Side by Side Upland Dog Training
Ranked #6 in Salem and #55 in Oregon
Service area: Salem, Oregon, and the Oregon Willamette Valley
Service Overview
Types of Dog Training
- Working Dog
Specialty Focus Areas
- Basic Obedience
- Recall
Training Formats Offered
- Private Lessons
- Group Classes
- Private Facility
- Day Training
Program Formats
- One-Time Consultation
- Sessions Package
- Intensive Program
Types of Dogs
- Sporting
Age of Dogs Trained
- Puppy (<1 year)
- Adolescent (1-2 years)
- Adult (2-8 years)
Dog Training Methodology
Methods:
- ✓ Balanced Training
Equipment:
- ✓ command-lead
- ✓ whoa-post
- ✓ check-cord
- ✓ E-Collars
- ✓ Obstacle Courses
- ✓ other
Side by Side Upland Dog Training offers a 60-day program divided into three 20-day phases: Foundation, Intermediate, and Advanced Training. The program focuses on general obedience (coming, staying, going with you), enhancing prey drive, and developing bird manners such as staunch points, steadiness to flush, and gun report conditioning.
In Foundation Training, goals include enhancing prey drive with bird contact, developing coming, going, and staying still, and introducing the starter’s pistol. Dogs work on finding birds daily and receive repetitions on the command lead, whoa post, and check cord, along with agility training.
Intermediate Training continues daily bird contact, transitions from mechanical cues to low-level remote cues, and names behaviors. Goals include improving steadiness on point, honoring other dogs’ points, and effective field work. Flushing dogs begin learning the sit-to-flush skill.
Advanced Training reinforces learned behaviors and exposes dogs to various hunting situations, including different wind directions, hunting “dead,” honoring points, and going with the handler in the field. Dogs continue to work with pigeons, shotguns, and quail. All training sessions include daily bird contact, movement and whoa situations, and obedience training. Owners are encouraged to attend all training sessions, and dogs stay at home with their owners.
Pricing & Policies
Pricing Summary
The 60-day training program is divided into three equal payments, with payment for each third required in advance. Foundation Training, Intermediate Training, and Advanced Training each cost $1200.
Testimonials
“Dave was a joy to work with. I had no experience with bird hunting, much less bird dog training, yet his training regimen prepared both me and my dog for the upcoming season, allowing me to hunt independently with success as soon as we completed the program. He was consistent and flexible with my dogs needs and temperament while providing a gradual, proven training method to prepare my dog for hunting both alone as well as with others. My busy schedule at home/work didn’t allow for much in-home training yet his regimen alone fully prepared us for the first season. During the first season, my dog needed almost no correction as Dave had trained her so well, it went exactly as I imagined hunting over a pointer would be: effortless, fun adventure, finding birds and knocking them down. The team work, obedience, and bird manners were amazing and I owe all of it to Dave’s great program and training. He is a top-notch professional.”
– Caleb
“Having tried the “traditional” approach of handing your dog to a pro trainer for 2-3 months I can say without hesitation that Dave’s approach of working with you every step of the way is far superior. While my dogs are still young and developing they both handle better than any dogs I’ve had in my 30+ years of upland hunting and are very well mannered at home. Both dogs have now had success finding wild chukar, huns, sharptails, blue grouse, pheasant and three species of quail. Thank you Side by Side Upland Dog Training!”
– Mark V.
“When my wife and I first contacted Dave Bale to ask about training our German Shorthaired Pointer it was a last ditch effort to save our dream of having an upland game hunting dog. We are so thankful we reached out to Dave. Not only did he help turn our dog from a pet/couch potato into a hunting dog, he also taught my wife and me how to be successful hunting dog owners. Before taking any payment from us, Dave set up a meeting to see if our dog Abby was hunting material. After working a bit with Abby, Dave then sat us down to go over his program. He spoke in a straight forward manner about what it would take to make Abby a hunting dog. We decided to move forward with the program, and have never regretted it.”
– Scott and Kathy Rainey (2021)
About the Trainer
Side by Side Upland Dog Training, led by Dave and Shelia Bale, specializes in training upland hunting dogs in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Dave, a former college educator and basketball coach, combines his teaching skills with his passion for upland bird dogs to create a fun and effective training style. Shelia shares his love for dogs and the outdoors, supporting their mission to provide a personalized training experience.
Their unique approach focuses on strengthening the bond between owner and dog, with a strong emphasis on owner involvement. Dogs stay at home with their owners and attend daily training sessions, allowing owners to participate and learn how to manage their hunting partners effectively. The training ensures daily bird contact for the dogs, which is considered essential for developing a bird dog.
The business provides all necessary equipment for training, including birds and training supplies. They also offer Smith leather collars for sale. They aim to guide dogs through quality daily repetition of necessary skills to be great hunters and coach owners to be effective managers of their hunting partners.
Accomplishments
Dave Bale is a Ronnie Smith Certified and Hunt-Smith Silent-Command certified bird-dog trainer. He completed a three-month full-service apprenticeship program with Ronnie Smith. Dave’s background as a former college educator and basketball coach is highlighted as contributing to his dog training skills, including his ability to develop a critical eye for dog behavior and teach owners effectively.
How to Get Started!
To get started, clients have a free initial meeting which includes a 15-minute evaluation session and a 90-minute program explanation. After this, clients need to print and sign a Training Packet, then mail or email the documents to Side by Side Upland. The final step is to confirm the order.
Contact Information
Availability
- Weekdays
- Weekends
- Morning
- Afternoon
Certifications
- Credentialed
Languages
- English
Misc Features
- wheelchair accessible entrance
- wheelchair accessible parking