Sundance Retrievers

Sundance Retrievers utilizes a four-step training process: Teach (name actions and mark behavior with praise), Enforce (cues become commands with corrections and praise), Groove (repeat desired response until automatic), and Apply (transition learned behavior into the field).

Their Companion Training Programs include:
* **Head Start Puppy Program**: Designed for puppies approximately 4 months of age, focusing on crate training, leash comfort, basic commands (sit, here), social relaxation, and exposure to high-stress environments, gunfire, travel, and new terrains. This program uses a reward-based system.
* **Companion Programs**: For dogs approximately 6 months of age, covering crate training, house training, formal obedience (Here, Heel, Sit), fun retrieves on land and water, and exposure to high-stress environments, travel, and vacation situations. Dogs are taken on field trips to local parks and daycares and can be exposed to Agility, Dock Diving, and Fast CAT.
* **Advanced Companion Programs**: For dogs approximately 8 months of age, building on formal obedience with advanced skills like extended sit/stays, down/stays, and off-leash recall. It also includes sit before/after doors, sit until released to eat, retrieves, crate training, house training, and exposure to various environments and travel. Advanced Companions can also be exposed to Agility, Dock Diving, and Fast CAT upon request.
* **30-60 Day Programs (Open Breed Obedience Camp)**: An intensive board-and-train option for owners who lack time, providing a foundation in here, heel, and sit, overall good manners, proper behavior around children and other animals, and field trips. Exposure to Agility, Dock Diving, and Fast CAT is available by request.

Their Comfort K9 & Service Dog Programs include:
* **Therapy and Comfort K-9 Program**: For Gentle or Classic Dogs approximately 9 months of age, focusing on developing a calm, gentle demeanor, basic obedience, sit before/after doors, sit until released to eat, fun retrieves, crate and house training, and exposure to high-stress environments, frequent field trips, and various family and public settings.
* **Started Service Dog Program**: For Gentle or Classic Dogs approximately 11 months of age, building on a calm demeanor with formal and advanced obedience (off-leash recall, extended stays), “Ready to Learn” task skill sets, and extensive public access exposure. These dogs are prepared to learn assistance skills for medical alert, psychiatric, mobility, and gluten detection.
* **Service Dog Program**: For Gentle or Classic Dogs approximately 22 months of age, providing a calm, quiet demeanor, formal and advanced obedience, and specific assistance skill sets such as lateral front/back heel, crowd blocking, brace/harness work, opening/closing doors, light switches, and gluten detection alert. Assistance skills can be customized.

Their Field Training Programs are designed to develop family companions into excellent hunters of antler sheds, waterfowl, or upland birds, starting with carefully selected puppies and a “learn to learn” program that introduces them to gunfire and builds foundational hunting skills.
* **Shed Dog**: Approximately 8 months of age, trained with scented Dokken and actual antlers, exposed to shed areas, formal obedience, retrieves, crate and house training, and comfortable in various environments.
* **Started Gun Dog**: Approximately 10-12 months of age, exposed to birds and gunfire, formal obedience, formal hold, understanding of long concept marks, formal delivery to hand, strong water retrieve desire, and comfortable in hunting situations. Includes actual field experience.
* **Seasoned Gun Dog**: Approximately 13 months of age, possessing formal obedience, hold, and delivery skills, understanding of long concept marks, strong water retrieve desire, and actual hunting and guiding experience.
* **Finished Gun Dog**: Approximately 2 years of age, with formal and off-leash obedience, confident handling of doubles and triples, handling on blinds, working in various marsh and blind settings, and extensive hunting and guiding experience. Customized advanced training is available.
* **Pre-Season Tune Up**: A refresher course for hunting partners covering obedience, honoring, marks, formal delivery, gunfire, boat exposure, and blind manners.

Their SAR Training Program includes:
* **Started Search and Rescue program**: For Sporting or Classic Dogs approximately 11 months of age, focusing on developing confident, focused, toy-driven dogs with formal obedience and off-leash recall. They are introduced to handling on different platforms, exposed to various search areas (uneven surfaces, rubble, heights), and accustomed to working around other animals and with a lift and carry harness. These dogs are prepared for live find, cadaver, or drug detection tasks.

Pricing Summary

Sundance Retrievers sells trained dogs with prices varying by program. Head Start Puppy is $6,710, Companion is $8,710, Advanced Companion is $10,710, and Working Dogs are $12,000+. Health insurance payments are accepted for Service Dog programs. They do not sell untrained dogs or provide third-party funding.

Policies

Sundance Retrievers does not sell eight-week-old puppies, untrained dogs, or free dogs, and does not provide third-party funding for dogs.

Sundance Retrievers is a dog training business founded on a lifelong love of animals and the outdoors. Their mission focuses on working with young retrievers to fulfill their genetic possibilities and become the best version of themselves.

With over twenty years of experience, they specialize in training Labrador Retrievers for field work and as family companions. They also have expertise in rehabilitating troubled retrievers.

Sundance Retrievers employs a four-step training process that combines time-tested methods with current thinking and new technologies: Teach, Enforce, Groove, and Apply. Their training philosophy emphasizes fairness, consistency, patience, and understanding to develop sound, quality animals.

They offer handler coaching to help clients and their dogs build more effective and rewarding partnerships. The business is located at Willow Farm, a private 200-acre hunting preserve, providing a stimulating and nurturing environment for their dogs.

Sundance Retrievers specializes in three lines of Labrador Retrievers: the Sporting Dog for active companions, hunting, agility, SAR, and detection; the Classic Dog for companionship and therapy; and the Gentle Dog for companionship, Comfort K-9, and Service Work. They exclusively sell trained dogs and do not offer untrained puppies.

Accomplishments

Sundance Retrievers has over twenty years of experience in dog training. Sheryl Sundean is an Animal Behavior College Service Dog Trainer (ABCSDT), an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, an AKC Temperament Evaluator, and a certified pet evaluator for Therapy Pets Unlimited. She is also a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), a certified trainer with the Canine Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT—KA), and certified in Pet Psychology and Canine Communication. Sheryl is also a SAR Handler – Basic. Rachael and Maddy are both AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluators.

All dogs in their breeding program are AKC DNA certified, AKC registered, OFA Eye Certified, and have an OFA score rated either good or excellent, and/or a PennHip of 50% and lower. They are also tested for various genetic conditions including Centronuclear Myopathy (CNM), Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), Exercise-Induced Collapse (EIC), Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis (HNPK), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA-PRCD), Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD), Retinal Dysplasia (DRD1), Oculoskeletal Dysplasia 1 (OSD1), and Skeletal Dysplasia (SD2).

How to Get Started!

To get started, clients can fill out a contact form providing their name, email, phone number, and indicating their interest in a specific training program (Head Start Puppy/Companion/Adv. Companion, Comfort K-9/Started Service/Finished Service Dogs, Gun Dog, or Search & Rescue) or other information. They emphasize that they only sell trained dogs and do not sell eight-week-old puppies or untrained dogs.