South Pines G.S.P.'s Bird Dog Training Resort - Virginia Field Trialing, Flushing, Hunt Testing, Pointing, Retrieving hunting dog trainers

Lucky the dog is a 1 yr. old GSP born in bird country (seen in the image on point towards the bird hidden in the foreground, last day of training with the Birdsall's). I am a 33 yr. old Engineer new to the sport of bird hunting. At first I was completely overwhelmed Lucky's pure energy and lack of control (I had).

Over the last 3 months I have seen her evolve into an obedient and trustworthy companion thanks to the steadfast and persistent training by Jim & Julie Birdsall. His facility was very well kept and welcoming. The other types of pointers were all very cool to see interacting and playing together. I learned how to stay calm and manage distractions, and what not to do and what to do while performing live drills with live birds. It was amazing. Jim is a bird dog subject matter expert that is easy to talk to and very resourceful. Lucky & I will surely be back, even just to visit. We highly recommend this investment!

Roxxi on point her last day of training with Jim and Julie Birdsall.

We could have looked the world over and never found better trainers than Jim and Julie! We bought our Brittany Roxxi and at 4 months old we took her to them for their 2 week obedience training and the difference after 2 weeks was amazing. We brought her back at 10 months for their 3 month training and have been astounded by the difference and what she has learned.
We got to train as well each month she was there and each month we left in awe by what Roxxi had learned. They have a beautiful house on the York River and your stay there once a month during the training is included. Training us has also help integrate her back into our house and keep up what Jim and Julie taught her.
Roxxi listens better, is more obedient and her bird hunting skills are wonderful. She went from charging and trying to catch the birds to scenting them and stopping and just keeping her eye on them. She now waits for the shot and to be released to retrieve and brings the bird back with no issues. She is now whoa broke and also responds to just hand signals. She also learned from hunting with Jim and Julie's dog Cotton.
If you need your bird dog trained these are the people to go to. Jim and Julie are truly wonderful people who care for your dog as much as they do their own. They have even done follow up calls to check on Roxxi and we know that if we have any questions all we have to do is call, text or email and they will be there.
Thank you so much Jim and Julie for everything you did for us and for Roxxi!

We have known Jim and Julie Birdsall for many years and have had our German Shorthaired Pointers successfully train with them. We also have a young Golden Retriever who is beginning to compete in various field and obedience events.

This past spring, we travelled on several occasions to the Birdsall’s new South Pines GSP Bird Dog Training Resort near Gloucester, VA, for two separate intensive, two-day land and water retrieving sessions as well as obedience training to prepare our retriever for upcoming events.
Together, we identified our goals with Jim and what training we needed to focus on to reach them. During our sessions, Jim was constantly evaluating what our dog and Nancy needed in order to succeed, and his insights were invaluable. We averaged 30 land retrieves and 15 water retrieves per day with Nancy and our dog being trained as a team where they identified problems, made needed corrections, and fine-tuned their skills. Each morning over breakfast we spent spend time with Jim evaluating the previous day’s training and then planned our program for the day.

A week following our training, we were entered in back-to-back retriever Working Certificate tests. The result was that our Golden Retriever easily won his Working Certificate (WC title) on the first day and passed the WC test again with ease on the second day. Our Golden Retriever was also awarded four straight qualifying scores, achieving his Rally Novice title. We will be returning to South Pines later this summer to train for the Working Certificate Excellent (WCX) title as well as prepare for the AKC Retriever Hunt Tests. Ribbons and rosettes directly attributable to Jim’s training are shown in the photo of our Golden Retriever.

Our thanks to South Pines for their wonderful training and guidance as well as their gracious hospitality!

Jim and Julie Birdsall are two of the nicest and most experienced professional people I have ever met. I started speaking with Jim in December 2011, after several phone discussions Luke and I arrived on Saturday morning Feb 4, 2012 and immediately I knew this place is the place to be. As an experienced hunter, I know how to hunt. But I have never hunted with a dog let alone my own dog. I am a novice with hunting dogs. Jim has this great demeanor in how he treats a dog and teaches you how to respond and encourage the dog and use your experience as a hunter. I smiled all the way back to Springfield VA replaying what a fantastic learning experience I had.

My daughter Ursula and I came back this past weekend Feb 25 to train with Jim and Luke. Once again the training we all received was just great. We are going to enter Luke in the upcoming AKC Hunt Test in March. It should be much fun. I believe Jim and Julie have made all the difference in my knowledge and Ursula's. We both look forward to many return trips to Southern Pines when needed.

Luke on point at South Pines.

In 2006, I was in the market for a German Shorthaired Pointer. Initially I wanted a quality-hunting dog for upland, but I soon realized that I would enjoy competing in AKC hunt test. I was fortunate to meet Jim Birdsall through Gun dog breeders site. I never imagined the amazing journey and perfect hunting dog/companion that would develop from this contact. In 2007, the litter was born and Jim Birdsall personally accompanied me and assisted with selecting the dog of a lifetime! This certainly wasn't expected and it clearly demonstrated Jim's loyalty and commitment. Shortly after taking my German Shorthaired Pointer (named Gunther) home, it wasn't long and Jim began to lay the groundwork for a training program. This program initiated with the handler, which I would soon become. I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to work this closely with a professional dog trainer. I was a first time dog owner and I feared of making a costly training error that would hinder my dog's performance forever. Jim assisted me with making valuable purchases for training aids, quail condos, and he even introduced me to his bird contact. Within a few weeks, I purchased my first quail condo, and I soon stocked it with a dozen bob white quail. Let me tell, I was ecstatic and ready to train. Waking up in the morning and hearing those bob white's call is a soothing and peaceful sound. And for Gunther he was that happiest German Shorthaired Pointer in the world. He couldn't wait to hit the yard and check on those quail. Gunther's drive to train immediately began to skyrocket. So Jim, Gunther and I began to meet on a weekly basis at a local dog-training site. We would often talk on the phone and discuss prior training, progress, concerns, and the next phases to the training program. This allowed us to develop an agenda prior to meeting, which enabled us to make valuable use of our time when in the field. Jim developed a way to simplify the training and make it fun!! He would break the training into phases. So while we were in the field, he would demonstrate the next phase. Then I would become the handler and Jim would critique me. We would go over this until I was comfortable and efficient. Our sessions would last about 45 minutes to and hour. And most importantly at the end, Gunther and I would go home together. Then throughout the week Gunther and I would train specifically on what we just learned. I was able to acquire some farmland for my training purposes. This one on one training with my companion was extremely effective in many ways. First and foremost it gave me the confidence to handle my dog in the field and at AKC events. Secondly, by training Gunther myself I began to know each and every once of his moves. This really worked to our advantage when competing. For example, I knew exactly when he was certain of his bird work, or what it would take to get him to honor another dogs point! Lastly and something I wouldn’t trade for anything in this world, is the relationship and bond that developed with Gunther and I. I now have a “best friend” who I can rely on no matter what. Gunther is the avid most competitive bird dog hunter that I dreamed of owning. He is a dream to handle, and we never come home empty handed!! As for AKC status, Gunther is unfortunately one leg shy of his Senior title. Due to some unforeseen personal events I had to step away from Gunther’s training program. We plan to get back on track in 2012!! So if you’re looking for a professional and one of a kind bird dog training experience look no further, contact Jim Birdsall and get ahead of the competition!

I retired in 2004 and after much negotiating with my wife we decided to get a German Shorthaired Pointer.We picked her up in April of 2005 and knew right away we had our hands full. We named her Sadie. On one of my trips to the Vet he said I should contact Jim And Julie Birdsall to help with Sadie's training. I did. I started working with Jim on weekends at a DNR area in Maryland that has part of the land set aside for dog training. What a great time we had. I had never really thought about hunting Sadie and certainly had not thought entering her in any AKC events, but Jim was also the Hunt Test Chairman for the local GSP Club and said I really should consider it. Well Jim's tutoring was good for Sadie and me since his training methods were not harsh and always involved me and the dog. We entered the Junior hunt test in March of 2005 and she completed her Senior Level 2 Years later. I would highly recommend Jim and his training methods for any person that wants to be trained with their dog.
John Warren Secretary MDGSP Cub