Shawn Kinkelaar
Effingham, IL
Background
Shawn Kinkelaar was born and raised in the town of Effingham in central Illinois. Kinkelaar grew up hunting quail and pheasant over pointing dogs with his grandfather and uncle. He began field trialing in the early 1980s and in the late 1980s he began working for and with several of the top shooting dog trainers in the country. Thus, developing a program that is an accumulation of, not only his own training methods, but also those of fellow trainers that he was fortunate enough to work with as well.
Kinkelaar is now one of only two men in the history of Open Horseback Championships to win more than 100 championships. He has also won more National Dog of the Year Awards than any other trainer, which consists of eight awards won by four different dogs. He has also won three English Setter National awards and three National Handler of the Year awards. His training and competition has allowed him to cover a span of nearly all of the United States and a large majority of Canada.
Why I Use SportDOG Brand
I use SportDOG Brand® because it’s a product that’s made for the average outdoor enthusiast. It’s easy to use, affordable and the company will do anything they can to provide great customer service in a personal and friendly way.
Favorite Products
My favorite product is the TEK 1.0, and I’ve been using it since it first hit the market. I never let my dog out in an outdoor setting without it. I also use the rechargeable bark collars for all of my dogs.
Websites
http://www.shawnkinkelaar.com/Articles by Shawn Kinkelaar
Think Smart when it Comes to Summer Training
The list of things you can work on with your pointing dog during the summer months to prepare for the upcoming hunting season is plenty long. In addition to training and/or revisiting things from the last hunting season that need improvement, this is also a time to keep up with...
Skin Laceration Repair in the Field
There is nothing finer than being afield in autumn’s country with bird dogs. The whir of wings as a covey of scaled quail erupts from the sand sage can stir the cholesterol from the morning’s greasy-spoon-country-dinner breakfast. Gun smoke clears the air as the setter climbs through the taut five-stranded...
The Right Way to Cure Crowding
One of the core principles of effective dog training is that the timing of a correction is critical. A dog associates a correction with whatever it is doing at the moment. Waiting too long to make a correction can create confusion. It doesn’t matter whether the correction is verbal, a tug...
Other Senior Prostaff
David Combs
David’s background comes from white-tailed deer and duck hunting. He competes and judges in the North American Hunting Retrieving Association (NAHRA). David has title 1 GMHR, 2 MHR, 3 WR, and 2 SR. His dog training focus is primarily on gun dogs and retrievers.
Pete Lochner
Pete has been a long-time outdoorsman. He has been training his own dogs for many years and has recently become involved with HRC and SRS competitions. He is a member of the L'Anguille HRC and has long been a member of Ducks Unlimited. Pete has a passion for teaching people...
Ashley Hopkins
Ashley started hunting in his early childhood years with his father and grandfather. At the age of 15 he began competing in the United Kennel Club (UKC) and Professional Kennel Club (PKC) hunting associations. Ashley has accomplished many titles in his hunting career. Included among those are four Final Four...
