ABOUT US
Our journey began with Field Dog Life, one of the largest social media platforms in the sporting and hunting dog world. Through Field Dog Life, we connected with retriever and bird dog enthusiasts, trainers, breeders, and handlers from around the world, creating relationships that extended far beyond social media. That global exposure opened doors to a wide range of training philosophies and working styles and inspired us to move beyond traditional hunting dogs and into the broader world of dog sports and canine athletic development.
Beginning in 2018, we committed fully to hands-on learning and training. Rather than claiming to do everything ourselves, we intentionally placed our dogs with professional trainers across the country, trained alongside them, and worked within a variety of programs and systems. This allowed us to see firsthand how different professionals approach training, conditioning, problem-solving, and performance development. Just as importantly, we learned alongside highly skilled amateurs whose perspectives and experience helped shape our thinking along the way.
On any given weekend, you could find me loading dogs into the truck and driving 10 to 15 hours—sometimes more—to train, learn, and collaborate. Dogs took us across Nebraska, Texas, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alabama, Maine, Virginia, South Carolina, Colorado, California, and beyond—working across an extraordinary range of terrain, climates, and training environments.
In 2020, I began training my own dogs in earnest—and that’s when the gap became impossible to ignore. To train properly, dogs need the right terrain, space, water, and freedom of movement. And for owners and trainers near cities, that kind of access simply doesn’t exist. The lack of appropriate grounds wasn’t an inconvenience—it was a fundamental limitation on how dogs could learn, train, and develop. I also realized that dog training isn’t one-size-fits-all. It must match the breed: use what motivates a dog’s instincts and you can teach almost anything with the right methods and tools. For sport and working breeds, that means lots of exercise, purposeful skills and wide open spaces where they are free to run and work.
That realization became the impetus behind this farm. What was once an overgrown soybean field was transformed into purpose-built sporting dog grounds because the need was obvious and unmet. There was nowhere like it—especially close to an urban center—and once it existed, others recognized that immediately.
Today, we train and condition our own dogs on these grounds every day, using the same standards, methods, and expectations we promote to others. That same reality is why trainers and dog people from around the country now come here—to work dogs, host training days, collaborate, and access land that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere.
The Red Dog Ranch was created to bring everything we learned—across the country and through a global community—back home, right here in Ohio, giving dog owners and trainers access to space, terrain, and opportunity that had been missing for far too long.
About Our Grounds
Set on more than 60 acres of thoughtfully maintained land, including 7 acres of lakes and ponds, our grounds were designed with one purpose in mind: to provide a safe, functional, and inspiring environment for serious dog work.
While located within an urban area, the property feels more like a private nature preserve—quiet, expansive, and intentionally preserved. We welcome handlers, trainers, and dog owners who value space, structure, and respect for the land. Whether you’re conditioning a canine athlete, reinforcing foundational training, or simply looking for a place where dogs can move and work as they’re meant to, our grounds offer a rare balance of freedom and professionalism.
Our property includes open fields, varied terrain, natural water features, and designated training areas that allow for real-world application—not just controlled, artificial setups. This diversity supports everything from fitness and conditioning to obedience, retrieval work, and focused training sessions. Just as importantly, we prioritize safety, land preservation, and responsible use, ensuring the grounds remain high-quality and accessible for everyone who trains here.
We are not a public park or drop-in dog area. Access is intentionally limited to maintain the integrity of the property, the experience for our clients, and the wellbeing of the dogs who train here. By keeping our community small and aligned, we’re able to offer a calm, respectful environment where both people and dogs can focus and thrive.
If you’re looking for more than a fenced field—if you’re looking for space with purpose, structure, water, and care—we’d be happy to welcome you.
If you’re looking for more than a fenced field—if you’re looking for space with purpose, structure, and care—we’d be happy to welcome you.
Use of the grounds is reservation-based, allowing guests to schedule dedicated time for training, exercise, or short stays in a quiet, well-managed environment.
FAQs
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The Red Dog Ranch is a training co-op and was created so that you can train and exercise your own dog, on our grounds. We also offer private dog training with our staff.
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There is no better way to test your dog’s skills, and your handling skills, than to work your dog at our certified dog training grounds with our staff. Experience true, sporting and working dog training beyond the confines of your home or a garage - and get outdoors where canine athletes are meant to be. Master obedience and essential skills with real-world distractions, gaining control through focused exercises that build teamwork, concentration and discipline. Watch as your dog magically transforms by the power of freedom, nature and a calm environment while you gain control by keeping their brain engaged and practice learned skills in a real life hunting ecosystem. You and your dog are observed, trained, shaped and tested, to gain essential skills that will build a better human-dog relationship! Watch how your dog learns and processes his natural environment, using his skills given to him by nature - what he was born to do, while you learn how to harness his natural abilities.
Your dog learns best when actively engaged in purposeful tasks within their natural environment, so there is no better place to test their skills than in a natural environment with distraction.
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Your dog can work at The Ranch in a few different ways:
Schedule access to our grounds through our booking page. You can book time to work and train your dog. You will be entitled to an hour of time at our facility, both indoor and the pastures. We also offer private training.
You can set up various competitive sporting dog scenarios, and run a master - level hunt test, or set up a Field Trial Open or Qual. Our grounds will challenge even the most skilled dogs, and we designed them to build champions retrievers.
You can train and condition your dog to swim in big, open, moving water to become a strong and confident swimmer from puppy to adulthood.
You can enjoy all the Ranch has to offer for outdoor living. Throughout the year, we also hold Hunting specific classes for people interested in exploring the outdoors.
You and dog can come to socialize with other “Ranchers”, because dogs need wide-open spaces!
During hunting season, The Ranch comes alive! We hunt and fish all year round, and partake in winter sports like cross country skiing or snowshoeing with your dogs. We condition them to the cold, and icy waters.
If your dog becomes a regular at The Ranch, it will put him in a position to become the best dog he can be, in the best physical and mental condition of his life.
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Our training center focuses on sporting and working dogs—dogs that need and love to work with purpose. These breeds need regular, meaningful activity to be happy, healthy, and well-behaved at home and in the field. Our grounds are designed to simulate hunting, testing, and trial conditions.
If your dog is a working athlete that needs off-leash activity, The Ranch is the right place. For owners with limited mobility, we offer a Dog Day Camp. We don’t offer typical classes; instead, we work with highly competitive, active and working dogs and provide space for these energetic dogs to run free and do what they’re meant to do: work.
Your dog does not need to have advanced hunting and working skills to train and workout at The Ranch. If he shows a natural curiosity for retrieving, or inclination to a certain type of work, giving him the chance to practice will be highly beneficial. If your dog is a seasoned hunter, the grounds are essential to keep him practiced and well conditioned year round.
If you have a puppy that will be a hunting dog, these grounds are critical to begin essential retrievers skills out of the box, or to work with your puppy before he heads off to a Pro. We have specific exercise and conditioning activities that big motor dogs should be exposed to as little at 7 weeks old.
We carefully screen dogs and owners before they join to keep a focused, exclusive community of dogs that need to stay fit and balanced both mentally and physically. To learn more or see if your dog is a good fit, contact us to schedule a visit.
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If your dog has behavioral problems or is reactive, we can discuss what activities might be beneficial. Reactive and anxious dogs especially benefit from the environment, owners of these types of dogs will find it easy to exercise them here due to the privacy of the grounds. Anxious and “skittish” dogs must have exposure to various environments, this is a safe place to begin exposure due to the privacy and dog-compatible environment. We have seen highly reactive and anxious dogs change after spending a few weeks at The Ranch since it provides them with the exact type of mental stimulation needed to calm their brain.
Our wide open fields and lakes help dogs that need to build confidence or have high anxiety, if your dog needs to learn to relax and channel nervous energy, the grounds will be highly beneficial. Most of that nervous energy will be “burned off” after intense exercising and exploring.