Winter Kennels

I took my goldendoodle, Lula, to get snake avoidance training at Winter Kennels. We do a lot of off leash on the trails and greenbelts around Austin, so I wanted her to be trained just in case we bumped into a rattlesnake. Snake avoidance training is much more affordable than taking her to the vet should she get bit by a poisonous snake. Kay at Winter Kennels was professional and kind. Scheduling was easy as she was very flexible. We saw her on a Sunday, and the training took about 15 minutes. She was clear on explaining the process and sweet to Lula. It worked so well! After being 'trained' that the snake was bad, Lula would not approach it when we went for it 2-3 more times. She actually ran away from it! I feel a lot more confident now taking Lula on our adventure walks knowing she knows what to smell, hear and look for when it comes to rattlesnakes. I highly recommend snake avoidance training and doing it with Winter Kennels! Oh, also, another great thing - for the life of the dog, Winter Kennels offers a once a year 'refresher' course for free! I will definitely be taking Lula back to continue to teach her this lesson to keep herself as well as anyone who walks with her safe from rattlesnakes.

My dog was being trained by a breeder in another state, but the breeder got sick and couldn’t finish training. (Dog was almost 2yrs old when trainer got sick). I didn’t know anyone else to finish the training. So I started training my dog. I called Mr. Winters (talked to his wife) after my Vizsla’s had gotten bit by a snake for snake training. (Vet bill $$$$). While at snake training his wife was telling me about the training Mr. Winters does with hunting dogs. I took my dog to Harlen Winters for evaluation. I had a strong 2yr old ALFA male hunting machine at the time. I was also making mistakes (Not being the alfa to my dog) in training my dog and it’s why he hurt my shoulder. Harlen agreed to take my dog for 3-5 months while I get my shoulder fixed and finish my dogs training. After 3 months with Harlen, it’s like I have different dog. My dog stayed off and on our 10 months training. Harlen trained ME and my dog. I’m now the alfa to my dog and have finally earned my dogs respect. He’ll be celebrating his 3rd b-day this January at a hunt test event. I have an Amazing/Impressive hunting dog thanks to Harlen. We did our very first hunt test together (11/2015). I had lots of complements from the judges about my dog. The best part, my dog and I had amazing time hunting as a team for the first time. Yes, mistake were made by me. After the hunt test, Harlen took my dog back for a 1 1/2 weeks to work on his weak points, polish his strong points, and he said: Expect to see a lot of me this week, because YOU’RE going to be doing a lot of training with your dog. My dog and I are doing our second hunt test this weekend with 2 clubs back to back. (11/2015). After my training from Harlen, I’m confident and ready this time. Harlen just doesn’t train your dog, he trains you also!