TRAINING BIRD DOGS SINCE 1956.
When you send your dog to be trained at Smith Kennels, Ronnie and Susanna put their collective knowledge and experience to work for your dog and help you unlock that dog’s lifetime potential.
Our bird dog training system is designed as an established curriculum that begins with building a solid foundation for skills that will be applied through life. Each step in the training method is tailored to the individual dog’s mindset and abilities. By elevating your dog’s prey drive and then shaping it into controlled, focused learned behavior, we help shape confident, mannerly bird dogs. We don’t just train bird dogs—we partner with them, offering leadership and guidance while drawing out their natural potential.
WHY HAVE RONNIE & SUSANNA SMITH TRAIN YOUR POINTING DOG?
A professionally trained bird dog is more effective and safer in the field, as well as being more enjoyable to live with. Obedience, steadiness, and mindset development are all part of the daily structure during training that shapes a lifetime of behavior. We want to help your dog become the dog that inspires you to spend more time in the field doing what you both enjoy, whether that is hunting or competitions.
We have almost 400 acres of land to train dogs on, ensuring that your dog sees multiple types of environments and situations. Your dog will have the opportunity for multiple bird contacts with each outing and gain experience traveling to hunting fields and working with other dogs in the field. We will train your dog to the degree of steadiness that works for your application. Our classes provide your dog opportunity to expand their knowledge and experience, and deepen their adaptability in responding to varied environments, all which will benefit you when hunting.
While we work to develop desirable behaviors in dogs and reshape the undesirable behaviors all in a structured environment that will set your dog up for success, we also recognize that habits take time to change (both human and canine!). After the three month basic class, we are available to the owner over the phone or email to answer questions and help maintain behavior.
And because every bird dog’s best performance starts with nutrition and health, we proudly feed our dogs in training Purina Pro Plan. We have trusted Purina for decades to support our working dogs’ growth, energy, coat, and nutritional needs.
BIRD DOG TRAINING THAT FOCUSES ON BUILDING LIFE SKILLS
Our approach to bird dog training goes beyond commands—we shape dogs that think. At the heart of our program is a mindset-based method focused on the 3 Cs: Confidence, Composure, and Compliance. These qualities shape everything we do, creating pointing dogs that are not only obedient, but better mentally equipped for the challenges of field and home life.
From day one, dogs in our program learn to respond to subtle cues, begin staying more composed in exciting moments, and to work in true partnership with us. Whether it’s in the field, at home, or handling on our agility course, each dog is trained to join up—to read the handler, stay mentally connected, and move with purpose.
FIELD INTRODUCTION CLASS
Building Drive.
This class introduces your dog to all of the elements of the field, builds your dog's inherent prey drive on birds, and prepares him for formal training. This class is designed to stimulate your dog’s prey drive and create focus in the field. There are no rules taught at this level as we are focusing on developing a desire to hunt.
This is a great preparatory class for any dog going into the Basic Formal Training Class (even if a mature dog). The class is designed to allow individuals to roll right into their Basic Formal Training Class the following month without interruption.
$875 (2-week class)
Available classes:
Sept. 15 - Sept. 30, 2026
January 15 - February 1, 2027
Recommended Age: 4+ months
Required for dogs without prior bird exposure before beginning Formal Training
BASIC FORMAL TRAINING CLASS
Structured Bird Dog Training Begins Here.
This class forms the foundation of all advanced bird dog skills and teaches what we call our Core Bird Dog Behaviors:
Go With You: This Core Behavior begins with a good loose lead heel, progressing to an off lead heel, and then to going with you at a distance in the hunting field. The mindset of Going With You is one of the early indicators of a dog joining up with you and beginning to work with you.
Come To You: Every dog needs a solid recall, which is also the foundation for a good natural retrieve.
Stand Still: The ultimate challenge for bird dogs is the Core Behavior of standing still, particularly in moments of excitement. This includes standing still on point, during a back, when standing beside his owner, at a gate/door, on the vet table, and a multitude of other situations.
Each dog progresses through our structured curriculum that builds real world skills and manners.
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This 3-month class will teach your dog Core Behaviors, steady your dog on game and develop the fundamental skills every bird dog should know. During this class, we will teach dogs both an on and off-lead heel, teach them to work scent and be steady on game, work on handling, honoring, recall, loading, and basic manners to be a refined bird dog. At the end of the Basic Class these dogs have seen numerous birds and hunting scenarios every day of class and they are ready for the experience the world outside the classroom will give them. These are "green broke" dogs ready to begin a career!
The first month of training works to develop behavior or conditioned responses to mechanical cues of a rope (ie: on lead heeling, on lead recall, whoa post, direction changes, etc). The second month progresses to transitioning those conditioned responses to the remote cue of an e-collar and begin the steadying process on birds. The third month puts the finishing polish on the dog and brings them to the cusp of learned behavior. This 90-day program teaches a dog all that he needs to know to be successful and mannerly in the bird field and in life in general.
We implement our Challenge Course (agility obstacles) throughout the class as a way of quickly teaching dogs to listen to cues that are increasingly subtle and as a way of getting dogs to join up with us, becoming partners in action. The Challenge Course also gets dogs comfortable jumping on objects when asked and standing still (just like at your vet's office). By navigating these obstacles dogs also gain the benefit of increased balance and more awareness of where their feet are. Presenting dogs with challenges, such as the Challenge Course, helps to build their resiliency and ability to manage stressors in a positive way.
If your dog likes to retrieve, we will work to polish that natural retrieve and work on the dog's ability to hunt dead. Trained retrieve is not a part of this class.
We do ask owners to come to our kennels to pick up their dogs at the end of training, instead of having them picked up or flown home. We will spend time going over the training and how to manage the dog for optimal behavior and performance. We guide the dog and owner through this transition as they begin to implement their new experiences in order to restructure their relationship for the better. This transition is critical for the dog's success.
If your dog has not had any prior bird and field exposure, the Field Introduction Class is a pre-requisite to enrolling in this class. Field Intro can typically take place during the two weeks prior to the beginning of the Basic Formal Training Class.
Generally, dogs are ready for this class at around a year of age. If you just received a new puppy now is a good time to sign up for his Basic Class next year!
$1,750 per month (3-month class)
Available classes:
Oct. 1 - Dec. 31, 2026
Feb. 1 - May 1, 2027
TUNE UPS & ADVANCED TRAINING CLASSES
Prepare your bird dog for hunting season with an Annual Tune Up.
This is an annual opportunity to bring your trained dog's performance to a peak and prepare him for a great hunting or trialing season. Just like with people, when dogs do not perform a certain skill for a period of time (ie: the off-season) they get "rusty" and out of shape, both mentally and physically. This class is designed to prepare your dog to hit the ground running on his first hunt of the season focused and giving his best performance. Your dog will get a refresher on any handling cues they may have not been using on a daily basis, have multiple bird contacts a day to regain focus on working birds, and improve their physical condition. Any dog previously trained at Smith Kennels is eligible for this experience.
This class elevates your dog’s skills and further developing him as a proficient and mannerly hunter.
$1,750 per month
Available classes:
Sept. 1 -30, 2026
Eligibility: Any dog previously trained by Smith Kennels.
PRIVATE INSTRUCTION
On premise private instruction is offered at $300 for two hours and $1,000 for a full day of instruction. Advance notice is required.
Click below to reach out and schedule a session.