Sarahsetter kennels was founded on rare principles back in 1991 to train dogs without the use of punishment by using behavioral training methods including positive and negative reinforcement. Mark Fulmer founded Sarahsetter kennels and he has worked to find new and exciting ways to develop and train very young puppies to become great dogs.
Modern behavioral training methods and positive reinforcement will develop your dog to his full potential. This phrase ‘develop your dog to his full potential’ was coined in his first advertisements when Sarahsetter Kennels opened in 1991. The phrase is often seen now in many ads but know one does it better than Sarahsetter Kennels. Mark has always limited the number of dogs that they accept for training so that he has the time that is necessary to get your dog out every day for training so that progress is steady and consistent. He has pioneered advanced training methods with Tri-tronics training collars. The latest generation of Tri-tronics training collars enables him to use them as teaching tools because of his understanding of dog behavior. Knowing the difference between positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment training methods allows him to use shaping techniques with both positive and negative reinforcement.
Sarahsetter Kennels was the first and the only pointing dog kennel that trained for the public with the clicker for over twenty years. Mark has incorporated clicker training principles since 1985 as a part of his training. Clicker training is a very powerful training method of positive reinforcement training that is used with all of our puppies, some obedience dogs, and some dogs that need to be rehabilated including dogs that have been abused on the force-training table.
Sarahsetter’s Progressive Early Natural Development (S.P.E.N.D.) program for puppies is unparalleled in the sporting dog world. Research for early development in children or animals has made tremendous advances in recent years. Mark is constantly searching for new research to build on this amazing program. Sarahsetter Kennel’s goals are to breed highly intelligent birddogs that start early through intensive management of the mother and puppies environmental and nutritional influencers. We have taken advantage of this research to produce the best birddog puppies available anywhere in the world. All Sarahsetter puppies at 12 weeks point quail in the field, back, and most retrieve. They know their names and these commands –here, kennel, and place (whoa) and walking on lead without pulling.
Any kennel that will incorporate the S.P.E.N.D. methodology into their breeding program will see amazing changes in success rates of every pup that is produced. The end result will be breeding for quality instead of quantity. After two or three generations the breeder should expect a very high success rate from each litter. The real power of the SPEND program is the ability to identify both future sire and dams that have innate natural ability at a young age in multiple generations to create dogs that are incredible consistent producers of great dogs. Mark knows that dogs that are considered to be outstanding producers whether they are male or female had exceptional natural abilities at a young age and if they are identified early it is much easier to produce the next generation of great dogs.
Sarahsetter kennels will always be looking for innovative ways to make it easier for your dog to learn and retain his training.