His father and grandfathers on both sides of the family both owned and trained various hunting dogs including bird, rabbit, deer and 'coon dogs.  Many of Dave's first impressions of hunting dogs and training came from his father and maternal grandfather in Mississippi. 

Dave's grandfather, 'Papaw McGowan' (Major Charles McGowan), was raised in a family with a long history of Mississippi plantations and hunting.  His great (x4) grandfather McGowan established a settlement in what is now known as southern Hinds county, the Byram area, and is listed in the Mississippi history books as having settled that area.  The McGowan cemetery is listed among historical  cemeteries in Mississippi.  Several generations of avid McGowan hunters enjoyed a variety of hunting dogs including pointers for the "gentleman's bird", bobwhite quail.  Dave grew up into his teens with his 'papaw' influencing Dave's love for all hunting dogs.

Dave takes his heritage seriously & enjoys sharing his knowledge of upland bird hunting.

In the 1960's and 70's, Mississippi boasted good populations of bobwhite quail.  Dave was able to learn about quail hunting and dog training in the genteel ways of the old south.  Before Dave was old enough to get a driver's license, his mother would transport him to his favorite hunting spots so that he could independently hunt and train his dogs after school.  This made a huge impact on his love of bird dogs and Brittanys.

Dave realized his own training limits early on so he apprenticed with a well known and respected field trial professional, Mr. Lou Foehrkolb.  Lou's dogs were G.S.P.'s (German Shorthair Pointers), though his easy touch transcended all breeds of pointing dogs.  Lou trained dogs professionally his entire life and learned from his father who trained and ran a pointing dog operation on a plantation in Georgia.  Lou and his father collectively had over 100 years experience training bird dogs.  Lou finished many dogs with field trial titles and has produced some of the finest field trial G.S.P.'s in the country. 

Lou taught Dave that looking at life through the bird dog's perspective makes training a lot easier.  Mostly, he understood dogs on their level.  He taught Dave how to have fun with it all and is responsible for giving Dave confidence to train professionally as the gentleman's bird dog trainer.

Some impressions Lou made on Dave include: Bird dogs have it or they don't.  Be honest, tell folks what they have, good or bad.  You can't train a dog to be great, it has to have great genetics to begin with.  All breeds have their place, and yes, some breeds cover more ground and have better noses than other breeds.  Caution and slow going is better than too fast because it's better to be under trained than over trained and useless.  Repetition, repetition, repetition. Patience and kindness.  If you recognize a young dog is ready, move forward!

Mostly, Lou was the trainer for Missy who is mentioned in memoriam on this site.  Lou could recognize young dogs potential and develop then to early success (Missy had a big run and was steady to w/s, trained retrieve by age 11 months).  Just when it was thought she had reached her limits at an early age, Lou would show Dave that she was ready for more.  He could 'read' a dog like no other.

Lou's ability to read dogs and train bird dogs without taking the fire out of them is the litmus test by which I judge myself and all other pro trainers.

His specialty is training pointing dogs with a soft disposition (Brittanys in particular).  He finds the 'softest' of dogs both challenging and fun.  Dave has earned a solid reputation for taking dogs that others declared to be 'a pet only'.  Using his soft approach techniques, he transforms them into upland hunting dogs.

Dave's pointing dog experience includes training German Wirehair Pointers, Griffons, Spinone's, Vizslas, English Pointers, German Shorthair Pointers, Gordon Setters, English Setters, Llewellyn Setters, French Brittanys, Red Setters, and of course, American & French Brittanys.  Dave prefers to train only Brittanys because he knows the bloodlines and understands them on their level which is why he is so successful with problem Brittany bird dogs.

Dave wants his clients to visit often so that they too may be trained with their dog (at no additional expense), no matter the owners level of experience.  Dave tells his clients "Visit whenever you want, sun up to sun down, because we have nothing to hide and we want you to feel comfortable knowing that your dog is properly trained & cared for".

His clients are primarily gentlemen hunters from around the country who wish to enjoy their Brittany at home and in the field.  He is respected as a 'hunters trainer'.  Dave use to personally start and train over 100 Brittanys per year at his facilities thanks to a good kennel staff and terrific apprentices.  In recent years, he has backed off to a slower pace with rekindled emphasis on getting afield to hunt and train his own dogs.

Dave enjoys working with families.  He feels that the combination of a loving home and frequent trips afield is what best completes the Brittany.  His reward is not a ribbon or a trophy, his reward is a happy family with a happy Brittany! 

Dave has trained his dogs for clients that have won numerous field trials in various venues.  Though his emphasis is on hunting dogs for families, Dave produced / trained 'Champ' who was named 2003 INBC Juvenile Field Trial Dog of The Year, 'Gunner' qualified for multiple Nationals and is an AKC Field Champion / American Field R/U Champion, 'Annah' completed her show Championship and is field trial pointed, 'Gus' qualified for the National Amateur Gun Dog championships, 'Lady' is a Field Champion, Amateur Field Champion, R/U FDSB Champion, Rusty is a R/U Field Champion, etc. 

Dave continues to focus on gentlemen hunters whose Brittanys are also a family dogs.  Because he does not allow himself to get bogged down with field trials and traveling seminar agendas, he balances his time so that he can visit with each and every client, year round.  Dave has no other job than to train Brittanys full time.  Dave's training intentions are publicly known and he expects his clients to know what he expects of them too.  His pledge to his clients and what his clients must pledge to him before he will train their dog is listed on this web site.  (you can find his pledge here)

Lastly, Dave is well grounded.  He is truthful and will tell you just what he thinks, good or bad.  He's honest as the day is long and he's loyal to his friends and clients.  He guarantees his work.

(Dave created this site December of 1997 because it was too hard to find basic information about Brittanys/Gundog training, upland bird recipes, message boards geared towards average Brittany owners, etc.  Dave figured that there were others out there who just wanted some basic information without being made to buy a book.  His training tips page lists actual techniques for training and Dave is more than happy to answer questions that anyone may have.  Visit his free tips here: http://brittanys.com/Brittany_training.htm)