#23 - Aiden Kostival of Oak Grove Kennel

<p>Aiden Kostival is a retriever trainer, duck guide, and future club founder. He breaks down what it really takes to build a life around birds, dogs, and long days in the field. </p><p>Aiden shares how he went from growing up duck hunting in southern Ohio to training gun dogs, running hunt tests across multiple states, and guiding in Arkansas for the entire waterfowl season.</p><p>We get into the topics that actually matters for serious dog people: how he decided to cap his kennel at 16 dogs so every dog gets real attention, why he focuses on gun dog training over obedience and boarding, and what it takes to expand from a six-hole trailer and a climate-controlled garage into a bigger operation. </p><p>He also opens up about what he learned from working under another pro, why he’ll take advice from almost anyone, and how his personal dog Scout became a finish-level milestone he’s proud of.</p><p>You&#39;ll hear Aiden talk through the difference between HRC and AKC tests, what he thinks about Master Hunter versus HRCH titles, and why he’s fired up to help start a new HRC club near Athens, Ohio with Matt Michael. </p><p>He also shares what it’s like to run tests in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, plus how a strong training partnership and great clients helped his kennel grow faster than he expected.</p><p>Then the conversation shifts to Arkansas, where Aiden tells the wild story of how a Facebook post, a late-night resume, and a phone call sent him into the duck guide world almost overnight. He breaks down what guide life really looks like - early mornings, constant scouting, gun safety, client management, and never really getting to clock out - and why he loves it enough to make it his winter job for the foreseeable future.</p>