MP Canine Academy

11/12/2026

Congrats to our latest round of graduates!

These guys completed the 5-Week Program and transformed their behaviour from wild & rowdy to calm & composed

Great job to the dogs and their owners who did their homework between lessons

11/10/2026

Look at these cuties.

Scotch the Cocker Spaniel, posing with Natasha, aka Mrs Phillips, aka my better half.

11/07/2026

Meet Eddie. Up close this time.

You might remember him from Pelee Island, where he was the breakout dog of the trip.

Honestly? I wasn't that surprised.

Eddie is the son of my Springer, Knight. And Knight is an absolute beast in the field.

Turns out the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It just runs off, finds a pheasant, and brings it straight back to hand.

But here's the thing about Eddie.

In the field, he's a machine. Nose down, flat out, all business.

The rest of the time, he lives on the farm with Rike and Lucas. And his preferred spot isn't the kennel or the porch.

It's the tractor.

Specifically, curled up on a fluffy mat, fast asleep while they get the farming done around him.

Pampered. Spoiled. Absolutely living his best life.

Pheasant hunter in the fall, tractor prince the rest of the year.

11/04/2026

Meet Jojo.

He's an English Cocker Spaniel, and he very nearly came home with me.

When this litter was born, I had my eye on a puppy from it. That one didn't end up being mine.

Jesse and Avery took Jojo home instead.

About a year later, they found their way to us for gun dog training. I had no idea he came from that litter until we got talking.

Turns out he was always going to end up in my field one way or another!

And he's doing great. He's settled into handling wild game like a natural, and we're putting the finishing touches on his introduction to the gun.

He's very close to his first real hunt.

I might not have got the puppy, but I'm glad I'm helping to get him ready for the field.

11/01/2026

Check out Knight’s Water Retrieve

He's an English Springer Spaniel, and he's retrieved more ducks out of the water than I can count.

But today was his first ever water retrieve on a pheasant.

And it was a long one.

For a Lab, that distance is just another Tuesday. For a springer, it's a proper swim.

He had to work for this one. There was a moment out there where he wasn't quite sure where he was going.

He figured it out, though, and brought the bird all the way home.

It wasn't the prettiest retrieve he'll ever do, but it was a big one, and now I know exactly what we're working on next.

That's how training goes. Each tricky retrieve shows you what to work on next.

10/29/2026

Meet Copper.

He's a one-year-old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, and his breed has one of the best job descriptions in the dog world.

Tollers were bred to play along the shoreline, splashing and darting about until curious ducks swam in close to see what all the fuss was about.

Then the hunter takes it from there.

Basically, Copper comes from a long line of professional show-offs.

He's with us to turn all that instinct into real skill.

Keeping close in the uplands and retrieving tenderly so there’s something to cook for dinner.

By the time he heads back to the cottage next year, he won't just be a handsome bastard. He'll be a working partner.

10/26/2026

Pelee Island, 2026.

Every October my wife and I make the trip to Canada's southernmost point for the annual pheasant hunt. This year, we came with friends - and Eddie.

Eddie is a Springer Spaniel who's been in training with us for the past year. From early on I had a quiet suspicion he'd be a force to be reckoned with. Tons of drive, and solid instincts. But you never really know until you're standing in the field and it all counts.

Eddie hunted like he'd done it his whole life, and recovered quite a few pheasants that would have been lost without him. A year of training and effort, all paying off at once. Eddie delivered.

Add in good people, blue skies, and evenings around the fire with tired dogs at our feet, and it's the kind of trip you're planning again before the ferry's even docked.

Great hunt. Great people. Great dogs.

And one Springer named Eddie, who proved my hunch right.

Photo cred to rike_st0

10/21/2026

Dog of the day: Charlie

10/20/2026

10/19/2026

Six months old. First time ever handling wild game.

A lot of young dogs freeze, back off, or try to eat it.

Beaumont picked it up like he'd been doing it his whole life and brought it straight back to Chris.

To be fair, Chris did the hard part before they even got here.

This golden retriever puppy arrived with a retrieve most trainers would be happy with at a year old.

This weekend was his introduction to wild game. He's officially a gundog-in-training, and we're officially excited.

Welcome to the club, Chris and Beaumont.

This dude's a natural.