About Us
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Northern Air Retrievers makes it home along the eastern seaboard of Virginia in the scenic Northern Neck of VA.
We believe that there is nothing better than a well-trained dog to help create the perfect experience and unforgettable memories in the field or on the water. Whether your goal is an obedient companion, finished hunting retriever, or an AKC/UKC hunt test competitor, Northern Air Retrievers can tailor a curriculum to your needs. We will discuss your goals and thoroughly evaluate each dog prior to the start of its training. Because every dog is different, we tailor our training techniques specifically to that dog. Because we prefer to focus on personal attention, we keep a maximum of 10 dogs in training at a time; this ensures each dog receives the time and attention that is vital for their success. |
We specialize in training competitive retrievers and gundogs, and we compete in all levels of AKC and UKC sanctioned hunt tests.
Our training revolves around working with your dog’s natural abilities, talents, and desires to help them reach their maximum potential while working towards your goal that you have for your dog. We have one-on-one training sessions with each owner to form a cohesive team between you and your dog. Dogs will be exposed to various environments, terrain and situations during their stay. In addition to their daily training regimen, each dog receives specialized time; one-on-one training, “pack time” with the other dogs, and daily exercise. We know that your dog is a member of your family, so while they are here, they're a member of ours. |
"There is nothing better than a well-trained dog to help create the perfect experience and unforgettable memories in the field or on the water.”
Training Programs
Puppy Head Start Program
*We are currently not taking puppy headstart puppies at the moment, with the exception of puppies that are 4+ months old. We will update this webpage when that changes*
Set the foundation for your puppy's learning and training ability early!
We take puppies as early as 8 weeks old. The foundation of your future companion, gundog, and hunt test retriever starts with PROPER socialization to the stimuli they will be spending the rest of their lives around; such as live birds, water, and gunfire.
Head Start puppies will be living in our home learning name recognition, crate training, potty training, basic obedience commands (such as here, sit, heel), loose leash work, and much more.
We introduce puppies to a variety of new things, including children, other puppies and dogs, new environments, water (weather permitting), birds (live and dead), gunfire, and travel.
It is important for young puppies to be exposed to as many different stimuli and scenarios as possible. From relaxing in social settings, to riding in a truck, and observing older dogs in the field - our goal is to create a well-rounded retriever. Puppies who complete this program have an advantage when entering into our gundog program.
Puppy Headstart: $1000/month
*Purina Pro Plan puppy food and birds are included in the monthly price.
We only take a limited number of Puppy Head Start Puppies, call to reserve your spot today!
*We are currently not taking puppy headstart puppies at the moment, with the exception of puppies that are 4+ months old. We will update this webpage when that changes*
Set the foundation for your puppy's learning and training ability early!
We take puppies as early as 8 weeks old. The foundation of your future companion, gundog, and hunt test retriever starts with PROPER socialization to the stimuli they will be spending the rest of their lives around; such as live birds, water, and gunfire.
Head Start puppies will be living in our home learning name recognition, crate training, potty training, basic obedience commands (such as here, sit, heel), loose leash work, and much more.
We introduce puppies to a variety of new things, including children, other puppies and dogs, new environments, water (weather permitting), birds (live and dead), gunfire, and travel.
It is important for young puppies to be exposed to as many different stimuli and scenarios as possible. From relaxing in social settings, to riding in a truck, and observing older dogs in the field - our goal is to create a well-rounded retriever. Puppies who complete this program have an advantage when entering into our gundog program.
Puppy Headstart: $1000/month
*Purina Pro Plan puppy food and birds are included in the monthly price.
We only take a limited number of Puppy Head Start Puppies, call to reserve your spot today!
Basic Obedience Program
Keep your dog happy and under control.
Basic obedience is important for all dogs, especially high energy breeds that need mental stimulation as well as physical exercise. The "basics" are never as basic as many would believe. These "basics" are the foundation that your dog will fall back on in times of stress and excitement. As with all things in life - the stronger the foundation, the stronger the structure. This foundation is essential for a well-behaved pet.
We strive to build the strongest obedience foundation we can with your dogs in the allotted time we have with them. This ensures that you and your dog can fall back on this foundation whenever needed in real-world situations. Our obedience program covers sit, kennel, off-leash recall, place training, off-leash and on leash heeling and social behaviors (with people and other dogs).
Basic Obedience: $900/month
Keep your dog happy and under control.
Basic obedience is important for all dogs, especially high energy breeds that need mental stimulation as well as physical exercise. The "basics" are never as basic as many would believe. These "basics" are the foundation that your dog will fall back on in times of stress and excitement. As with all things in life - the stronger the foundation, the stronger the structure. This foundation is essential for a well-behaved pet.
We strive to build the strongest obedience foundation we can with your dogs in the allotted time we have with them. This ensures that you and your dog can fall back on this foundation whenever needed in real-world situations. Our obedience program covers sit, kennel, off-leash recall, place training, off-leash and on leash heeling and social behaviors (with people and other dogs).
Basic Obedience: $900/month
Basic Gundog Program
The foundational program of a finished retriever or a solid hunting buddy for the average duck hunter.
Our Basic Gun Dog Program is our most popular program for dog as young as 6 months of age. We highly recommend, but is not required, that your pup complete the Puppy Head Start Program before starting the Basic Gun Dog Program.
The first few months of the Basic Gundog Program follows the Basic Obedience Training Program - sit, here, heel, and place - with the addition of Collar Conditioning and Force Fetch.
This program takes everything that your dog will have learned so far and then applies it in the field. Your dog will be introduced to gunfire, dead birds, decoys, and duck calls during this stage of training. We will start out by teaching simple land and water marks and slowly transition them to doubles and long singles. Your dog will be steady until sent and will deliver to hand.
Upon completion of this program, your dog will be able to successfully achieve an AKC Junior and/or UKC Started title.
Basic Gundog: $900/month
*Purina Pro Plan all life stages food, zoom dog supplements, and birds are included in the monthly price.
*We are now requiring a 5 month minimum stay for Basic Gundog. Every dog is different and your dog may take more or less time to be trained.
The foundational program of a finished retriever or a solid hunting buddy for the average duck hunter.
Our Basic Gun Dog Program is our most popular program for dog as young as 6 months of age. We highly recommend, but is not required, that your pup complete the Puppy Head Start Program before starting the Basic Gun Dog Program.
The first few months of the Basic Gundog Program follows the Basic Obedience Training Program - sit, here, heel, and place - with the addition of Collar Conditioning and Force Fetch.
This program takes everything that your dog will have learned so far and then applies it in the field. Your dog will be introduced to gunfire, dead birds, decoys, and duck calls during this stage of training. We will start out by teaching simple land and water marks and slowly transition them to doubles and long singles. Your dog will be steady until sent and will deliver to hand.
Upon completion of this program, your dog will be able to successfully achieve an AKC Junior and/or UKC Started title.
Basic Gundog: $900/month
*Purina Pro Plan all life stages food, zoom dog supplements, and birds are included in the monthly price.
*We are now requiring a 5 month minimum stay for Basic Gundog. Every dog is different and your dog may take more or less time to be trained.
Advanced Gundog Program
Advance your dogs skills acquired in the basic gundog program - making your dog into a well oiled machine in the field.
Advance your dogs skills acquired in the basic gundog program - making your dog into a well oiled machine in the field.
The advanced program builds on the skill set from the basic gundog program to take your dog to the next level. This program emphasizes all the essential gundog skills including obedience, steady to shot, quietly honoring other dogs in the field, diversion birds, delivery, decheating, blind retrieves, and hunting cover and marking.
Advanced training involves your dog learning more complex marking scenarios and blind retrieves on land and in water. Dogs in our advanced program will be able to memorize and efficiently retrieve multiple marks and confidently run blind retrieves (even with diversions present), with an emphasis on steadiness and consistency.
This advanced level of training will prepare your dog for senior/seasoned and master/finished level hunt tests and to be a well rounded and efficient hunting partner.
Advanced Gundog: $900/month
*Purina Pro Plan all life stages food, zoom dog supplements, and birds are included in the monthly price.
Advanced training involves your dog learning more complex marking scenarios and blind retrieves on land and in water. Dogs in our advanced program will be able to memorize and efficiently retrieve multiple marks and confidently run blind retrieves (even with diversions present), with an emphasis on steadiness and consistency.
This advanced level of training will prepare your dog for senior/seasoned and master/finished level hunt tests and to be a well rounded and efficient hunting partner.
Advanced Gundog: $900/month
*Purina Pro Plan all life stages food, zoom dog supplements, and birds are included in the monthly price.
Lessons
One-on-One Lessons
We also offer lessons to train you to train your dog. This is for the hands on owner who wants to be more involved in their dogs training by doing it themselves, but need some guidance. These one-on-one sessions are designed for and around your dog and it's needs. We will provide training aids needed for the session, but you will need your own training aids for completing the assigned homework. Live birds are not included in lesson pricing, they are an additional add on if requested. So what should you expect from on-on-one training? You will meet with us each week to review the previous weeks training. Discuss in detail what you worked on, how it went, if/what problems or issues you experienced. Head out to the yard/field to have a short review of the previous week's training to verify that you and your dog are on track. You will then begin a new training concept and/or fix any previous issues that you may have come across in your homework. The session will end with clarifying any questions and assigning the next weeks homework. Sessions are approximately an hour. These lessons are more successful on a weekly basis.
Email or call us at any time to set up an initial consult for you and your dog. We can move forward from there scheduling a lesson plan that works with all of our schedules.
We also offer lessons to train you to train your dog. This is for the hands on owner who wants to be more involved in their dogs training by doing it themselves, but need some guidance. These one-on-one sessions are designed for and around your dog and it's needs. We will provide training aids needed for the session, but you will need your own training aids for completing the assigned homework. Live birds are not included in lesson pricing, they are an additional add on if requested. So what should you expect from on-on-one training? You will meet with us each week to review the previous weeks training. Discuss in detail what you worked on, how it went, if/what problems or issues you experienced. Head out to the yard/field to have a short review of the previous week's training to verify that you and your dog are on track. You will then begin a new training concept and/or fix any previous issues that you may have come across in your homework. The session will end with clarifying any questions and assigning the next weeks homework. Sessions are approximately an hour. These lessons are more successful on a weekly basis.
Email or call us at any time to set up an initial consult for you and your dog. We can move forward from there scheduling a lesson plan that works with all of our schedules.
Dogtra Dealer
Dogtra electronic collars come in several different models to help you with your training needs from basic obedience to advanced fieldwork. Our e-collars have a patented Rheostat Dial on the transmitter to gradually and precisely increase or decrease the levels of stimulation that the dog requires. Dogtra electronic collars use state-of-the-art microcomputer technology to provide the utmost reliability and to meet the highest standards in dog training safety.
If you are interested in more information or purchasing Dogtra products, reach out to Brandon at [email protected] or 248-709-1596.
If you are interested in more information or purchasing Dogtra products, reach out to Brandon at [email protected] or 248-709-1596.
We are proud to be partnered with Gunner Kennels.
Based in Nashville, TN, GUNNER builds the best dog products in the world, to give your dogs the lives they deserve.
Gunner launched their company with the G1™ kennel – the world’s safest crate – inspired by the passion and drive that Addison's dog Gunner gave when retrieving. Today, the G1™ is the market’s only double-walled rotomolded kennel with a 5 Star Crash Test rating, and a dog crate proven to save real dogs in real wrecks. It's an American Made product designed with safety in mind at every inch, helping safeguard against human error and seasonal elements. They back up their confidence by offering a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty on each kennel.
If you are looking for more information or to purchase a Gunner kennel or merchandise, feel free to reach out with your questions and/or order information. We offer Gunner merchandise and kennels to our clients at our discounted price.
Gunner launched their company with the G1™ kennel – the world’s safest crate – inspired by the passion and drive that Addison's dog Gunner gave when retrieving. Today, the G1™ is the market’s only double-walled rotomolded kennel with a 5 Star Crash Test rating, and a dog crate proven to save real dogs in real wrecks. It's an American Made product designed with safety in mind at every inch, helping safeguard against human error and seasonal elements. They back up their confidence by offering a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty on each kennel.
If you are looking for more information or to purchase a Gunner kennel or merchandise, feel free to reach out with your questions and/or order information. We offer Gunner merchandise and kennels to our clients at our discounted price.