John started training field trial dogs professionally in 1968 working with Rex Carr in Oakdale, CA. He has trained and handled several Field and Amateur Field Champions, as well as a National Amateur Field Champion. John and Debra opened Hightest Retrievers in 1986. John supervises the training process and development of every dog. Each dog must meet John’s rigorous standards to advance in the gun dog program. John has a wealth of experience in trouble shooting and sorting out dog problems. John enjoys bird shooting, big game hunting and fishing.

Debra started breeding and training Labrador Retrievers for field competition in Canada, in 1978. She has a three year degree in Animal Health Technology from St. Lawrence College in Ontario, Canada. Her professional background in animal husbandry and genetics is an asset in selecting the best breeding pairs and managing the whelping and rearing of every litter. Debra competed in AKC licenced Field Trials for several years and has handled many of the Hightest sires and dams in AKC Hunting Tests to achieve their Senior and Master Hunter titles. Debra’s passions are business, exercise and the outdoors. She is actively involved in her church and is president of the Christian Business Alliance, an organization she started in Oroville

Jared has been training retrievers at Hightest since 1997. He has handled several of our breeding dogs in AKC Hunt Tests, at the Senior and Master level. He has a natural talent for reading the dogs and getting the most out of each training session. Jared is very skilled at teaching basics and force training the hunting dogs. He manages all aspects of running the kennel facility and training the hunting dogs. He is very skilled in his training techniques, helping the young dogs to advance to their maximum potential. He has proven to be a great asset to our training program here at Hightest and is a junior partner in the business. Jared lives on site and enjoys bird hunting in his spare time.

Ole is an enthusiastic outdoors man and has hunted hounds for several years. We are happy he has turned his passion for hunting and dogs to training retrievers. Ole joined us in March of 2005 and is having a difficult time believing he is getting paid for something he loves to do so much! Ole assists in the training of both the obedience and gun dogs. In his free time he trains his own retrievers and coaches baseball for his two sons. His hobby is Hunting!

Bethany trains the obedience and head start puppies at Hightest. She joined our training team in 2005. She also works in the nursery caring for the puppies. Bethany has been an obedience class instructor and also has been involved in running and judging NAHRA (National Association of Hunting Retrievers) events. She loves to hunt with her family and work with hunting dogs. Bethany is gentle with the dogs and has an encouraging demeanor to get the best out of each of her students. She is involved with 4H with her two children, Brandt and Anna. Bethany enjoys hunting, horseback riding and scrap booking in her free time.

Jennifer has been cleaning the kennels, caring for puppies, feeding and exercising the dogs at Hightest since 2003 She also manages the whelping, care and raising of all the puppies and their dams, in our whelping facility. We are confident our canine athletes are getting the best start possible in the Hightest nursery, with Jennifer in charge. She also throws birds for the hunting dogs, out in the field. Most of her spare time is spent with her daughter Sydney.

Andrew joined the Hightest staff in 2007. He started out throwing birds for the hunting dogs, out in the field and exercising the boarding dogs. He has enjoyed learning all the facets of dog training, from obedience to early puppy development. Andrew is now assisting Jared with field training and force training the hunting dogs. He has a gentle nature and loves helping the dogs to enjoy learning. In his free time, he enjoys riding dirt bikes and fly fishing.

Cruiser has been teaching puppies to swim at Hightest since 1998. He is a Miniature Dachshund that doesn’t know that he is not a Labrador. At the mention of the word “bumper” he’s ready to head down to the pond with his young recruits. He’s just the right size for the puppies and has tremendous retrieving desire. The puppies love him and he loves them because he gets to go swimming with them. Cruiser’s favorite pastimes are chasing rabbits, begging for food at the table and making sure that no strange Labradors get too close to his fenced yard.