CONSUMER ALERT -- Raging River Gundogs

[uplandlabs]

Do not take your dog to the trainers in Fall City, WA known as Raging River Gundogs. These guys are awful! They are going out of business or something. My dog and I had a terrible experience. Dog was maybe run 1 day in 7. Kept in filthy kennel almost all of the time. Fed substandard food. Ended up getting injured. After three months and $2100 I have a dog that cowers at the sight of a leash and won't obey any commands. He went out super birdy and obedient and came back a cowering scared pup. This so called "business" operates on land leased from Carlson's K-9 Country Club in Fall City, WA. Avoid these guys like the plague!

[mkcj]

I put my first dog at carlson's for a month when I was gone for work and they did a great job with him. Sorry to hear that hopfully you can get the dog back to a hunter.

[uplandlabs]

These guys are not direclty affiliated with Carlson's. They just lease land and buildings. They are only trainers and don't board. The Carlson's are well known and have a good reputation. I am working with a very well known and regarded trainer now to evaluate my dog. If he is salvageable I'm willing to live and learn. I just don't want anyone else to fall victim here. As I learn more this may not be the first time or place these guys have struck.

[scudmaster]

Was the name of the trainer Gleason?

[uplandlabs]

No, Cochran.

[scudmaster]

There was a guy in North Bend that was Named Gleason.  He has been know to be a little heavy handed.  Is Cochran out of Edgewick?  I have heard there is an old guy out there that has been a trainer for years.  He is old school in all the bad ways from what I am told by multiple sources.

Sorry to hear about your pup.  Good luck getting him back into shape. 

Scud

[follow maggie]

Sorry to hear about your pup.

If anyone's looking for a good trainer, I can recommend Upland Dogs in Ellensburg.  I just got my lab pup back after she spent a month there.  She was well fed, was worked 5-6 days a week, obviously had a good time judging by her interaction with the trainer and gets after the pheasants.  In fact, one of the pheasants we hunted, I didn't have to shoot.  She chased it down and brought back to us.  She is now a good started gun dog.

Hope you can salvage the pup.  Not many things are more aggravating than that.

[Happy Gilmore]

Sorry to hear of problems with your dog and your experience with the trainer. Not all dogs respond well to all aspects of training or a particular trainers style. It took my personal dog about 4 weeks to "get up" again after force fetching and force to water. High level training requires pressure and dogs all respond differently. 

I train on the Carlson's grounds almost every night. I do not have any affiliation to the kennel or the trainer in question although, I do know that the kennels are very well maintained and clean. I regularly talk with the retriever trainer and have chatted with him numerous times while walking through the kennels. He is very well respected and a very even mannered trainer. I would not hesitate to leave my dog in the kennels or for training. I have also watched him progress through the hunt test season with a truck load of dogs other trainers probably would turn down.

There are two separate trainers operating out of Carlson's. The trainers board the dogs that they are training. They are not mixed with the K-9 Country Club boarding.

A training partner of mine also managed the kennel for many years working directly with Bert Carlson. Bert and his son Larrance are at the kennels on a regular basis and wouldn't allow any substandard conditions. Bert's field trial lab breeding stock lives in the same kennel.

Feel free to PM me if, you would like any recommendations on trainers. Happy

[skynyr]

There's a guy up in Acme Wa. I'd stay away from also..... Acme Hunting Club. 
    I took my german shorthair in for a session once and never went back again. His first lesson was "whoa training" he did this by looping a rope around the dog's hind quarters and when he pulled on the rope it cinched up around his nards to get his attention. Okay simple enough. But when he pulled on the rope to cinch it up while giving the 'whoa' command, my dog started yelping and was obviously in a lot of pain, he responded by saying my dog was being dramatic because he didn't want to listen due to the fact that I was standing there and he was trying to get his way by whimpering and yelping.... So giving him the benefit of the doubt (because he was the "professional" after all) I let him continue with the lesson.  He eventually whoa'd on command but not without resistance and he was shaking something fierce. I'd never seen my dog act like this before and was baffled why he would be reacting like this if he wasn't in pain.  Later when it was time to go home, I loaded up the dog and checked out his underside. It was obvious now why he was yelping. He was all welted up!!!! My dog's skin was getting caught in the rope's loop. Dude was    After that experience I continued training the dog myself and he does what I need him to do... without the welts.    All the moron could say is "oops, that usually doesn't happen" ....
wasn't impressed

[Shannon]

I don't know the guy in Acme but that is a pretty common method of getting a dogs attention on Whoa training. Normally does not do anything but annoy the dog. I have used it in the past with no bad affects.

[skynyr]

I don't know the guy in Acme but that is a pretty common method of getting a dogs attention on Whoa training. Normally does not do anything but annoy the dog. I have used it in the past with no bad affects.

I understand using that method, I'll probably use that method on my next dog. But, I would try to be a lot more careful than he was though. 

[JBR]

Upland - was that Jim Cochran?  If so, I took a pup out there to him on one occasion for an 'evaluation', but never sent him there for any training.  I've seen him at the Sportsman Shows locally but never known anyone who sent dogs to him...if it's the same guy.  Interesting info...

[Happy Gilmore]

Jim Cochran is Raging River Gundogs / Pointer trainer.

Andy Fontenot was leasing kennels/grounds at Carlsons(where Raging River leases) training retrievers. He has moved his kennel to Winlock, Wa./no longer at Carlsons/Raging River.

I don't know anything about Jim. Haven't ever seen him working a dog. But, I am usually at Carlsons training in the evenings.

Hap

[Skyvalhunter]

Jim Cochran trained my dog. He did an excellent job. Have no quams what so ever!! I have even boarded my dog there while I was on vacation and hardly any charge. Jim is a bit quiet until you get to know him. He seems to work very hard.