Our Trainer

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Ricky Elston is a life long outdoorsman raised south of New Orleans in St. Bernard Parish.  A long time duck hunter and competition caller,  Ricky wanted a dog to pick up his downed birds and bought his first Labrador in 1999 at the age of 17.  He immediately became fascinated with dog training and spent every spare minute training and campaigning retrievers.  He has had success at every level in AKC/UKC hunt tests and field trials. 

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In 2009, Ricky was contracted to train dogs for a new explosive detection canine program for the United States Marine Corps.  It was a fast paced environment in which he was responsible for the training of countless canine teams both stateside and in Afghanistan.  He was also involved in other research and development projects for the U.S. military.

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Ricky has spent the past 24 years learning his craft from some of the best trainers around the world.  

In 2015, after three Afghanistan tours and years of traveling the country and world training, Ricky moved back home and opened Southern Tide Kennels.