09/05/2026
The best teachers donāt simply give you answers. They change the way you think.
For more than 20 years, Rick Smith has been one of those people in my life.
Rick is a legendary bird dog trainer, clinician, competitor, breeder, and Hall of Fame inductee. But to me, he is something even more important. He is my mentor and my dear friend.
For 15 years, Rick traveled to QK to host clinics, work with me, challenge me, and generously share a lifetime of knowledge. His teachings helped shape the trainer I became and influenced the way I think about communication, pressure and release, timing, leadership, and developing a dog with patience and purpose.
Last year, Jason and I had the opportunity to travel to Montana and stay with Rick and his wife. We spent our days enjoying the sporting life and our evenings around the table sharing meals, stories, laughter, and years of memories.
Those are the moments you appreciate differently as you get older.
Rick is retired now, but his influence certainly is not.
When I wrote Mastering Canine Communication: The Power of The.Quiet.Kueā¢, there was no one more fitting to write the foreword than the man whose mentorship had influenced so much of my own journey.
Twenty years later, I am still his student. I am simply very fortunate that somewhere along the way, my mentor also became my friend.
Thank you, Rick, for the lessons, the patience, the friendship, and for always being willing to pass your knowledge along.
Never stop learning from the people who have earned the right to teach you.
As Rick always says, āNever Settleā
