Jim Elam has been fortunate to have two long careers. The Warren County native spent over 20 years as an educator and coach. He started in Johnston County at Princeton High School, and after getting married, decided he wanted to be closer to home. His desire to return to Warren County would land Elam the head football coaching position at Halifax Academy and then in Roanoke Rapids where he coached the middle school football team. It was while he was there that he became interested in training dogs.
“I learned from my father,” Elam said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. He read books to add to his knowledge not knowing he would be able to turn his interest into a new, second career. He sees a lot of similarities between coaching young people and training dogs. “Some are more difficult and some are easier,” Elam says.
Elam says training for puppies begins at six weeks of age and at seven weeks he explains it is important to socialize them. “The sit command is the place to start,” says Elam. At seven months the formal training begins.
If you are interested in learning more about training retrievers, contact Jim at Lake Country Retrievers at 252-432-2245, on Facebook or at www.lakecountryretrievers.com.
CLICK PLAY!
