About Chenango Valley Kennels

Chenango Valley Kennels is Vincent Guglielmo's hunting-dog kennel on Hattie Clark Road in Greene, built in 1987 in the Chenango Valley. It is a specialist operation: English Setters and English Pointers bred and trained for grouse and woodcock.

Training

Although English Setters are the kennel's own breed, it states that it trains all pointing breeds from young pup to veteran, and specifically welcomes the more difficult cases. Training is residential. Unless the work is a brush-up, the kennel enforces a three-month minimum stay, on the stated reasoning that anything shorter would not be fair to the dog and would not let them guarantee results. The training season runs from May to the end of September, before hunting season opens on October 1.

How a program runs

The kennel asks the owner for a wish list first, then roughs out a training schedule against it. The dog is given a week to acclimatize to new surroundings and handlers, so work begins in week two. Learning curves vary, so the kennel asks owners to wait to be contacted about progress rather than checking in; it compares the arrangement to sending a child to college and waiting for the report card. At the end of the term the owner is invited to watch the dog work and to be instructed themselves, because the kennel is explicit that the owner has to reinforce what the dog has learned once it is home, and it asks owners to call afterward with questions.

Breeding

The kennel runs a selective English Setter breeding program aimed primarily at hunters, planning a litter once or twice a year, though it notes the breed settles easily into a household. Pups usually go to their homes at the end of summer and are invited back for professional training. The kennel advises getting a new pup onto birds as early as possible.

Boarding

Separately from the training and breeding, the kennel boards dogs of all sizes year-round. It is a 32-run facility with each run measuring four by sixteen feet, able to take one or two dogs, and it requires current booster and rabies vaccinations. Food is provided if the owner does not bring any; blankets are discouraged but treats and toys are welcome.