luvnlabs
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| 07/01/2008 9:56 PM |
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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 sub-standard 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! > |
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Doc_E
N.E. WA state
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| 07/01/2008 10:05 PM |
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It pays to do your homework before committing your dog to a trainer.
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Doc E and Cujo Casey boy. |
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luvnlabs
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| 07/01/2008 10:17 PM |
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| Don't I know it! I was referred by Carlson's and one of these guys (Fontenot) is pretty well known. Just goes to show you it can happen to anyone and anywhere no matter how careful you are. My advice now is if they ask for money up front run away! A quality trainer will give you a bill when he is complete because he is supremely confident in his ability to deliver and as a businessman knows you can't take people's money for very long without delivering. |
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Waterdog
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| 07/04/2008 9:06 AM |
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Andy Fontenot here from Fall City- formerly associated with Raging River Gun Dogs. I was owner/operator of Waterdog Kennels in the South, and am once again using that kennel name. I do operate out of Carlson's- but no longer am associated with Raging River Gun Dogs. I am sorry for your experience, but want you to know I have neveer even seen your dog, nor was I involved in any way in his training I only train
retrievers for AKC/UKC hunt tests. When it comes to pointing labs, I only do the retriever work. To date, the only pointing lab I have in training is a GMPR/HRCH, owned by a client in Colorado.
I can only apologize for your experience, and let you know that I am no longer associated with Raging River Gun Dogs because of this type of business practice.
A couple words of advice. You should always check out a trainer before sending your dog (references...) and you should also make sure you see your dog at least once a month to check on its progress. I encourage all my clients to come out once a week if possible after the first month of training. Owner participation is critical. If you cannot get ahold of your trainer for more than two/three days, your next trip should be to the kennel to pick up your dog. Also, most trainers collect money up front. It is common practice. No one could stay in business if they only collected on a dog every 3 or 4 months.
Sincerely,
Andy Fontenot
985-640-1178
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hooligan
Southern California and Vancouver Island
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| 07/04/2008 9:42 AM |
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luvnlabs, sorry for your experience. I do not know Raging River Gun Dogs, or anyone who is affiliated with them. I do not "know" Andy Fontenot. But I do know how easy it is for someone to get tarred and feathered on the internet by mere association, so I thought I would post what I have personally witnessed on his behalf.
I have been at several tests that Andy has run dogs at. I have been parked next to his rig, and watched him air, handle and run his dogs. All the dogs I have seen him with have had good attitudes, have been clean and healthy looking, and were well watered during a hot day. I know the PL he trains because I recognized the dog when they were in the holding blind. He and his wife are both polite and friendly. This is not an endorsement of him, because I don't have experience that would allow me to do that-just observations-but I would have a hard time believing that the dogs I saw in his care had the experience luvnlabs describes.
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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. |
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bump111097
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| 07/04/2008 10:01 AM |
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| I am a client of Andy Fontenot, of Waterdog Kennels, and I have been a client of his for four years, through the summer testing seasons. I have followed him from the South to the Northwest with both of my dogs and I have only had positive experiences with excellent results.
My (Fox-Red) Yellow male has GMPR and HRCH titles and currently working towards his AKC Master title this season. While my Black female is cruising through titles and has just received her UKC HR title and multiple AKC passes. I have only experienced the utmost quality of training from Andy Fontenot of Waterdog Kennels and would highly recommend him to anyone looking for quality and professionalism.
In the beginning I did my homework, looking for trainers, and decided on Waterdog Kennels a year before I actually sent my dog. I was highly impressed with the results he provided and his mannerisms when interacting with the dogs. I visit the kennel, both South or Northwest, once a month while my dogs are in training. Distance has never an issue when while my dogs were in training...1,300 miles. This training is as much for the owner as it is for the dog. I can assure you that Andy Fontenot keeps his facilities cleaner than most people keep their kennels at home. I can assure you that to work dogs in the manner that Andy Fontenot does, substandard food would be inadequate to maintain the conditioning of the dogs at this level, working everyday, six days a week. I can assure you that I have never heard of a professional trainer not collecting upfront. I believe this is standard business practice.
Lastly, I believe the owner has a responsibility, as much as the trainer, to ensure that the expectation of training and care is met.
I am sorry for your negative experience with Raging River Gun Dogs and I can only speak to my positive experiences with Andy Fontenot of Waterdog Kennels. I would be happy to discuss Waterdog Kennels with anyone.
Bobby Gish
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luvnlabs
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| 07/04/2008 4:38 PM |
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| You are absolutely correct. My error to not note explicitly that Andy is not part of the problem and has a stellar reputation. I had not been made aware of the business separation. That Sorry you were caught up in this same mess. I apologize if my posts gave the wrong impression. |
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snoqualmievalleyduckman
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| 07/06/2008 3:27 PM |
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| My name is Clint Irving I am very familiar with the Canine Country Club as well as a friend to both trainers mentioned above, I have no interest in being involved in you childish rant about the training something i have heard and believe you as a owner did very little to correct. I am however pissed off that you would claim your dog was fed inadequate food while in training, i have never been made aware that Pro Plan is not a quality food, maybe you could tell me something about that? And the kennels are kept very clean at all country club and related facilities, i know this because at one point i was an employee and am still connected to the kennel. Possibly your dog was a kennel runner and needed to have the **** shocked out of it to stop the problem of it making a mess of its kennel there is only so much cleaning that can be done to a kennel in a day. Hope to see you afield with your dog when you get it in training with someone you feel is capable! |
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keskam
Pierce, Colorado
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| 07/06/2008 7:30 PM |
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Posted By snoqualmievalleyduckman on 07/06/2008 3:27 PM
My name is Clint Irving I am very familiar with the Canine Country Club as well as a friend to both trainers mentioned above, I have no interest in being involved in you childish rant about the training something i have heard and believe you as a owner did very little to correct. I am however pissed off that you would claim your dog was fed inadequate food while in training, i have never been made aware that Pro Plan is not a quality food, maybe you could tell me something about that? And the kennels are kept very clean at all country club and related facilities, i know this because at one point i was an employee and am still connected to the kennel. Possibly your dog was a kennel runner and needed to have the **** shocked out of it to stop the problem of it making a mess of its kennel there is only so much cleaning that can be done to a kennel in a day. Hope to see you afield with your dog when you get it in training with someone you feel is capable!
Well Clint from this post he is lucky to get his dog out of there. Dont know them from Adam but you convinced me.. |
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Paco
On a stream in NW,MI.
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| 07/06/2008 8:26 PM |
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| Wow! Forum waking up?----DF |
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Association of the MM,and proud member of Team RUN-N-GUN--- GMPR HRCH Fraquelli's Sauble River "Gator" and introducing--CPR HRK's Liberators Outlaw"Rondo" |
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Doc_E
N.E. WA state
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| 07/07/2008 6:46 AM |
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Posted By snoqualmievalleyduckman on 07/06/2008 3:27 PM
needed to have the **** shocked out of it to stop the problem
WOW ! Really ?
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Doc E and Cujo Casey boy. |
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snoqualmievalleyduckman
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| 07/07/2008 12:28 PM |
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| its not my favorite thing in the world but if you find a trainer who doesnt have one dog that runs its kennels there is a better than average chance there using some form of electricity to stop the running...sorry for the first outburst on here but i feel luvnlabs was out of line in his handling of the situation and i dont believe everything he said was correct. |
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redjenn
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| 07/07/2008 6:22 PM |
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| My husband and I have had our Lab with Raging River Gun Dogs for 4 months and we have never had ANY problems. His kennel is always clean, he is well fed and very happy. We bring our dog home on the weekends and he is always happy to return to the kennel. He isn't the least bit shy of his trainer. We came to Raging River Gun Dogs on a very reliable reference and continue to be glad we did. |
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