Higgins Gundogs: A Review*

Rated TGK's 5 of 5 flushing quail :

Overview: First and foremost, the Higgins Method is a ‘no force, no whoa’ method of birddog ‘training’ which is modeled from his experience working with falcons. It’s all about the relationship shared by predator and prey while simultaneously recognizing well-bred dogs are intelligent creatures capable of learning from their mistakes and want to cooperate with their ‘boss’. Afterall, if you try to use force while ‘training’ a falcon it has a high probability to just up and leave. The beauty of the method is in its simplicity once you have opened your mind to this concept and made yourself ready to learn. The cornerstone of his program is a large block hewn from pure Cooperation & Trust. Brad trains handlers in the art of mindfulness/self-awareness and energy management for both dog and self. Then he presents realistic hunting scenarios to the dog and handler team and hopes errors are made, since this is where the gold is found. At its core Brad’s birds do all of the dogs’ training, we are only there to help the bird and partner with the dog. By increasing the dog’s success, we only increase our own. The result is the handler improves and the dog learns its odds for success go up dramatically when it allows his ‘boss’ to help. Brad’s unique falconry inspired ‘fly the dog’ methodology is elegant as it simply works and works simply.

​Who isn’t it for? If you love to lay on the e-collar and shout ‘whoa’ until the small vessels in your eyes begin to burst, this technique isn’t for you. If you take a lot of joy posting photos of your statuesque dog posing on a Whoa Table/Barrel or fence post, this technique isn’t for you. If your collection of bird launchers is a point of personal pride, you guessed it, this technique isn’t for you. Alright, I’ll dispense with the Jeff Foxworthy shtick, since I am pretty sure you get the point. In short, this methodology isn’t for you if you can’t or are unwilling to open your mind to the possibility that traditional obedience training has nothing to do with cooperation and trust, but is instead much more about coercion, intimidation, and frankly bullying or worse. The use of toe-hitches and ear pinches can very easily cross the line into abuse...

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Who is it for? Have you become disillusioned with the traditional obedience style ‘whoa training’? Do you want better for your dog, and yourself? Have you been looking for or are you ready for something different…well, and if I am to be honest, better? Are you ready to be in real a team-partnership with your dog? Are you ready and willing to learn? If you can answer yes to most if not all of these questions, you need to get off your laurels and get in contact with Brad to get yourself started. Yes, that's right. Just do it.

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​So, what do you get? A better way to manage your dog and hunt. What used to be stressful situations become learning opportunities where growth and improvement in both handler and dog are cultivated. Meaning, learning and improvement come at an exponential rate with no risk of the dog shutting down – after all the dog thinks you are out hunting and having a grand ol’ time, the whole time, every time. Depending on where you and your dog are in your readiness this experience can progress at a truly unbelievable pace. Brad says he can get a team through his program usually in 10 to 15 hours over the course of a couple of days. We brought a well started pup and an adult in need of some serious rewiring. Each managed a smidge over eight hours per dog to make it through Brad's (HGD) 'fly the dog' program. Brad is a consummate gentleman and professional with superior problem-solving skills. He is passionate with a dry sense of humor which was appreciated by us, and even helped us to let go the vestiges of our left-over baggage needing to be jettisoned in order to be successful. Brad isn’t cheap but as a value proposition, seriously, the experience from start to finish is quite the deal. You walk away with having been given a personalized private lesson in what to do and why, be gifted a host of new tools in your dog handling bag, as well a Higgins Quail 'trained’ dog all in just a few days. Simply put, you are not going to get that any place else and you aren't going to be disappointed with the results. I am sparing of glowing endorsements after 30 years of military service - but Higgins Gundogs deserves high marks and public praise!

*We were recently clients of Higgins Gundogs. No goods, services or discounts were exchanged for this review.