[AmiableLabs]

You have the dog. You have the money. They have the opening on their truck.

You must choose one, which one do you choose?

Danny Farmer or Mike Lardy?

 

[K G]

Ummm.....not to be argumentative...but...

Is this question appropriate here?

Keith Griffith

 

[Lisa Van Loo]

It could be appropriate if people took it in a lighthearted manner. Kind of reminds me of the endless NASCAR discussions in this place. "If you had the car, the team, the backing, yada, yada, which driver would you pick?" Kind of like Fantasy NFL or some of those other internet funzies. Where the problem arises is when people take it a bit too seriously, start making inappropriate comments about real dogs and trainers, etc. Then it is no fun.

Maybe I should start a Fantasy FT site. At the start of the year, you pick the ten dogs (or 20) you want on "your" truck, and then keep track of all the points won by "your" dogs throughout the year. Kind of like the RTF Spreadsheet on steroids!

Lisa

 

[Franco]

dogs

Well, one has to be impressed with Lardy's support staff. He has excellant assistants as well as hired-help for bird throwers and guns. Everything is run very professionally. Plus, how many Nat'l Champions has he trained? More importantly, how many Nat'l Amt. Champions and AFC's has he trained? Not taking anything away from Farmer, but to be expected to throw birds when you attend a training session is not my idea of an ideal client/pro relationship. I want to be at the line asking questions and learning more, not always throwing birds. I also understand that Lardy is a better people trainer and has better communicaton skills. Now, if I felt I had a very talented dog that we couldn't get a grip on, I send the dog to Farmer and hope that he could work his magic on that dog. That is, if he would except the dog.

 

[K G]

You may be on to something, LVL!

KG

PS...and Booty, if he "excepted" the dog, you'd have your answer and could move on to another dog or trainer! :wink:

 

[Lisa Van Loo]

This is a pretty pressure-cooker environment here, so the boss encourages good clean sport. People have fantasy NFL starting up, while Fantasy NASCAR is in full swing. Our UK folks have got us all picking teams in British Football for their annual trophy. It's all good, clean fun, a little "naughty" (I have Manchester United for an "early bath" sweepstakes...which team gets a player carded in the shortest time), and gives us all something to talk about besides work, work, work.

So why NOT Fantasy FT? Could be fun!

Lisa

 

[Gerard Rozas]

I am not scared to step in the fire

I would pick Danny - reasons

1. He is 90 miles away and I could train with him and my dog on a reqular basics.

2. He runs the same circut I do, so I would get a lot of am starts.

3. We already have a good relationship - and have talked about about what we each like and don't like in training and dogs.

4. I have a high rolling male that you can/should dig into occasionally, and he has been successful with many dogs like that.

5. Wizard is getting his marking game together, but we need lots of work on AA blinds. He is a good marker and can be head strong on difficult blinds - I consider Danny the best at getting a dog like this to AA blinds - esp waterblinds.

6. I know it would be a great dog/handler match.

7. Wisconsin/Florida is too far to drive and I have too many years in my job to change.

Actually, this list is just to demonstrate that there is more to picking a pro than who won what. First, you (client) have to be able to stand the Pro and be able to spend alot of time with him. Second the pro has to be able to work with the type of dog you own, at the level you desire. I would really have second thoughts about dropping a 6 month old off with a Pro that has 15 other FCs on his truck - how much real time is he going to spend in the yard? It has got to be a fit between you/Pro/dog for it to work.

 

[EdA]

How could you go wrong with either one?? :?

Both of them are extremely good handlers and very good judges of dog ability, in addition to being great dog trainers.

Numerous omissions from the list however - there are at least 8 or 10 more trainers in the elite category IMO. 8)

 

[BIG DOG]

If I were able, I would go w/ farmer for alot of the same reasons GR did.
But working as a plant maintience hand, as a guide PT, and selling a few dog training products on the side. I have to do it all myself.
Of the subject but have you guys seen the video Bill Eckett has out at Wal-Mart (DVD)

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I just bought and watched the Eckett video. Its a cool little video to watch but its very basic,i.e., puppy marks, steadying, intro to live birds, intro to guns in the field. Good stuff for basics or a good hunting dog, but no advanced stuff. You wanna buy it from me? :lol:

 

[Terry Britton]

Maybe I should start a Fantasy FT site. At the start of the year, you pick the ten dogs (or 20) you want on "your" truck, and then keep track of all the points won by "your" dogs throughout the year. Kind of like the RTF Spreadsheet on steroids!

Lisa

Why not??? ESPN even has Fantacy Pro Bass fishing. My guys did pretty good last year. I bet someone could set something up with ESPN.

 

[Shayne Mehringer]

I picked Danny too. I've watched them both run (Danny much more so than Mike) and i think Danny has a gift. As i've stated before, he's a "dog whisperer"... so is Judy Aycock (Ed you lucky sob). Lardy is a SMART guy and a marketing genuis... but i vote for Danny.

Not to mention Danny will drink margaritas with me and hit golf balls at Carruth's new house. :wink:

"Never happen agains":
1. No sire will produce like Honcho did
2. No more dogs over 440+ AA points
3. No handler will ever win 19 trials in one year

Credits:
1. Judy
2. Judy
3. Danny

They are the two most gifted dog trainers in the game - in my opinion - and one of them sleeps with Ed... i just hope Judy don't find out. HAHAHAHAHA

Shayne

 

[Franco]

dogs

Just adding to comments made by Gerard (client/pro relationship) and Dr Ed (other top trainers). Having your dog with a pro that gives your dog the time and consideration as his other top clients is a must. If you don't have a special rapport with your pro, he could be the best trainer on the planet but it will do your dog no good. The pro has to like you and your dog to get your money's worth. Of course, you have to have a very good dog to begin with because the competition is just too stiff and you are not going to make delicious chicken salad out of chicken poop. Finding the right trainer for you and your dog is paramount. And, it doesn't have to be a big named pro. Ya just need one that is a successful and accomplished in the sport you want to run and someone that you can develope a great working realtionship with. When I moved to this part of Alabama, my thought were; I'm in no-man's land with no FT heritage or appricaition. Who am I goona send my doggies to? I was thinking that Lardy is too expensive and has too full a load to take my dog or dogs on, with the attention I would require from him. Ditto for Farmer, afterall I'm just a nobody FT guy. I started thinking about Dave Moser and Bill Eckett but wasn't quit ready to make the phone call. Then I met a local guy who had been running HT's for years with great success. He had just hired an assistant to handle the HT dogs and he wanted to concentrate on competing in FT's. All of his current FT dogs at the time were from clients that had no idea what a FT was and he convinced them that they need to run the better dogs in Ft's. At the time, he had just a few well bred dogs and most of them belonged to him. Since then he has sold most of those dogs to clients and they are running FT's with a certain degree of success. Most are still young and in Qualifying. I was the first to go to him and say, "I want you to train and handle my dogs for FT's" That helped greatly in building the relationship. He got Booty when she was 1.5 years old(and since then, sold Booty to Jeff and one of his clients) and Raider after I got him through swim-by when he was 9 months old. I like the work and success that he has deliver to me. Moral of the story is; that special realtionship that one needs with the pro, to be successful with their dogs may well be just around the corner and all you need to do is look, ask and hopefully make the right decision. Sending a dog to an A List trainer is no guarentee that they are going to win with your dog. As an Amateur, one needs to be as good at evaluating potential in a pup as in evaluating a potential pro.

 

[K G]

Dr. Ed wrote:

Numerous omissions from the list however - there are at least 8 or 10 more trainers in the elite category IMO.

That was a reason for my original reply....

Keith Griffith

 

[Franco]

dogs

From the response to this survey, seems like no one cares about either! 8)

 

[Mark Copeland]

They are the two most gifted dog trainers in the game - in my opinion - and one of them sleeps with Ed... i just hope Judy don't find out.

Pure genius!

 

[Andr? Fendlason]

Neither

Who cares... Training the dog yourself is most of the fun.

Andr

 

[Franco]

dogs

Ya can't train a competitive dog yourself. Ya need at least five dedicated folks in a training group who can spend 4 to 5 times a week for 3 to 4 hours per session. Plus have all the live birds and other equipment. Forget about mechanical throwers, especially if you are training to compete. Pro trainers are a nessesity in Ft's unless one doesn't care about being competitive or one has a lot of money and time and can hire the help. Which would end up costing more than a pro. But most of us in FT aren't rich, so we have to go the pro route. The work in FT's is that demanding.

 

[Peake]

But most of us in FT aren't rich, so we have to go the pro route.

So just how reasonable are Mike and Danny's monthly rates? More or less than the avg. monthly home mortgage?
Peake
________
FORD ANGLIA

 

[Mark Copeland]

Pro trainers are a nessesity in Ft's unless one doesn't care about being competitive or one has a lot of money and time and can hire the help.

So very very wrong. You don't need a training group of five that meets four to five days a week. We get it done with a group of three, twice-on weekdays and once on weekends, some times more, some times less. Weekends usually bring a few extra folks. We use pheasant fliers on every training day, pick 'em up on the way to train.

We are all still working with our first dog and I am sure our young dogs will be even better.