• Services Provided by Northern Flight Retrievers!

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 Northern Flight Retrievers' kennel and training grounds are located about 40 miles west of Boise, in Western Idaho's Payette River Valley close to the Oregon border. Flushing dogs are worked on game birds in actual upland hunting conditions. Waterfowl dogs are trained on live birds, working from boats and blinds over decoys at the finest water training area in western Idaho.

 Our kennel was originally established in Glenwood Springs, Colorado in the late 1970s. At this time we were training our own Chesapeake Bay Retrievers (along with an occasional Labrador) to hunt Canada Geese on western Colorado's ice-filled and treacherous Colorado River. During the off-season, we played the field trial and later hunt test "game" with our own dogs and occasionally bred a litter of Chesapeakes. The early eighties found us helping friends who had become involved with training their dogs and solving their training problems. Eventually, after working with many of these dogs while they were away on business or vacation, we decided it was time to consider retriever training as a business. Northern Flight Retrievers was established in 1984 in Colorado as a part-time business. Within a short period of time an outstanding shooting preserve and training area was opened nearby and we were lucky enough to be able to train on their facilities. Hunt test and field trial competitors filled our spare time as we traveled to states as far away as Maryland and Virginia for trials and tests.

 The Summer of 1988 found Bill Tarrant (Gun Dog Editor of Field And Stream Magazine) in Colorado to do interviews and take photographs for an upcoming retriever training book. Bill was interviewing Mike Gould, who owned the hunting preserve where we trained, and was using some of Mike's training methods and drills for a new book to be entitled, TRAINING THE HUNTING RETRIEVER - THE NEW PROGRAM for Howell Books. Bill had previously asked Mike's help in doing some of his monthly columns. At Mike's suggestion, Bill selected the photos of one of our Chesapeakes to demonstrate the advanced water blind retrieves and handling for inclusion in his book. Since that time, photos of our training and Chesapeakes have appeared in nearly every one of Bill Tarrant's training books. Sadly, Bill didn't know the dog's name who demonstrated her outstanding abilities in TRAINING THE HUNTING RETRIEVER so he called her "Chesie" and thus "Maggie" (Chesbrook's Magic Duckbuster WDQ) never quite got her much deserved recognition.

 In late 1991, Linda Harger stopped by to train with us in Colorado on her way to the Chesapeake Specialty field trial. This started the ball rolling to come to Idaho and train for Linda at North Star Kennels and a chance to be involved with the finest Chesapeakes in the country. Training at North Star Kennels afforded the opportunity to work with and critically examine a variety of retrievers. These dogs included not only Chesapeakes but Labs and Golden's also. Our dedication to the Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed was significantly enhanced by this experience.

 Northern Flight Retrievers was re-established in 1993 in Payette River Valley of western Idaho. The kennel is a modern, secure training and breeding facility. The roofed dog runs, some with wooden floors (better on a dog's feet and physical structure) and some with concrete floors are enclosed in large and securely fenced exercise yards. All dogs are released into the yards twice each day either in groups or individually as the need and temperaments warrant. We find that by releasing everyone into these exercise yards regularly, it promotes the dogs' mental and physical health and helps prepare them to do the work that is required of them in training.

 We are not a boarding kennel; we are in the full-time retriever training business. All of the dogs at Northern Flight Retrievers' facility are either in for field training or are part of our own hunting and breeding stock. Since Linda Harger is no longer in the professional dog training business, we refer all inquiries for boarding to Linda's kennel.

 All dogs entering Northern Flight Retrievers' kennel must have proof of current vaccinations. We do not allow any dog to enter the kennel without proof of Parvo Virus shots at least three days prior to kenneling. We have a SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS section on our information form and will comply with any special medications or foods or any other reasonable request. There is a Veterinary Technician adjacent to the kennel with more than ten years of experience. She maintains her own personal kennels and takes care of ours when the need arises.

 Northern Flight Retrievers and owner/trainer Butch Goodwin are nationally recognized specialists in the field of retriever gun dog training. We are students and staunch proponents of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed. Butch Goodwin is a Department Contributor and columnist for RETRIEVER JOURNAL Magazine writing feature articles about Chesapeakes and retriever training. We have been featured in numerous retriever training books including, TRAINING THE HUNTING RETRIEVER - THE NEW PROGRAM, TRAINING THE VERSATILE RETRIEVER TO HUNT UPLAND BIRDS and GUN DOG TRAINING: NEW STRATEGIES FROM TODAY'S TOP TRAINERS. Additionally, we were the subjects of an article in the September 1996 issue of FIELD & STREAM Magazine entitled, Natural Ability.

 Whether you are interested in training for your retriever or a Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy, Northern Flight Retrievers strives to offer the finest available.

 Thanks for taking the time to get to know Northern Flight Retrievers a little better. We would like to invite you to browse our additional Web pages which detail our training and breeding programs. We look forward to hearing from you!

Services Provided by Northern Flight Retrievers!

 Although we train all breeds of hunting retrievers, Northern Flight Retrievers specializes in the Chesapeake Bay Retriever. We selectively breed America's Finest Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Our breeding program strives to produce Chesapeakes of the finest quality, health, and natural ability.

Click here to visit our Web pages on the Chesapeake Bay Retriever and our excellent breeding program.