Joe Harp began training retrievers at Sorenson Kennels, near St. Louis, Missouri, before striking out on his own and founding Twin Oak Kennels near Hernando, Mississippi. Joe attributes much of his overwhelming success to being able to "think like a dog" when training instead of thinking like a "human"!

Twin Oak Kennels offers complete Field Trial Retriever Training for competitive retrievers. We focus on developing the skills your dog will need to compete successfully once the basic "young-dog" training is complete. We offer a development program that takes your dog from pre-Derby competition through all-age level. Our training grounds are superb for the proper training and conditioning needed to be a winner.

Joe's son, Scott Harp,began training with his father nearly 10 years ago. As you can see by the photos below, Scott really began his dog training career at a very early age--about age 10! He enjoyed competition as a youngster, and determined to be "like Dad". Its no wonder that Twin Oak Kennels has had such tremendous success.

We've grown a lot since then, both in stature and experience! Please give us a call or come and visit to see why Twin Oak Kennels has become so successful.

We have over 30 years of experience at all levels of retriever training. We have developed over 30 Field Champtions, and have more dogs nearing this coveted title every year.

Here's just a sampling of the ultimate competition--the National Open. This prestigious event rotates through each time zone every 4 years. Here is Scott competing with FC-AFC Cruise at the 2005 National in Cheraw, SC, and Joe and Scott with 2002 National Open Competitors: No. 69,FC Brooks, No. 52, FC-AFC Lefty, who was a Finalist, and No. 33, FC-AFC Ellie, all handled by Joe Harp at the 2002 National Open in St. Louis, MO. The bottom photo shows Scott Harp with No. 53, a finalist at the 2006 National Open, also in St. Louis.