Mike Stewart, legendary dog whisperer and founder of Wildrose International, was kind enough to spend a few days with us to provide tips on starting a Gentleman's Gundog. With a particular focus on upland hunting, these training videos offer Mike's unique insight into developing a multi-purpose hunting dog. Watch the full series here.
Mike Stewart, founder of Wildrose Kennels: People always talk about bad dogs. I don't think I've ever had a bad dog. It is the first animal that man domesticated, and it is still part of the pack.
The dog itself is a complement to a sporting lifestyle. It is not just a tool. The shotgun may be the tool, and there's a certain amount of passion that you can have with a shotgun, I guess. But these dogs complement the shoot. They're part of the shoot. There's an emotion, there's a passion that invigorates the entire process of the outdoor experience. And you're sharing this whole experience together with these amazing animals.
So it's not just about the shooting and going and getting the duck, it's about the amazing retrieve that they did. It's the breaking of the ice, it is the making of that beautiful point, it is the strike of that flush that that dog sits still. It is Deke going across that muddy field handling and handling, they find the birds and then runs it down and bringing it back to hand. That's a bird that would otherwise be lost, we couldn't catch it on an icy field.
It's a human bond. They just want to be with you all the time. They're always up to go in the morning as early as you want to go. Stay up as late as you want to go, not like anything else in the country. You find a dog that you identify with and you'll never be alone.
