Kim and Steve Riggins have been training retrievers together now for over 9 years.

Steve brings over 20 years of dog training experience to the team, specializing in hunting retrievers for the past 15. Over this span of his career he has accumulated well over 200 field titles on his client’s dogs in UKC/HRC & AKC hunt tests. His goals are high yet simplistic. He wishes to have one of the top turnkey dog training facilities starting with breeding all the way to the highest level of teamwork between his clients and their companions. Steve strives to have his clients walk away with a full understanding of the retriever’s capabilities and gets as much satisfaction out of his clients success running their own dogs, be it in a hunt test or just a weekend hunting trip.

With Steve’s busy schedule the team would get out of balance if not for Kim. Between the paperwork and training a few dogs herself she has developed a puppy head-start program that compares to no other. Kim is what kick starts the puppies and the owners in the proper direction in developing instincts and teaching the owner how to properly teach the puppy how to learn.

Her biggest aspiration is her show dogs. With the help of key experienced breeders, she has quickly resurrected an old line of dual-purpose retrievers and developed a direction for Bear Creek’s breeding program. She is only scratching the surface but is quickly being recognized nation wide with pointed and champion dogs in the show ring that are actively pursuing and successfully accumulating their field titles. Kim’s goals along with Steve’s go hand in hand and are rapidly developing one of the top retriever training facilities in the south.

Facilities and Location:

Bear Creek on the Bayou Retrievers’ facilities rest on the beautiful rolling hills and is nestled in the hardwoods just north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The kennels and ponds are situated on 20 acres most of which is dog proof safety fence. The main kennel runs are spacious 5 x 10 and covered by our high ceiling structure to keep the weather out and designed to be cool and dry during our main season of training. Health is paramount and our design promotes ease of cleaning and disinfecting. Bear Creek also provides the finest nutrition and supplements when needed to keep the energy level and overall appearance of your pet at its peak. We have the availability of a fine vet staff only 15 minutes from our facility and being just outside of Baton Rouge, LSU is available and is nationally known as one of the finest institutions for veterinary medicine. For our out of state clients the Metro Airport is under 30 minutes away and is used frequently to fly dogs into us as well as providing the owner transport. Our training ponds and technical ponds have been developed for teaching and were designed by Steve with the ideas taken from all the best facilities he has trained on. We are also in the process of designing and excavating other sets of ponds to challenge even the most advanced retrievers. Bear Creek has also been very fortunate to pick up over 4000 acres of various terrains and water to train on due to the generosity of local dog fanciers and clients who give us access. We are fortunate enough to have the ability to simulate virtually any hunting scenario be it for hunt tests or for the hardcore hunter. These areas are easily accessible with a short ride in our specially designed training trailer. With safety and comfort in mind we have had a 16hole trailer with extra large compartments and fans for low stress. Everything we design is for the education and comfort of your companion and we will always commit to advancing our facilities and equipment to enhance our skills.

Read about us in the AKC Gazette, 'Lessons from the Bayou'!>>

For more information please contact us at info@bearcreekonthebayou.com

Or phone us at (225) 936-2598 or (225) 683-6045