About Western Wings Working Retrievers

Gun dog training in the Bitterroot

Western Wings Working Retrievers in Stevensville was established in the Bitterroot Valley in 2000 by Don and Michelle Vipperman. It is veteran owned and provides gun dog training, obedience training and boarding from its training facility off Highway 93 just south of Stevensville. Western Wings is a small kennel that limits the number of dogs it works with, and it has access to hundreds of acres of land and water for training on diverse terrain.

Programs

Monthly training and one-on-one programs are offered to fit an owner's availability. Programs include obedience training, started gun dog training and advanced gun dog training, and the kennel also offers puppies, started dogs and studs, along with an apprentice program. The started program builds on obedience with force retrieve, e-collar conditioning, land and water retrieves with live and dead birds, trailing and tracking, duck calls and decoys, shore breaking and steady to shot. It runs a three month minimum, and the trainers work with owners so they are comfortable handling their dogs.

What to ask

Ask about monthly rates and the apprentice program.