The idea of an internet based dog training academy came up 3-4 years ago – everybody who saw my training plans, my notes about the exercises and the drawings told me to write a book about my experiences, using my „secret books”. But book writing was not very tempting for me – first of almost every well-known trainer wrote already a book, there are more then enough, second, it is not „live” enough to show the problems and the solutions.
But to make an interactive, always growing and interactive online dogschool system – that was really a challenge! So we started to build up knowledge how to present my know-how through the web, in the frame of a learning system. I wanted to use text, downloadable PDF files and lots of videos showing the situations - and not only the perfect dogs and handlers but also the troubles and mistakes – the real learning path. Therefore I kept Blackthorn Gin & Tonic from Kallisto’s last litter and the work started!
I have been training hunting dogs since 25 years – I started with spaniels and in 1997 I got my first lab Artúr, a show dog from Finnish lines. I bought my first field trial labrador in 2001, Gianna of Carinthia, a wonderful bitch.
With her started my real career as a retriever trainer. She was the right ´material´ to improve also myself and I started to take lessons from well-known UK trainers: John Birkett, Martin Deeley, Gilly Nichols, John Halstead Jr., Ricky Moloney, Laura Hill, Leigh Jackson, Guy Bennett – just to mention a couple of them. I am still learning – every year in the field trial season I go several times to Stefano Martinoli and Springtime I visit UK as many times as I can.
I tried to fish out the best of their methods and syntethise them into a clearly understandable, easy to use system – even for beginners.
I have been training my own dogs and my clients according to this system – and all I can tell: it is working! They have been pretty successful and many of them even progressed to be a professional trainer by now!
Based on my training method I have made up 6 International Field Trial Champions and one Italian FTCH in my kennel:
(if you are interessted to see more results of these dogs please click on the [ ... ] behind the according dogname)
In 2009 my own bred Blackthorn Ascella did an incredible thing in England: she won 2 qualifying Open Field Trials in a row, within a week and she became the first and until now the only one dog bred, trained and owned on the Continent and made up to FTCH under the rules of the UK Kennel Club and she was also running on the IGL Retriever Championship 2009 in Blankley.
I am also a great fan of team competitions: in Blackthorn Teams I won 2 times the German Cup, 3 times the Pannonian Cup, was 3rd in IWT 2014 in Denmark and 2nd, 3rd on the Spessart Cup.
After qualifying myself as an FCI overall work judge I had finished a practical FT judging course in England organized by the Kennel Club with the guidance of Sandra and John Halstead and John Drury. It was a great honour and joy to learn from the Top Judges in England! In the past years I have judged Workingtests and Field Trials several times times in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Latvia, Switzerland and Norway - and in 2008 I had the honour to judge even on a Field Trial in England!
Based on more then 25 years of experience of daily training of my dogs and even much more with my students, I try to put all my knowledge into this Academy. I really hope and even I am sure that this will help many-many handlers to improve their dog training, and have more fun and success with their dogs!
