Testimonials

In Memory of Sully

"When my wife and I decided to become GSP enthusiasts after growing up with water dogs in South LA our entire life, we looked to a reputable breeder outside of Houston to get started. After falling in love with our Sully it was without a doubt that we would take our breeder's advice and put our dog in the hands of their trainer Buck. Seeing their dogs in the field prior, I knew the training was sound. Being somewhat green in the area of upland work myself, I came to see that training with Buck was invaluable. Not only was he finishing top notch dogs for the expert upland hunter, but he was willing to train me in how to handle the dog. After an hour long discussion and review of all the information that was unique to myself and to my dog we headed out to the field. Buck had planted some live birds and took Sully on lead for his first exposure to anything of the sort. As we approached the third bird, Buck told me to get my camera out because he was going to point the next one. Shortly after that Sully caught his wind and there he stood as a perfect statue like something on the cover of Gun Dog magazine. I was amazed, and I was hooked. Aside from the end result of the training itself, there was no part of my experience that was not 100% professional. Buck's facilities are excellent and well kept. He is passionate about what he does. He truly individualizes training to each and every dog. He doesn't overload his schedule or his kennel. He takes the time to converse with you before the training, weekly while the dog is in camp, as well as post training follow ups. There is not time you cannot call or email him and receive a prompt response. He has the dogs well being and safety in mind at all times. My dog left as healthy and happy as he came. We have a new puppy now, and all I can do is count the days until I get him into Buck's hands. He truly is a Christian man and puts God and his family first. But you will be glad to know he will put your canine loved one as a close third."

JoDee and Andre Broussard

Lafayette, LA

Gunner putting on a show! I took Gunner and Buster with my youngest son on a put and take hunt yesterday. Wow, what fun! Both dogs performed really well. Gunner was nothing short of amazing; he demonstrated a great nose, was solid rock steady to wing and short and did some retrieving too. Buster did well too though he did not show the nose that Gunner did. He pointed, was steady to wing and shot and show great determination retrieving wounded birds in very heavy brush. We had a great morning and I could not have been more pleased with work of the dogs. Thanks again for all your training! I'll do a better job taking more pictures next time.

thanks,

Scott Neal

I just wanted to let you know that I've worked with my dog twice using what you told me on the phone - basically, just changing the way I was using the e-collar, and she will already whoa when she's running with about 95% accuracy. The 5% of the time when she doesn't, she stops about three steps after I first touch the button. Clearly you know what you're talking about!

I just placed my order for Perfect Start, Perfect Finish from Gun Dog Supply, and will begin using it as soon as it arrives. When the time comes, I will definitely contact you for help.

Thank you again for your advice on the phone the other day!

-Patrick O'Neil

If you get to thinking you're a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else's dog around.

-Will Rogers

Buck, did a phenomenal job with Samantha. It was hard to find a trainer in Texas that would take a Vizsla pup and train them to be a gun dog because of the care and patience needed with their breed.

I’m so glad we found Backyard Kennels. There were no frills; Buck was very upfront with me from the get go. When I dropped Samantha off with him, he did a great job giving me an overview of the training as well as what to expect over the next few months. I didn’t feel rushed when I dropped her off. Buck really took the time to answer any questions I had about the training and to make me feel comfortable. It was great getting the weekly updates from Buck on Sam’s progression. I could tell he genuinely took the time to work with Sam and her personality; I didn’t feel as though I was getting a canned response from Buck when I asked him specific questions about how she was developing and what her strong and weak points were. Although, I didn’t know it when I dropped Sam off, I suspected Sam would be a bit shorter than the rest of the pups in her litter. But I didn’t realize her legs would end up being half the length of an adult female Vizsla. I was worried at first that Sam’s deformity would hinder her from being a great hunting dog, but Buck assured me she had the heart and desire to do it. I know that with his training and patience with her, it has made Sam a phenomenal hunter. I will continue to recommend Backyard Kennels to anyone who is serious about training their pup for obedience or gun dog training.

Thanks again Buck!

My Small Munsterlander, Penny, just completed the 30-day puppy training program this November and we are very pleased with the results. I had done extensive research to find the right trainer in Texas and after reading the online reviews and speaking with a few previous customers I was certain that BYTK was the right place. From the first phone call before training to her last week, Buck went above and beyond in communicating the status of training and answering any questions we had. We always felt that our dog was in caring hands and getting the attention needed. At both pick up and drop off, Buck spent a few hours walking me through the training process and making sure I understood all aspects of training. I had a great experience using BYTK, and look forward to working with them again in the future.

Thanks again Buck.

Best,

Kyle Bateman

Buck was a pleasure to work with you during our dog's, Finn, stay with Back Yard Kennel. Finn is a highly energetic German Short Hair Pointer and required a structured training program that would bring out the best in him. Buck was nothing short of remarkable from the time Finn was dropped off to the time I picked him up. Upon completion of the training program, Finn was controlled and disciplined in his mannerisms and hunting acumen. We cannot express our pleasure enough with the results we received.

Thanks Buck!

Blake Stones

bstones3@verizon.net

Rosie - Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. After doing a fair amount of online research into Texas-based trainers that had experience with Wirehaired Pointing Griffons, we decided to take our 15-month-old WPG Rosie to Buck and let him train her for 3 months - and it may go down as the best money we¹ve ever spent.

We dropped off a dog that had natural pointing ability, but also had a rambunctious and overly excitable personality, a pup that we weren¹t sure had a real desire listen - and we got back a dog that has been an absolute dream. Any deficiencies that we had in the beginning were operator error on our part. Rosie does everything we ask of her the first time probably 95% of the time. Whoa is excellent - she¹ll stop in a dead sprint and will stay for as long as needed until instructed. Heels just right, watch our cues and stops when we stop. Lots of eye contact. Very purposeful. She ranges out when instructed but always keeps an eye back to make sure we¹re watching and she¹s not losing us. We have an e-collar per Buck¹s training but probably only use it 5% of the time, and briefly at that. The best thing about Buck¹s training was not just what he taught her - but that he taught her to learn, and he taught us to teach her. We¹ve progressed into silent hand signals for whoa and come, and are starting silent heel soon. None of this would¹ve been possible without Buck training both Rosie and us. We can¹t recommend him enough - it¹s the best thing we¹ve done for our dog and it will make the next decade of family life with the dog 10x better than it would¹ve been otherwise.

Travis Hopper

When I got my GSP puppy for my fiftieth birthday I thought I would name him Charlie and I thought I would train him myself. Once I realized who Charlie was, I knew he needed to be a fully finished gun dog and I also knew I was going to need help getting him there. So I asked the most avid bird hunter I know who trained his dogs and he pointed me to Buck Henderson at Backyard Training Kennels. I called Buck and got Charlie on the wait list. I continued to work with Charlie on the things Buck recommended and a short time later I dropped Charlie off at BYTK.

I can't say enough about Buck and the results he produced in my dog. When I dropped Charlie off with Buck he was a rambunctious eight month old. He hadn't been introduce to guns or birds. He pushed boundaries, jumped on family and friends, disobeyed commands, had trouble loading up and whimpered in his kennel. After the thirty day Puppy Training he got from Buck, Charlie is an amazing new dog. He points and retrieves birds, looks to the sky when he hears gunfire, and is getting better at "Whoa". He comes on command all the way to heal, walks at heal both on and off leash, and loads up on verbal and hand commands. He no longer jumps on people when excited and is so quiet in his kennel that my wife forgot he was in the house. Most impressive, Charlie is confident and secure. It is obvious that he now knows and is comfortable with his place in the pack. I'm looking forward to his continued development and his continued relationship with Buck. I strongly recommend Buck. He even took the time to train my daughter how to handle a dog.

Sincerely,

Michael McAloon

I’ve been meaning to write you for a few weeks now. I wanted to let you know how much we appreciate the work you did with Lily. She’s still a puppy and crazy at times but the ability to control her with the commands you taught her has made the experience so much more enjoyable. We’ve been able to get her in the field with wild birds and she’s showing good potential. The training makes a big difference in the field too. All in all a great experience. We’re both looking forward to bringing her back and having you sharpen her skills even more.

Rosie – GermanShorthair Pointer

Rosie has become a shining example of a strong hunter’s breeding program teaming up with a top-notch trainer of versatile hunting dogs. Rosie came from her mother with unmatched potential, and showed signs of interest in birds at a very young age.

She also came with a strong will and lots of energy. She was a sweet puppy, but we spent a lot of time watching her closely, both in the house and the garden. It was pretty stressful, but we knew her potential. The day I brought Rosie to Buck, he showed me how truly trainable she was, teaching her to locate birds on scent in only 4 minutes of field work. Three long months later, we got our Rosie back, and she was a skilled bird dog, under total control. The day we picked her up, Rosie proved her skills in finding birds on scent. Two days later, she showed her worth in waterfowl retrieval. We got her a lot of field time over the end of duck and quail season, and she finished with a bang, taking in quail, chuckar, and pheasant on our final upland hunt of the season. I still spend time working her in the front drive, having her jump from the tailgate (something she refused before BYTK), retrieving bumpers, and returning to the tailgate to deliver to-hand. In the house, she is a cuddly, lovable dog, whose entire life can now be controlled with only a handful of verbal commands. We are beyond pleased with our Rosie, and would recommend Backyard Training Kennels to anyone who has a high-octane birddog, and wants to be able to control them in the field and at home.

Thanks Buck!

We worked with Buck on our rescue Boxer puppy, Pawnee. She came to us with no training and was in need of basic house training and commands. Within our first session, Pawnee was acting like a new dog and has maintained the good manners since coming home from our first day. We have continued to implement the techniques Buck taught us and we are so excited with her progress. We cannot recommend Buck enough for his expertise and successful implementation. I would encourage anyone in need of basic training to seek out Buck and his services.

Amber

Andregg

Buck,

It's been roughly 3 weeks since we picked Bow up from your 30-day basic obedience class. She feels like a completely different puppy. now! She comes on command, heels and doesn't pull my wife on walks, all of which were worth the class in themselves. Furthermore, she does not mind being crated at night or in the car, which is great.

Today I took Bow on her first upland hunt and it was a delight to see her work! We had tough hunting conditions with absolutely no wind and wet fields, but she was still able to help us get 15 quail and 2 pheasants. You can tell that she loves to hunt and followed her commands perfectly in the field. Watching her locate and point at birds she found made me, her owner, feel proud!

I already plan to take Bow into the field a few more times this season and then sign her up for more advanced training with you in summer 2019! I can't wait to see what else you can do with her!!

Thanks again for working with our girl and being such a fantastic training. I really appreciated the weekly updates on her progress. Much appreciated!

Attached to this email is a photo of her pointing at a quail from today's hunt.

Jared Middendorf

Wing and a Prayer Lady of River Bow

After sending my GSP Charlie through BYTK’s Puppy Training Program in 2017, I was so happy with the results that I signed Charlie up for the three month Formal Training program. Charlie finished his training with Buck in October and I couldn’t be happier with the results. One of the best surprises I got when I picked up my dog was just how healthy he was. He had put on a lot of muscle and it was obvious the amount of work Buck had put into him. I gave Buck a good dog and got back an amazing animal.

Charlie has already passed his first two AKC hunting trials and his first hunt was a complete success. In the field he runs hard and covers ground like there is a bird behind every blade of grass. He rarely ranges out of my comfort and when he does he is easily pulled back. He is rock steady on point and doesn’t break whoa until commanded to do so. On the morning of his first hunt, in very windy conditions, there were two other parties and two brace of dogs that went out. We hunted Charlie as a solo dog and returned with more birds than both parties. All of which he found, pointed and retrieved to hand. Charlie turned a lot of heads and got a lot of compliments. I was so proud of my dog and I owe it to Buck Henderson and Backyard Training Kennels

When the orange pre-dawn sunrise started to glow off the flooded rice field we all took a deep breath and Virgil let out a soft whimper as the first group of blue wing teal slid over our decoy spread. Guns boomed to

officially start the 2019 teal season and 4 birds hit the water.

Mid- September may be too hot for much upland bird hunting around Houston but not too hot for water work. Thanks to the versatility Buck Henderson of BackYard Training Kennels put in Virgil, our 2 year old German Short Hair Pointer, we were able to beat the heat during opening weekend of teal season this past weekend. Virgil retrieved a legal total of 79 teal between Saturday & Sunday morning hunts. All birds delivered to hand and we all had a ball watching him work. Virgil was naturally a good pointer but Buck polished him up by adding much more and never changed his happy personality one bit.

I recommend Buck Henderson if you want to keep the good attitude and skills your dog has naturally and build on it with discipline and advanced training to honor, be steady to shot and wing and do it all with joy and style. This was Virgil's first duck hunt and with 7 guns in the party he had plenty of action,

We owe it all to Buck for his patient and loving work with Virgil. My dog is the talk of the hunt camp now. We can't wait until cooler weather and the quail.

Thanks Buck Henderson.

If you’ve made it to the review section of this website, congratulations, you have found one of the best trainers out there! Buck and his team at Backyard Training Kennels manage their business with the ultimate experience, professionalism and humility. My husband and I were very particular when looking for a trainer for our Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Rooster. We wanted someone who had a lot of experience with versatile hunting dogs and would use effective and humane training practices. We wanted someone who would focus on obedience first and then hunting second. After our first phone call with Buck, we knew that it was a match made in heaven. Buck understands the right way to train a dog and knows that only an obedient dog can be an amazing hunting dog. He takes the time to uniquely understand your dog’s quirks and needs. He is giving of his time and attention and will not rush you through any part of the process. Instead he will sit down with you and explain his methodology and call you on a weekly basis to explain where he is at with your dog and what they are working on. His attentiveness is unheard of and makes you feel so comfortable leaving your dog with him.

Our boy Rooster came from a strong bloodline and naturally pointed birds however, at 1 year old he still needed some training on obedience and retrieving (walking at heel, loading into a vehicle, coming when called, etc.) before he could be a versatile hunting dog. Buck taught Rooster all of those things and beyond. Rooster no longer pulls me around on a leash and he easily loads in and out of any vehicle. He freezes on the command “woah” and we no longer have to chase him through the neighborhood when he gets out. When we say “here” he immediately comes to us. Since Rooster learned so much with his obedience training, we made the decision to continue the training with force fetch. Rooster would occasionally retrieve but quickly lost interest and would not always bring the item back to us. After Buck’s force fetch training, he will pick up any feathered bird and bring it directly to our hand!

Rooster has always been a strong-willed pup who used to listen when he felt like it. Now, Rooster understands who is in charge and listens because we tell him to. He is happier because he knows what is and isn’t okay and we are obviously happier because we have an obedient pup who enjoys spending time hunting and being outdoors with us. We no longer have to worry about him getting injured or lost because we know he will listen to us.

The true test of this came when my husband matched to his residency in New York City. For the next year we (Rooster included) will live in Manhattan which is a far stretch from his days in Texas. We have been here a month and I honestly don’t know what we would have done without Buck’s training. Rooster understands the fundamentals of obedience and we are so grateful that we can safely navigate this city with him. Buck has become family to us over time and we still check in with him time to time to ask questions and he gives us so much information and support.

We could not make a higher recommendation of a person and a business. If you use BYTK, you will get an incredible trainer who will pour his time and attention into transforming your pup!

Whitney, Marco & Rooster

San Antonio, TX

Phoebe of the Fields de la HFF

Epagneul Breton (French Brittany)

Kathy and I wanted to thank you for Phoebe’s Puppy Training. After only 4 weeks with you, she comes when called, heels, kennels, loads up, and is well on her way to mastering “off” and “whoa”. She ranges out to 150 plus yards, quarters well and checks back regularly. As you showed us when we picked her up, she has been introduced to gunfire, is well on her way to being steady to flush, and naturally retrieves to hand. To say that we are pleased with her training would be a huge understatement.

The time that you spent with us during her initial evaluation and when we dropped her off was appreciated and helped ease any concerns we had regarding her care and education during her stay with Backyard Training Kennels. During your weekly calls detailing her progress, we saw the amount of effort and time that you put into each dog entrusted to you.

At the end of 4 weeks, we picked her up and you took the time (over 2 hours) to show us exactly where she was in her training and to educate us in the best way to continue to ingrain the processes that you have instilled in her.

Your willingness to quickly answer any questions we had and assist us in her continued training since her stay ended, is a huge bonus to the value we and Phoebe received from the 4-week program.

Your honesty and integrity are outstanding, and we would highly recommend your kennel to anyone that is looking for a caring and thoughtful trainer for their bird dog.

Robert and Kathy Schneeberg

We can not thank Buck enough for working with our girl Josie! Buck was recommended to us from a friend who has the same breed and spoke highly of their experience. Before spending the time with Buck, we were not able to enjoy this wonderful energetic breed as a family. She "belongs" to my daughter who is 9 and we needed help teaching her manners/commands that could be given by a 9 year old! Now we take family hikes with her OFF LEASH and she listens and respects us all. She is a well mannered family member that will LOVE hunting with the boys this fall. Buck answered any and all questions we had and kept in contact with us the whole time. He has the dogs well being in mind and will treat your dog with respect while training. We recommend Buck for any of his training programs!

Pamela Smith

Buck, we wanted to thank you for your training services and doing such a good job with our dog Shiner.

We sent our hard headed sweet GSP named Shiner to Buck Henderson at BackYard Training Kennels to get him trained and what we received back 3 months later was a driven, 100% more obedient dog that is eager to please. He now listens to commands when they are given and is a much better house dog as well as the best outdoor/hunting partner we could ask for. Mr. Henderson was able to take a overall difficult to train puppy and turn him into a bird finding and retrieving machine. Shiner now loves birds more than just about anything and on top of that no longer jumps on house guests, and is overall a better behaved dog to have around. I would 100% recommend giving Backyard training kennels a call and see what hey could do for you and your dog. This will be the only place I take my dogs going forward. Not only were the kennels nice but Buck is a pleasure to be around and responsive the entire duration of the training process.

Thanks again for everything ,

-Stone and Michelle

BackYard Training Kennels BYTK LLC.