Fairfield to Rio Vista: training a bird dog close to home

Fairfield is Solano County's biggest city, home to 120,785 people with a median age of 36.9 (Census ACS 5-year 2024). It is also where many of the county's duck and upland hunters keep their dogs.

The numbers

Drive time comes from OpenStreetMap routing with no traffic, so add a cushion on a weekday afternoon. Call Richard before you leave, since hours on Google are Monday and Wednesday to Sunday, 8 AM to 2 PM.

Grizzly Island is 11 miles away

Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, about 12,900 acres with about 7,900 acres open to hunting, lies roughly 11 miles from Fairfield (CDFW). That puts a serious public hunting area closer than the preserve where Richard trains.

CDFW allows dogs on a 10-foot leash when you are not hunting there, which gives a young dog a place to see open marsh and birds. Details are on our Grizzly Island page.

Training that lines up with your season

Many Solano owners decide in the summer to have a dog ready for opening weekend. The waterfowl opener guide walks through what a dog should know, and the Basic Waterfowl Program, which runs 10 to 16 weeks depending on the dog, covers the foundation work.

Richard learned the Rex Carr method for Retriever Basics under Billy Sargenti and added pointers and other upland breeds in 2013 under Steve Klassen at Blue Ridge Kennels. Fairfield owners with a pointing breed can read about the Formal Gun Dog Training.

Visits, lessons and pick-up

In board-and-train, your dog stays with Richard through the program. Fairfield is close enough for regular visits, so ask about handler lessons while the dog is still in training. Learning the cues side by side is what keeps the training working after you take the dog home.

Hunt tests close to home

The Denverton grounds near Suisun City are about the closest hunt test venue to Fairfield, and Richard runs dogs and helps clients at local weekend AKC retriever hunt tests. The 2026 California calendar lists clubs such as Marin Retriever Club and Norcal Golden Retriever Club holding events in the area.

If you have never entered a test, start with the first hunt test guide, which explains what judges look for and how a Junior Hunter title works. Dates belong on AKC Event Search, not on a static page.

A simple planning checklist

• Pick the season you want the dog ready for.
• Call to ask what Richard recommends for your dog's age and breed.
• Schedule an owner lesson near the end of the program.
• Keep working the dog the way Richard shows you after it comes home.