The primary function, and the major source of income, for most professional retriever trainers is, of course, full-time training. Some specialize in field trial training; some in hunt test training; some in training retrievers for hunting; some do all three. Many pros offer several additional "lesser" services that can benefit amateur retriever owners.

Individual lessons allow the owner to benefit from professional one-on-one training and handling instructions.

Trouble is, many amateurs do not realize that these services are readily available, and probably very near home. But with the current popularity of retrievers, we now have a nationwide abundance of retriever pros, so anyone should be able to find several nearby pros who offer a variety of the following "lesser" services.

Group Training
Perhaps the most widely useful offering of many pros is group training classes. In these, a group of amateurs with their retrievers attend weekly training sessions at the pro's facilities.

These sessions may be half-day or full-day, depending on the number of students. In each session, the pro explains some aspect of training, demonstrates it with his own dogs, answers questions, and then guides the owners in training their own dogs. He also assigns "homework" to be completed before the next session.

If he has a large number of students, he may divide the class into multiple training levels, with separate class times for each level. This allows each class to concentrate on the work expected at their specific level.

If he has fewer students, he may have all levels in a single class. This "one-room schoolhouse" technique lets each student learn more about the overall training program because he gets to observe dogs at all levels working in each session. Either approach works quite well.

The principal benefits of these classes are: Each student receives instruction and guidance from the pro; each student learns from watching the other students work their dogs; either format offers a great variety of distractions to tempt each dog to disobey, which gives each owner opportunities to "persuade" his dog that disobedience is a very bad idea.

A not-to-be-overlooked side benefit is that the students get to use the pro's grounds and equipment, at least during class time, and perhaps at designated other times. Training grounds are getting harder and harder to find, and some equipment items, such as remote launchers, are quite expensive.

Private Lessons
Many pros offer private one-on-one lessons to help individuals solve specific problems or to get through particularly challenging training phases. Normally, these sessions last an hour or two and can be daily, weekly, or whatever the client wishes.

Although more expensive than group classes, private lessons give the individual client the pro's full attention during each session. He also has the use of the pro's grounds and equipment, at least during lessons and perhaps at designated other times.

Annual Tune-ups
For trained dogs, many pros offer one- to two-month "refresher courses" immediately before hunting season. This is especially valuable for anyone who doesn't train his retriever regularly during the long off-season.

The pro takes the dog in for full-time training, but only for the time needed for a tune-up. During the last week or so the pro will probably insist that the owner attend these sessions so the pro can tune up his handling techniques as well. Great fringe benefit!

Problem Solving
Many pros will accept a dog for a short period to correct a training problem that baffles the dog's owner. This too is full-time training, but only for as long as the specific problem requires. Here, too, the pro will teach the owner how to deal with the problem in the future and, more importantly, how to avoid recurrences.

Puppy Acquisition
Many pros offer guidance in the puppy selection process. Without such expert assistance, an amateur (especially a beginner) can make any of several serious mistakes that can lead to an intolerable mismatch, analogous to a "marriage made in hell."