Upland Bird Dog: Bill Gibbons

	Bill Gibbons

Bill Gibbons, the Magic Man (The American Field, 1998) has over 25 years in dog training business. Bill has an impressive track record with four American Field, four Vizsla National, one Wirehair National, six National German Shorthair Pointing Association championships, and finished about 30 dogs in AKC. He has successfully championed Setters, Vizslas, Wirehair pointers, Brittanies, and English Pointers. Bill currently trains hunting and field trial dogs in Arizona. Bill Gibbons owns Westside Pet Center Kennels in Phoenix, Arizona.

For more information on Bill Gibbons and his training techniques, please read the American Field article, The Magic Man and for his contribution to the Vizsla breed, National Vizsla Association.

See pictures from the Tennessee training seminar.
For seminars and bird dog training, please contact Bill Gibbons at (602) 272-8008 or by e-mail.

Latest News from Bill Gibbons

Aug. 2002: Please see Bill's new training Camp and grounds in the White Mountains.

Aug. 2002: Bill is now training in the White Mountains of Arizona.

March 2002: Bill Gibbons to conduct a bird dog training seminar hosted by the Arizona Bird Dog Club, April 27-28, 2002. Please see the flyer for more information on this two day training event.

Sept. 2001: We had some rain recently and the temp has cooled at dog camp in Oklahoma. Bird dogs are all doing well. Please note: I have a new email address magmabirddogs@earthlink.net

May 2001: It has been a while since I have updated this site. I have been busy training dogs since I got home, but I do have to admit that we took some time off during the holidays when our son Dan and his new wife came to Arizona from Florida for the Holidays. We are getting ready to start a new and different enterprise sometime soon, and that has taken some time and planning. I am still training dogs, and will be training in the Phoenix area until the end of June. I will be in Arnett, Oklahoma again this year. I will be there by the 1st of August.

Aug. 24, 2000: The trip to Oklahoma was an uneventful one this year, and we made the trip in record time. The camp was all in order when we got there, as we had someone come out and turn on the water, the electric and the air-conditioner. There had been quite a bit of rain this year, and all of the kennels were overgrown, but that was quickly knocked down by the dogs, who were all glad to be at the end of their journey. We were told that it had been a very mild summer, with plenty of rain where we were. That is until we arrived, and then the temperature shot from the hight 80's to the 100's, making us feel right at home. The mornings and evenings are really wonderful at about 70, so training is good here in the mornings, with just enough time to run a couple of braces in the evening, as it stays light until 8:30PM. While not plentiful, birds can be found to work dogs on. The Jonny Houses are up and running, and we will be working those birds starting the 3rd of our stay. The dogs all look good, and the puppies are having a great time. It looks like a wonder summer.

July 16, 2000: It's that time again. We are getting the equipment ready to move to Oklahoma for the three months of August, September, and October. We have had reports of rain at the dog camp this year, so the bird crop should be better than then last few years. We always buy about 400 quail for the johnny houses anyway, so we always have plenty of birds to work dogs on. We will be leaving for Oklahoma on the 31st of July this year, and should arrive there on the 1st. The dogs we take with us will be getting into our kennel in Phoenix on the 28th and 29 of July, and we will pick up a few more dogs when we get over there. If anyone wants to send a dog to Oklahoma this year, they need to contact us as soon as possible. We have a wonderful looking group of young dogs (4-7mos) for the puppy program, a few forcebreaking dogs, and a promising bunch of dogs to break. Snakebreaking will continue in September and October in Phoenix.

Feb 5, 2000: Bill is currently accepting bird dogs for training. Also, look for snake avoidance training starting March.

The AZ Bird Dog Club is going to put on the Arizona Open Shooting Dog Championship and the Region 12 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship in Kingman, Arizona on February 23-27, 2000.

Oct. 9, 1999: Please see Dog Camp for a picture essay of dog training events in Bill's camp in Arnett, Oklahoma.

Aug. 26, 1999: Getting ready to leave for our training grounds in Oklahoma is a very busy time. In Arizona that means getting the trailer and truck ready in hundred plus temperatures. This year was a pretty easy one. The trailer was in good shape, and the truck only needed minor repairs, plus a new set of tires all around. We were luck this year because our nephew Casey was able to come over early and help us get everything packed. He is now seventeen, and has been helping train dogs since he was seven. Young legs are sure a help. Even after all of this time and seeing what it takes to be a trainer, he still wants to learn from his Uncle Bill. It takes a couple of weeks to get all the loose ends together and gather the dogs. We are to leave on Thursday the 29th so as not to be traveling over a weekend. The birds will arrive from a local breeder on Sunday, so we have to be in camp by Friday morning in order to make any repairs that are needed to the eight Johnny houses before they get there.

We got up Thursday morning about 4 AM , loaded 40 dogs and 3 horses, and pulled out about 6 AM. We tried a different route out of the valley this year, and it seemed to make a difference. Instead of pulling up out of the Valley through Flagstaff, we went up over the Mogollon Rim via Payson. The road has been greatly improved, and is divided almost all the way to Payson. There was very little traffic, and although it is always a long slow haul seemed to gain us a little time, and was not as hard on the truck. The weather was pretty good. Once we were up in the mountains it was cool, and we caught I-40 in Holbrook, and started across. We made it to Albuquerque before rush hour, and thought we were going to sail through with no construction, until we reached the hill on the East side of town. You guessed it, they are still working on the road, but we were still doing pretty good.

There was a little rain on the way, but not much. For the most part it was a very uneventful trip. We did blow two tires on the trailer by the time we reached Amarillo. We had stopped in Santa Rosa, but were unable to locate a tire at the time of the night, so kept on. I took over once for Bill, and drove for a couple of hours. By the time we got to Amarillo Bill was pretty tired, so I drove from there almost to camp. The last 25 miles always seem to take longer than the whole trip. But we made really good time, and arrived at 4:30 Oklahoma time (2:30 Arizona time) just about daybreak. We were the only ones there, so put the dogs up in the kennels and the horses in the corrals. Made sure everyone was watered, and got something to eat. Then a short nap while it was cool.

The water lines in the trailer had again frozen and were leaking, so the plumber was working on them. The refrigeration did work, and the electric was good, so we got started settling in. When people make fun of the fact that Arizona has a "dry heat", I just ignore them. I will take that any day over what Oklahoma is like. It had been very hot there, and was pretty miserable. We were getting things organized, and trying to decide whether to go into town and get something to eat when Gladys and Charlie Chalk arrived. Boy were they a welcome sight. They brought fried chicken that Charlie had cooked under Gladys' supervision. The chicken, potato salad and banana cake disappeared pretty quickly. Gladys looks pretty good after her bypass surgery, but has her hands full trying to train Charlie. It was wonderful to see them again, even if they could only stay for a short time.

There was rain on Sunday and Monday, which made it really nice. Bill and Casey were able to run some of the dogs off horseback, though not for very long, as both the horses and the dogs (probably the trainers too) were all pretty out of shape. Birds have been sighted, but mostly they are heard whistling, indicating that maybe there is a late hatch and more birds will be seen later.

Aug. 13, 1999: Just got back from Oklahoma. Had a good trip. Got Bill settled in and dogs are doing fine. Weather was a little hot, but had rain three days, and that made it really nice. Will send more detailed report later. Tamra Gibbons