Jim and Ronda, owners of Ranger

Mike and Tiffany,

Some of last weekends birds. We shot 60 last weekend and 85 the weekend before. Ranger worked great by himself and with the pointer. He said to make sure that Tiffany knows that he is behaving......

Ronda and Jim

Mark and Tess, owners of Sierra and Cash

Here are some of the pics from the Hunt Test yesterday.  Will send the disk to you this week of all the actual tests that Tiffany ran.  Of course, I will include Sierra and Mark!

Great time and....what an experience!  Although Sierra needs more help in the blind (which is Mark's job now),  when she got to the line, she was fantastic!  I was absolutely speechless watching her run straight lines and she never once faltered!  I was sooooo impressed.  I actually got choked up at one point when she did the water marks because she had a disadvantage with the banks, but it didn't phase her one bit.  She stayed true to what you had trained her and punched through without a break.  That dog does not know she is handicapped one bit.  You were absolutely right!

What was amazing to us was watching all the other dogs run their tests and the difference in their marking abilities to Sierra's training!   Also, all the dogs that were trained by you  & Tiffany marked very well.   To see other dogs in comparison and how they ran and handled did not compare to what you guys are doing.   Many dogs were so well behaved in the holding blinds to the point of actually laying down but when they came to the line, they didn't seem to have that excitement and willingness to get the prize.  We noticed that many did not mark very well and decoys were a huge distraction for other dogs.  They didn't run with conviction and a sense of urgency like your trained dogs.  In fact,  I had several people, while filming Tiffany and Mark, ask me who trained the dogs and they commented on how well your dogs marked and how focused they were at the line.  Of course, I told them exactly who you guys were and where you were at.  Anytime you need a spokesman for Sky High Retrievers you got Mark and I!  We are salesmen to the "T". 

Besides, if you can make the short dog do what she did today....you guys are something special, that is for sure.

So, thank you for the awesome dog we have.  Sierra is just what we wanted and more!  Of course, we expect even more from Cash - LOL!!!!  We can't wait to see him in action when he's ready!  Cruz is going to have his work cut out for him if he wants to continue to be the BIG DOG on the truck!

Tess (and Mark)

John, owner of Chief

Kim and Lois, owners of Shed

Hi Folks,

I just had to send some pictures from our first test [Certified Pointing Retriever, CPR]!  Mike I have to say thank you for the work you did with Shed and all the help you have given me on his and my continuing training. The boy is outstanding! He covered the field so  well and found the 3 birds in under time. He had style with full time points and fast retrieves to hand! His prey drive is so high. It is hard for him to be steady but he was thanks to you!! He did encounter one running bird and grabbed it. We need to work on that. I have to thank you on introducing him to water and water retrieves. He scored a 5 in water straight to the duck and straight back to me and then sit at heal and deliver to hand. He is so much fun to work with. We got a lot of complements from everyone watching on his style and his drive. It was more Shed than me he knows what to do!! Not to bad for a city / house / TDI dog that hunts on Saturdays and goes to the nursing home on Sundays to visit with the residents. They also enjoy him and his visits.

I also have to thank you for helping me with picking out Noah he is working out very well. He is a really nice dog and he can do his jobs. The boys are now getting along very good and are becoming pales. He has helped  Shed a lot with his shyness its fun to see him push Noah out of the way so he can get the attention. Friends that know him can believe the difference in him. And yes Noah passed also not with as high a score as Shed but he did pass.  Noah didn't have your training and it shows.

It's almost hunting season and time to continue their training so we can get ready for next year's tests. I'm looking forward to all of it!

Mike I hope you and Tiffany are doing well with all of your adventures!!! 

Your friends,
Kim, Lois,
Shed and Noah

Neal, owner of "little" Zeke

Mike and Tiffany

Zeke and I went on our first hunt this past weekend.  Zeke handeled very well and responded quickly to commands in the field.  It was great to watch him work the fields -- a little hyped, but well behaved.  It wasn't a long hunt, but he was able to get me on several groups of hungarian partridge.  I have attached a picture of us after the hunt.

Thank you - I'm very happy with his training!

Neal

Rod Williamson, owner of Maddie

"Hi guys! 

"Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! As you can see, Maddie and I did. 6 hours of scouting and 40 minutes of shooting and retrieving. We hunted some timber. Maddie 'placed' on a decoy bag for the entire time. Didn't break or whimper or dance or anything when hens kept landing in the decoys. She really held steady. Also held steady for all 5 drakes. Had a couple of em splashing after they hit and she just stood there and watched, waiting to hear her name. It was OUTSTANDING! 

"Great job Mike! Thanks again for helping me to have the BEST dog ever! OK, I'm biased..........  Headed out now to see if we can do it again. More pix later."

"Hi there! Here is proof! Yeah, I'm trying to get it all this spring!  Actually, I am going to do a one day JR the 17th and try to title on June 14th or so. Maddie is starting school today.... We are going to work on getting her ready for Seasoned possibly this fall. You guys have made us proud. I get so many complements on her looks, drive and style. She is also one of the calmest in the holding blinds.....even though she does try to peek! these tests were real tests. Had to do a water retrieve over a point of land....which she went straight up over the point, got the duck and came straight back over the same line on the land and back to me....even the judge said "good dog!" Had to do a long water up against the bank, a land retrieve thru a 2-3 ft ditch, water in a bunch of reeds and a land that was over a hump. All things you showed her and encouraged me to keep up. We are both good students!  

"We pick up my brother's pup at the end of the month. Has Tiffany written a "Starting your Pup" book yet???? Could sure use her help!!!!!

"I really would like to try to get out there at the end of the summer. Never know.

"All for now. Hope all is well and you are heading North!

Jim and Ronda, owners of Ranger

Mike and Tiffany,

Thank-you again for the hospitality. It sure would be nice if we could visit more often. Ranger is a perfect fit for our life style.

It certainly was good to see that he is so well taken care of. It "tickles us pink" to know how fortunate we were to find both of you as trainers and caretakers of our little guy......

Thanks again,
Jim and Ronda

PS, Tell Ranger that we miss him already and give him a big hug from us.......

Bill and Cheryl Blaquiere, owners of Jake

"Mike & Tiffany

"Hope all is well in California and that the weather and the dogs are treating you well.

"Below are a few pictures I took on Saturday January 12, 2008 just west of Billings on a game farm known as "Bird Island". This is because the island is in the middle of the Yellowstone River. Bill and Rob bought 20 birds and 'the boys' found 17 of them.

"Jake pointed very well for his first hunt out of 'training camp'. I know for a fact one point lasted over 45 seconds. He retrieves very well and Bill only had to use the collar a couple of times to get him to mind. Thank you for doing such a great job with our 'knucklehead' - Jake! And he really is a knucklehead. He is such a comedian in the house, and what a sense of humor he has! I believe he is a black version of Keeper [Jake's sire from Trieven].

"We miss you, keep in touch, take care and we will see you this summer!"

Bill & Cheryl Blaquiere

Chad and Patrice Nelson, owners of Garth

"Dear Mike and Tiffany:

"What a year ’07 has been!

"Our family can’t thank the two of you enough for all of the time that you have spent with us this year.  It has been a pleasure getting to know you both.

"We first of all need to thank you for consulting with us on selecting a Golden Retriever for our family companion and pheasant hunting dog.  We are also glad that you specifically chose Ole for us, knowing his personality even as a young pup, would work out well for our family.  He has been an absolute pleasure.  He is warm, friendly and very intelligent.  When he walks in grass fields, you can see his instincts take over as he charges through the cover!  We know that he will also be a great retriever as he always has a stick, or his toy pheasant in his mouth.  Patrice can not imagine life without her new buddy.

"The two of you were also instrumental in determining whether Garth, our one year old black lab, would be a good fit for us as a started dog.  People think that we are crazy to have picked up a Golden Retriever pup and come home with a young Black Lab as well.  The move has worked out perfectly as Ole has bonded strongly to Patrice and Garth has bonded to me.  Both dogs love everyone in the family, including our two boys, Gunnar (10) and Tor (8).  After living with Garth for over four months now, I still can not describe him any better than you did on our first conversation about him; 'he is a sweet boy'.

"I am sad to say that last weekend was my last pheasant hunting trip of the year.  I am amazed, however, at how Garth has grown from opening day until now.  The limited amount of time that the two of you had to train him provided a solid base for his natural talents to develop each and every time we hunted together.  His retrieving has been amazing.  On opening day he was a little overwhelmed and I was concerned about his marking abilities.  You were happy to discuss my concerns at the time, and provided me with some suggestions, one of which was to be patient and let him develop.  Last weekend he made a blind retrieve of approximately 150 yards.  When he didn’t immediately pick up the scent (he was upwind), he turned and looked at me for direction.  I held my arm out to the left, he ran that direction and immediately picked up the bird and brought it to hand.  He had another retrieve, the next day, on a bird that fell across a creek running with five feet wide of ice cold water.  He charged down and up the steep banks to bring the bird back to hand.  His pointing abilities are also starting to pronounce themselves, as he pointed birds in the snow with regularity.  Again, last weekend, he tracked a wily rooster for about one hundred yards, pointing it twice along the way, before it finally took flight.  Your force-fetch, collar conditioning and quartering training allowed me to effectively hunt with him on our very first season together.  I can honestly say that I would be satisfied with him today if he never got any better, but I know that this is just the beginning.  I also know that I owe it to him to continue to train him to his full potential.

"Your enthusiasm before we purchased our dogs, through the training of Garth and your continuing willingness to help us with questions or concerns sets the two of you apart.  It is obvious that you are involved in something you both love to do.  We thank you for your talent and the way that you implement it.  We wish you much success.

"Please find attached a couple of pictures of Garth from last weekend.  You can see a picture of our whole gang, including Ole, on our Christmas Card, which is heading your way.

"Sincerely,
Patrice and Chad Nelson
Minneapolis, MN"

Bill Blaquiere, owner of Jake

"Mike & Tiffany,

"Keep up the good work with Jake!  Thank you for keeping in touch with us regarding his progress.  Sounds like he's doing well in his upland training.  And I'm happy to hear the timing of our visit to Chewelah helped his frame of mind and now he realizes that everything is ok.

"Cheryl and I enjoyed our visit with you, Jake and the other dogs in training at the Burlington Ranch. Attending the field trials in Spokane on Saturday was an educational experience.  It was amazing to Cheryl and I just how talented and smart these dogs are!

"Congratulations on your 1st and 2nd place with Maddie & Cruz in the Derby.  I'm happy we were there to help you celebrate and congratulate you on your wins. We are very lucky to have you train our dog.  Keep up the good work!

"Our yellow lab, Doc, enjoyed his bird hunting at the ranch and has been a hunting fool ever since.  I look forward to the day when I can take both Doc & Jake out for a bird hunt.  Maybe the young dog can teach the old dog some new tricks.  Or visa versa.

"Again, congratulations on your wins!  And thank you for training our black lab, Jake."

Bill Percival, owner of Riley

"...I was surprised when Mike informed me after 2 ½ months Riley was forced-fetched, very obedient, and an excellent quartering upland dog. I was amazed at the difference in Riley. Because of my lack of experience with Goldens, I had definitely burned Riley out with too much pressure and repetitive drills. Riley was obviously bored and unresponsive when I sent him out. He was a responsive, eager to please, fired-up dog when I picked him up.

"When I went out to train with Mike, it was obvious from the start how much Riley liked and respected Mike, and how much fun he was having. My dogs are family to me and I was concerned about their well-being. That concern was immediately put to rest. I trained with Mike for 2 ½ days and I think I benefited more than Riley did...."

Click here to read more about Riley

Rob Baker, owner of Copper

Kim Conover, owner of Shed (a started dog)

"Dear Mike and Tiffany,

"I just wanted to drop you a little note. First I want to tell you how much fun we had out West on our visit to you. I wanted to tell you that the little Shed dog that we purchased from you is doing very well. We wanted to thank you for letting us watch you while you trained the dogs. To see someone work with the dogs at all their different ages and levels of training, to remember all their names and the next step of their learning was just amazing. Your positive training methods pay off and the results are easy to see. The enthusiasm in all of the dogs while working was a pleasure to see. We learned so much from just watching you.

"I wanted to thank you for the follow-up call on Shed. It's very nice to see how much the dogs mean to you, and the follow-up advice you gave me for him is working very well. He is turning into such a good dog. You were right about him on all accounts. You made a perfect match choosing a dog with his temperament and talent for us. He is all we were looking for. He is scheduled to take his TDI (therapy dog) test later this month. We'll keep you informed on how he is doing. We did get him out on birds once so far. Lois and my hunting buddy Rich went with us. They did the shooting and I did the dog-work, although there was no real work. He performed so well, even will all of his drive, he listened and performed better than we could have expected. We will keep you updated on his progress, and I may need more advice as he matures and gets bird-crazy.

"I'm really glad that you like client pictures and updates, as I will be sending you plenty of pictures of our adventures.

"Again, I wanted to thank you for spending so much time with us on our vacation / dog purchase, making sure we all were a right fit.

"Sincerely, Kim Conover."

Shaun Burton, owner of Crash (a started dog)

"Mike and Tiffany,

"Crash got his first truly wild pheasant for me the other day on my property. It was actually a double. I think it was the first wild pheasants shot over him unless you think you may have shot one during his training. He did a great job; he went birdy then pointed all in about 1 second... a half second later the first bird flushed. I took two shots at the first bird and in my mind missed and had the bird fly off (again in my mind it turns out). The second bird came out and I nailed it fully. Crash was on it and picked it up then started heading away in the direction of the first bird's path with his head held high sniffing. I called him in and he brought the bird perfectly to hand. I told him to hunt them up again thinking maybe a bird had held tight. He went back out in the direction of the flyaway [and] picked up the first bird which it turns out I did bring down.... Anyway, he did great.

"He is disenchanted with Ohio and its lack of birds. He gets bored quick and ends up pointing mice nests in the hopes they will grow wings and fly... can't say I blame him much. I had the gun on my shoulder for this event, as a matter of fact. [I] didn't think we were going to see anything... he went from ho hum to turned on in the blink of the eye. I could tell the difference huge between this and when he's messing with a mouse or rabbit or deer... he turned on huge like I said, in the blink of an eye. I couldn't get the gun off my shoulder fast enough!

"He's a good boy and really into the family life... he is all about hugs and love and sleeping in the house. Total sweetheart.

"Thanks Mike and Tiff."