Charlie Thorburn
Charlie Thorburn has been training dogs for 25 years and welcomes you to the DogFather, a show which talks to people from all countries and walks of life about how dogs have impacted their lives and businesses. New episode every week.
Dec 12
Charlie is joined by John Carpenter at Orvis Sandanona in New York State. John is the upland manager of the club and speaks in detail with Charlie about U.K. and U.S. Labradors. John breeds Labradors in the States but is well-versed in British practices, while Charlie breeds Labradors in the U.K. but knows the U.S. scene well. The pair discuss the breeding process, selling puppies, field trials, the types of work each line of Labrador performs, and much more. Check out Orvis Sandanona - https://www.orvis.com/sandanona-shooting-grounds.html Follow John on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/glynevian_gundogs 0:00 - Introduction 3:00 - What Is Orvis Sandanona?3:00 - 6:30 - How Did John Get Into Dogs?6:30 - 18:40 - U.K. vs U.S Labrador 18:40 - 20:12 - Breeding Dogs 20:12 - 23:30 Artificial Insemination 23:30 - 28:45 - American Field Trials 28:45 - 32:50 - Selling Puppies 32:50 - 41:20 - Types Of US Work For US Dogs
Dec 1
Charlie sits down with Kevin Kelly from “Kevin’s” Store in Thomasville. Having known each other for nearly a decade—thanks to Charlie’s frequent dog deliveries in the area—the two cover a wide range of topics.Kevin shares how he launched his store, why it has gained global appeal, and what the future holds for the business. They discuss how to move their respective ventures forward and reflect on the importance of having great employees.Naturally, they also swap stories and anecdotes about dogs in the field, with Kevin offering a few touching remarks about his canine companions.The episode wraps up with Kevin giving Charlie a tour of his gun room.0:00 - Intro 0:41 - Start of Kevin’s 6:50 - The Day-to-Day In Kevin’s11:30 - The Future Of Kevin’s17:41 - Early Days Of Working22:05 - Kevin’s Dogs 29:38 - Kevin’s Gun Room
Nov 16
Harry Bremner, founder of Tuggs dog food, joins Charlie to share his journey, the unique approach behind Tuggs, Charlie’s investment and the early days of product testing, the future of the industry, and much more. Click To Get 50% Off Your First Tuggs Order: https://tuggs.uk/mordor50 0:00 - Introduction 0:47 - Insect Based Protein 5:20 - Early Days Testing 12:40 - Starting The Brand 15:20 - Bringing Production To The UK 19:10 - Improving & Expanding The Product 28:10 - Expanding Into Retail 30:10 - Subscription Model 32:55 - The Future
Nov 8
Charlie and Neil are back, and in this episode, they’re discussing dogs’ eyes - what they can and can’t see, whether they perceive colour, how well they see in the dark, what kinds of objects they can recognise, and whether they’re short- or long-sighted. Neil is a leading ophthalmologist (eye specialist), and Charlie has trained thousands of dogs, so their combined experience makes for a truly fascinating conversation. Join the team with your own Mordor merchandise: https://mordorgundogs.myshopify.com/
Nov 1
Sheldon “Shelly” Steinmetz sits down with Charlie after a day’s shooting at Logiealmond to reflect on their long-standing friendship and the many stories they’ve shared. Originally from America, Shelly came to Scotland to study veterinary medicine at Glasgow University — a move that sparked his passion for terriers and field sports.Fast forward a few years, and Shelly became the first person across the Atlantic to take delivery of a fully trained Mordor dog — and the rest, as they say, is history.0:00 - Introduction 0:57 - How Shelly Found Scotland 5:45 - Working With Terriers 9:05 - Frisbee Dog 13:35 - Setting Up In Connecticut 20:03 - Getting His First Mordor Dog28:40 - Creating The Mordor Gundogs Model34:00 - How Many Mordor Dogs?
Oct 25
Charlie sits down with the owners of Airpets to discuss all aspects of their business: from it's history, how they pivoted from kennels to pet travel, how they actually ship the dogs, runway number 5 and so much more. Mordor Gundogs use Airpets for all their international travel and couldn't recommend them enough. See more here: https://airpets.com/
Oct 18
Philip is the estate manager of the Logiealmond Sporting Estate, based in Perthshire. In this episode, they discuss the owner’s remarkable journey in transforming the estate from an ecological desert into the thriving, award-winning haven it is today.If you’d like to join or host your own Mordor shooting party with our dogs—either this season or next—please feel free to email Charlie at info@mordorgundogs.com.0:00 - Introduction0:46 - Charlie & Logiealmond4:15 - Logiealmond’s Redevelopment 9:25 - Philip’s Golden Retrievers 14:55 - Taking On Logiealmond20:05 - All About Dogs24:05 - International Clients28:20 - Rough Shooting With Mordor
Oct 10
In this episode Charlie is joined by Katie Smith from Fosterwold Gundogs. Filmed back in May, Charlie and Katie discuss a wide range of topics from Katie's background and how she got into training dogs, whether courses are worth it, how they retire their dogs, and why neither have ever kept a son off a stud dog. Fosterowold Gundogs - https://www.fosterwoldgundogs.com/0:00 - Introduction 1:33 - Starting To Train Dogs 3:30 - Are Courses Worth It? 5:26 - She Doesn’t Train Other People’s Dogs? 10:55 - “Retiring” Dogs?14:33 - Keeping Sons From Stud Dogs16:28 - Typical Year Working