About West Wind Retrievers and Training

West Wind Retrievers is the region's hunting-dog trainer, and it is a genuinely different proposition from everything else in this directory: "West Wind offers Obedience training, Gun Dog Training, Breeding and Boarding Services."

The gun dog work

The program is aimed at competition and field work rather than at a dog that retrieves in the garden: "Programs designed to train and prepare your dog for Field Trials and Hunt Tests", and, more plainly, "We train your four-legged best friend, to be your favorite hunting companion." A client review gives a sense of the timeline and the honesty involved: "John did an awesome job training my black lab to be a gun dog. When I got my dog back I could see the time he has spent training him. In his first few weeks he had him ready to pass his first junior hunt test, and he easily passed it. He is an honest trainer and doesn't waste your time, he will tell you what your dog is capable of."

The trainer

""Scooter" was born and raised in Windsor, VA and has been an avid hunter since childhood. He begin training hunting dogs when he was just 13 years old." The professional span is long: "With over 20 years of dog training experience, Scooter has had the privilege of training dogs all over the world. Seven of those years was while working with the United States Marine Corp in the Middle East and here in the US."

The scale, stated as a principle

""We work with a small number of dogs at a time so that we create a more personal relationship with the dog and its owner"." and ""We believe in quality over quantity," say's John Kello, Owner and Trainer". For a residential gun dog program running over months rather than weeks, that ratio matters more than any facility photograph.

The rest of the business

Obedience training is offered for non-hunting dogs – "Improve the communication between you and your four-legged friend." Boarding takes all comers: "You can trust that your dog is safe while you're away. All breeds & sizes welcome." And there is a breeding side – "Award Winning Labrador Retrievers in Windsor Virginia, Labrador Breeding and Stud Service with Champion Bloodlines", with "Male and Female Breeding Available." Ask whether puppies are available.

Where

"11368 Windsor Blvd., Windsor, VA 23487", with its own training grounds and a gun dog check-in form on the site.