War Eagle Trainers Dive Into Retrievers

They’ve been called everything from “the Dog Whisperers” to crazy.

Derek Randle, Johnny Kinzey and Keith Allison quit lucrative day jobs in 1999 to turn their dog training hobbies into War Eagle Retrievers Inc. The partners have since spent their workdays driving four wheelers and launching fake waterfowl into the air like bottle rockets.

Their wives aren’t complaining, though.

The trio’s leap of faith paid off, and War Eagle has achieved international acclaim with clients from Samoa to Slovenia barking about its services. The kennel already boasts more than 100 hunt test titles, and in 2002 it became the first in the nation to have a handler (Allison) reach the ESPN Super Retriever Series Finals in two separate events with two dogs — Labrador retrievers Cosmo and Abby.

In 2003, War Eagle became the first kennel with two different dogs in the SRS finals. Randle’s Stella joined Allison’s Abby in the finals at Northfield, Minn., where Stella, 5, wound up winning. That qualified her for last year’s ESPN Great Outdoor Games.

The kennel has made the finals or semifinals three of the last five times it’s participated in the SRS, or the retrieving equivalent of the Super Bowl.

Between the television exposure for its retriever training and the growing demand for its puppies and retail products, War Eagle has gotten as good at fetching business as its pupils are at picking up mallards.

Clients such as Bobby Martin, the former president and CEO of Wal-Mart’s International Division, said War Eagle’s success is a product of its customized training programs. War Eagle helped him choose his now 18-month-old dog Boone, his sixth Lab and first “titled” dog.

Dogs earn the titles grand master hunting retriever, master hunting retriever and hunting retriever champion by grading highly at hunt tests given by organizations such as the American Kennel Club, Hunting Retriever Club and North American Hunting Retriever Club.

“You can have a talented animal, but if you put it in the hands of the wrong trainer, you can wind up with a dog that loses its spirit or strengths,” Martin said. “I was real careful because I’ve seen it before. But these guys don’t just process dogs through to clock time.

“War Eagle is the best I’ve seen at evaluating a dog’s potential and matching its abilities with its owner’s interests.”

Dave Haffner is president and chief operating officer of publicly traded Leggett & Platt Inc., a Fortune 500 firm in Carthage, Mo. He took his dog to War Eagle for training when it was eight months old.

Haffner said War Eagle’s owners are “customer service zealots” down to kennel sanitation and animal health.

“They take the time to train the owner, too,” Haffner said. “Most people don’t know how to work with a newly trained dog. They took time to work with me so that I would know how to build on what they had already done. I can’t imagine anyone doing business with them and not being satisfied.”

Big Dogs

War Eagle has grown its customer base into the hundreds. Annual revenue from training work alone nearly tripled from $75,600 in 1999 to $216,000 last year. It’s on pace to reach $270,000 in 2004, but that figure only includes training billings and not the firm’s other business segments such as puppy sales, boarding, and stud and breeding services.

War Eagle’s primary training facility in Prairie Grove is a 51-acre tangle of ponds, timber and stands of milo, millet and buckwheat. The firm, named for one of Northwest Arkansas’ famous rivers, has additional facilities in Pea Ridge and Siloam Springs that give it more than 150 acres of training grounds.

The owners get part-time help from high schoolers Kirby Valentine, Nathan Simpkins and Anthony Kinzey, who often get to the kennels before sun-up to help with chores.

Retriever training at War Eagle is $500 per month with a four-month minimum. Most dogs average an eight-month stay to reach an intermediary retriever status, or where the dog is understanding basic hand signals and doing double retrieves.

The handlers had limited their enrollment to about 18 dogs each. They’re now moving toward even smaller trainer-to-retriever ratios, and there’s already a waiting list for November.

Puppy sales vary depending on bloodlines, but $500 is common. Older dogs range from $2,000 to $5,000 and up depending upon their training and titles. A dog like Stella, if she were even for sale, might go for $50,000 because of her elite status as a NARA grand master hunting retriever and other accomplishments.

Stella became the youngest NARA grand master ever when she passed 15 grueling tests by the age of 18 months. Randle said the firm probably invested $20,000 in her first year of field testing alone for fees and travel. That doesn’t even include the time spent training her.

Big Time

War Eagle’s next TV appearance will be at noon on Oct. 10 when it will be featured on Ozark Life Network’s (Cox Cable’s Channel 59) “Waterdog” show hosted by Justin Tackett. The episode, set to re-air at 4 p.m. on Oct. 12, includes footage of Randle and Kinzey at the HRC Spring Grand Championship held in April at College Station, Texas.

Kinzey said War Eagle has built its reputation at regional tests and through seminar and expo appearances by always trying to look and act sharp. The next grand event is Oct. 23 in Bowie, Texas, where War Eagle will be gunning for more retriever titles.

“If you’re doing things right, it shows,” Kinzey said. “You know, have a good haircut and look professional. Don’t be a redneck drinking beer behind the truck and then having to get up there and handle your dog. There’s a certain way to act and if you go up there and smack that test, then you just drew attention to yourself. You’ll look back and there’s three or four people waiting to talk to you about their dogs.”

Tackett said retrieving has gained popularity with TV audiences because of “well-spoken ambassadors” such as War Eagle’s owners. He noted that 36 million people tuned in last year during the Great Outdoor Games’ retriever events.

“For the ones like the War Eagle guys who have success, this is like a cult world and they’re heroes,” Tackett said.

Russ Rutter is the Wal-Mart Stores and Sam’s Club team leader for fresh pork supplier Smithfield Foods Inc. He said he saw War Eagle’s partners on TV three years ago and couldn’t believe they were local.

“Meeting with these guys is like going into a business meeting,” Rutter said. “They know their product and they have been dead on with the training they’ve done of my dogs, Ripley and Dixie. Their follow-up and follow-through is something I’ve never experienced elsewhere.”

Despite their newfound celebrity, the War Eagle crew is still active with the Ozarks Hunting Retriever Association where they met. The club meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at Jim’s Razorback Pizza on Sixth Street in Fayetteville.

Randle said OHRA, available online at www.ozarkretrievers.org, has about 60 members and frequently plans affordable group hunting trips.

No Cookie Cutters

Allison, 38, said War Eagle uses a structured curriculum, but it’s overall philosophy is simple. It’s whatever is right for the individual dog.

“Some require kid gloves, and with others you have to be firm,” said Allison, who was a physical therapist before becoming a full-time trainer.

“Our program is structured like building a house. You do the dirt work and then the next step until you’ve got the roof on. You need to start with the obedience training first and work up from there.”

Randle, 36, a former professor of graphic design, said dogs are individuals just like people. Therefore, all of the training books and videos don’t matter as much as hands-on experience. All three partners had a desire to teach, he said, and their previous careers had taught them about dealing with different personalities.

“You’ve just got to be willing to adjust your program so it works for the individual,” Randle said. “When a client sees his puppy sit on a whistle at 50 to 100 yards for the first time, and even stay there while you have a conversation, he’s flabbergasted. But you got there by tailoring the training for that dog.”

Kinzey, 38, said the firm’s service starts with a consultation on the front end and periodic client reviews throughout the process. Even when a dog is a harder nut to crack than expected, War Eagle has often tackled the necessary additional training at no cost.

Kinzey, who developed a strong sales background at Gates Rubber Co. in Siloam Springs, said the intention is to focus on the client’s needs. Sometimes that even includes a few trade secrets to shorten an animal’s actual training time.

“Many people say, ‘I just want a dog that will pick up my ducks,'” Allison said. “But we have college kids who scrape up money and want a good duck dog but say, ‘This is all I have.’ Whether they’re in school or they’ve got a giant portfolio, we’ll tell them things to do to get their dog ahead and save training time.”

Picking Puppies

Charlie Solomon, vice president of operations at Tyson Foods Inc. in Springdale, already had one Lab training with War Eagle before buying an eight-week-old puppy through them in January. Solomon said the pup hasn’t had any formal training yet, but he already understands “heel,” “sit” and “here.” Deacon will be a War Eagle kindergartner in October.

“The dog is fantastic,” Solomon said. “I managed to get on War Eagle’s waiting list, and this one came from excellent genetics.”

Kinzey said he wishes customers would, if they don’t buy from War Eagle’s litters, at least let the firm help them find a puppy with good blood lines from another reputable kennel. The difference in a $300 puppy and one that’s $600 will be the cheapest expense the owner ever faces, he said. Puppies can be viewed on the firm’s Web site at www.wareagleretrievers.com.

“You for sure want a puppy with a health guarantee,” Kinzey said. “You want some ancestry with some accomplishments. A lot of people think they can spend $150 for some back-yard-bred Lab, drop it off with us and get back the next retriever champion. But it’s just like in horse racing. You don’t buy a mule to run in the Kentucky Derby.”

Allison said the biggest thrill for War Eagle’s handlers is still seeing a dog reach its potential. It’s what makes what are often some long training hours fun.

“We enjoy seeing that light bulb go off above a dog’s head,” Allison said. “That day when he puts everything together and goes, ‘Oh, O.K. You’ve been teaching me all this stuff and now I’m actually doing something with it. I get it.’ They get happy and excited about it.”