About Garner Creek Kennels

Retriever training in McRae

Garner Creek Kennels is a retriever training kennel in McRae run by owner Chase Evans, who describes a passion for duck hunting, a thrill for the hunt test game and a love for the retriever breed. Chase worked for a local pro trainer and then for a Hall-of-Fame trainer in Texas before moving back to Central Arkansas, where GCK "officially began" at the end of 2020. The kennel says it has since trained numerous Hunting Retriever Champs. His wife, Sarah Lowry-Evans, handles marketing, pup photos and the puppy program.

Programs

Garner Creek offers a Puppy Program, obedience training for dogs that just need the basics, gun dog training, competition retriever work, a Duck Dog Tune-Up, a summer trip and boarding. Its advanced duck and gun dog program is for retrievers only. Whether an owner wants a hunting companion, a hunt guide's dog or a titled competitor, the kennel says it has a program to fit. It also breeds retrievers.

The facility

Dogs stay in large kennels that are heated and insulated with spray foam. The kennel says they run roughly 25 to 30 degrees cooler in the summer months, so dogs stay acclimated to the heat without overheating.