I have an intensive collection of dog training books and DVDs in my home library. Which have inspired me and from each I have taken various training strategies. I have also trained gundogs for nearly forty years and found myself learning some new process from every section of The Upland Institute.

I was absolutely engulfed with Justin’s explanations. From teaching “whoa”, heeling, bird introduction, gun introduction and a host of other training segments in this series.

If you are looking to train a hunting companion to that top shelf level, these videos will for sure help you attain your quest with very user safe methods for your dog.

I have been following the Hunting Dog Podcast since the first episode. Early on Justin McGrail was one of the guests that had me replaying episodes over and over. I was starving for more training content. When The Upland Institute was launched, I was ecstatic. Finally, Justin is now my own personal trainer!

The Upland Institute video courses are pieces of bird dog equipment you should have in your training bag. As an amateur that has dabbled in training pointing dogs for the last 22+plus years, I found the series easy to comprehend, very simple and ‘to the point’. The techniques Justin uses are well explained, easy to follow and not ‘rocket science’. They are methods that if done correctly, and with simple repetition, will give your pointing dog (of any breed) a solid foundation for years to come! The videos are professionally produced, and easy and informative to listen to.

Justin’s training methods are very clear and easy to understand, even to the novice dog trainer. Justin gives you insight to the mind of a dog, which ultimately helps you understand why each step is important. We highly recommend the Upland Institute to any bird dog owner, whether they are starting out with their first puppy or working on more advanced training such as steady to wing, shot and fall. Or, in our case, the trained retrieve so our GSP holds retrieved birds until we are done capturing that memory with pictures.

I've long been a fan of Justin McGrail's training methodologies and straight forward approach, ever since I first started hearing his interviews on The Hunting Dog Podcast with Ron Boehme. Developing my first two bird dogs over the past 8 years has involved plenty of ups and downs along the way but I've learned a lot about dogs and birds over the course of that time and my enjoyment of upland hunting has never been greater thanks to the dogs of course.

Many of my training questions over the years have been answered both directly and indirectly by Justin on his podcast interviews with Ron. Both myself and my dogs have benefited greatly through Justin's teachings and his detailed yet simple methods for helping new dog trainers like myself navigate the typical roadblocks and challenges we all inevitably face. The Upland Institute now delivers the opportunity to not only hear Justin's dog training wisdom, but to see it in action, which I found to be extremely helpful in developing my young English setter prior to her second hunting season this fall. The results are already speaking for themselves.

First whoa post session today could not have possibly gone better. I didn’t really fully realize the importance of wait to be released, stake out, and calming touch until I got to this. Then it’s really easy to see how it all kind of rolls down hill. Leaving Thursday morning for his first big trip. Just wanted to let you know how pleased I am and thank you again.

The fundamentals give everyone a good base to build a good citizen. Overall the program as a whole lays out a good plan and timeline, for most novice/amateur trainers. To know what they are looking for in their dog to move forward or when to go back. Overall I feel this is a great investment as I return to it frequently.

As a new dog trainer I didn't know where to start. With so many video and opinions out there it was overwhelming and knowing who to trust is impossible. The Upland Institute training course gave me a starting point and step by step directions that has allowed me to see real progress. It's less expensive than a shotgun, and more useful in the long run!

I highly recommend the Trained Retrieve series. A professional dog trainer helped me (trained me) to force fetch my first draht. So I felt fairly confident to force fetch/trained retrieve my second draht, but thought having a little guidance from Justin for only $125 couldn't hurt. I am certainly glad that I bought the training. Justin breaks it down in a very simple and easy method. I took my time through the whole process and it sure paid off. My pup had no problem passing the German breed and hunt tests. He scored a 183 at the HZP, 304 points and a prize 1 at his VGP (German Utility) and passed the BTR (German Reliability Retrieving) Test. In these tests, if the dog does not retrieve to hand (can't drop the game), he cannot pass the tests. My wife sure likes that the dog is trained to retrieve, she has him pick up stuff all the time. One time when she was brining in the groceries, the plastic grocery bag ripped, and a can of soup rolled under her car. The pup was standing nearby, my wife gave him a fetch command and he belly crawled under the car and grabbed the soup can and delivered to hand. She was instantly sold on having a well trained dog. Do yourself a favor and get the courses. Having Justin break down dog training into simple easy steps is the only way to go! The bond you make with your dog after the trained retrieve program is just remarkable.