From San Jose to Rio Vista for gun dog training

San Jose is the largest city in Santa Clara County, with a population of about 990,000 in the Census Bureau's latest estimate. If you hunt out of the South Bay, the trip to Richard's training ground is just under two hours each way, which makes it a long morning.

Drive time and what to expect

OpenStreetMap routing puts the trip at about 109 minutes and 81 miles with no traffic. Crossing the Bay Area at a commute hour can add a good deal, so leave early or late in the day when you can.

Because the distance is under two hours, San Jose counts as a day-trip distance here. A single day gets you there for a drop-off or a handler lesson and back.

Training that fits a South Bay schedule

Board-and-train means the dog lives where it trains. You visit when it helps. See board-and-train for the full picture.

1. Call Richard and describe your dog, its age, and what you hunt: ducks, pheasant, quail or all of it.
2. Richard recommends the program and how many weeks your dog needs, and lengths and weekly rates are on the board-and-train page. Ask him how he wants to handle drop-off and pick-up from the South Bay.
3. Your dog boards at Hastings Island during the work, so there is no daily commute for you.
4. Come out for a handler lesson so you can run the dog the way he has been running it.

Where hunters from the South Bay head

Los Banos Wildlife Area in Merced County, about 6,200 acres of wetland, offers waterfowl and pheasant hunting on limited hunt days with a Type A pass (CDFW). It lies across the Diablo Range from San Jose, and a duck dog owner could work it. Check the current hunt schedule on CDFW's page before you plan a day.

The ground at Rio Vista is different: managed Delta marsh and upland cover, the kind of mix a dog meets on a real hunt.

Clubs with South Bay ties

The San Jose Retriever Club appears in The Retriever News list of AKC field trial clubs (2018 list), and the San Francisco Bay Weimaraner Club and the Vizsla Club of Northern California are listed with pointing-breed events at wildlife areas in the Central Valley. Each club posts its own current events, and AKC Event Search lists the sanctioned ones.

For retriever owners, the AKC Junior Hunter page explains the first title most clubs offer.