The DogMan and “Hershey” at Bristol Motor Speedway for
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
So Who is This Guy?
My name is Jeff Smith and I am The DogMan
I have been around dogs since the day I was born.
I am better at talking about dogs than I am about myself but here we go. My parents were dog people, I grew up with a couple Boxers named Bo and King. I titled my first obedience dog, a lovely Airedale named Digit, more than 40 years ago. From that time until about the year 2000 I had numerous dogs of all types. Everything from a Jack Russell ( Digger ) to Newfoundland’s.
I’ve been a bird hunter, both upland and waterfowl, for most of my life, but for some reason I had not, at least until the year 2000 put the dogs and the birds together. My dogs had always been more ranch type or house dogs, except for my obedience dogs.
In late 2000 I bought a competition field dog by the name of Nitro and my whole world changed.
In 2001 I started my Kennel “Rocky Mountain Retrievers, LLC. I began taking in dogs to train in 2002 and I continued as a Professional Trainer until 2009. The little economic downturn we had forced me to make some hard decisions. I am still training just not at the level that I did for 7 years or so.
During that 7 years while I was training full time, I also did a lot of volunteer work involving the dogs. I was the President of ( NAHRA) The North American Hunting Retriever Association for 2 years.
In 2001 I started my Kennel “Rocky Mountain Retrievers, LLC. I began taking in dogs to train in 2002 and I continued as a Professional Trainer until 2009. The little economic downturn we had forced me to make some hard decisions. I am still training just not at the level that I did for 7 years or so.
During that 7 years while I was training full time, I also did a lot of volunteer work involving the dogs. I was the President of ( NAHRA) The North American Hunting Retriever Association for 2 years.
I am a charter member of the Helena Bird Dog Club as well as The Treasure Valley Hunting Retriever Club in Boise, Id. I was “The DogMan” for the Montana Outdoor Radio Show ( a statewide syndicated show ) for 4 years. I would do about a 10 minute part in the show every week and that was the lead in for articles that I wrote weekly for the Montana Outdoor website. I also was a frequent guest on Barb Henderson’s Outdoors which was out of Las Vegas, Nevada.
I was a featured demonstrator for the Montana Outdoor Sporting Shows for several years. And I was the featured dog demonstrator for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s National Conventions in 2006 and 2007. The picture I have at the top is from “The Great American Outdoor Adventure” which was a huge sporting show that the Elk Foundation held in Bristol, Tenn. We were there doing some really great dog demonstrations.
I am a certified Field Judge for NAHRA having judged more than 50 events. I have competed in all levels of field tests in both NAHRA and the AKC. I have also competed in ESPN’s Super Retriever Series and even managed to take 4th place in 2003.
Though I have concentrated on training for field work for more than the last 10 years that does not mean I can’t raise and train just a good ol house dog. Everything that we do in the field is an extension of basic obedience and that is the foundation of everything. I do train with an E-collar but I am well versed in clicker training, positive reinforcement, and I have been know to hand out the occasional liver treat!
I was a featured demonstrator for the Montana Outdoor Sporting Shows for several years. And I was the featured dog demonstrator for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s National Conventions in 2006 and 2007. The picture I have at the top is from “The Great American Outdoor Adventure” which was a huge sporting show that the Elk Foundation held in Bristol, Tenn. We were there doing some really great dog demonstrations.
I am a certified Field Judge for NAHRA having judged more than 50 events. I have competed in all levels of field tests in both NAHRA and the AKC. I have also competed in ESPN’s Super Retriever Series and even managed to take 4th place in 2003.
Though I have concentrated on training for field work for more than the last 10 years that does not mean I can’t raise and train just a good ol house dog. Everything that we do in the field is an extension of basic obedience and that is the foundation of everything. I do train with an E-collar but I am well versed in clicker training, positive reinforcement, and I have been know to hand out the occasional liver treat!
I hope that you find the information in my posts to be as useful as I have found it to be.
And as always feel free to contact me with any questions.
Happy Tails!
Jeff
And as always feel free to contact me with any questions.
Happy Tails!
Jeff