Good points UTC. I think there were several factors going on.
I had a dozen rescues before getting into Drahts. Getting the rescues at 8-24 months old meant that they had a lot of bad habits I needed to train out of them before I even started training for what I wanted. Yes, I spent a lot of time training. A lot.
Had a few cases where the owner was going to put the dog down and after my training it for 3-5 months they wanted it back and kept it well into old age. I have always been extremely good at reading animals and could tell the only issues with those dogs were the owner's fault, not the dog's. Had a few other rescues I trained and rehomed as well. I am proud that I saved the lives of several dogs.
I have always trained my own dogs. I have read dozens of books on dog training and guided more than thirty people as they trained their dogs. Including many behavioral issues and being paid to train people's dogs. (Actually, training the dogs is easy. Training the owners is the tough part!!) People who know me, or even just watched me handle my dogs, consider me to be a better than most trainer.
I have a lot of expectations of a dog. To me they are more than companions, they are also working animals. Mine go with me everywhere, from running errands, to dayhikes, to multi day through hikes, etc in all four seasons. We hunt every species we can, every chance we get. Not unusual on a Fall day to be in the duck blind before the sun comes up, then chase pheas, turkeys, squirrels and bunnies during the day and coons at night. Not every breed is up for that.
I have read, and found to be true, that there is a window from 8-16 weeks old when we can have the greatest impact on our pups. Exposure to everything under the sun (game, weather, terrain, etc) awakens instincts during that window like no other time in a dog's life. Adopting those rescues after that window had closed when their owners had failed to properly expose them, unbeknownst to me at the time, set those dogs up for failure in my world.
For me it is unacceptable for me to both find and retrieve more game than my dog. Those two tasks are their primary job in my world. Only Drahts have excelled at that for me.
So, yes there were a lot of factors. I am glad I was able to help many dogs. Glad I was able to learn so much as well. Still learning though! While helping a friend train his latest pup this summer, himself an experienced trainer, we have been discussing several things we might do differently the next time either of us has a pup.
