Retriever trainer reaches out to community with dogs

As the beautiful black lab shot across the wet field, a group of 30 children sat in amazement. They’ve all seen dogs, many own them but none had ever seen one so intense, obedient and focused.

“Wow, it goes exactly where he pointed,” said one of the kids as the dog made a 250 yard retrieve.

The owner and trainer Brian Johnson brought two of his labs to Community Church in Orange last Sunday to teach a lesson on obedience for a weekly kids church class.

Illustrating the difference between a well-trained older dog and a fairly obedient but young, inexperienced pup, he posed a question to the kids.

“If I was going on a very important hunt, which one do you think I would bring? Would it be the young one that has great potential but is not obedient enough to trust or would it be the one that did everything it was trained to do?”

The kids enthusiastically replied it was the older dog as the lesson on obedience and opportunity concluded.

“I love doing things like this where I can teach about our God-given potential and use my passion for dogs, duck hunting and training to reach others,” Johnson said.

Johnson grew up in Port Neches and graduated from PNG. He then moved to Northeast Texas where he graduated from East Texas Baptist University.  Since his college years, Brian has been a faithful dog trainer for duck hunters and pastoring local churches. He is currently the pastor of the Outdoorsman’s Church of Winnie, TX as well as being the owner of DuckDogTrainer.com.

“We have a full-time kennel with the capacity to train good numbers of dogs and give them the kind of attention they need to become the best dogs they can be,” he said.

“We know that all dogs are different and we try to tailor our training to bring the best out of each animal to meet the owner’s needs. We specialize in training for duck hunting because that is where our passion lies and it is very rewarding for us to help turn a pup with potential into a loyal hunting partner who works very well in the field. We are focused and disciplined in our own training and have a facility dedicated 100 percent to this pursuit,” he said.

Johnson is starting to get offers for speaking engagements with his dogs as part of an illustration lie he taught for the kids last Sunday

And he is bringing that same kind of passion and love for the outdoors and people to the Outdoorsman’s Church of Winnie.

“I really have a heart for reaching the people in the outdoors community. We know a lot of people would maybe rather be out in God’s Creation on Sunday morning we have a Saturday evening church service we have recently started up. So far the response has been great and we look forward to getting to minister to more people in the community,” he said.

The church is decorated like a hunting lodge complete with many works of taxidermy and a relaxed, hunting camp feel.

“We’re all about creating relationships and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it is come as you are. We would love to see people bring their families and enjoy a great evening of fellowship,” he said.

Johnson said he has been blessed throughout his life and wants to give something back to the community.

“We’re excited to be here and to reach out to everyone from kids at church events to the outdoors men and women of the region. We have an amazing area and wonderful people and we can all share the bond of a deep love for the great outdoors.”

To contact Johnson call 409-460-2314 or go to duckdogtrainer.com.

Source: The Port Arthur News