Just curious what the average cost is to send one to be profesionally trained and campaigned until it recieved its HRCH and MH titles. Dog comes home to hunt during hunting seasons then returns to compete. Not counting puppy price, vet bills and things like that. I know all dogs are different, but I bet there is an average cost to have one fully trained and titled?
Gerald Kelley
Average Cost??
How many months from start to finish do you think? are we talking 12k from start to finish or more then that. saying they compete 6 months are year?
Figure the dog goes off at about 7 months. Stays with the pro until the titles, varies but probably until it is about 2-3 years old. That would not be taking the dog home. If you did that, deduct how long you would have it home for hunting season (but I would keep it with the pro for the first year), but you would probably have to add more on the back end as losing that training time would probably mean the dog was older when it titled.
Well, you don't have to pay it all up front 
Also, there is no reason you couldn't get a MH on your dog without a pro. It would take longer, most likely, but it is certainly possible. If you really want bang for your buck, put the dog with a pro until it is through transition then take up the training yourself. The dog will have basic skills and you can work on the more advanced stuff on your own.
Also, there is no reason you couldn't get a MH on your dog without a pro. It would take longer, most likely, but it is certainly possible. If you really want bang for your buck, put the dog with a pro until it is through transition then take up the training yourself. The dog will have basic skills and you can work on the more advanced stuff on your own.
I agree was just thinking it would be nice to have one 3 or so that was finished to enjoy hunting since that what I get to do most of. I don't have the know how to even pass a MH test with a MH dog LOL.
If you are just looking for an HRCH and MH title, I think you can get it done cheaper if you find the right breeding that gives you the best chance to make what you are looking for. A balanced breeding and a good trainer can put HRCH tiles on pretty close to a year or a little after. It really just comes down to finding a nice balance breeding and a pro that is geared to get you what you want. Be sure to find someone that can devote good time each day with your dog. Be careful and do your research, if you put your dog with someone that has 30+ dogs on the truck you might be doubling the time in training. If they do have several dogs just make sure they have a good system so your animal gets the drill work it needs as well as marks and setups. Gerald PM me
For $40k I hope I'm close to having an FC. You can find a AA washout for $10,000 to $15,000 that will run all the MH test you want. Hunt test pros buy them for their clients everyday. Some stack their trucks with them to run the SRS. A nice trained dog will make any handler look good.
I feel like I need to explain my estimate.
In 21 years of training and testing my own dogs, and 18+ years of judging HT's for all 3 programs, I would say the AVERAGE age of a SOLID MH/HRCH performer is 3 yoa. By solid, I mean passing 75% of the tests they are entered in.
Yes, I've seen a few prodigies that could pass just about anything thrown at them as 2 year-olds, but the key here is FEW. I have even seen some achieve the titles earlier, but they had some real holes in their training and failed more tests than they passed. They were thrown into water way over their head, and to their credit, persevered through sheer talent in spite of insufficient training.
The OP expressed a desire to have a dog trained to those titles. I based the price on food, Vet bills, training cost, live bird costs, entry fees, and handlers fees. I really don't think I'm that far off.
As someone else pointed out, this is beyond what makes a good hunting dog. I would say that an HR/SH/WR would fill a hunter's needs very nicely. That could be done by a good pro with a good pupil in probably half that amount of time, and that level of training is within most amateurs ability if they are willing to put in the sweat/hours/time.-Paul
In 21 years of training and testing my own dogs, and 18+ years of judging HT's for all 3 programs, I would say the AVERAGE age of a SOLID MH/HRCH performer is 3 yoa. By solid, I mean passing 75% of the tests they are entered in.
Yes, I've seen a few prodigies that could pass just about anything thrown at them as 2 year-olds, but the key here is FEW. I have even seen some achieve the titles earlier, but they had some real holes in their training and failed more tests than they passed. They were thrown into water way over their head, and to their credit, persevered through sheer talent in spite of insufficient training.
The OP expressed a desire to have a dog trained to those titles. I based the price on food, Vet bills, training cost, live bird costs, entry fees, and handlers fees. I really don't think I'm that far off.
As someone else pointed out, this is beyond what makes a good hunting dog. I would say that an HR/SH/WR would fill a hunter's needs very nicely. That could be done by a good pro with a good pupil in probably half that amount of time, and that level of training is within most amateurs ability if they are willing to put in the sweat/hours/time.-Paul
I have a 3 year old HRCH. Working towards MH now. In first year he was with trainer 4 months. Second year 5 months. Third year 3 months. During the time at trainers I tried to go and train with them weekly, and brought him home on weekends. When he wasn't in full time training with pro I work him a little each day if possible. We run lots of tests. Went SHR, HR, then HRCH. In process of getting AKC titles now.
Approx year or so with pro full time spread over 3 years.
Not sure how some are calculating time or money.
I only count training fees, and hunt test expenses. Even if not hunt test or hunting dog I would still have food and vet expenses, so why include.
I couldn't have left mine for 12-15 months straight and expected same result. He needed to mature. Hunting was good to settle and focus him, plus it increased his drive and excitement to train. Plus I needed time to learn as well to be better handler. My trainer has always joked with me that he knew my dog could do it, but he wasn't sure about me. So, he was training both of us!
My trainer's fees include training and food. No hunt test or travel included. You pay that as you test. He will run your dog, but encourages owners to handle themselves. I paid approx $500 a month.
Brett Bunk at Cuivre River Retrievers is my pro. Small operation. Trains only 10-12 at time. Books almost year in advance.
Approx year or so with pro full time spread over 3 years.
Not sure how some are calculating time or money.
I only count training fees, and hunt test expenses. Even if not hunt test or hunting dog I would still have food and vet expenses, so why include.
I couldn't have left mine for 12-15 months straight and expected same result. He needed to mature. Hunting was good to settle and focus him, plus it increased his drive and excitement to train. Plus I needed time to learn as well to be better handler. My trainer has always joked with me that he knew my dog could do it, but he wasn't sure about me. So, he was training both of us!
My trainer's fees include training and food. No hunt test or travel included. You pay that as you test. He will run your dog, but encourages owners to handle themselves. I paid approx $500 a month.
Brett Bunk at Cuivre River Retrievers is my pro. Small operation. Trains only 10-12 at time. Books almost year in advance.
CVRSIX my thoughts exactly on the other expenses. So your saying a couple thousand a year for your dog so far the way I look at it.
I agree I don't need the title for a hunting dog. I have a dog that isn't trained anywhere close to that level and she has picked up every bird I have ever asked of her. Some I didn't ask of her when she was younger lol. To have my pup titled and trained to that level is a dream of mine. He might be a washout hard to tell at 4 months old.
Thanks for all the replies
Gerald
I agree I don't need the title for a hunting dog. I have a dog that isn't trained anywhere close to that level and she has picked up every bird I have ever asked of her. Some I didn't ask of her when she was younger lol. To have my pup titled and trained to that level is a dream of mine. He might be a washout hard to tell at 4 months old.
Thanks for all the replies
Gerald
My .02.. What does the title give you ? Just food for thought... Dogs don't live very long.. and its unlikely you'll recoup the costs with stud fees... Been there done that (myself fwiw not with a pro) and not with retrievers just to be clear..
Point being you can have a great dog that has every skill that a dog with a title has .. without the title.
If you just want one (i.e. bucket list) then figure out how to work it out, as many have suggested above and do the deal !
I worked my butt off to finish several field champions myself (cause I couldn't afford to pay a pro) and it was satisfying but the reality is... they are still dogs, they don't live nearly long enough and a title doesn't make your day out hunting any better than if the dog doesn't have a title..
fwiw everyone please don't start the whole "why we NEED HT, FT" I understand the need to test/compete I'm just helping Gerald with some things to think about .. I've been there (obviously not with retrievers but nonetheless) and now am past it.. so I'm giving him my reflection of my experiences..
Best wishes and best of luck no matter your decision...
Point being you can have a great dog that has every skill that a dog with a title has .. without the title.
If you just want one (i.e. bucket list) then figure out how to work it out, as many have suggested above and do the deal !
I worked my butt off to finish several field champions myself (cause I couldn't afford to pay a pro) and it was satisfying but the reality is... they are still dogs, they don't live nearly long enough and a title doesn't make your day out hunting any better than if the dog doesn't have a title..
fwiw everyone please don't start the whole "why we NEED HT, FT" I understand the need to test/compete
I'm just helping Gerald with some things to think about .. I've been there (obviously not with retrievers but nonetheless) and now am past it.. so I'm giving him my reflection of my experiences..Best wishes and best of luck no matter your decision...
Most trainers around here charge $400-$600 per month. They would need your dog for about 6-8 months to put an HRCH on him, so that's around $3000-$4000 for training. You also have the costs of tests and handling fees. Assuming the dog passes every test, you'll run 2 Started, 3 Seasoned, and 4 Finished tests at an average cost of $60 each for $540 and about the same for handling fees ($540). So, if your dog passes everything, it will cost around $5500 for an HRCH.
Then, if you want to go for 1000 points, like I did, (with a dog that didn't pass every test), well, I don't even want to think about what I've spent. But, we've had a BALL!!!!
Then, if you want to go for 1000 points, like I did, (with a dog that didn't pass every test), well, I don't even want to think about what I've spent. But, we've had a BALL!!!!
I agree with David. That is the average price that you will spend for an HRCH dog. Give or take depending on the amount of tests that are ran. You will probable save a little buying one already finished.
Another question to add to this…how many of you have bought a dog and left it with a trainer for this long to achieve these titles? If you figure you send the dog off at 6 months or so, and it takes another 6-8 months to get to HRCH (at minimum) and you factor in that most people pay around $1,000 for the dog (at least), then another average of $5,500 in training fees you're looking at best case scenario: $6,500 investment and not having your dog for at least one hunting season if his birthday falls in a good time of the year.
I'm just curious how many people have put the time and money into doing this? If you have no plans on breeding him, is there still an advantage to it?
We had a dog get to SH at about 14 months or so. The trainer asked my bro in law to keep him and continue running him because he had potential. With hunting season quickly approaching, he declined to leave him with the trainer because he wanted to hunt him. His reasoning was two fold: #1) he bought the dog to hunt #2) he thought the more time he spent in the blind at a young age picking up birds, the better hunting dog he would be later. Thoughts?
I'm just curious how many people have put the time and money into doing this? If you have no plans on breeding him, is there still an advantage to it?
We had a dog get to SH at about 14 months or so. The trainer asked my bro in law to keep him and continue running him because he had potential. With hunting season quickly approaching, he declined to leave him with the trainer because he wanted to hunt him. His reasoning was two fold: #1) he bought the dog to hunt #2) he thought the more time he spent in the blind at a young age picking up birds, the better hunting dog he would be later. Thoughts?
You start wanting to add advanced work to dogs it takes time!! Several months if not years Just think about the average age of a dog that passes a HRCH MH... its about 3.5-5 years old
Another thing to keep in mind is your dogs health. Sport injuries can hit your pocketbook pretty hard.
Get health insurance for your dogs right away, when they're puppies.
.
And back to the original topic.
BUDGET $1,000/month for a dog in training/running events.
Get health insurance for your dogs right away, when they're puppies.
.
And back to the original topic.
BUDGET $1,000/month for a dog in training/running events.
I have a 20 month old BLM. I bought him from a highly, highly reputable trainer in Jonesboro Arkansas. I also had this pro trainer train my dog as well. I ran him in 4/4 seasoned tests to get his HR title at 16 months and 5/5 in SH at 18 months old. We have taken duck season off from training and focused on hunting. He picked up 250 ducks this year plus countless pheasants from a few tower shoots. I expanded off of the fundamentals the pro put in my dog for 10 months. I couldnt be happier... All in all, I had kennel fees of $750/month x 10 months. That comes out to $7500.
I ran him in all the hunt tests myself. I have probably $600 in entry fees. I chose to run him in the tests myself because 1 i thought I would save some money.... I totally forgot travel expense and time involved. I am glad I ran my dog, but dont cross out letting a pro run him for you. Its not a bad deal in the big picture.
I have $8500 +/- in kennel fees and hunt test entry fees. I hunted my dog his first season and he did phenomenal. We are training for finished right now, and have been doing finished work for quite some time. I should have his HRCH this spring and have his MH this fall. He will be 2.5 years old in December for referance. Hope this helps.
The route I chose to go wasnt the cheapest, but I have a solid trained dog with tons of potential. I know many who have spent alot more, but I wouldnt trade it for the world the route I chose. The bond created between us passing our first hunt test together to picking up his first mallard and Sprig Pintail in an Arkansas Ricefield, priceless...
Good luck!
I ran him in all the hunt tests myself. I have probably $600 in entry fees. I chose to run him in the tests myself because 1 i thought I would save some money.... I totally forgot travel expense and time involved. I am glad I ran my dog, but dont cross out letting a pro run him for you. Its not a bad deal in the big picture.
I have $8500 +/- in kennel fees and hunt test entry fees. I hunted my dog his first season and he did phenomenal. We are training for finished right now, and have been doing finished work for quite some time. I should have his HRCH this spring and have his MH this fall. He will be 2.5 years old in December for referance. Hope this helps.
The route I chose to go wasnt the cheapest, but I have a solid trained dog with tons of potential. I know many who have spent alot more, but I wouldnt trade it for the world the route I chose. The bond created between us passing our first hunt test together to picking up his first mallard and Sprig Pintail in an Arkansas Ricefield, priceless...
Good luck!
At 55 cents per mile, it costs us going on $1000 per month in auto expense. Add the cost of food & supplements, entry fees, ground fees, etc., it is cheaper send to a pro than train ourselves...but not near as rewarding. Of course the cost goes down in places that do not entail driving at least 100 miles one way to get halfway decent technical water.
Wow...this is why I really like this forum....this is a great post, with many really good comments....
I have been a duck hunter for most of my life, but until 25+ years ago I never had a dog. I then got my first Golden Retriever (I know, I know...why not a Lab, that's another story). I started reading books on how to train dogs to hunt. My oldest son and I spent most of a summer training her to retrieve, sit, heal, etc.,...that season out we went to hunt with her. Fortunately, she had a lot of natural talent, but if she did not see the fall, my son became the retriever. I knew there was more to learn...
A friend ask me to a hunt test, had no idea what it was...but the people their looked at my dog, and took lots of time to start teaching me about hunt tests, retrievers, and even talked about Field Trials. I left that test inspired to learn more. Since then I have had 5 more Goldens (3 still with me). I have used pro trainers on all of them, including my current girl who is in Texas now getting her second round of training. The first two dogs I only had trained for 4 months, to a level to pass JH. With each dog and I have learned more and I was able to take them to where they could line and handle fairly well when hunting with us.
My initial goal was to have a good hunting dog, that goal was accomplished with all my dogs...but during this time...I also got hooked on hunt tests..I earned some titles but never a MH....this time, with my new girl, we plan to go all the way. She has all the talent....I'm just not sure my trainer will ever get me good enough to handle her at that level....I hesitate to have someone else handle her because, it is not the title itself, it is me handling her to a title that I want.
For having these dogs is something special as both my wife and I love the dogs, I love to hunt with them, and one of my favorite pass times is running them on hunt tests. That is why I spend the money and the time.....not to make money on breeding, or selling them after training...
I think it is important if you spend this time and money to know exactly what you want out of it....for me it is pure pleasure (sometime frustrating)...but then what isn't if it is a challenge....
I have been a duck hunter for most of my life, but until 25+ years ago I never had a dog. I then got my first Golden Retriever (I know, I know...why not a Lab, that's another story). I started reading books on how to train dogs to hunt. My oldest son and I spent most of a summer training her to retrieve, sit, heal, etc.,...that season out we went to hunt with her. Fortunately, she had a lot of natural talent, but if she did not see the fall, my son became the retriever. I knew there was more to learn...
A friend ask me to a hunt test, had no idea what it was...but the people their looked at my dog, and took lots of time to start teaching me about hunt tests, retrievers, and even talked about Field Trials. I left that test inspired to learn more. Since then I have had 5 more Goldens (3 still with me). I have used pro trainers on all of them, including my current girl who is in Texas now getting her second round of training. The first two dogs I only had trained for 4 months, to a level to pass JH. With each dog and I have learned more and I was able to take them to where they could line and handle fairly well when hunting with us.
My initial goal was to have a good hunting dog, that goal was accomplished with all my dogs...but during this time...I also got hooked on hunt tests..I earned some titles but never a MH....this time, with my new girl, we plan to go all the way. She has all the talent....I'm just not sure my trainer will ever get me good enough to handle her at that level....I hesitate to have someone else handle her because, it is not the title itself, it is me handling her to a title that I want.
For having these dogs is something special as both my wife and I love the dogs, I love to hunt with them, and one of my favorite pass times is running them on hunt tests. That is why I spend the money and the time.....not to make money on breeding, or selling them after training...
I think it is important if you spend this time and money to know exactly what you want out of it....for me it is pure pleasure (sometime frustrating)...but then what isn't if it is a challenge....
If you have a hobby it is probably not cheap. Golf, fishing, photography etc. If you calculate the cost versus the level of enjoyment you get and it does not measure up to expectations find a new hobby. Field trials have been my hobby for my entire adult life and I have never considered the cost except for how it fits into my budget which has changed considerably in almost 45 years.
I disagree with Paul that a so called field trial washout equals baggage as I could give many examples of those dogs who went on to have successful field trial careers, careers as family hunting dogs, careers as professional hunting guide dogs, and successful careers as detection dogs. Generally buying a trained dog is cheaper than starting with a puppy without the time and risk involved.
I disagree with Paul that a so called field trial washout equals baggage as I could give many examples of those dogs who went on to have successful field trial careers, careers as family hunting dogs, careers as professional hunting guide dogs, and successful careers as detection dogs. Generally buying a trained dog is cheaper than starting with a puppy without the time and risk involved.
i an not advertising but.......i can tell y'all where there is a well bred, solid, qual/master/finished dog for waaaaaaay less than $40k!
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