George Hickox Bird Dogs - George Hickox
In 1988. George Hickox started running field trials for dogs in Georgia. “That’s bird-dog country,” George explains. From there, George Hickox Bird Dogs expanded to educating hunters and dog owners on how to train their dogs, and eventually expanded into breeding.
Today, George works all over the country with individuals, public groups, private clubs, and kennels, offering training classes, clinics, courses, and even stud services. George is an avid outdoorsman, so I caught up with him on the phone while he was heading back to camp in North Dakota, to ask how he achieved his success.
Your business is truly unique. Who do you consider to be your target audience?
Mostly hunting clubs that want to host private clinics for their members. Although I do work with a lot of individuals that want to learn more about training their dog to hunt. I also run public clinics.
How do you reach these folks?
We do have a brochure and newsletter, but mostly it’s word-of-mouth and referrals. I’ve been doing this long enough to have gained national recognition in these circles. But lately, I’ve had to become more social media savvy - especially posting more things on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Has the pandemic affected business?
Well, we had been planning online courses before COVID, but those courses have become more of our focus. We had to cancel all of our spring clinics, although we still trained individual dogs. In North Dakota, things like transportation and hotel stays have changed. In Pittsburgh, where our business office is located, they have switched from making travel plans and booking hotels to focusing on selling our courses.
So what’s next for the second half of 2020?
We have hunts planned in Montana and New York, and three hunts in North Dakota in October. In November I’ll head back to Georgia. These hunts are for repeat clients, and have been planned for a while. So far they’re all still on.
What’s the best thing about owning a business like yours?
Being outside. I get to ride horses and run dogs. I also enjoy educating dog owners and helping them train their dogs, it’s rewarding.
I’m going to guess that if you had to be a specific breed, it’d be some kind of… bird-dog?
I like English Pointers. The game is dominated by pointers, like my dog Bolt. Pointers can handle the heat. They’re the quintessential southern quail dog. They’re what I breed and campaign.
Contact George:
Website: https://www.georgehickox.com/
YouTube: George Hickox Bird Dogs
Office Phone: 412-773-7310