If there is one over-arching question for novice dog men and women, it rests on defining what a truly “broke” yet mannerable, fun-loving bird dog looks like.  It requires using the right tools and learning to effectively and fluidly work your way around the dog, whether it’s personality be hard dog or soft.  On this episode of The Gun Dog Notebook Podcast, the goal was to get down to the “nitty-gritty” of bird dogs, or as I’d like to call it… “birddoggin”.  Our guest, Joe Plote of PSR Kennels, helps breakdown the various aspects of a life training and fixing bird dogs, from his early foundation learning from trainer Dave Walker, highlighting the path to training a truly “broke” dog, and even misconceptions on pedigree and breeding.  Joe goes into further detail about is experiences as a trainer and taking in client dogs, and walks us through the process of rebuilding his kennel after the recent set of high force winds and tornados in the Midwestern states.  Talking with Joe reminds us that it’s most important to train your dog to high standards, but also to train to the standards that make you happy.

It’s important to examine the various training literature that has been written by the trainers that came before this generation of wingshooters and dog handlers, but we also must carry the torch and pass down the knowledge of dog training and upland bird hunting.  Joe is a true advocate for the next generation, but if you’re going to work dogs, you can take some notes on Joe’s training methods.  Joe has a great deal to teach about many of the nuances of dog handling from observing the overuse of the word “woah”, misunderstandings of pedigrees and breeding, and simple tricks to keep bird dogs healthy at home and in the field.  We even get into a bit of Lindley and West training techniques. Simply put, on this podcast, we air out as much training talk as we possibly could within the span of two episodes and share a great deal of laughter and good times within the conversation.  Joe is a leader in the community and truly passionate about the dogs, the birds, and conservation and has shared a great deal of valuable information for both he novice and experienced handler.

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Joe Plote on Instagram: @jplote_psrkennels

Facebook: PSR Kennels