Obedience
- Heel — leash pressure to off-leash
- Place, with duration and distance
- Recall under distraction
- Crate conditioning
- Impulse control and steadiness
McKinney, Texas · 10+ years training dogs
Calm, reliable gundogs. Built on a clear system.
In-home board & train for sporting dogs, starting with a flat-fee obedience program — about three weeks, $1,500, no charge if your dog needs longer. Plus British Labrador breeding from proven UK field-trial lines.
What we do
A program, not just a kennel
Your dog doesn't live in a concrete run. They live in our home, on our routine, and they train every day on a written progression — from the first heel to a cold blind across water.
We take two to three dogs at a time so one trainer handles your dog from drop-off to the day they go home. No handoffs, no rotating staff, no dog waiting a week for a turn.
And we don't take every dog. If your dog isn't a fit for the program, or if what you actually need is two sessions with you on the lead instead of a month of board and train, we'll tell you that before you write a check.
Most requested program
Obedience: $1,500 flat, about three weeks
This is where most dogs start and where most owners stop — a focused three-week stay that turns a good dog with no rules into a dog you can actually live with. You don't need a finished gundog to get the benefit.
One flat fee of $1,500 covers the whole program. Most dogs are done in three weeks. If yours needs a fourth or fifth week to get it right, that week is on me — I'm not going to hand back a half-trained dog or send you a bigger invoice for a dog that took longer.
- Heel on and off leash
- Recall under real distraction
- Place, with duration
- Sit and down that hold
- Door and gate manners
- Crate conditioning
- Loose-lead walking
- Calm around people and dogs
- Investment
- $1,500 flat
- Typical length
- About 3 weeks
- If it runs long
- No extra charge
- Included
- Take-home handling session
The system
Phase One · ~3 weeks
Phase Two
Phase Three
The McKinney Gundogs Method
Three phases, published in full so you know exactly what your dog is working on and what "finished" actually means.
Started Gundog
- Force fetch and walking fetch
- Multiple retrieves, land and water
- Confident water entries
- Gun conditioning on real birds
- Steady while birds fall
Finished Gundog
- Directional casting off the whistle
- Cold blinds and water blinds
- Multiple marks across terrain
- Honoring other dogs working
- Decoys, boats, blinds, real hunts
"Not every dog starts at Phase 1, and not every dog reaches Phase 3 — but every dog follows the same clear system."
Programs
Door One · Most popular
Door Two
Door Three
Three ways to work with us
Most owners come through Door One: obedience board and train for a flat $1,500. From there we hand you a dog that's already started, or we train you.
Obedience Board & Train
$1,500 flat · about 3 weeks
The program most of our dogs come for: Phase One obedience, start to finish, for one flat fee. Continue into gundog work only if you want to.
- Needs a longer stay? No extra charge
- Lives in our home, not a kennel run
- 2–3 dogs at a time, one trainer
- Progress updates as the work comes along
- Take-home session before pickup
Buy a Started Dog
Inquire · by availability
Occasionally we place started dogs out of championship British bloodlines, trained in-house from the start.
- Phase 1 and Phase 2 complete
- Gun conditioned on real birds
- Health clearances documented
- Handover session included
Train With Me
$125 / field session
For owners who want to do the work themselves — one-on-one field work and a fall clinic before the season.
- Hands-on, you on the lead
- Handling, steadiness, bird work
- Annual fall tune-up clinic
- Alumni dogs welcome back
Obedience is one flat fee of $1,500 with no contract — about three weeks for most dogs, and if yours needs another week I don't charge for it. Dogs continuing into the gundog phases typically stay two to four months; you'll get an honest estimate after the evaluation, not a package upsell.
Client results
What owners say
★★★★★"Cole has done a great job with my field-bred Golden, Rori, over the past year. He understands there is no one-size-fits-all method — he gets to know each dog and how best to work with them. He also understands part of dog training is training the dog's human as well."
Charlie Reagan · Rori, field-bred Golden
★★★★★"Cole started our fox red Lab Murphy with training and has also boarded and trained her. He is fantastic with feedback and take-home tasks to set in the training. We trust him with our dog and training curriculum. Would recommend to anyone."
Seth Kern · Murphy, fox red Lab
★★★★★"Cole was an excellent trainer for my black Lab, Breck. He's incredibly well-informed, patient, and easy to work with. I always felt supported and confident in his approach, and I've seen such a positive difference in Breck."
Tara Eckel · Breck, black Lab
About
You're hiring a trainer, not a facility
I'm Cole McKinney. I've spent over a decade training dogs professionally, and McKinney Gundogs is my own program — I run every session, answer every text, and hand your dog back myself. That's the whole reason the program caps at two or three dogs — anything more and the dogs start waiting on me.
The method came out of British Labrador work: quiet in the house, all drive in the field. High-drive dogs don't need to be shut down, they need somewhere to put it. That's what the three phases are for.
Alongside training, we breed a small number of litters from proven UK field-trial lines — the same dogs we run and hunt ourselves.
Spring 2027 litter
A British Lab built for the field and the family
We're accepting waitlist applications for a Spring 2027 litter out of McKinney Gundogs Swift Iris — a pedigree dense with Field Trial Champions and IGL Retriever Championship blood close up. Bred for dogs that are quiet in the home and all drive in the field.
- Dam
- MG Swift Iris
- Litter sire
- To be announced — FTCH British Lab
- Iris's sire
- Ir FTCh Trefaldwyn Kribensis
- Maternal grandsire
- FTCh Tamrose Aragon · IGL 3rd
- Health clearances
- Hips · Elbows · Eyes · EIC · CNM · PRA
- Expected
- Spring 2027
- Price
- $3,000 · $500 deposit holds a place · financing available
The store
Wear the mark
Caps and pocket tees for the people who keep showing up — and the leads, whistles, and bumpers we hand owners at pickup. Caps $34, tees $30, free shipping.
Shop the gear
Straight answers
Questions owners actually ask
What does obedience cost and how long does it take?
A flat $1,500, and about three weeks for most dogs. That covers heel, recall, place, sit and down, crate, and manners in the house — and it's where most of our clients stop. If your dog needs a fourth or fifth week to finish properly, I don't charge extra for it.
And if I want gundog work too?
Then we keep going into Phase 2 and Phase 3, which usually puts a dog at two to four months total depending on where they start and how finished you want them. Plenty of owners do obedience now and come back for gundog work in the off-season.
Where does my dog actually live?
In our home, on our routine — crated at night, out for training and turnout during the day. No concrete runs, no all-day kenneling.
Do you provide birds?
Yes. Gun conditioning and Phase 2 work are done on real birds, and dogs work around gunfire, decoys, boats, and blinds before they go home.
What updates do I get?
I'll send updates on what we're working on and what's next as the dog progresses — video when there's something worth seeing. You'll hear about the wins and the sticking points, not just the good days.
What if my dog isn't a fit?
Then I'll say so at the evaluation and point you somewhere better — a different program, a vet behaviorist, or just a few sessions with you on the lead. I'd rather turn a dog away than take your money for work that won't hold.
What happens after my dog comes home?
You get a take-home session at pickup so you can run the dog yourself, and most families come back for a fall tune-up before the season. MG dogs come back.
Get started
Ready to talk about your dog?
Tell us about your dog, your goals, and your timeline. We review every request and reply within a day with current availability and an honest recommendation.
One board & train spot open now, and one more in October 2026.