media team are like staff. There is incredible. They care so much about their people. They remind me a lot of like the migrant people. And this year there was a migrant shields event together. So it was so fun to bring like really great people together. Well, you know, now I can actually say now, because I spent all fall hunting in the Dakotas and Montana. Now I've been to a bunch of other shields, but I do like the Sioux Falls one better. The Dallas one is big and new, but the Sioux Falls people are so nice. The people are really nice. Next, I don't know if you got these people, but I'm a big pure and a pro playing guy. They do so much for the sport, so much for dog sports, hunting sports. That's just a bonus of it, but the feed itself, I love. And I'm not knocking other dog foods. There are other good dog foods, but I've never found anything really close to it. Hey, yeah. When my, ⁓ when my dog goes down with Dane, that's what he eats when he's down there. And yeah, I like it's, and they, there's so many companies, like you said, that are out there doing so good for the dog world and the education and stuff like that. You know, there's great brands out there. And you're right. We're going to talk a lot about your dog experience. You know, it's, it's the competition's good, right? It keeps everybody honest and And I think you're right. think this competition has improved the quality of dog foods across the lines. Yes. The next, and it's so proud to have these folks partnering and sponsoring this Ducks Unlimited, you know, and they do so much for duck hunters and conservation ducks and acquiring habitat, you know, speaks for itself. And it's a great convention. Did you go this year? No, I didn't. No, I can't remember. I was like, traveling so much during a very short amount of time. was like, we almost tried and made it work and moved things around. And I was like, let's just maybe take a breather. It's a, you gotta go this year. It was really fun. But now I love Pheasant Fest too. Yeah. I'm very excited for Pheasant Fest. And I think I just like love it so much because it does make its rounds here in Sioux Falls. So ⁓ I like to go to the different places, but I also like that it makes its round here too. I heard that the one I didn't get to go to Sufa. I heard that was a big one. Yeah, it was huge. Like our convention center that we have right now was like the biggest one that South Dakota has, but it's outgrown that space. Like we need a bigger convention center just for pheasant fest and other events. But I mean, it was big. Is that your hometown? Yes. Yep. In two falls. So yeah. I know. I thought I knew you're South Dakota. Yeah. The next we have is a new partner we have is Turtle Box. you know, I play music, I used to play bluegrass, I'm a banjo player. So that's why I had to find a real job. You know, and I just grew up, my whole family are musicians. I'm the only one in my family that has a real job that's not a musician. And my brothers, I love that I said that. So the quality of sound in a Turtle Box, it's not just the durability, but the sound quality is just excellent. I love it. I bought a Turtle Box way before I was partnered with them. Nexus foalicious. ⁓ It's a Vietnamese ramen noodle ⁓ food that's now in Walmart. And you'll like this. They're hunters. It's a husband and wife team. They've been here hunting. That's how I know I actually met him on a hunting trip. And now you can get foalicious in Walmart, all the HEB grocery stores in Texas. And I think they're in all the Walmarts now in the US. They were on Shark Tank. But they're so nice. And they're from right here. They used to live over ⁓ ⁓ not Lano, but yeah, no, not Lano. Let me, no, shoot. It escapes me. It's past Lano and it's south of San Salvador. It hit me in a minute. But anyway, they're now in Houston because their company has grown so big. And I love it. And they're just a family-owned business that's really hit it big. And I love to see people do that. Next, Louisiana family-owned company, Cable Gangs. Cable Gangs makes some of the best quality tie-out stuff. Again, I was a customer before I ever... partner with them or they sponsor me. I was buying their products. And then last but not least, ⁓ I've met some of these folks from all around the US. Nastra, have you ever the National Shoot to Retrieve Association? No. So what they do, Sam, is Nastra is great for people listening. It's a great organization if you have pointing dogs. ⁓ They're upland. It's upland competition. It's field trials where they actually hunt. Of course, it's planting birds, but It's a shoot that they actually shoot birds and retrieve and they have national field trials You'll see, you know pointers Brittany's GSP's a lot of those kind of dogs setters ⁓ But it's a really good group that their their leadership team is trying to be so inclusive matter of fact They have a whole group of ladies today that send me an email from there that's going to get on and they're like kicking butt Yeah And so I will have them on that. Actually, we're trying to pick a date right now. But it's just if you're if you're hunting, you want to learn more about hunting upland, you will learn about upland dogs. Nassar is a great group to members just join and become a member. They have chapters all over the US. I don't know all the chapters that they have, but you can go on their website. I think it's Nassar dot org or dot com anyway. But enough of my enough of my advertising. ⁓ All right. Miss Samy, I'm gonna get you to introduce yourself to everybody. Yeah, my name is Samy. I'm from South Dakota. I've lived here my whole life. I train dogs and I hunt a lot and I feel like I have a really good balance of like morphing those two passions of mine together. I love to be outdoors. I have six dogs of my own. They all serve a different purpose for different reasons and I just really feel like a calling of mine was just to like empower dog owners, empower people in the outdoors and just really like live passionately and purposefully. Like I really love ⁓ pouring into people and pouring into what I love to do. and I love to talk dogs and hunting or anything. Same here. ⁓ Unfortunately, I talked too much about dogs and my wife just, she sees me get on a phone call with one of my dog buddies and she's just like, you know, it's going. The same two things that you and I share in common and I'm gonna let you talk. I don't want to talk. I want to hear from you, but we both have been in different dog sports. came. I did protection dog sports for a while, uh, fracture for many years. And also I've never competed with cattle dogs, but I, I, I got trained by some, really, really reputable cattle dog trainer. I've had some border collies. I have not done agility, but I didn't, then I've competed in blood tracking too. And the other thing you and I have in common is I. hunted everything. I mean, I've big game hunted for years now, don't get too so much because of the dogs and hunting with dogs. So we got so much to talk about. It's almost like drinking from a fire hose. So let's just start here. What all types of hunting do you do? Yeah. So my dad is a pheasant guide. So I grew up in the field following him and I was so thankful. My dad had two girls and my sister is seven years older than I was. She did not take to the outdoor life like I did. And my dad just brought me along through everything. He never, ever, ever made me feel like I was a minority. He was just like, you should be in here. You can shoot better than these people. Like he just was so great about making sure that I was always welcomed and I always knew my place in the outdoor world. So I grew up running dogs because he was the guide. he, you know, I had black lambs my whole life. And he also dabbled in a lot of like NUX tournaments and dogs tournaments and stuff. So very similar to like the pointing ⁓ place that you just said, like planted, a hunt. So like the first dog I learned to shoot behind was a pointing lab and on quail on a dog trial, you know, and like being able to do that. And so pheasant hunting, something I love to do, met my husband. He's an love it. Waterfall guy like my husband is such a good outdoorsman. He respects the work that goes into like having a real good hunt from start to finish and. Nobody can hunt public land like he can. He is so good about all the scouting and all the time and all of the whatever it is that we're targeting. Down to the science of like the. ⁓ draw statistics. I'm like, how do even know these things? Like, it's just weird how he is just so obsessed with that. So I kind of like migrated when it came to like meeting him and then getting into dog training. I had just returned back from dog training school and I was like, I knew I wanted my retriever. I knew I wanted to do some hunt test stuff. So then we went down this like really big waterfall stretch and just opened my eyes to all of that. And that's kind of when I started posting on Instagram. And then from growing up, always like, did get to shoot deer and some different things, but, ⁓ with my husband, with a good group of friends and all those things, we've really just tried to like, be very intentional about like, okay, we're going to really try to deer hunt this year and on public land and find, you know, a decent shooter, whatever it is to turkey hunting. Like he's super into turkey hunting. So I've not hated a bird more than I've hated turkeys. being so obsessed with and excited about doing it the following year. So, you know, we do really have this array, which like you said, like when you start to run dogs, it's kind of like when you started to like have some variety into what you hunt, you kind of have to like sacrifice some things. So every year I feel like we are sacrificing one thing or the other, but I will say like the dogs and the waterfowl are kind of like, are tried and true. And we, kind of fill it in with some of the other things. Like we've had some really successful recent ⁓ deer hunts and that's been super cool to get a mule deer and for him to get a really big mule deer this year has been awesome. But yeah, we just kind of have been like exploring and getting to put our time and our energy into trying our best at something new or into a new area and all of that stuff. No, I just got to ask this, me being a dad of four, I have two daughters and two sons. And my daughters are probably like, my oldest is 30 and my second daughter is 24. Are you dad's pet since you're the hunting daughter, but not hunting daughter? Yeah, yeah. Like me and my dad are like, I mean, my sister and my mom are closer growing up, but like my dad and I are... We're two peas in a pod. We're very, very similar and all the things. And I think he honestly kind of likes having a daughter that he can brag about because he's like, everyone shows up with their son and he'll be like, well, I'm showing up with my daughter and he loves she's doing against them. Yeah. He loves to me against them. So I think he's got this like ego pride thing that he's really proud of because he was like, Oh, my daughter can do it better than any son out there that you can say. So. I always grew up, I never met another female like hunting that was even relatively close to my age or even just another female. And like my dad would bring me to these like father son hunts and he would just like sign me up and be like, you're coming with me. And all these boys were just like so awkward and cause we were all younger, you know, of course. And I was just like, why do you keep putting me in these situations? And it was just, wanted to go out there and hunt, but he like was like, well, I don't think it needs to be father-son thing. It shouldn't just be like, hey, if you're a father and your son or daughter. So I always was on those things and I never met another like gal growing up or like hunting or any of that stuff. I don't even, it wasn't until I kind of like got into like her wilderness coming around of like getting females into hunting and stuff. But I really grew up with a lot of just boys and doing it with the guides and all that stuff. Well, Sammy, I don't know if it's social media or it's just reality or maybe a little of both, but it seems now that hunting is really catching on with the ladies. They're so, and not just hunting, but I'm seeing it in the dog tests and the dog competitions, you know, do you feel that way? Do you feel like now it's kind of the norm, right? It is, and it totally is. it like every, it's very, well, I will say in the dog world, in dog sports, dog trials, things like that. It's a very female dominated sport when it comes to like specific dog trainers and just certain sports you see, you just see mainly female handlers. But when we go into like the hunt has hunting dog world or any of that stuff, it's definitely more male dominant, but there's such a spike in the female. And I don't, yeah, I don't know if it is social media. I think it's also some great groups that are like, Yeah. Being out there for women to come. Like I have done stuff with her wilderness sisterhood outdoors, like all of those great organizations that are just making it possible for people to do this, even when they don't know how to start. So that alone is, think, helping the spike in addition to social media. I don't know, but there's definitely a huge spike in it. Sammy, what and I'm not nice in this. Please take this as a kind question. as I mean in a good way. What are you doing to try to be inclusive for ladies to get into hunting? Just give me some examples. I know you're doing it. I just don't know. Absolutely. think so hunting specific. You know, I was a trip coordinator for a few years for her wilderness and I met. And I hate to interrupt you, but what is that? I'm not familiar with that. Wilderness is just very similar to all the other kind of girl groups that are kind of out where they they plan a trip and then like as a lady you can buy you know a spot on the trip and they kind of take care of some of the intimidating stuff like the picking a guide getting it you know like the date set and everything and they it's just an inclusive kind of group that you can go along with and it's all ladies that show up and then they hunt together through a guide so but like what i would do in south dakota with that is i would do it like DIYs so I didn't really ever like even though my dad was a pheasant guide It just was so foreign to me to pay somebody to go hunt So I would like con like my dad or my husband and they're be like we're gonna do it like a DIY We're gonna show them like how we do it ourselves because sometimes you go on guided hunts and you don't get the behind the scenes like you get just like Here we're showing up to the field The decoys already set or the blinds already set and then like all of that where I'm like, no, we're gonna do all the things. ⁓ I did a lot of that and I met some incredible women and now just like through the nature of life and dog sports and dog world, I've been able to like have a very inclusive ⁓ community where people, women are getting into hunting or they're going with like their husbands to try it. And like this year alone, I've been able to go on like a few hunts with. a few gals that it was either their first hunt or their first hunt running their dog or their first hunt that they got to like shoot their first kind of bird or whatever it is. So I was very more like in like a trip coordinator thing and I've kind of gone down to like a little bit more of my schedule just a lot busier so I don't have the ability to do all of the things anymore. But because of those few years of pouring into that, I've been able to kind of meet like an inclusive group of girls and then that naturally grows because so and so knows so so and so that wants to get into this. I've been able to meet a lot of really great women through just connections and I think connections is just so important and whatever aspect of world it is not just hunting. So I've been able to meet a lot of great women through that whether they're so like badass that I'm just like, just want to be just like you or like just starting and I can be like, let's just go along like it's not intimidating or I can just kind of help them get their feet wet and whatever it is. You you said something that hit so close to home for me, Sammy, like I, so I didn't grow up as a waterfowl guy. lived in the Appalachian mountains, East Kentucky, right? So no fly away. Well, I just, we didn't duck hunt. We done everything, squirrel hunting, rabbit hunting, everything else. so you made a point that I learned this year, the only duck hunting I'd done, actually 90 % was all this past year. I was a year before that I hunted once. That's it. I've been pheasant in a bunch. But anyway, my point is this. The hunts I'd been on had been with an outfitter. Well, now I did some DIY hunts with a group out of the coast of Texas. We were all up in Montana and stuff. And Keith Westlake, I made him at a hunt test. Oh, that's awesome. And he, you know, I don't know any human being that duck hunts that much. And so we were getting out and these guys like setting up these decoys and they're scouting every evening and looking at which way is the wind coming? Cause the decoys that you have to have the wind, you know, the ducks have to come in with wind to their face. And I was like, man, this is crazy. And these guys are working their butts off. And I hunted Montana with those guys. I think I was up there 12 days and I'm telling you, I was killed. mean, I was like, man, this is, this ain't for an old man. This is for a young guy. But I just learned so and I just hung with them. I realized it was down the Texas coast. just, ⁓ yeah, Monday, ⁓ Martin Luther King, we were hunting there and I was with them. And again, you know, they're just, it's just an, it's the parts you don't learn. You wouldn't, would have never known that stuff and learn. can't even duck call, you know, if I, I own duck calls, but I'm way smart, too smart to use it. No, it's just, yeah, it's something that like there are so many pieces that go into like waterfowl hunting. I feel like I'm I learned something new every hunt and it's just like it's it really is different. And yeah, every little niche has their thing, you know, like there is, you know, deer hunting, there's things that you're learning and all of that stuff. But yeah, like there's a lot of work that goes into that. I mean, you know, I got older, I learned in deer hunting. It's the way, especially in Kentucky, it's the way you go into staying, know, which was a breeze blowing, is it blowing behind your back and, your sense going into where you're walking to your stand, you know, all that stuff is things that just very technical, but that duck hunt, man, that's some technical stuff. mean, it's, it's not, I mean, you have to like really want it because it's not like upland hunting. I feel like you're, walking a lot, of course. So you're putting on a lot of miles, but when you're in duck hunting, you're like, either bringing in and out a boat, you got to hide the boat, you've got to bring in five bags of decoys. And then you when you're carrying the pile of ducks to like, I mean, that's heavy. You're making multiple trips. Like we had one hunt this year and we like the corn wasn't out yet. And that was the first time this year I was like, why do I do this? Like this is ⁓ out here. I don't know what direction I'm walking. It just never ends. And I was like, this is just like not fun right now and you have to have a few of those moments too. Hello, this is Kenneth the Wit with the Gundog Nation podcast and we're proud to announce that we are now partnered with Ducks Unlimited. Since 1937, Ducks Unlimited has been on a mission protecting the wetlands that waterfowl call home from the northern breeding grounds to the southern wintering havens. Thanks to the effort of passionate volunteers and supporters, Ducks Unlimited has conserved millions of acres. But the truth is the work isn't done. Come be part of the next million acre year. Visit ducks.org forward slash volunteer today and join a team making a real difference. Cause when it comes to protecting our continent's waterfowl, that's what Ducks Unlimited does. Hello, this is Kenneth Witt with the Gundog Nation podcast. We are so proud to be sponsored by Dog and Hunt Supply and Equipment Arkansas. Many of you know Summer Reynolds and she runs the best dog supply store in United States. I've been there, I buy from her. She has everything you can imagine. Her store and her workers, they are Garmin experts. Matter of fact, Summer herself can work on your Garmin collars. She's also a lifelong hunter, a generational hunter. She owns hunting dogs. She doesn't just sell dog equipment. She backs it up. She's the real deal. And actually, I think she actually might own more dogs than I do. Whether you hunt coon, rabbit, hogs, predators, or your turkey hunter, you name it, they have supplies there for you. She has Sitka, Filsen, Hayboa, outdoors, all kinds of clothing, boots, boat boots, deck boots, hunting boots, you name it, they have it. It's dogandhunt.com. Check out Summer Rentals. They're on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. and we are so proud to be sponsored by them. Yeah. And it's, you know, like I'm going in the morning to a surgeon in San Antonio to get scheduled for surgery for a total knee replacement. I can't hardly walk right now. mean, off, you know, anyway, I've hunted all year like then I've been in that soft mud with those guys and those in my waiters on. And man, I mean, it, was, I was dying. I saw how do you guys do this? You know, I used to, when my young days, I was in the military, I played sports, but, my gosh, you know, it's, it's hard. It is. Yeah. But now, I know you said your husband's in waterfowl. Was that his thing? Is he from South Dakota? Yeah, he's from South Dakota. Waterfowl was always his thing. So we kind of were able to cross our paths because I got him into a lot of pheasant hunting and he got me into the waterfowl world. So he, don't think, had ever really been pheasant hunting before he met me. And now he loves chasing the roosters too. And ⁓ same for me, I had never really gone into waterfowl hunting. My dad would bring like my dad found situations that like he'd be like, ⁓ I know so and so ⁓ waterfowl hunts. Like I'll ask him if we can go type of thing, because he wanted me to be able to experience it. But I mean, it's nothing that I was able to like experience until I met Justin. And then I remember we had somebody up that was hunting with us, pheasant hunting, and he's from Arkansas. So my dad was like, well, if you want down this waterfall thing, like let me connect you with Brian and he owns like a duck club down there and of course Justin hit it off with him and we've been able to just like he comes here for the hunts, we go down and duck hunt and like Arkansas was kind like my first trip where I got to like run techs and run you know hunting and we went like four days without shooting a single duck and I was like hey this is again why do we do this and then you have really great hunts and you have hunts that you know aren't the best but That's hunting. Yeah, it is. I drove, you know, I'd never shot a redhead and I drove down there to the coast, which for me is about six hours, five hours, Texas coast. And a hundred of those guys didn't get one. They were apologizing. said, Hey, you know, you can't help that. Then I went down this time we got a limit, you know? I was like, yeah. But anyway, ⁓ now let's, let's, let's switch gears for a minute. I know. I know just from talking with you previously and stuff that you are in several different dog sports. Yeah. When did you first, when in your childhood or your teen hood, did you think, you know, I love dogs. I want to start doing more than just having a dog as a pet. Yeah. So growing up, I was able to kind of dabble in the dog sport world, running those nuts tournaments and all of that stuff. What is that? What does that stand for? It stands for, I think national uplands. something classic. then dogs is dogs stood for like Dakota outdoor gun dog series. Those were the only two that I had like affiliation with and like my brother in law is really big into it, but I kind of was like ⁓ running hunt tests or running different things. we kind of like winter different ways, but pretty much, and I, I'm butchering probably what it actually does stand for, but it has a pointing division in an, ⁓ a flushing division and it's the thing. Like they put out three birds to five birds to you can run doubles or you can run singles. And then they have like a puppy division and you don't know where the birds are. Your dog has to work the scent, whether it's a flush or a point, you get points for like, um, your dog actually establishing the hunt, doing the job, you shooting and then the retrieve. And then it's a timed event too. So it's kind of like you want speed and efficiency. So, um, But I only did that for a few years. then I, like I said, I always grew up with the dogs. But then when I was going into my senior year of high school, you need a senior project to be able to graduate. And I was like, well, I don't really know what I'm going to do, but it has to be with something with dogs. Like people were like building cars or like putting on a 5k for a cause or whatever. And I was like, what can I do? So I was like, I'm going to get a German Shepherd, I'm going to train her to be a service dog. I'm going to give her to a veteran and I'm going to talk about the training process and then a good service and a good deed that I can do to give back. And that's where I was like, I'm actually really good at this training piece of it. And blue is her name. She's 11 years old and she's like the dog that started it all for me in the sake of like a career base. And, ⁓ While we were going through all of our service dog training, a few things I'm very thankful I realized was an appreciation for service dogs, appreciation for quality service dogs, not just anybody being like this is a service dog, but ⁓ realizing like Blue was not service dog quality. Like I could not send her with a veteran when she had like some reactivity and she had this, that, and the other thing. So I was like, still need to complete my senior project. Like I can't just be like, oh, my dog isn't gonna do this. So then we went into search and rescue and it worked out well because I was able to keep her. Obviously I fell in love with this dog. I fell in love with this process. And it just like hooked me so hard. was just like, I can't go. I just remember being like, not only is it fun to do, but like realizing like this comes really natural for me and this comes really easy for me. I loved that piece of it. And she also wasn't a super easy dog to, you know, try it with. ⁓ like she caught onto everything really fast and was really smart, but she made me be a better trainer because she's not a, she's not a black lab that loves to do everything that comes natural to her. You know, she was definitely more challenging. So, ⁓ then when I graduated high school, I was like, I know I don't want to just go to like a regular college and not know what I'm going to go for. So. My parents supported me in going to dog training school down in Hutto, Texas, and they were like, go and if you don't use it one day, that's okay. It's always like a service you can have for your own dogs and your own family, like just being able to train and communicate with your own dogs. And I went and I loved it. And I got an array of working with amazing trainers, but also an array of working with all kinds of dogs. So, I got to bring her with me and dabble in a ton of dog sports in that process. And then also just have a completion of a lot of dog behavior, a lot of working with different dogs. And then when I came back, I was able to ⁓ be the head trainer and jump right into a brand new facility that was opening. It was just like God's timing and God's work to put all the pieces together. And... ⁓ I have been very passionate about getting people into dog sports. So the last seven and a half years of that facility of me being at that facility, I'm not there anymore, but I brought like the first dock diving dock to South Dakota. I brought barn hunts, sent work, all these little things to the far local community and to be able to like get people doing dog sports. So, and I always just did dog sports with my own dogs too, because it really makes me a better trainer being able to not only train different skills and like get good at them, but also like stepping out of my comfort zone. Like when you go to a trial, like you're getting judged by random people in whatever, you know, thing you're doing. And it doesn't always look like a pretty cue. So you have to always like step out of your comfort zone. And I just realized through like that fear and that like, I want to be good enough. It made me be a better trainer for not only my own dogs, but like for my clients and my people too. And then I can also be there and be like, you don't have to be nervous. Like I got you and I got your dog and your dog is qualified to do this. And if it doesn't work out because you have a bad day, like that's okay. I can help you through that too. So I've dabbled in a lot of dog sports and a lot of different seasons have brought like different dog sports. I'm you know, working in, and that's kind of why I have like an array of dogs too. So now that what was the name of that school? Hello. star Mark, ⁓ academy it's called, you know, do you know Will Gerrito? Yes. Yeah. He was my instructor the last year he was there and I love Will and Will is amazing. He's not only an amazing trainer, but he, he like, I remember I got a re you get a rescue dog when you go down there that you never met. I remember walking through the thing and being like, I hope I don't get that dog. And I got that dog. And I remember the first, like, not competition, but the first assignment I needed to do with that dog. was like, I went to well, and I was like, ⁓ the assignments like tomorrow and my dog still won't take food from me. And he's like, well, you're going to have to do this and figure this out and do that. And it was like game changer. And I was like, That is why I needed, but he, loved my time with him. He's great. You know something? So I went to his, he's got a, a protection club, you know, his house and people go, and I went there for the first time, probably 20, 2020. And I, I've not going now because I just, this fall finally got out of it because I just couldn't devote the time. And man, he is one of the best trainers. I think he could train anything, but he I wish I had had more time with him in those clubs because I would learn so much. I've never seen anything, but he's I've seen good people read dogs. I can read a dog candy. I mean he in 20 minutes you take you dog that it's got this and this and this and here's why it's doing that. And I was like, you he just met it. Yeah, no, he is amazing and that's awesome. You gotta spend time with him because that is my only like things I wish at school is just a little bit longer because I, I would totally have just soaked up so much more time with him. Yeah. He's, do you still talk to him? You know, we have each other on like Facebook and social media and stuff. So I do follow along with stuff that he's doing, but I feel like being in South Dakota and him in Texas, you know, like we, I wish we were closer because even though I don't run a protection dog, I would totally be like going to a club that he ran or something like that, just to support and to learn and. Do all the things like that. Well, I do fall into like you. I follow everything he does. I'm always paying attention to him because he's like, he's a wizard. Yeah. I don't know if you did this school. I went to the popo. ⁓ yeah. Yeah. So I did the popo school, but I know like all so many colleagues that I talk to daily or that I respect so much. They do that. And I do a lot of that in my training and like Pat Stewart and Glenn Cook, they run the podcast, Canine Paradigm. I don't know you know them. I've listened to that. I don't know them, but I've listened. Yeah. Yeah. They are great guys. And I've had the privilege of being on their podcast when I was just starting at like Paws, like I said, kind of in that transition about hunting dogs, because they do a ton with like protection stuff and some fun sports stuff. And like, The hunting stuff is just so foreign to them and some of those spaces. So they're all amazing. I love the Napopo stuff. Yeah. I went to Silver under Bart Bollin, the original guy, and then he kind of retired. And then I went to Gold under Yoris in Texas. He's also, he's been in it since it started too, but it's a great school. Again, you know, I absorb everything I can say. I don't know if I'm really good at anything, but I'm always trying to learn something new. I love being a student. I love just like finding one thing that I can like grab from and like apply. And like, I feel like some people they'll be like, you know, you don't want to be exposed to too much because then you're not consistent in your training. And I'm like, but if you know what your end goal is and you know what you can take that works for you and you can just have a toolbox of not only like wealth of knowledge and like things that you can do differently, but also connections in the sake of like, Hey, this person I know does that. So when I hit this roadblock, I can be like, ⁓ I can either change gears here or not, because I feel like there's something you can apply that someone's doing something really good at that you can take and you can. yes, absolutely. I, it is, you can, you know, you're right. mean, there's, there's If you get boxed in that he's not a hunting trainer, I can't learn anything about non-hunting trainer, you're cutting yourself short. Yeah, yeah. So you went to this school and you got back, take it from there. When you got back home, did you start a professional training business or what did you do when you got back? Yeah, so right when I got back, a company was opening up that I had the privilege of being able to be like, hey, can I work here? They were not even thinking about bringing, they were thinking maybe to bring in training one day, but I was like, if you don't know if you're gonna do training yet, like I'll help you in whatever way. And I was so blessed with that opportunity because the owner at the time, she not only is such an amazing friend of mine, but great business owner. I learned so much from her, but also great leadership. She let me be able to be innovative and she, we trusted each other enough that we'd be like, let's try this. And if it doesn't work, we'll learn from it. But if it worked, like now we have an array of something we can offer people. And being in that position, I was able to not only create all the training programs this facility has, but also be able to bring all the dog sports to the area. Like we were the first ones doing a lot of that stuff. And there might've been other places that like kind of dabbled in it, but actually truly like throwing events, bringing in the doc and, you know, going down the path of like, I'll figure out how we can bring this. So more people have opportunity to do it, you know, because for me, like in South Dakota, if I wanted to try a frisbee, let's just say there was nobody throwing frisbee events unless you're driving five or six hours away. So even if I could bring something to this area, so people could just try it and experience it. And they didn't have to try to like have that intimidation piece of why even train it. Cause then I have to drive five to six hours away and not know anybody and just be able to create that community is like something I love to do. And I was able to do that for all those years. Now I've got to ask you this question, cause we're going to compare your kindle to mine. All right. Tell me what you've got in your kennel. Like my own dogs? Yep. So I have three black labs, German Shepherd, a Dalmatian and a Corgi. All right. I'm almost as diverse as that. had a Doberman that I've raised and trained and was doing protection with him stuff. But, you know, because I was hunting so much, I had some friends that were needing protection dog to put in their house. Yeah. They didn't have kids and they, he would just, it was a great fit. So ⁓ he's, he's with them now, but he's, you know, I was neglecting him by hunting too much. Right? Yeah. Yeah. It wasn't fair. So I have a pointer, a Brittany, a Cocker Spaniel and ⁓ a few labs. won't say how many. But I have British and American labs. I'm, you know, I'm diversity here. Like we're equal rights. Yeah. Yeah. So I got to ask you this and I understand they're the dogs, but the Dalmatian, explain that. My Dalmatian. So my shepherd was my like big running partner. So I would run with her and I always felt super safe. And I also though, like she loved to run. Like we just, I hunted so much with my hunting dogs. When I got texts, I was like, I'm not gonna run with him. We like, well, four wheeler and stuff like that, but I'm just not gonna run on paved roads with him the time that I want to. So when I was looking for my next breed, as Blue was retiring, because she's not well bred, she has some hip issues, and I wanted her last retirement years to be quality, so I wasn't going to do stuff with her that her mind wanted to do, but her body just couldn't. I was like, okay, I'm going to look at the next breed that I really want. And I was ironically volunteering at the first cent work trial I've ever gone to. And I watched this Dalmatian run and I knew Dalmatians had great endurance. and I had never met like a good well bred Dalmatian up until this event. And I was like, hey, like where'd you get your Dalmatian? And like, can you tell me a little bit about her? And I, he is the best. My Dalmatian, feel like has started this like wave of people wanting a Dalmatian because he's so good. And I bought him and I learned so much about the confirmation world and so much about a preservation breeder in my process of buying him. And I'm so thankful for how that process went. And my Dalmatian does a lot in the community. He like does a ton of fire trucks to bring like kids up to it. He's a therapy dog. He is also like, And getting him as a running partner wasn't really the best thing because he's a great runner, but you can't go anywhere with him and not be stopped. And sometimes I just like want to like be alone and people are like staring at you. They're like, you can hear him talking about you. Like if, if he knew what the Dalmatian meant or he like knew that, like Ray would be constantly looking around, like who's talking about me because people talk about him all the time. But I just really got him because I wanted a dog that I could like run with and who had found enjoyment in that too. You know, like that's, yeah, yeah. Of why their bread is, you know, the coaching piece of those that breed. So I was like, I can run with him and he's not going to be like, this is boring. He's going to be like, I love this. And ⁓ he's an incredible sport dog. So I am like only sad for one day that I'm going to have to have a donation to compare to him because I feel like I got like the best one. on day one, but yeah, I've done a ton of sports with him and he's done a lot of community stuff and he, he gets to do a lot. So we have a lot of fun together. Well, you know, that that's interesting. No, and you're the first person and I'm 57 and I talk dogs to everybody. And as you could see it, all kinds of dogs, right? I've, I've never heard that, you know, I've always heard they can be aggressive. They have health issues. They can be crazy. And I hate to, I'm not bashing the dog, but I'm just telling you things I've heard over all these years. So I've always shied away. I always thought they looked so cool, you know? And then I'm also old enough to know that when movies come out, can, and a dog gets published can ruin it. Right? Like 101 Dalmatians comes out, everybody buys Dalmatian, you get puppy meals and it ruins a breed. And you and I know that. And that's not just Dalmatians. That's happened in Chihuahuas with the Taco Bell. It's happened in lots of, you know, legally blonde. movies that makes dogs popular can ruin a breed sometimes. Absolutely. And it's neat to see that. And even Dobermans, you know, I'm a Doberman guy. love them. And, and, ⁓ dogs, eighties, Dobin Doront Wallace, same thing. Now my Dobin's come from Europe because, know, so, ⁓ that just, it's good to know that it's good to hear from you. Tell me all the good traits in that dog, because I honestly had a negative view of, those just from And I've never owned one, so I can't be objective about it. No, I tell people like honestly, and I feel like other people when they're getting in a dog training or if they're working in a dog boarding or dog daycare, I tell everyone like I wouldn't own any of the breeds I have. If I based my sole opinion on the crappy dogs that come in that are these breeds. If you think about a German Shepherd or Corgi, a Lab and Dalmatian, they all suck in those situations. Like they're coming to you for training or When they bored, they're awful. Like it's just hard because you're dealing with a lot of poorly bred dogs. And, my Dalmatian breeder is not like, when I say she's a preservation breeder, it's like how Dalmatian should look and how they should act and how they should be around people. And I have just been so impressed with learning the breed and learning with people who have been in this breed for 60 to 70 years, like they are like truly in this breed and it is a smaller circle. I feel like everyone kind of knows everybody in the Dalmatian world. It's not like labs or something like that where you just have a wide variety. It's like a good core group of people. But I mean, I've had my fair share of some sketchy Dalmatians that I'm like, yeah, I get that. And if I had a dime for anyone, for all the people who've asked me like, is he mean or aren't Dalmatians mean? I could have paid for like nine. attack or not. Literally I could have because that's just, what people, it's just what people think and it's just what they assume. Well, it's actually refreshing because I love all dogs and it's refreshing to hear positive comments like that. Cause I had a, I'll just be honest, man, I had a bad impression just from gossip. I don't have nothing to base it on. And you know, another example to two dogs that I've seen in my lifetime that were bred for something that kind of lost What they were bred for one was a golden. I feel like and I think now people are breeding some good golden retrievers are are really good hunting dogs and compete very well. But I think they've gotten so popular they were sold for pets and for pups and you know not for hunting abilities. Same with Dobermans. You know you're too young to remember this but before you were born probably there was a show called Magnum on TV with Tom Selick without you know and in the show there were two Dobermans and everybody was buying everybody loved Dobermans right and and it became. The Doberman is the only dog, the only breed that was bred specifically as a guard dog, not a German Shepherd, not a Malinois. And you can research that, that's fact. So now there's a big push for people to bring the Doberman back to what it was bred for, you know, in those traits. It sounds like this late the Dalmatians is doing that too. The other thing that we learned a lot with Dalmatians is when you get into like even the Doberman world or labs is really prominent. When you talk about breed splits, means there's a show line and then there's the working line. Dalmatians don't have that. They should have, they should be able to do all the sports and then go run into a ring. And like temperament wise, they are really like the ones that I deal with and the breeder that I got him from and all of the stuff is they should be able to have both of those things really well where like, yeah, I have, have the shepherds in the labs and all these other breeds that I'm, you know, familiar with too that like, You get one and you're like, Hey, well, do you have a show line or do you have a working line? Like that is like a very common in the dog world. And then you go down with like forming your opinion on what kind of dog it is or what it can be. Like it's, just like a catch 22. Like you'll never win either way, but Dalmatians are so, so great at down that middle of like, he got his championship in the confirmation world and he's an incredible sport dog. Like he's not just like passing to just. you know, get a cue when he's at the end of the thing. I mean, he's fast, he's efficient, like he loves to work and that's very prominent in the breed, which is really cool. Hey, it's Kenneth Whip with the Gundog Nation podcast. And I'm very proud to have as a new sponsor, Cable Gangs that's spelled G-A-N-G-Z. Brendan Landry at Cable Gangs has developed, in my opinion, and I have, and I'm a customer, the best tie out systems on the market. They're easy to pack, easy to store. can call up just like an extension cord. They use premium galvanized steel cable coated with durable UV resistant PVC coating. 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It's a great community that builds and bonds everlasting friendships. I've actually got to meet a lot of the Nastra members and who's taken me hunting and some other grouse hunting and stuff in different places. So I can honestly say I'm a member. and I'm proud to be partnered with them. Nassar hosts national and regional field trials that emphasize the working ability of bird dogs. They have been around for over 50 years. There's a reason that Nassar has been around that long. Please check them out at www.nstra.org. And, bong, it supports your local Nassar 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. It is. love that. I almost I've said before, Sammy, I've thought about I'm not going to do this, but I've thought about being a dog consultant. Right. mean, yeah, people need to educate it. And I'm a know it all gosh. But people need to educate to know, oh, I want to live. Well, they don't. Your general population does not know that there's a showbri a line in the working life. Same with German Shepherds. It's so it's so prevalent in shepherds and labs more than anything else. Yeah. And they're totally I've hunted with with show line dogs. They don't want to retrieve, don't want to swim. I'm talking about labs. show line shepherds, if you set a bite sleeve or something or try to do, it doesn't even compute. You get a puppy that's working long bred, mown wall or a shepherd work, they'll go to a bite sleeve at eight weeks old. Yeah, the genetics are so incredibly different. I love that you said like the dog consultant because I love doing that with people. I will tell like, and that's a service I offered when I was at the facility I was was just like, come to me and tell me what you want. Because if I can at least just either find you what breed, but also like a good breeder, like I might not be in that specific, you know, dog world, but or that specific breed, I can at least find somebody who knows somebody better into that world. That way you're not buying some, cause I tell everyone you don't know what you don't know. So really you are buying a dog and then you have 15 years you're living with this dog that is a genetic mess because you just didn't know. You're just a pet owner trying to buy a pet. Like it can just save you so much time and money and energy and you're going to be happy and your family is going to be happier. You're right. It's same. Yeah. Like because this podcast, lots of people reach out to me now. training questions and I tell everybody, hey, I have training people like you on here as experts. I'm not the expert and I'm not the breed expert, but I get asked a lot of times. I've got a guy right now, met up that listens to the podcast and he's looking for a lab and I'm trying to be, you know, I, know, you need to look for OFA certified hips and elbows from the parents and check out the pedigree. I'm trying to give him as much as I can. I'm not, you know, it's just tough, but Then you'll have them reach back to you. ⁓ I found one for $300. There's a reason you get what you pay for and you'll have 3000 in vet bills plus, you know, I mean, but like you're saying, it's just, you're getting that dog. You're going to be with it for 14, 15 years. And it's a commitment. Yeah. And it's got to match your personality. And that's another thing. I think people like you and I could probably at least help people there that, Hey, you know, You're kind of a dormant person. You're not a runner. You probably don't need a high energy dog. know, like you don't need a warm runner or, or a Vesla or, know, Yep. Yeah. And literally like, you know, some, like some breeders aren't going to be like, Hey, don't take this puppy. Cause it's not a good match if they need a place that puppy is. So I tell people like if If I was in your shoes, this is what I would be doing. And if they take it great, then they're happy. And if not, like then I'll be like, okay, I'll work with you when you need me type thing. But that's so true because even like with a big popular breed, like shepherds or labs or something, like not only health, but like how they're raised and what those people are using those dogs for, like all those genetics just like are super important. And for somebody who's just like, I just want this year, you. You can't go too deep into that because they're just going to be like, Oh yeah, let's go buy a $300 dog. But you know, like knowing how to educate them without overwhelming them is something that I try to do and hope to do. And sometimes I probably overwhelm people, but you just have to educate because I don't, feel like there's so much power and just like collaborating and getting to figure out the best for them. And if I can share something that helps them pick their best dog or help them train their dog or live with their dog. Like that's what I want to do. And I will give you another example saying, I'm going to stop on this subject, but I just thought of something. and it doesn't matter. Like it could be somebody that's very intelligent person, right? Like I, so I had a friend in middle of Texas, very intelligent guy. Matter of fact, I've been to law school, but he's way smarter than I am. And he's a heck of a hunter, hardcore jumps out, buys a silver lamp. Now I'm going to make people mad on here, but I'm just, Hey, I'm a traditionalist and I'm curious. So he bought a silver lab and I was like, Oh man. And then he calls all excited to tell me about it. Expected me to be excited for it. And I was like, Oh man, I wish you had called me. What's wrong, man? What's wrong? said, man, I don't know. It might, it might be the best hunt dog in the world. And I hope it is eight months after training, he'd, he'd sent it to a trainer and the trainer was, it was a very, it must've been a very reputable trainer who has also had integrity and called him and said, hey, I can't, I'm not going to charge you anymore to turn this dog. need to come get it. It wouldn't swim, wouldn't retrieve. And it's on a thyroid or some kind of medication monthly for the rest of his life. And even though here's a very smart guy, very intelligent guy, educated guy, but he never thought to look at health records, health guarantees, all this stuff. And he was out all this money and the dog in the training in the vet bills and he wanted to have a hunting dog and he could have gone and bought there. There's so many good breeders out there. You know, I mean, so a phone call to somebody that knows could save you thousands of dollars. It just to a friend. You don't have to, you know, I don't charge people. just, but, I, and anyway, it's just sad, but it happens. No, I had a, I had a client who was like, did everything right. And she was like, I'm going to set up lessons with you like prior to us picking up this puppy because like we want to do everything right, make it the best family dog. And we're in a big like doodle frenzy right now where everyone wants a doodle and you can meet a really great one. And I have met some really scary ones and this puppy showed up and it was eight weeks old and I was like, This is not how an eight week old puppy should act, especially if you're mixing a poodle and a golden retriever together. And these sweet people just didn't know like, and again, this breeder is great at marketing because it's this cute little dog. And that dog, was like, we, no matter how much money you pour into training, we can't change this dog's identity. And like when that dog, when I, talked about like the liability of that bite risk of that dog and that dog bit that first person. I was like, we can't make this dog again. Like, and some people have to have some of those reality like, ⁓ crap, like this does actually happen and this could happen. And now she is able to like, she was able to get, and I don't usually promote, get a second dog, but I was like, if you want a dog to go to events, we're gonna start over and I'm gonna find you the dog that you can go to events knowing that you're okay leaving. dog number one at home and she's just gonna have to sit out because she doesn't want to do those things. Like she, you are putting her in a situation to fail, to be around people and to do those things. Like she just wants your family and that's it. And she's content and you have to be okay with that too. Like you have to set your dog up for success. And she, it was just, I just remember being like, I'm so glad I was able to walk through this process with her because as hard as it was sometimes, she was able to see the full bigger picture and to see the difference in the comparison. And again, she didn't know what she didn't know until she was in deep and was like, ⁓ crap, like now we do have to switch gears here. And also allowing her to set up clear expectations for the dog. Like you said with the silver lab, like it wasn't like he was like, yeah, we can make this work and your dog can get there. And then you have all these disappointments along the way. was like, okay, what is the expectation and let's have reality here. go with it. So yeah, yeah. I think the dog had made it through the obedience phase and you know, I'm sure and I'm sure it listen. I'm sure that there are people out there listening. Man, I've got a silver lab and it's a rock star. Yeah, I believe you because you can have that. But I'm just saying, you know, when you're going to buy a dog, you want the odds stacked in your favor. You hear Barton Ramsey on my show say this. I try to stack the odds in your favor. I've heard the best breeders say those words. I've also heard The best trainers say a statement you just said. So the best trainers I know said a statement that you just use, set your dog up for success in training. Yeah. And that's, I hear that so much and I try to do that. Yeah. Tell people what that means Sammy. Explain that statement to the listener. mean like for, for me setting up the dog in success, whatever it is, is like when I'm talking about like family obedience, dogs or temperament wise, like people who are trying to make a family dog or. A dog that only is genetically able to appreciate or love their two people that live in their house, they don't want to be a social butterfly. You know, like when we're dealing with some of these, you know, behavior modification cases. ⁓ and that's primarily what I talk about a lot was setting up for success is when we're talking about like behavior modification, where I'm like, your dog does not want to be around other dogs or other people. Like this is what success looks like for you, which then you have your happy-go-lucky dogs that can be around anybody. And there's times to set your dog up for success when it comes to training, like raising the puppies and raising all those things. But also through training dogs, I've realized I had a trainer that I really respect that helps me run my dogs and hunt test say like, you have to set them up to fail. You have to teach things to set up because sometimes getting deeper into like the training world, I like my first gun dog. I mean, he wanted to please, he would run through everything. that when I was able to have another trainer help me, he was like, first time I set up to fail, he like did not know how to handle himself. He's like, you need to set up scenarios where you can teach him some things by failure and that's okay. And I remember like being like, that is okay. And that did establish me to look at my training scenarios and be like, there are times where you have to have failure to learn and there are times where you have to have success to learn too. And it does take a good balance of both. You can't go one or the other. But ⁓ for me, I guess it just kind of depends on what you're at, but knowing your dog and not setting it up in a scenario where it comes like behavior modification, liability reasons, like a dog to be in defense drive where they're going to bite or do something that's gonna cause you an issue and ⁓ setting the people around your dog up for success too. So if you know your dog is a bite risk or anything like that, not just crossing your fingers and hoping it doesn't happen, but truly knowing what is best for your dog in that scenario and whatever it is. I like what you said, the setting up for fail. I equate that as to like the dog's learning to problem solve. Yeah, like I think I see it more like in the advanced stuff, like, know, advanced like AKC obedience or the hunt test and stuff is kind of where we were at when we were running like finished level. And yeah, a little bit of problem solving like. Hey, you didn't do that right. Like you have to figure out how to do it the right way, the best way, the most efficient way and just. But you as a trainer have to kind of know that too. It's almost like knowing what your dog is going to do wrong. So you know how that it's going to process. Like I've learned that a lot in the dog sports, like as you get more advanced concepts, you're like, ⁓ yeah, you do have to know how to set these things up because it can. Because when you get into a trial, there's a lot of pressure. And that's where I failed. Walking into some rings is I don't know how to, when you go into a ring, I remember the first time I ever walked into an AKC obedience ring where the judge got the clipboard and I'm like hyperventilating. And ⁓ my dog was like, whoa, you are a completely different human. Like you are smell weird. You like are doing weird fidgety things. And same with the hunt test when I was walking up to the line, I was so nervous and it's hard to replicate that in training. So I found the best way to make that happen is by setting them up to fail a little bit so they can auto correct problem solve. You can do that yourself too, because it is hard to find those things when you're training and you're doing the same thing all the time. And then your dog doesn't know how to deal with that. So when you're in training, finding a way that your dog can deal with a little bit of that. So you can just be better partners for each other when you're dealing with the human emotion side of it. And you know what, there's so many ways to attack that. And one of them, think, Sammy, is like to train your dog in all kinds of many different places as you possibly can. Yeah. It's one of the ways. There's many things you could do, but yeah, you're right. I've learned once my dog starts learning to problem solve, they just keep getting smarter. Yeah. And you just see them just grow intellectually. I don't know if that's the right term, but the light clicks. Yeah. And I love to see that in their face. I do too. love it when the dogs respond to like, ⁓ this is what we're doing. And I like this. And it just makes it way more enjoyable for you and your dog. And, I love that with the dog sports too, because it makes you appreciate working your dog and working with your dog and being a team, whatever dog sport you're doing, like you can totally see the energy and the connection when you watch people trial with their dogs. And you can see the people where it doesn't work that well and there's just no connection there. So. I strive for that connection and that like energy and, you know, showing up for my dog and my dog showing up for me. Yes. You know, ⁓ one of the, one of the trainers I've had on here, I need to him on again. And he's one of my favorites is Clark Cannington. And I don't know if you know him Sammy, but he's just, he's, he's probably, I think he's the most successful, ⁓ trainer handler in the grand, which is the hardest of the HRC competitions in my opinion. I think it's the hardest. Anyway, he told me something, you know, like he was giving me all kinds of, he always give me tidbits and I learned everything from him. And he said, you know, he, would lay down and play with his dog on the floor, you know, when it was a pup and he said, just want, you want to make that dog want to please you. You got to have that kind of bond. Here he is a pro trainer. Most pro trainers don't have that mentality that, know, it's a tool and a job and you know, but he, you see what makes some people successful. Yep. And have that he's got the highest success rate in the hardest test of all. And just, it's the little things, right? I mean, it's the little things like that. That is the little things, the little things add up and the little things is like what makes the connection of the dog that wants to like work with you and be a team. You know, like they, the dog can feel when you're like not in it. And the dog can feel when you're just like, ⁓ you're just another paycheck or whatever. Like you really have to like love the. process of the dog and the dog can feel that too. they, know what they know the game. They're smart for that reason too. Well, I'll give you an example of something else. Like you've been to the hunt test. You know how you stand behind the blind before you're called out. Yep. Well, I had a dog that I'd bought around eight months of age, something like that. And he really had obedience. He'd been exposed to birds and stuff and very, very well bred dog that had no obedience. So I started running him in hunt tests. Well, he could retrieve like a Dickens cause he had hunted. But I try to get behind the holding blind and I'm telling you, look like an MMA match. I mean, I was sitting there trying to hold him down and go crazy. And, anyway, and I was telling Clark and I was like, man, my dog gets the holding by, knows what's going on. He knows he's getting retrieved. He goes crazy. And he's so big. I'm we're on the ground rolling around, you know, he said, Ken, what I do when I get a puppy, he'll, he'll have a holding blind. He'll sit and feed that put behind the whole blind, just get where that holding blind is just normal. And he knows to be calm there. And I thought just little, little nuances, little tricks like that. You know, it's just so helpful to me. love learning that stuff. Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, texts, my ⁓ lab, he, he's so forgiving and thank goodness, like he really is. And I've learned a lot with him, but he would be 10 times even cooler and more amazing. I mean, I had just gone out of dog training school. like, he's an amazing demo dog and amazing hunter and hunt test dog and stuff. But those little tiny things had I known in the hunt test world or some of like the AKC obedience world that I'm, you know, in with him. I'm like, if I would have just done this from like the eight weeks, a six month old, knowing these are my end goals, like those little things, they truly do matter. So yeah. Yeah. And don't you love learning that kind of stuff? mean, that's a great thing. I love this podcast because I learned from people like you and him and all the great people I've had on his show. We've never done this yet, Sammy. So just cause I want to be clear. What all dog sports and competitions and tests do you participate in? So like, yeah, I primarily I've done the hunt test just UKC because that's really all we have in our area. And with my hunting labs, like that's my main goals. do want those, you know, I want the dog to be able to do that. I want to be able to have a good running dog. So like when I got Tex, I got into that and that was like my main sole focus and like got my second dog, Zinn. And my goal for Zinn is to be my first grand hunting retriever champion. Like that is my goal for him. He's got the genetics, he's got the trainer. I thought it was going to be a washout. And I was like, Dayan, tell me that this dog sucks. Cause I'll have to just sell it as a started dog. And he's like, no, he was just like, he's got it. You just. You just compared a little bit too much, but he was like, he's got it. And ⁓ he's a phenomenal dog. And I learned a lot about comparing those dogs and getting sidetracked there. that being said, like my shepherd, you I did a lot of search and rescue with, I did therapy dog stuff with, and then my lab in the off season, once he kind of got his like finished title, I was like, I know I can go do hunt tests and just spend money doing that, but like I'd rather spend some of those weekends doing some other fun sports too. So with the array of my dogs, I do the dock diving, scent work, frisbee, and barn hunt. I'm really like competing a lot in, but I've also been ready to like run an agility trial with my corgi, which she's phenomenal. I'm like learning and I'm I'm working with some really great agility trainers and I'm like, you guys just make it look so easy. And I'm going to go out there and like fall on my face. So, I'm trying to think if there's anything else that I like, ⁓ and obedience and rally I've done stuff with as well. And then some of like the little trials and just like little fun stuff. ⁓ but mainly I'd say like the main ones, I did a ton of dock diving, ton of competing with that, all the different disciplines. ⁓ But now when I'm like looking at my year, I'm doing a ton in the scent work world right now. Obedience, I still have a lot of goals with and then starting to get into agility and frisbee, my Dalmatian and corgi both do frisbee and ⁓ the barn hunt. I do barn hunt with my Dalmatian and frisbee as well. I have a lot of people who love barn hunt. Yeah, so like barn hunt, it's a new dog sport. I shouldn't say like super new, but it's pretty new into the dog sport world. Who sponsors that? it AKC? I think it's AKC. Actually no, it's BHA, which is Barnhunt's association, is like where it's through, but you can get AKC titles through that. that you like, it's kind of like a little like jump through a hoop, but ⁓ you can get like your AKC titles through that. But pretty much you are finding rats in tubes, so you are going into like a hay bale area. There's different levels. It's a timed event and the different levels are like different amount of rats you're finding. So ⁓ you're you have three different kinds of tubes. You have blank tubes, you have litter tubes, so they just has all the litter of the rats. And then you've got live rats, rat in a tube. So ⁓ again, there's different levels that you go in and Your dog just has to find an alert on the real rat and you have to call it. You have to know how to watch your dog and call it. And then you can just keep climbing the ladder in the dog sport. So, ⁓ my Dalmatian loves it. He's got a ton of prey drive, so it is super fun. Like he's the number one senior level dog in South Dakota. So, ⁓ and it's a Dalmatian. It's like, that's, it's just fun to see. So, ⁓ it's a super fun sport that we've been doing a lot of planted rats. Yes. Yep. they're like in so and the other thing too is you're in blind so you don't know like where they're going to be or anything. So when they're setting up your trial, you're behind this thing where you and whoever you're competing against are in a blind and ⁓ They put the rats in a different spot every time. So you can never really know like where it's going to be or anything like that. Your dog has to figure it out and you have to call it. So, but they, the judges know exactly where the rats are at. So that way, if you call it incorrectly, they can say like, Nope, like you're done. Or they can say, yep, you're right. Now are the dogs catching rats or is it just, no, they're just attacking the tubes. Um, like in the tube, there can't be, they're in like this PVC thing. like, They can, the rats can get their little noses out very barely, but ⁓ like the dog can't hurt the rat or anything like that. And because of like PETA and all the things they're very big about like making sure that the rats don't go flying across. Like they try to be very, ⁓ it's not like the hunting dog world where you're just like, it is what it is. It's like the pet dog world mixing in a little bit with that. So they're very careful about like the quality care of those rats and the rats do get good care outside of it. Like they like going in their tubes. They, know, usually most of them are dog friendly. So they're not like thing, but they're just hanging out in there and the dogs are like my Dalmatian, he'll grab that tube. And I mean, you have to pry it out of him. whatever rat is in that tube might get shook in a little bit, but as long as you're doing your part of making sure that transport is fine. somebody's there to grab that rap from you and your dog just keeps searching. You've educated. I've never heard that sport of all. And I do this every day. Well, when you were talking about the person you had on that, um, like did that mink thing. Um, I was like, that makes me I, and honestly, like, I wish I could do it like live and real. Like I wish I could just like do the rat thing or, you know, run even like a dog that for Coons or whatever, because I love that. But the barn hunt gives me a little piece of it still in the pet dog world. And I can like bring pet people along with their golden retrievers or whatever it is, you know, and try it. Purina Pro Plan. Here at Gun Dog Nation, we use Purina Pro Plan for our dogs. 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He actually uses, so he uses a mean that he trained and he learned how to do all his own. I mean, he it's his own idea. Like to our knowledge, no one else does this. So he uses a make where he has to, and then he has a, he usually keeps a shorter dog for small low places. Then he'll keep a bigger dog, which is like a 35 pound old school pit, like the old game pits, you know, and he'll use that for his dog that needs to have some speed and pick up because the threats get taken off. The short-leg dogs usually can't catch them. Yeah. Anyway, it's just this guy. mean, I think he could train anything. He's done falconry and he's not, know, yeah, it's just, he grew up in the cutting horse training world. It's just, it's, it's called the mink man. He's on YouTube and it's, you can get it, join his club and see the videos that you can't show on YouTube. Yeah. No, I'm definitely going to look him up because that is so cool. And I would love it. learning that and watching that and stuff. Yeah. It's a, he's, was really interesting. mean, uh, between you and learn about barn hunts and him, did that podcast last night. I'm getting really educated this week. Yeah. Sometimes when I tell people about the barn hunting too, like they're in the hunting world or something. So they're just like, Oh my gosh, this is so cool. Like the dogs just get to like destroy their rats and stuff. And I'm like, well, no, but it would be way cooler if they could, you know, like if you have that, like I wish like. I could just set up scenario where I could just let my dogs actually do it and like live out their prey drive dreams. ⁓ But like my dog, my Dalmatians killed enough like rabbits and woodchucks in the backyard. I'm just going to let him take it out on the barn hunt tubes. know, there's a, there's movements, you know, to limit hunting dogs and, in other countries. And there's a bill that I was just actually read myself in Mississippi proposed by a Republican representative in Mississippi. to limit, you can't hunt with dogs, period, unless you have 2000 contiguous acres. Oh my word. Anything. So you'd have to have 2000 acres together. That means you can't have 500 here, 500 there. It has to be contiguous. And there's a bill, you can look it up right now. It's proposed on January the 16th in Mississippi. So it's a state bill. And I reached out to the representative on Facebook to ask if he would come on the podcast. He hasn't responded to me yet because I, you know, I want to hear his side and what's going on. But and there's pictures on his Facebook of him deer hunting and stuff. so I just, I'm trusting, but it's getting a lot of heat. I've had a lot of people reach out to me and send that to me. And, know, well, and I know in like South Dakota, I didn't go down deep into this because I'm not super educated on it, but There's a big ⁓ controversy in hunting with dogs in the mountain, while mountain lion world in the hills. And ⁓ it seems very similar to like ⁓ a build. I don't know if it did get passed or if it's some law that's already active out there. ⁓ But it seems similar to that is like very two polar sides. Things that are getting a ton of heat from either way from like people who are doing it with their dogs to people who, you know, aren't and they have their reasons to that we want this. Yeah. And I don't want to appear as an expert on it. I won't tell everybody that I haven't. Yeah, me either. I read a summary of it. That was so I want to make that clear, but two, ⁓ it appeared, what I saw was a general exclusion. That means duck hunting, coon hunting, squirrel hunting, rabbit hunting, any kind of hunting with a dog is not allowed. So You know, I can't imagine that passing in the state of Mississippi, but also would never thought a Republican representative would do that. So, yeah. Hey, but you know, maybe, maybe there's more to it than I don't know. And I'm trying to get him on here to see, you know, I think so. Yeah, for sure. But, uh, well, gosh, uh, I know from our backgrounds, I had no clue how much we've been having common on here. It's crazy. What's, what's new in 2026 for Sammy? Well, I finally just kind of like went out on my own and to do my own dog training business and to spend a little bit more time doing the things that like truly fill my cup up. And so I feel like 2026 is an opera, like is the year for like opportunity for me. So I want to take a lot of the opportunities that come my way and I want to feel good about it. And I want to, uh, just see what's in store for me very organically. So I'm excited for, there's a lot of like new 2025 was a very hard year for me. And I'm excited for 2026 to, you know, have something new to look forward to and some good to look forward to. Now, you know, I fall, I followed you on social media while, but, ⁓ did I, am I, I was following your Mexico trip. Yes. Yeah. Well, when you were talking about going and shooting the redheads and you went there to shoot the redheads, I mean, that was kind of us like with our cinnamon teal. Like we didn't see a single cinnamon teal when we were down there. they're a pretty bird. I've never seen one in person. I haven't either. But when I did the sea duck hunt, ⁓ in the fresh water on the island there, like there'd be little ponds and stuff. saw a Lucian teal. ⁓ that's cool. And they're only, you know, native to the Aleutian Island, guess, have you, had you done a sea duck hunt or were you going to? This year was the first year. So this year, two big trips. went to Boston to see duck hunt. And then we went to Mexico and got to hunt down there. And, ⁓ my gosh, both trips were so great. And honestly, this was our first year that we ever like went with an outfitter and we like got to experience that piece of things where we're just like, wow, somebody else's knows what they're doing. I bet your husband love it. ain't putting out decoys today. It was actually funny because when we were in Mexico, mean, Justin's kind of like a bird dog in his own, like sometimes I'm like, dude, just chill out. Like we have a dog that can do that. He just loves it so much. So like when the ducks weren't working or anything like that, we'd have like four or five ducks in the water and like, it just would be different in Mexico. And he's like out there, he's like, well, I'll go out there and start picking them up. And the guy that is no dog might not have seen him or something. And we're like, And the guide made some comment one time like, ⁓ like he's putting a lot of good steps in for me because he just needs to do it himself. So, but it was so fun. Both were so different and both were like, so cool to see how they were like Boston was super out of my comfort zone. I had never thought I would be okay laying in a layout blind or anything like that. And I, one time I thought I was lost at sea and I was like, I feel like I'm going to die. But all the other times were great. And it was more me because like, I just never hunted water growing up. Like again, not being in the waterfall world, but I never hunted out of a boat. I never really did that. So when I was in a teeny little layout boat flush with the ocean and nobody's around me because the boats behind me and my friends are to the right. I'm like, okay, I hope nothing bad happens out here. So it was good comfort. Good. What? There's lot of whales there around Boston. Yeah. And there's like little ⁓ sea lions or whatever. And there's ships in the ocean. And I was just like, this is just like, I know that ship can't come to me, but like, what if it did? Like you're just out there by yourself and you're like, I hope I'm IDing the ducks. You only get four ducks you can shoot and three of the same species. So you're like, want to make good call shots. You've got to ID your ducks. And I'm just like, Okay, so you're putting yourself to the test. I'm glad I went this year knowing what I know about like, waterfowl hunting and being a little bit better at IDing ducks and things because if I had gone like three years ago, I think I just would not have appreciated it like I did this year. Yeah, it's I finally got like the third day I could really ID the ducks, but they're, you know, those King otters are hammering down and the Harlequin flew kind of slow with those old squalls. They were like, rocket, you know, I never did. I shot at one. don't think I was close. ⁓ I got a white winged Schoder pretty quick, but those King otters were a bird that big. mean, they can move. No, I, the one thing that I learned about the C-Duck hunting is you re you have to lead those birds so far. Like every shot that I missed, I was so behind. I was just like, ⁓ my gosh. you know, I, I knowing that you only have the forage ducks to kill. I. Shot very great. The first two days, the last day we actually hunted on the rocks. So we're standing on the rocks and I couldn't hit anything. was like, ⁓ my gosh, I think I brought all the ammo I did. And it was just so different hunting in the layup line versus the rocks where you'd think, okay, I'm on rocks. Like I'm standing. I got some good shots. No, was so behind all those birds and I was like, okay, I need to adjust my shooting really fast. They just didn't come in. We shot one day on the shore. They just didn't come into us. ⁓ yeah, like we had a lot of like the hent eiders that were landing right in our decoys and some scoters, but some of the ones that I was like shooting at, I mean, it is cool when they're going to the side because, and when you're the only one out there in that ocean, you can see exactly how far behind you are in that shot. So it was cool to have the opportunity to both like the decoying in the face, but A lot of times the sun was behind them. So you were still taking side shots because you had to wait like the I shot a hen's squaw because I was like, I don't know what this is. If it's a male or female or what it is, if it's a because it's dark and I was like in a single layout blind. So was like, I'm hoping I'm making like the best shot right now. And I mean, it was fine that it was a hen, but you don't really get to see that. And so they start to get to the side of you with the sun behind them. You're just like got away and so they can see those squalls are so fast. So I never, I never could identify male or female. Never. mean, I Well, the guy shot one with us. It was a juvenile, was two males, but one was a juvenile. And that's another thing, you know, you got to get where you can identify the juveniles versus the adults, especially with the otters. You know, you want to, when you're first there, heck, I don't know the difference. And, I shot good the first day, but only shot two times. Yep. Second day I killed four birds, but I bet I missed 10. Yeah. It's it's hard shooting on some of that stuff. So in we didn't know this, but in Boston, you can only shoot a pump if you're not a resident there. So we found that out like a week before we had gone. And like we didn't know it was like kind of a new thing or whatever. So we had to switch our guns and I was shooting a pump, 12 gauge, which was totally fine. But it was not a gun that I was just used to using all the time. It's freezing. So when you're like loading and you're doing all those things, I mean, like we showed up and we're like, we're from South Dakota, like we're going to be warm. And these guys had like four heated vest on. We're like, we might like die out here. But ⁓ when we were doing the, the old squad that came in, I had one that decoyed perfectly. And I saw his little tail. And my, had it, I didn't rack my gun up and my gun jammed and he flew away and it like still haunts me. Like I can see it perfectly. And I was like, I'm so mad. like, but the first second that we had some trouble with some bad ammo and a duds and that has, so I can at least blame some of my misses on that, but still I missed I miss. And then the third day, those guys that I hung with talked to me and like, get on it. stay with it and then leave. And as soon as I did, I dropped the best bird I'd hit the whole time and I didn't miss that day. I only had a few left to limit, you know? And it made a world, but you're right. I was shooting behind when I was missing, I realized why I was missing. But you know, it's just different. It is very different. Thank goodness in Boston, we were shooting micro, so I was very confident in the shells and everything. When we were in Mexico, we had some like duds down there. So I get what you mean by that as like having some ammo issues. yeah. So I need to clarify that too. Thank you, Savi. I wasn't shooting migraine in Alaska because you only allowed 50 pounds. So I didn't take a gun or ammo. Yeah. That was in Mexico too. Like we didn't take gun or ammo. When we went. there, you know, when you just are like, okay, it does make a difference when you're used to your regiment of what you're shooting and stuff. Like there was some shot that was like, ⁓ this was a bit of an easy for us. And it was not, just, the shells couldn't produce what you're used to shooting if you're shooting the setup we were. So, ⁓ yeah, there was, there were the frustration of some of the duds, but also being like, okay, I know it's not me. Like that's totally the ammo. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, That's one of the things that I need to work on and I'm this year be You know standing should try to get back in shape after my knee surgery, but I'm gonna work on my shooting You know, I can rifle shoot done it for years, you know, but the shotgun shooting is still It's still somebody to improve on. Yeah. Yeah, I I really want to make sure that I always feel super confident like I always just shot an sx4 growing like I learned how to shoot on a pump and that I went to an SX4 and love that gun so much. And this year was the first year I shot, well, last year was the first year I shot a Benelli Ethos for the upland portion of that. And last year I was like, I can't shoot. Like I got it towards the end of the year. I might've only gone like one hunt and I shot a couple of birds and was like, it's fine. Well, then I tried trap shooting this year and I was like, why can I not hit anything? And it was. I didn't realize how much goes into adjusting the shims and adjusting how different it is than this SX4 I can just pick up and hit anything with. And then I did one of the trap competitions and I did pretty well. I got 23 out 25 on the one round and I was like, okay, I just needed to adjust the gun to be able to know, obviously women and male are different on how they hold the guns and all of those things too. And I was so thankful I was able to like, go to somebody who was able to see that and point that out and just learn a little bit of that and was able to adjust the gun for me too, because I felt very confident in my shotgun shooting until I changed something. And then it is hard to, feel like going from like pheasant hunting to duck hunting, I sometimes get in habit of one and then I'm like, why did I do that in the out of a blind? But it's just because, ⁓ yeah, I've been like pheasant hunting the past like five days and I'm used to seeing knee shots. So yes. Yes. Figure that out is something that I'm trying to master in the realm of. I'm the same way. And you know, I've got, there's something I've got a really good friend. actually saw the ranch beside me. That's a, ⁓ he's a shooting coach and he's a competitive shooter and he says that stock fit, know, it is, if you can get someone to custom fit, do a stock to fit you, your face, your arm and all that. It's more technical than I can talk about because I don't know all that stuff about it, but it makes a world of difference. Yeah, absolutely. No, it does. And my dad's the same way. He's like, you need to get a gun that fits you and all those things. And like, I'm like, well, but I want to buy this gun right now and I want to go hunting and shoot too. So, um, it is, this was our first year that I've like ran two guns differently. So just adjusting to that and being the thing, but sometimes too, like I. truly hunt because of the dogs. Like I love hunting dogs. So like this year, the last pheasant hunt I had gone on. mean, I was so mesmerized watching my dog work a bird lock up, get so thing. I missed the easiest shot ever. And I like, like looked to my left and I was like, I just got like so full of like jitters because I was just like, so in the moment of watching the dog, I was like, if I would have crushed that bird, it would have been like the coolest thing ever. And like, I failed our team because I was like, and I was like, I just got so nervous because it was just so cool to be there. I've missed a shot like that. And my dog literally looked around at me like, what's up? You know, like, are you serious? You know, I mean, he looked at me. If I could have had a picture of that face, but he was like, come on, man. You know, it was so funny. I was like, man, I'm sorry, you know, because your dogs are ready to go retrieve. Yeah. Yeah. Had I, had I missed that shot with techs, he would have gave me that look. Thank goodness. He was just like, see, yeah, I'll go find another one for you. He's a little bit like, I'll just keep going. But no, I was so mad at myself and I just remember everyone looking at me like, how'd you miss that? was like, I just like blame it on myself being so excited to watch the dogs and watch the bird work. Now same in your dog training business. Are you going to be obedience training or are you going to hunting dog training or what, what, what be everything? Yeah, I do a ton with like ⁓ regular just puppies, regular obedience, all of that stuff. But I, I love filling my cup of some of the hunting stuff too. So like some of my friends have some really well bred labs and Goldens and I've been able to dabble with them through the process. Like I do all of the training for my dogs before I have Dane run them in the ⁓ hunt test. So, you know, I love the T work to the force fetch to, you know, the mechanics of all of the different flow charts that you follow. So I love doing that stuff and I feel like it does make me a better trainer. So I do get to experience some of that. I don't know if that will be like my main market because genetics matter to me. I do love, like I don't wanna pour my passion into a dog that doesn't love what it's bred to do or might not be bred to do that. So. ⁓ saving that for some of those dogs, but I do really want to help people get into hunting with their dogs and be able to do stuff with that. And now that I have a little bit more time to focus on that piece, I hope I get the chance to do that more too. When you get a chance, I've got a podcast out, it's several episodes back and it's a high school gun dog team. ⁓ cool. And it's boys and girls that compete in hunt tests. And they formed a gundog team and their teacher got permission from the board of education. The school supports it. The principal supports it. And it's Gordon Lee High School just across the state line of Tennessee, it's across from Chattanooga into Georgia. And it's so neat. the podcast, I had the kids on the podcast and the principal and the coach. And it's just, it's so good to see them. And they just, they compete in like UKC, actually AKC, but they just held their own hunt test. my gosh, that's so cool. It gives me chills. I love that. Like that is so cool. them out and feel free to reach out to them. Chuck Williams, he's on my Facebook and stuff and my social media, but he's a coach and just a really, you know, he's got a lot of passion. Yeah. And you know, they're also looking sometimes for like donations of like dummies and whistles and stuff. So I've been, and I helped them locate a, I got somebody to donate them a really well-bred dog. That's so cool. It's like, I have a really good friend whose son is in like a trap team for schools, which I think is a little bit more common than I've ever heard of a gun dog thing. I think that's so cool. And he's, I love hunting with him because I'm like, I know you can shoot and like, it's cool. I'll hunt with in South Dakota with a young guy. He's in his twenties now that's been a highly competitive shooter. ⁓ and it's crazy. He helps me in the field. Here's this young kid helping me shoot, you know, and I'm never too old to learn. But no, to my knowledge, Sammy, it's the only gun dog team, high school, high school gun dog team in the nation. I wanted to spread the word. So maybe other schools would do that. Yeah, absolutely. That that's cool. I'll definitely be following up and looking them up too. But it's I'm getting distracted. I've got a big herd of access right at my back door to big old bucks have started at me. It's like she's listening to the podcast, but they're usually not that stained. They're usually spook. ⁓ anyway. Well, listen, I know you're busy and got a huge crazy schedule and I've had a great time. I never realized how deep in the doctrine you were. But JC and Laurel told me when I was doing their podcast that I've got her actually on the live recording. You need to reach out to her and I didn't get a chance to listen to the whole one yet. So, but it's, it's downloaded because I'm like when I'm in the car and I have more than like a 10 minute drive, like I'm I just have, I want to like be fully focused. Like cause sometimes like even when I'm like training a dog, has to be like a music or it has to be nothing because I want to like ingest and learn and like, you know, like all of that stuff. So I, I'm really looking forward to that one. I've seen the little clip it. So I am excited to listen to the whole thing piece together because I know how that goes, but they were a fun group. I've never, I've had a lot of great gifts, but they were a fun group. know, they were. They're so good. The times that I've hunted with them, they have been phenomenal. They're both great women and the crowd that they bring and just like the energy. It's really, really special. Yeah. I love, I love what they're doing and I just wanted to spread that as much as I can, you know? Yes. I have two daughters that don't hunt and you know, I never try to make my kids do stuff they didn't want. And I've got one daughter that wouldn't kill a fly. She's an animal lover. She's got, she's like Ellie Mae. ⁓ but you know, it's, it's neat. I wish they did hunt up that. I'm not going to say anything to them, but, but it's just, ⁓ I love to see that they're getting other people involved. Yes, for sure. And sometimes you don't know, love it until you try it you're like, ⁓ my gosh, like this is super cool. they're doing great. I think my oldest daughter would have now she's got, she's married to kids and works, you know, she just doesn't have the time, but she hunted with me some and she was a little bit my youngest daughter. She, you know, doesn't bash me for what I do at all. She's, she loves dogs as much as I do, but, we won't kill anything. Yeah. She won't kill us an insect. Yeah. I have two little nieces, seven years old and three years old and my seven year old niece. Like I feel like her dad, myself, Justin, like we've all been so excited to get her into hunting and do a little bit more reserved about it. Like I think she's going to get there. think it's going to click. But my little knees, I look at her and I'm like, you are such a mini me. Like you, can just see it in like how she communicates with the dogs, how just like wild and crazy she is. think, and I'm like, I think you're going to be like the little hunter. think you are. Well, know, when my girls are little, uh, and I'd kill a deer, they would come and look at it they thought it was all cool. And then there were, but youngest just reached a point, you know, it changed. was like, Oh man. But anyway, uh, Well, hey, it's been great. I spend a lot of time in South Dakota. I hunt up there every year and I hunt here on what about just a little bit north of you and I love that area. you're here. Yeah. Yeah. If y'all get down this way, ⁓ look us up. I'm trying to get my wife wants to start up land hunting. Yeah. So she, she went with me some, it ⁓ is a photographer this year. That's awesome. Yeah, I I'm going to get into it. Maybe next year she'll carry the gun, not the camera. Yeah, she's got it. She's wanting to start shooting stuff. She said she don't think she'd like the duck hunting. I guess you heard me griping about how hard it was. All right. Well, hey, it was great having you on here. Thank you so much. And if there's anything I can ever do to help promote what you're doing, let me know. I'll be glad to. No, thank you so much for your time. had a blast. The time has gone by so fast and I love, I love that feeling and just being able to talk organically and just naturally and have a great conversation. So thank you for your time and just even asking me to be on like it's such an honor. ⁓ same here. Very much an honor. Thank you so much.