PODCAST EP. 181: Pro Dog Trainer Mike Wieben on Training Bird Dog Owners

Host Bob St.Pierre returns to Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennels where pro dog trainer Mike Wieben has been training St.Pierre’s three-year-old German shorthaired pointer, Gitche, to be a better retriever. The guys talk about Gitche’s progress as a retriever and focus on St.Pierre’s role in maintaining Gitche’s training after her return home and throughout the hunting season ahead. Listen back to episode 165 for the first portion of this conversation about Bob’s hopes for Gitche and Wieben’s training plans. Episode Highlights: Wieben talks through the three areas he’s been working on to improve Gitche’s performance; 1) strengthening her retrieve, 2) steadying her point, and 3) teaching her “place,” so she can go for a cast & blast canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this September. Wieben also explains how water retrieving helped Gitche focus her retrieving skills even though St.Pierre doesn’t intend for her to do much waterfowl hunting. The guys also talk about how technological innovations like eCollars, GPS, and even drones have improved dog training and bird hunting. Special thanks to SportDOG® Brand for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast.