--- title: Gun Dog Training From Woodland | Royal Gun Dogs url: https://royalgundogs.com/from/woodland/ business: Royal Gun Dogs trainer: Richard Gebhart (professional gun dog trainer since 2002) phone: (530) 341-4496 email: royalgundogs@yahoo.com trains_at: Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Rd, Rio Vista, CA 94571 (Solano County) booking: call or text Richard directly --- - [Home](https://royalgundogs.com/) - [All of California](https://royalgundogs.com/from/) - [Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills](https://royalgundogs.com/regions/sacramento-valley/) - Woodland # Woodland, Yolo County and a trained retriever Rio Vista is about 61 minutes and 43 miles from Woodland by road. Richard Gebhart trains gun dogs at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve there, and retrievers and pointers come to him from all over California for board-and-train. ## From Woodland to Hastings Island - **Drive to Rio Vista:** about 61 minutes 43 miles, OpenStreetMap routing, no traffic - **County:** Yolo US Census Bureau - **Population:** 61,854 ACS 5-year 2024 - **Median age:** 36.6 ACS 5-year 2024 Drive estimate from road routing between town centers (no traffic), pulled October 2026. Census figures: American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Woodland is the Yolo County seat, with 61,854 residents and a median age of 36.6 (Census ACS 5-year 2024). It sits in the middle of the county where many Sacramento Valley waterfowl hunters hunt. ## A top-five waterfowl county In CDFW's 2024 Waterfowl Hunter Survey, 5.52 percent of respondents named Yolo County for waterfowl hunting, placing it among the five most-named counties (alongside Colusa, Merced, Butte and Glenn). The survey reports where people hunt, not where they live. For a Woodland hunter, that means a dog gets used in places with real competition for birds and for space in the blind. ## Fitting training into a hunting year The [off-season training calendar](https://royalgundogs.com/guides/off-season-training-calendar/) shows what to work on between January and September. Woodland owners who start in spring tend to have a dog ready by the opener. After training, a [calm dog in the duck blind](https://royalgundogs.com/guides/calm-dog-in-the-duck-blind/) is the goal. Richard calls the aim a "team player" dog. ## Before you drive out Hastings Island is an hour away. Google lists the hours as Monday and Wednesday through Sunday, 8 AM to 2 PM. Call first; drop-off is set by phone, with Wednesday to Saturday preferred. Ask about drop-off, pick-up and whether a lesson on pick-up day suits you. ## Neighbors Davis is next door; read the [Davis page](https://royalgundogs.com/from/davis/) for the Yolo Bypass facts. The wider valley is on the [Sacramento Valley region page](https://royalgundogs.com/regions/sacramento-valley/). ## What survey numbers mean for a dog Colusa, Merced, Butte, Yolo and Glenn make up the top five counties in the CDFW survey. A dog from Woodland lives in the middle of that map. The [refuges and habitat page](https://royalgundogs.com/data/waterfowl-habitat-and-refuges/) shows the ground between your home and the larger refuges to the north. ## When to call Spring and summer are good months for ordering training ahead of the October opener, but Richard decides the plan for each dog. He likes dogs on the books a month out and recommends six weeks, and calling in June leaves more choices than calling in September, and the [booking FAQ](https://royalgundogs.com/faq/how-to-book-training/) explains how the first conversation goes. ## Three things to ask Richard These three questions shape the rest of the conversation. The [Basic Waterfowl Program page](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/basic-waterfowl/) describes how a dog moves from basics into field work. - Whether your dog's breed and age fit a starting point such as Puppy Camp, which he likes to begin at 5 to 7 months, or the Basic Waterfowl Program. - How many weeks the dog would stay inside the program's published range. - What a handler lesson on pick-up day would cover. ## A Yolo County reminder Whatever the survey shows, the hunt that matters is your own. Bring that to the call, so Richard can tell you how your dog's training should line up with where, when and how you hunt. ### Sources (3) - California Department of Fish and Wildlife : [nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=233037&inline](https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=233037&inline) (checked October 27, 2026) - U.S. Census Bureau : [census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/acs-5year.html](https://www.census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/acs-5year.html) (checked October 27, 2026) - Hastings Island Hunting Preserve : [hihp.com/royal-gun-dogs-dog-training/](https://hihp.com/royal-gun-dogs-dog-training/) (checked October 27, 2026) ### Where Richard trains Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Rd, near Rio Vista in Solano County. Call before you drive out. [Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Hastings+Island+Hunting+Preserve+Rio+Vista+CA&destination_place_id=ChIJA_E9R8AphYAR_4YnvcqbaAU) ### Start here - [Board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) - [Private and group lessons](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/lessons/) - [Free training consult](https://royalgundogs.com/free-consult/) ### Your trainer Richard Gebhart has trained dogs professionally since 2002, learned the Rex Carr method for Retriever Basics under Billy Sargenti, and has run and qualified at an AKC Master National. [Meet Richard](https://royalgundogs.com/richard-gebhart/) ### Related - [Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills](https://royalgundogs.com/regions/sacramento-valley/) - [Board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) - [From Davis to Rio Vista](https://royalgundogs.com/from/davis/) - [Waterfowl habitat and refuges in California](https://royalgundogs.com/data/waterfowl-habitat-and-refuges/) ## Other drive times [Elk Grove](https://royalgundogs.com/from/elk-grove/)[Livermore](https://royalgundogs.com/from/livermore/)[Davis](https://royalgundogs.com/from/davis/)[Napa](https://royalgundogs.com/from/napa/)[Walnut Creek](https://royalgundogs.com/from/walnut-creek/)[Sacramento](https://royalgundogs.com/from/sacramento/)[Vallejo](https://royalgundogs.com/from/vallejo/)[Concord](https://royalgundogs.com/from/concord/) ## Questions from Woodland owners [All questions](https://royalgundogs.com/faq/) ### How far is Rio Vista from Woodland? About 61 minutes and 43 miles by road, with no traffic. ### Is Yolo County a big waterfowl county? CDFW's 2024 survey put it in the top five counties named by respondents, at 5.52 percent. ### Do I need to call first? Yes. Call first, and book ahead if you can: Richard likes a month and recommends six weeks. ### Is Woodland close to a refuge? The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area is nearby but does not allow dogs. Other refuges are farther north.