Building Success: Vickie and Claire’s Inspiring Journey

Vickie has done an incredible job training her gundog, Claire. Through consistent work and mutual trust, they’ve built a strong bond that shines in the field. Watching Claire retrieve is a sight to behold, showcasing the power of dedication and the right training approach.

Vickie has a clear message for anyone looking to train an exceptional gundog: “It’s all about progress, not perfection.”

At Cornerstone Gundog Academy (CGA), we have a saying: #BuildFromHere and Progress Over Perfection. Vickie has truly embraced this mindset in her training with Claire. “What I learned going through the process is that you just follow the progress of the program. Don’t rush. Don’t be in a hurry. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the process. Build from where you are and continue to build on from there,” Vickie shares.

Vickie emphasizes the importance of celebrating small wins. “Celebrate your wins in training. If your dog doesn’t understand something, they’re trying to tell you. Back up, take your time, and build from the last successful step. You’ll be able to advance your training from there.” This philosophy of incremental progress is key to building a strong, reliable retriever.

One of the essential aspects of successful dog training is finding wins for your dog. Vickie knows that if Claire excels at a 30-yard retrieve but struggles at 40 yards, she may need more successful repetitions at 30 yards before gradually increasing the distance to 35, then 40, and so on. Before you know it, your dog will be able to handle 200+ yard retrieves in any condition.

By applying these principles, Vickie has seen beautiful results with Claire. “Even though her progress went fairly quickly, we stayed on task. We stuck with the program, and before we knew it, we were moving from lesson to lesson. She was doing things that made me think, ‘Wow, we’re doing this already. This is amazing.’ Build from here. Go day by day, week by week, and before you know it, you’ll have an awesome gundog.”

Join the CGA Community

We are incredibly proud of Vickie for following the CGA principles and helping Claire reach her full potential. If you want to learn how to bring out the best in your dog, check out the Complete Retriever program. This program provides the guidance and support needed to help your dog become a successful gundog.

You can do this too. Remember, it’s all about progress and enjoying the journey.

BuildFromHere,

Your CGA Team

Follow Vickie and Claire's Journey

We’ll be sharing more of Vickie and Claire’s inspiring journey on our social channels all month long. Follow along with them on Facebook and Instagram to see their continued progress and training tips.