40 years of experience

Julie started her dog training by taking already trained 4-H obedience family dogs and redoing the work. She started AKC showmanship and obedience at the age of 10, the earliest participation was allowed. At college graduation her father told her “You should come watch these retrievers training for field trials” and from that Saturday in 1982, she’s been training field retrievers since. To see dogs do something so precise, so demanding with such intensity and passion was very captivating, and Julie has run field trails, hunt tests and upland competitions since then.

Marrying a professional trainer and having 2 kids sent Julie into full time professional retriever training so she’d always be home with the kids, both of whom became excellent bird throwers and gunners. 31 years later she’s still training at all levels, hunting dogs and fully finished competitive dogs. Having titled over 85 Grand Master Pointing Retrievers, 4 or 5 dozen Master Hunters and literally hundreds of lower and midrange hunt test tiles, a number of upland National Champions and lots of family dogs and hunters, there isn’t much left to try.

Between the book, the audiobook version, the podcast and the Facebook Page open to all interested in shared help and stories, Julie has made as much information as possible to everyone interested in becoming a little bit better at what they love doing.