Who influeced how you train

[BonMallari]

Since the political version of this appears on POTUS I thought it would be fun to try this here especially since we have so many new members

Let me start

My biggest influence is my brother Clint , but I feel that he is more influenced by two men in his life that played a pivotal role in how we train today
His first mentor was John Luther who was a very misunderstood guy who learned with the likes of Gonia Sr and the rest if the Washington crew

But along came Roy McFall and not only refined what Clint knew but they formed a lifelong Father-son-mentor relationship that really shared common training philosophies

I had lots of input from George Wilson in the early days during Clint's absence but mainly in problem solving

[M&K's Retrievers]

That would have to be my good friend and hunting companion, Joe Jesmer, our first trainer, Melanie Denicus , Clint Johnson, and anyone else willing to give me a lesson.

[Ken Bora]

Charles P Ginsberg.

[Richard Davis]

Greg Lee, CHARLES DYGOS, WAYNE GEY & Augie Farnsworth, One Pro & Three Amateurs. Thanks!

[Sophie Gundog]

Bubba and the Redhead, and the rest of the crew, it's a journey,not a race..........

[Erik Nilsson]

My mentor/training partner is a lady by the name of Sue Knapp. She has judged the Grand and what is nice is that we follow the same program of training. She challenges me and my dogs in our training and is not hesitant to give me a reminder ear pinch once in a while either. LOl. She is a big a Chessie person and I get to train with some really nice young dogs with her. I am very grateful for she has done for me and my dogs and I try to give back as much as I can.

[Evan]

1. "Bill Von" (William Von Erdmannsdorff), the breeder I got my first Lab from, and who gave me my copy of Training Your Retriever by James Lamb Free
2. D. L. Walters, who taught me to appreciate an organized approach to daily training
3. Rex Carr, who taught me more than I could ever write in a forum post
4. My wife, who not only took most of the notes from my summer with Rex, but who always helps me to think things through!

Evan

[DEDEYE]

Howard... He took me underwing when I gave up. No matter how many books I read, no matter how many videos, I DIDN'T GET IT.. So one night at a board meeting, he offered to help me in the school parking lots.. It was -10 degrees every night. Howard was extremely frustrated with me and would vent his frustrations here in the chat room.. At the time, he said Darla would never pass a Q, and possibly would get a couple of master passes.. Later, he said if she ever beat Bam in an AA stake, he would buy champagne... Love my Howie....
Spankys win 2011 046.jpg

[BAYDOG]

My father whom trained with Joe Letta for years, Kim and Bill Mosses from Hunters Marsh Kennels, Richard Wolters, and Evan G's program now!

[Brad Turner]

Chad Baker and Mark Chase. They always push me to challenge my limits. More recently, Pat Burns. Pat has taught me about the precision needed to be competitive (even though I'm not yet ) and helps me work through problems.