Before the ribbons, before the titles, there was just a woman and a springer who didn’t quite fit. He wasn’t much to look at—short-tailed and short-fused—but he could hunt. And that was enough to start.
“I trained him to pick up geese for my boyfriend,” Amelia Baxter told me, laughing. “By the end, I could handle that dog in water like a Lab. He was a mess, but he taught me how much I loved this.”
That unlikely start would become the spark. In just a few short years, Baxter has rocketed from an amateur handler with a borrowed bird dog to one of the most dominant forces in the flushing dog world.
What started with one dog has since grown into a successful kennel and bloodline. (Photo courtesy of Amelia Baxter) Beginning her Dog Training Journey Originally from Scotland, Baxter landed in California at the age of five, with a field-bred springer in tow. But her true education didn’t start until college at Montana State, where she rode horses by day and Googled springers by night.
“I wanted a puppy, because that’s what you do in college,” she said, laughing. One dog later, she found herself in San Antonio, Texas, attending a Labrador training club with the only spaniel in sight. “I’d show up and there’d be twenty Labs lined up,” she said. “And I had my little springer. But by the end, I could handle that dog in water like a Lab. Swim-bys, bank runs, you name it.”
It was a springer that led her into hunting, but it was training horses that gave her an edge. “When you’re working a horse on the ground, everything is feel and body language,” she said. “Drop your shoulder, bend in a bit, they respond. Dogs are the same. I train a lot of my dogs off that kind of feel.”
By 2018, Baxter had moved to Texas full-time. In 2019, she ran in her first trial with Fly, her first proper field-bred Springer. Fly took runner-up in the National Amateur High Point standings that same year.
Field trial excellence is built on the basic training done at home. (Photo courtesy of Amelia Baxter) Flushing Dog Competitive Achievements Fly was followed by Stella, then Hank, then Cheater. One year later, in 2020, Hank won the Dan Langhans Award, given to the highest combined Open and Amateur High Point dog. That was the year Baxter decided to go pro.
“I was still training horses full-time,” she said. “But I had these four dogs and not enough time. So, I thought, maybe I can make some money with the dogs.”
It didn’t take long. Since turning professional in 2021, Baxter has bred or trained:
7 Amateur Champions 9 Field Champions 2 Cocker Field Champions 1 Cocker National Champion Her personal accolades are even more impressive:
2019 Runner-Up National Amateur High Point (Fly) 2020 Dan Langhans Award (Hank) 2021 3rd Place and Guns Award, National Open Championship 2023 1st Place National Cocker Championship 2023 2nd & 4th Place National Open Championship 2023 2nd Place National Amateur Championship (with a pup she bred) 2024 3rd & 4th Place National Open Championship 2024 Runner-Up National Open High Point 2024 2nd Place National Amateur Championship (another pup she bred and started) 2024 Parent Club Centennial Trophy with FC Bad Habit’s Valentine “Smooch,” owned by Rex Humston 2024 Hogan Award for Top Professional Handler (earning more than double the points of the next competitor)
The Bad Habit Gundog breeding philosophy focuses on breeding dogs that people want to live with but can win with too. (Photo courtesy of Amelia Baxter) Bad Habit Gundog’s Breeding Philosophy Baxter’s approach to breeding is deliberate, focused, and deeply rooted in practicality. “If I wouldn’t want to train it, I’m not going to breed it,” she said.
Her goal is to produce dogs with biddability, clarity, and a willingness to work—traits that not only win in the field trial world but also translate to trainability and balance at home. “A lot of people think high drive is everything,” she said. “But what good is drive if you can’t channel it?”
She values dogs that can turn it on in the field and shut it off in the kennel. “I’m breeding for a dog that hunts with intensity, but one that also knows how to settle. You need both.”
More than anything, she’s breeding for the kind of dogs that an amateur can take from puppy to podium. “The wins are nice,” she said. “But if someone calls me a year later saying their pup is easy to live with and loves to work—that’s the real win.”
Amelia focuses on fitting her training to the needs of each dog she works with. (Photo courtesy of Amelia Baxter) Training Flushing Dogs The kennel name? That came from a photo. Baxter had posted a shot of her dog Hank mid-flush, holding the pheasant by the tail feathers as it flew. “A field trialer from the UK said, ‘Terrible bad habit. That dog should never be bred.’ In the UK, pegging a bird is a fault. Over here? We love it.”
Whether it’s a national title or a backyard hunt test, Baxter’s training philosophy is centered on understanding what each dog needs to thrive—not fitting them to a formula.
“I want a dog that doesn’t fold under pressure but doesn’t need much of it either,” she said. “They should make eye contact and want to work with you. That’s what I’m breeding for. A dog an amateur can live with and still win with.”
When it comes to training, Baxter doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits-all program. “My style is whatever fits the dog,” she said. “Some of my best dogs have never had a collar on them. Others need one from day one. You figure out what works for each dog, and then you lean into it.”
To better illustrate her approach, here are some of Baxter’s top training commandments:
Teach Eye Contact Early: “I start with feeding,” she says. “Hold the food bowl up and wait. The moment they stop moving and look at me, I set the bowl down. That turns into sit. That turns into asking permission to retrieve.”
She uses food as a foundation for steadiness and focus. “If they can learn to wait for dinner, they can learn to wait for a bird.”
Let Them Be Wild—for a While: “I tell most folks: let your puppy be a little feral until six, seven months,” Baxter says. “If I had just one dog, I’d do food work and some place training earlier, but mostly I’m just letting them be bold and confident.”
Socialization, exposure, and light retrieves take priority. “I don’t need them running perfect drills at four months. I need them to be happy, confident, and excited to train.”
Don’t Snatch the Bumper: “How you start your puppy on the retrieve is everything,” Baxter says. “If you snatch it out of their mouth, you’re teaching them that bringing it back ends the game. Why would they want to come back to you then?”
Instead, let the pup bring it back. Pet them. Praise them. Let them hold onto it like it’s a treasure. When they’re comfortable, calmly take it and throw it again. You’re not just building retrieve—you’re building trust.
Don’t Rush to Birds: “If you’ve got a well-bred pup, don’t worry about getting them on birds early,” she says. “Focus on your retrieve, obedience, and socialization.”
She makes an exception for backyard-bred or bench-line pups that may need more exposure.
Build Steadiness Slowly: “People want their dog sitting through the flush and shot before they’ve trained a sit,” she says. “You’ll end up yelling, the dog doesn’t know what it’s doing wrong, and now you’ve got a confused dog and a half-hearted flush.”
She recommends balancing the two carefully. Use clipped wings to keep the dog fired up on the flush, even as you layer in steadiness drills. “There’s no rush. Don’t let someone else’s timeline ruin your dog.”
Less Whistle, More Trust: “The whistle is there to guide, not babysit,” Baxter says. “If you’re screaming on the whistle the whole time, the birds are gone. And you’re not really hunting anymore—you’re managing.”
Teach the dog to hunt with you. Let the obedience you build in the yard show up in the field. If the dog won’t stay in range without constant correction, go back to basics. “Get that sit and recall air-tight,” she says. “Then, try again.”
Control Range with Reward: “If a dog finds birds out big, why would he ever hunt close?” Baxter says. “Take the birds away.”
She recommends running the dog in a clean field until they start checking in. “When they start hunting with you again, roll a bird out close. Now you’re rewarding that range.”
Know Your Dog’s Temperament: “Some dogs want to be shown. Some need to be asked,” she says.
Understanding the dog’s temperament informs every decision—collar or not, pace of drills, when to apply pressure. “It’s not about what worked for your last dog, it’s what works for this one.”
Just Start: For newcomers, Baxter’s message is simple: find a local spaniel club. Get out there. Watch. Help plant birds. “You don’t need to be a pro,” she said. “Just start. I only put Fly on birds once a month when I started. Just find a well-bred dog. The rest is obedience. Sit and come. If you have that, the rest will follow.”
When she isn't field trialing, Amelia spends time hunting with her springers. (Photo courtesy of Amelia Baxter) Traveling for Flushing Field Trials Today, Baxter is on the road for most of the year, trialing from January to May and again from September through November, with summers spent training in the Upper Midwest. She’s working dogs almost 365 days a year—and she’s always a student.
“I learn something at every trial,” she said.
Still, 2024 marked a career high. Baxter won the Hogan Award for Top Professional Handler, more than doubling the next closest competitor. “That one meant the most to me,” she said. “I’ve looked up to the people who’ve won it. As a woman in this sport, I wanted to prove I could do it. Not to others, to myself.”
And what’s next? More puppies. More nationals. And a whole lot more hunting. “I didn’t hunt at all last year because of our two litters,” she said. “This year, I’m hunting the hell out of my dogs.”
