Baylor Smith and Brittany Reese - Training, Heritage, and Youth in the Field
Description
#50 The best dog work isn’t loud; it’s calm, clear, and earned one short session at a time. That’s the energy we bring as we sit down with Brittany and Baylor from Oklahoma—two hunters who prove you don’t need a pedigree in the outdoors to fall hard for working dogs, public land, and long miles under an open sky. Brittany didn’t grow up hunting; she jumped in to shake up her life and discovered a sense of peace and purpose that stuck. Baylor learned by doing—training friends’ dogs, reading body language, and refining a five‑minutes‑a‑day philosophy that gets a dog ready to learn before the training starts.
We get practical. Brittany’s 11‑month‑old lab arrived with excitement baked in, so we talk through correcting jumpy greetings without harshness, using a calm voice, and withholding attention to reshape habits. That small shift unlocks bigger wins: steadier sits, clean release words, and the first water retrieves without breaking. Baylor walks through introducing gunfire the right way—slow exposure, careful observation, and pacing the steps to the dog’s confidence. We compare breeds where it matters: labs built for waterfowl; Boykins that shine upland but have limits in wind and distance; GSPs with world‑class drive that need management to find calm. We even wade into the versatility vs specialist debate and share a rare story of a drahthaar passing the HRC Grand.
Tools and safety get honest airtime. E‑collars are communication, not a crutch—tone, vibrate, and low‑level stim used by handlers who’ve felt the collar themselves. Garmin 550 Plus vs simpler Delta units, what matters in the field, and why instant access beats menu diving. We trade field stories—a rattlesnake at the ladder in the dark, 40‑mile upland grinds, axis deer shot opportunities that last four seconds—and the lessons they teach about preparation, hydration, scope setup, and staying composed when it counts. Underneath it all is a thread you can follow: find a mentor, ride along, learn the rules, and bring youth with you. The culture survives when newcomers feel welcome and dogs are trained with patience and clarity.
If you care about gun dog training, public land tactics, and building a stronger hunting community, you’ll feel at home here. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s just getting started, and leave a review with the one tip you’re taking to your next training session—we’ll read our favorites on a future show.
Gundog Nation is Proudly Sponsored by Waterstone Labradors.
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