Published: February 13, 2008 01:44 pm         

Love of outdoors leads to training hunting dogs

Originally published in the February 8, 2008, print edition.

Brian Roushar has always loved hunting and being outdoors, so his business training dogs for hunting and obedience at West Country Kennels is a perfect fit.

“A lot of people say it’s a dream job,” Roushar said. “You get to meet a lot of interesting people.”

Roushar leases land for West Country Kennels from the Major Avenue Hunt Club near Glencoe. The dogs and their owners can make use of 350 acres of training ground and seven ponds. The kennel building has 26 heated indoor kennels and 21 outdoor kennels.

“Right now we’re training 14 dogs,” Roushar said. “Things start to really pick up in March.” July, August and September are the busiest months for training.

Roushar said his ambition to train dogs began at a young age. Hunting with his family sparked this interest. In 1991, when he was 14, Roushar began a job at a kennel near Lonsdale.

After high school, he started classes at Ridgewater College in Hutchinson. He also began working at the Major Avenue Hunt Club. In 1999, he decided to open his own dog training business, and began leasing the land. Roushar said he had planned to get a college degree, but the dog training has become a full-time commitment.

“Business is way too big now,” he said. Clients have come from Florida, Alaska and even Italy to have their dogs trained. “The majority of our clients are from the Twin Cities,” Roushar said. “We also get people from Arlington, Gaylord, Hutchinson and Mankato.”

The dogs come to West Country Kennels for either boarding or training. “We train every breed,” he said. “Some of the best hunting dogs haven’t been purebreds.”

Dogs can take part in courses that last from two to six weeks. The two-week course is called the “puppy program.” Designed for dogs about 6 months old, the course focuses on retrieving skills and provides an introduction to firearms, birds, waterfowl and upland skills.

The four-week and six-week courses are for dogs at least 8 months old. Owners can select to have dogs trained for hunting or obedience. The obedience course teaches basic commands for family or hunting dogs, such as how to sit, stay, heel and come. The hunting option teaches a dog to fetch, hold and drop objects from the field as well as respond to other commands. Private lessons are also available, which provide training at all levels. In order to participate, dogs must have all shots current within one year.

“We train Monday through Saturday, with two to three sessions per day,” Roushar said. “We usually do 20 minutes to a half hour per session.” Every two weeks, owners come in once to have an hour-long lesson with their dog, he said.

West Country Kennels also provides a stud dog service, meaning owners can bring their female dogs to breed with one of Roushar’s two prize-winning males.

In addition to training dogs, Roushar is a professional upland and waterfowl guide and is on the Innotek Pro-staff.

For more information about West Country Kennels, log on to www.westcountrykennels.com.

     

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