About Us
About Us!
Jake Felkner- Owner
Jake got into the dog training in 2013 when he started to look for his first dog. He bought a pointing lab in 2014 and found a summer job working as a bird boy. Even though he learned the basics working with one pro, he’d still get out every summer and take the time to talk to other trainers and learn different training techniques. Jake found the training as his passion and knew he wanted to start his own kennel.
Jake started working with flushers and pointing labs for a few years until he got his first shorthair. He could not take one over the other, so he has decided to train and compete with both in Hunt Tests. In Spring and Summer, he likes to focus on getting dogs ready for hunt tests, tune-ups before the waterfowl season, and get them prepared to chase and point pheasants. As an avid hunter, he tries to hunt waterfowl and get to game farms pointing and flushing pheasants as much as possible. He enjoys hunting trips to Tennessee, the Dakotas, Kansas, or Missouri to hunt Snow Geese, Canada Geese, Ducks, Pheasants, and Quail.
Tyler Mieden- Assistant Trainer
Tyler began training in 2018 after he bought his first dog, Mack. Tyler started training Mack to run in Hunt Tests and that's how he met Jake. The two met at a Hunt Test in Fall 2018. Tyler began training with Jake regularly, and they often discussed training techniques and philosophy, of which they discovered they held similar beliefs and values. Tyler began to help Jake with training sessions and dogs in for training. In the summer of 2019, Jake brought Tyler on as a member of the WSK team.
Tyler would describe himself as a "training drill nerd". He loves studying and reading about drills and loves the process of watching dogs progress and grow through training. He handles much of the Basic Obedience work laying the foundation for dogs as they progress through the WSK training program. He is an avid hunter who enjoys chasing roosters and waterfowl in the fall, but loves the spring & summer training season.
Tyler resides in Oconomowoc with Mack, his wife, and 2 daughters.
Scott Beck-Assistant Trainer
Scott Beck started training Labrador Retrievers with his first 2 dogs: Max and Storm. He would travel around and learn from trainers about the importance of the daily effort it takes to have an accomplished trial dog. Scott ended up running Storm in AKC Field Trials and Storm earned a Qualified All Age title with an Amateur Handler. This is a huge accomplishment in the Field Trial game. Afterwards, Scott dove into the world of pointers.
Scott got his first German Shorthair Pointer with his brother in 2019. With the long background of training retrievers, Scott was brand new to the pointer game. Scott would join clubs and take advice from different trainers then apply the methods to his dog and see which one worked the best. Scott started to train with Jake at the end of 2020 and all of 2021. Now, Scott is an outstanding handler whether he is reading a dog on whether it is going to break or whether he has to stop training because a dog may be getting overwhelmed. We are Happy to have Scott on our team.
Scott will help us board dogs at his house South of Mukwonago with his wife Bobbi.
Jess Mieden-Administrator/Photographer
Jess is our Administrator and manages the email inquiries, scheduling, and coordination of all our dogs. She is often the first WSK team member you are interacting with, especially if you send us an email. Jess loves keeping Jake on schedule and putting her organizational skills to work. You might also see Jess holding a camera and catching some shots of your dogs.
Jess has her Masters in Public Accounting and held various Accounting and Finance roles over her professional career. Once she started her family in 2019, Jess decided to leave Corporate America so she could raise her daughters. Jess loves coming out to the training grounds with us and attending hunt tests. She loves watching the dogs work. Jess and her husband (Assistant Trainer Tyler) reside in Oconomowoc with their two daughters and their dog, Mack.
Lauryn Anders-Kennel Assistant
Lauryn plays one of the biggest roles at the kennel. It is very important to have a clean environment for all dogs that are in our care to stay in. Lauryn treats every dog like she owns them and makes sure to keep the staff updated if there is one not acting the same. All owners should be comfortable when the WSK crew heads out of town for a hunt test knowing that Lauryn will provide and exercise the dog multiple times a day.
“Weather you need boarding, basic obedience, force fetch, or full blown gun dog training Whistling Straight Kennels is the place to go. Jake Felkner took my 8 month old British lab and turned him into a UKC Started gun Dog. Walked me through the process of how to work with and become one with your dog. Highly recommend Jake. He goes above and beyond what most trainers would do for you and your dog. Thanks Jake, I look forward to working with you in the future!”
— John De Fazio