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Kaiser remembers and wants nothing to do with this baby rattler.

Rattlesnake avoidance training is, in my opinion, essential for any serious gundog or any dog that spends time off leash) here in Southern California.  The late Patrick Callaghan, the pioneer of this type of training, once told me that on average a dog need a yearly refresher for the four years in a row before the training really took hold.  Patrick performed Kaisers first two avoidance trainings, and Erick Briggs of Natural Solutions performed his other refreshers once we lost Patrick.


Ericks associate puts a Mojave Green in place.

Kaiser wants no part of it.

Today I had Erick come out to a local park, that I felt simulated the likely terrain I usually hunt, to give Kaisers fourth refresher.  I did not have Kaiser trained last year for whatever reason and with all this warm weather I felt it was a good ideal to do another refresher.  Kaiser, once he scented the reptile, he remembered instantly that was not a good smell.  It seemed that the last few trainings have took and I was glad to see that.  Even though Kaiser seems to properly rattlesnake broke, I will likely do another refresher next year as well as I like its cheap insurance.  Erick had several types of California rattlers with him and let Kaiser scent each of them to let him know that they are to be avoided.   Not only are dogs trained on scent but on sound and sight as well.  Looks like we are ready to head out.

For those who have had their dogs rattlesnake trained here in Southern California, it was most likely done by Patrick Callaghan of Gameland Kennels. Unfortunately, Patrick has past and has many of us looking for a replacement. While doing some Internet searches I did find one, Natural Solutions. http://socalrattlesnakeavoidancetraining.com/

I had my dog do a refresher with them. Patrick had once told me that it usually takes about 5 years for it to really set into the dogs mind. This is Kaisers third year.

Although I am no snake avoidance expert, I know Patrick may not have approved of all of their training methods. They definitely conducted there session a little differently than Patrick but that being said I am not knocking NS but rather I am saying they are different than what I have done in the past. Everyone has different training methods and philosophies. I can say NS was professional and knowledgeable. One thing they did that Patrick never did was they used baby rattlers. I may be mistaken but the reason Patrick never used them was because the babys do not put out scent. NS disagrees. In any case I think its prudent to use them whether or not they put out scent. Its better safe than sorry. One of the best features is that they do house calls. I recommend anyone with a dog to do such a training especially any gundog or outdoor dog in California. Even though this does not guarantee your dog from ever having an encounter with a rattler, its cheap insurance and should be done.