Crossroads Kennels LLC

05/21/2024

https://fc.churchcenter.com/people/forms/741133

If any of yall are pickle ballers sign up and come play sunday night! If you dont play and just want to come watch and fellowship, come on and bring the family! Team entry is $40 and 100% of that will go towards building a church in South Africa.

The amount of teams will determine if it is single or double elimination

Myself and a few others are going on a mission trip with Bess Marie Grahamto start the process of establishing the church building in July.

Help us raise $15,000 for a church in South Africa! Buddy Butler and a team from Family Church are heading to South Africa this Summer to minister to a village. This village needs a new church building. To help raise funding for the church, we're hosting a Pickleball Tournament on Sunday evening, Ma...

03/11/2024

Well we have made it to spring and we will be getting it started with a brand new set of dogs! We welcomed in Margeaux and Todd. Two beautiful English Springer Spaniels!! Margeaux is a fireball with alot of intrest in retrieving. Todd is quite the goofball with a reserved and cautious spirit. Both are here for a few weeks to get a little tightening up on their obedience and are being evaluted on their desire and willingness to retrieve.

Owners: Mallory and Chris Lawrence

Obi and Cooper were the two dogs that we had stay all winter. They excelled in the gun dog program and are back home with family gearing up for next season.

02/11/2024

02/06/2024

Most every duck hunters dream is to have a duck dog, but it can be confusing as to what breed to get, how to pick a puppy, and how to start the training proc...

01/03/2024

Our first new pup of the year!! She is as kind hearted as they come. Dont let her meek demeanor fool you, she has all the drive needed to become a great working dog. Sharp as a whip and determined!

Meet Meira. She is a 2 year old GSP coming into to get a little tune up on obedience and some basic retriever skills.

Owner- Gage Conleay & Taylor Conleay

Vest is available at ReKoile Outdoors LLC

01/01/2024

Looking for big things out of this little guy! We welcomed him to the family last week. Big thanks to John Butler for surprising us with him! Another big thanks to Mr. Billy Cobb at Cobb Kennels for breeding a jam up puppy!

Introducing

Crossroad's Now We're Cookin' With (Crisco)

12/27/2023

"What do you mean dual purpose?" - Cooper

Coop is back with us and is about to gear up to learn some basic retrieving and tracking skills!

He has an amazing nose, a good drive to track, and an exceptional desire to retrieve. Coop has a good head on his shoulders and we are confident he can do it all!

Owners- Dillon and Molly Rainwater
📸- Molly Rainwater

12/21/2023

Awesome people with an awesome product! If your in the market for a great quality vest at a very affordable price check these guys out!

Wire hair Wednesday after a fun morning on the plantation in the low country of South Carolina.

12/16/2023

Pre-orders have shipped and our anticipation is high. We want to say thank you for your patience. Let’s hear what you have to say!

Btw, our customers say it best. Below is Oakley and Harley - their owner says, “I’ve had a lot of vests through the years but I have been really impressed with the new Rekoile dog vest. I love the fit, ease of use, and its durability. It has reinforced edges and seams to keep the vest from fraying like so many I’ve owned before. It is simple to put on and I love all the adjustments, making it so much easier to get snug so my dog stays warm. And to top it off, it comes in Bottomland!!”

12/14/2023

Crossroads Kennels Thursday Tips

Lets talk a little about Desire.

In my opinion one of the best things you can do to help your dog succeed and be a great hunting dog is to create a desire at a young age.

Lets look at ourselves before we start talking about dogs. Think of something you absolutely love to do, it can be anything! Now think about how your desire for that activity started.

When you buy a puppy with the intention of having a hunting partner the first thing you need to do is commit to building desire in it.

A few tips that I have found to be successful

1. Build a solid relationship with the puppy built on things it likes to do.

- This does not mean never correct or discipline the puppy. It simply means let the puppy know when it is with you there is always fun to be had.

2.Let your puppy be a puppy.

- Until the age of 6 months you should only expect your puppy to know what "no" and maybe "sit" means. If you have a puppy that is excelling and can handle learning more by all means dont hinder it. I get messages all the time asking things like "why is my puppy not retrieving" or my favorite "my dog never comes back to me". The hard truth of the matter is your puppy has more fun chewing sticks or chasing frogs than it does with you. While they are young, make your time with them all about fun and dont over correct on things that dont matter. Too many people ruin puppies by trying to create a "robot" out of them while they are too young.

3. NEVER let a puppy get bored with something you intend on it to hunt.

-When training a puppy to retrieve or track I use a tennis ball, deer hide, duck wings, raccoon tails, etc with the desired scent attached. The main thing you want to see is your puppy being interested in the game you intend to hunt. It is super easy to throw a tennis ball or drag a hide and have your your pup go until it is wore completely out (I have been guilty of this). Well I belive that is the worst thing we could do for our pups. While starting a puppy, you want them to think that whatever they are chasing is the best thing in the world, and you want them to desire that and the fun they have with you more than anything. You do that by taking away what they are interested in right before they hit their peak excitement level. Think back to what activity it is that you desire to do, and think if you were unable to do that for a period of time. All you would think about is the moment you get to do that desired activity again. You want to create a desire in your pups mind where that activity is all they look forward to.

4. It is OKAY to let your pup have some "kennel time".

-It gives them time to rest and time to build up some excitement about what is going to happen when you let them out. A dog does not learn like we do. You can't take a dog out and train 8 hours a day. I have over trained my dogs in the past and it showed when they matured. A great way to consistently train and not bore your pups is train in sessions. Train in the morning let them rest through the day and train again in the evening, always end a session with positivity, and always end with success.

5. Patience.

-Desire is not built in a day. Some dogs are born with a crazy amount of desire, some would rather lay on the couch. In my opinion most dogs can be tought to desire hunting, but I also believe it must start young. I am not saying you cant teach an old dog new tricks, but it is alot easier and will save you alot of time and money if you teach it to them young.

Tune in next week for some tips on Discipline/Correction

Dog- Cooper
Owner- Dillon and Molly Rainwater

📸- Molly Rainwater

12/13/2023

Mae is getting after it! First goose retrieve! Yall keep hammering em Drake Billiot! She is as impressive as they come at 9 months old.

11/26/2023

Mae got her first retrieve while down south working on them costal birds! Cant wait to see more videos of her, she has been a blast to work with! Thanks Drake Billiot

11/17/2023

Crossroads Kennel's Thursday Tips

This week we are going to talk Focus!

In any hunting dog focus is a big deal. Getting a dog to focus on anything can often be a challenge. In my opinion, having a dog that can maintain focus through distractions is crucial to their success. A focused dog trains easier, hunts better, and is way more rewarding to work with. I believe dogs that have been exposed to more, opposed to less, are always one step ahead of dogs that have not been exposed to distractions they will encounter once they start hunting or when they are just living life with their owner.


Here are a few tips I believe you can start when pups are young that will help improve their focus when your dog is old enough to start training.

- Sociallize them correctly. Take them everywhere possible. Take them around as many people and other (non aggressive) dogs as possible.

- Introduce them to loud noises. Start at a distance and gradually work towards them at whatever rate the dog can handle it. Do NOT progress this tip too fast.

- Take them in the woods, just walk and let them trail behind.

- Introduce them to water, it is best to start them off in warm, summer water. Don't ever force them into it while they are a puppy. If your having trouble with them wanting to get in, just be patient.

- Take them on rides in vehicles, atvs, and kennels.

I do not believe these tips will make your dog 100% focused but I do believe they help puppies have a head start once training starts!

If you have the time and motivation, I highly encourage self training. It is not because I don't want to work with your dogs ,but because I understand the bond and appreciation it creates between an owner and their dog if you get that training time together! If anyone has any questions about their dogs, or if you self train and you are just stumped by something your dog is having issues with- please reach out to me and I will try and help in any way I can.

-Buddy

Obi (left) - Owner, Payton Stovall
Mae (right)- Owner, Drake Billiot

📸- Molly Rainwater

11/12/2023

It got a little more quiet around the home front this last week. Sadie, Mae, and Cooper went home. We cant wait to see what these super talented dogs do throughout the hunting season. Sadie and Mae will be after some birds with their owners while Cooper will be continuing to progress in his deer tracking ability with his family!

Sadie - Owner Aiden Joyner

Mae - Owner Drake Billiot

Cooper - Dillon and Molly Rainwater

Thanks for letting me work with you pups!

📸- Molly Rainwater

11/10/2023

Sorry I am a little late on this, but we were able to donate $90 for the month of October.

If you our new to our page, we donate 100% of proceeds from merchandise to Operation Underground Railroad. Regardless if you buy a hat, I challenge you to look into O.U.R. and see if it is something you feel led to donate to. You can donate to them through their page or their website.

We still have a few hats left, if your interested check them out on our website ( https://crkennels.com/store ). We are hoping to make another order and order some shirts after the new year!

Thanks again for everyone who bought a hat. Thanks to Flattwoods Engraving for helping us out where we can donate to this organization.

11/02/2023

"Can someone tell him i'm ready for real birds instead of bumpers" - Mae

Its getting about that time, a few more weeks and duck season here in Louisiana starts.

Comment some pictures of your four legged friends that will be hitting your duck hole with you.

dog-Mae
owner-Drake Billiot
📸 -Molly Rainwater

10/29/2023

I have been trying to think of a caption for a few days for this picture and all I could come up with is , Thankful.

I am Thankful that God has blessed me with the opportunity to train some amazing dogs for some amazing people. The friendships and conversations that these dogs (plus some that have went home) have created will last a lifetime.

I am thankful to everyone that has supported me and encouraged my ideas of getting to train dogs for people.

I am thankful for the owners that have trusted me to help their dogs become great pets,retrievers, and trackers.

I am thankful for a great group of pups that are always willing to learn and work.

I am thankful for ole Stone. He may not look like the happiest camper(far right of the picture), but somehow he is the pup that got me back into training. Now that all the other dogs take the pressure off of him, he spends his time serving as the resident rescue mutt that really has no purpose other than keeping me and Abby laughing and distracting other dogs.

Stay tuned for updates of everyones training and progress!

10/26/2023

Say hello to Obi!!! Obi is Fox Red Labrador Retriever. He is 6 months old and has an impressive drive to retrieve. Obi will be spending the winter with us working through our retrieving gundog program. Obi seems to be a quick learner, and we are excited to see this dude progress through the winter.

Owner- Payton Stovall

10/10/2023

Say hello to Cooper. Cooper is a 6 month old yellow labrador retriever. He has an awesome personality and his intelligence is quite impressive. He is currently enrolled in the obedience program. Also in his time here, his ability and desire to track deer will be evaluated. We are super excited to see the improvements this guy will make in the coming weeks.

Owners- Dillon Rainwater and Molly Rainwater

10/01/2023

Well as we wrap up the month of September, I just want to say thanks to everyone that bought a hat from our store! We were able to donate $617 to Operation Underground Railroad! Another big thanks to the guys over at Flattwoods Engraving for helping me make this happen. We still have a few options available on the store and hopefully we will be restocking and maybe adding some t-shirts pretty soon. Thanks again for everybodys support and generosity.

Check out the store to see what we have left.

Crossroads Kennels will donate 100% of the proceeds made off of any merchandise to Operation Underground Railroad. We firmly believe in their organization and they have our full support. We also urge you to donate to O.U.R., we can all help stop human trafficing!

09/24/2023

Its always a blast when Zeke is around! One of the best natured dogs we have had! Thanks for trusting Zeke to spend the weekend with us Derek Carlin.

We also offer boarding! Check our website for pricing.

https://crkennels.com

09/12/2023

Meet Mae! Mae is a 6 month chocolate labrador female. She has already shown to be very smart and displays an impressive amount of focus for her age. Mae will be working her way through the gundog program this winter!We are excited to see what this little lady develops into.

Owner: Drake Billiot

09/01/2023

Our store is LIVE!!!!!

Go grab a hat while they last. If you have not seen the post about our merchandise, let me fill you in.

As long as we are able, 100% of the money made on any of our merchandise will be donated to Operation Underground Railroad. As of now all we have is hats and hopefully that will change in the near future!

We will post a monthly donation report at the beginning of each month to show the money that was raised for the organization!

A special thanks is due to the guys over at Flattwoods Engraving for partnering with us to make this happen! Great people doing great work!

Another big thanks to all the people who shared the video announcing the store that we posted Wednesday!

Please share this post!

As always thank for all the support and giving to a great cause!

Check out some of our hats below 👇. Make sure to visit our store to see all inventory and make a purchase!

( https://crkennels.com/store )

08/30/2023

Some of yall have been asking about hats, so here they are. The guys over at Flattwoods Engraving hooked me up! We partnered to be able to donate 100% of the proceeds to Operation Underground Railroad. All hats will go on sale Friday, September 1st.

Check out our hats in the store on our website ( https://crkennels.com/store ) and go back on Friday and buy a few hats!

Please share and thanks for all the support!

08/12/2023

In my opinion, of the most important things when you send your dog to get trained is maintaining a relationship with the dog and checking in on progress. Whether you use us or not, I encourage you to reach out to your trainer of choice and ask them to teach you how to work your dog. Ask them if you can come see the dog's progress often! It is your dog and you should be able to see your money well spent!

Video: Aiden Joyner and Sadie!

07/28/2023

Welcoming Sadie! Sadie is a GSP and she is a ball of fire to say the least! She will be staying with us gearing up for duck season. We are excited to work with her and seeing her develop into a gundog!

Sadie is owned by Aiden Joyner