Est. 1998 · Red Hills Plantation Country
A working kennel and private bird lodge on 1,200 acres of longleaf pine and wiregrass south of Thomasville. English pointers, Labrador retrievers, and guided quail days from first frost through late February.
The place
The Dogs Hunting sits on the old Harrell tract, eight miles southwest of Thomasville on Old Cairo Road. The property has been in the same family since 1998, when Calvin Harrell bought worn cotton ground and began planting longleaf, bicolor lespedeza, and sorghum for wild and released birds.
Today the kennel, training fields, and guest lodge operate as one outfit. Dogs live in climate-run kennels, work daily on native cover, and go home with people who want a partner in the field — not a ribbon on a wall.
Our storyWhat we do
Pointer and retriever prospects with field manners, gun introduction, and honest bird work. Placement is limited and done by interview.
Four- to twelve-week programs for pointing dogs and flushers. Daily field work, yard obedience, and a written close-out with your trainer.
Half-day and overnight hunts with our string, a wagon or walk-up, and lunch in the lodge kitchen. Licensed Georgia guides.
Season note
Quail days run Tuesday through Saturday from November 12 through February 28. Training slots fill first in August. Call the kennel office if you already have a deposit from last year — returning guests keep their week.
About the outfit
Harrell family
Calvin Harrell started The Dogs Hunting after twenty years as a farm manager on neighboring Red Hills plantations. He wanted a smaller place where the dogs came first and guests were treated like neighbors, not inventory.
His daughter, Maren Harrell Cole, now runs the kennel and guest books. Her husband, Ellis Cole, handles the string and daily training. Calvin still walks the west course most mornings and still argues about sorghum rows.
We keep a small staff: two full-time trainers, a kennel manager, a lodge cook, and seasonal guides during quail months. That is the whole shop.
Head trainer
NAVHDA Utility judge candidate. Fourteen years on pointing dogs, from started pups to finished gentlemen’s shooting dogs.
Kennel & lodge
Books the hunts, places the started dogs, and keeps the kitchen honest. Grew up on this place.
Founder
Still plants the cover, still names the puppies, still answers the barn phone if nobody else will.
Timeline
Calvin buys worn row-crop ground off Old Cairo Road and puts in kennels for eight dogs.
Neighbors ask to walk a course. The lodge kitchen starts serving lunch on Saturdays.
Working with a private forester, we begin converting 600 acres back to open pine and wiregrass.
Ellis joins full time. Climate kennels expand to 42 runs.
The old farmhouse is rebuilt as a six-room lodge with a dining hall and dog wash.
The string
We work two lines: English pointers for quail and a smaller string of Labrador retrievers for dove, duck, and wounded-bird work. Every dog on this page lives here or was started here. We do not list dogs we have not put birds in front of.
6-year-old English pointer. Brood bitch. Soft mouth around the house, iron on a covey. Two litters placed in Georgia and Alabama.
4-year-old pointer. Wagon dog and guest favorite. Stands his birds and does not crowd a shooter.
3-year-old Labrador. Marks clean, handles in the pond, and rides quiet in the truck. Used on dove and duck days.
Millie × Ridgeview Boone. Expected mid-March. Applications open January 5. Deposit $500, applied to placement.
5-year-old pointer. Stud dog. Wide but honest. Available to approved bitches by appointment only.
The yellow dog on the porch. Retired from the string. Will steal toast and greet every truck.
Board & train
$2,400
4 weeks. Name, recall, crate, introduction to birds and gun. Ages 5–8 months.
$4,800
8 weeks. Steadying, honoring, retrieve to hand, and manners around a hunting party.
$7,200
12 weeks. Handle at distance, whoa to flush, blind retrieves for Labs, and a written field report.
Guided hunts
All hunts include a licensed Georgia guide, a brace from our string, shells for 20-gauge if you forget yours, and a field lunch. You need a valid Georgia hunting license and a migratory bird HIP if dove is on the card. We can walk you through both before you arrive.
$425 / gun
7:30 a.m. to noon. Two to four guns. Coffee, field lunch, and a ride back to the kennel. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
$695 / gun
Morning and afternoon courses. Wagon, extra brace, sit-down lunch in the lodge. Fridays and Saturdays.
$1,150 / gun
Arrival Friday, hunt Saturday, depart Sunday after breakfast. Room, meals, and two hunt sessions. Four-gun minimum.
The lodge
The lodge has six guest rooms, a dining hall that seats sixteen, a mudroom with boot dryers, and a heated dog wash off the kennel breezeway. Rooms are simple: iron beds, wool blankets, a writing desk, and a window that looks onto the pine.
Breakfast is at 6:15 during hunt season. Supper is family-style. We do not have a bar, but you may bring your own bottle. Quiet hours start at 10 p.m. because the dogs start at 5:30.
Cook: Lila Peña. Biscuits, smoked ham, field peas, and a pecan pie that ends arguments.
42 indoor/outdoor runs, climate control, concrete that drains, and a vet closet stocked for field first aid.
West Course for walk-up. East Course for wagon. A 3-acre pond for water work behind the barn.
Gallery
Field journal
August 12, 2026
Lespedeza came in thick on the west course. We will burn the north strip in early October if the county burn window holds.
July 3, 2026
Four of six reservations are in. If you wrote us in May, check your email. We are not taking walk-in deposits.
February 20, 2026
Thank you to the Birmingham party and the two father-son pairs from Valdosta. Books for next year open September 8.
From guests
“Ellis put us on birds without making a show of it. The dogs were the story.”
James Whitaker — Columbus, GA
“Our Lab came home a different dog. The written report was better than most vet notes.”
Nora Ellison — Jacksonville, FL
“The lodge feels like someone’s house, because it is. We will be back in January.”
The Hale family — Birmingham, AL
Questions
No. Guided hunts use our string. You may bring a finished dog if Ellis has approved it at least two weeks ahead. Started dogs stay in the kennel during guest hunts.
Yes, ages 12 and up on hunt days if they have hunter education. Younger children are welcome at the lodge on overnight packages but do not walk the course.
We recommend The Big Oak Inn on Smith Avenue in Thomasville, about 18 minutes from the kennel gate. Maren can hold a room block if you ask early.
Georgia hunting license plus a Georgia WMA stamp is not required on our private land. You do need a valid state hunting license. Nonresidents can buy one online before arrival.
Started dogs are placed, not listed like inventory. Write us with your land, your experience, and what you want the dog to do. We will tell you honestly if we have a match.
We prefer pickup at the kennel. If we agree to fly a dog, we use Atlanta (ATL) and a handler we already know. We do not crate-ship on a cargo-only ticket.
Contact
Kennel office
Harrell Tract
4180 Old Cairo Road
Thomasville, Georgia 31792
United States
Phone: (229) 555-0184
Kennel mobile: (229) 555-0191
Email: hello@thedogshunting.com
Hunts: hunts@thedogshunting.com
Gate code is given after your appointment is confirmed. Please do not arrive unannounced — the dogs are working.
Find us
From U.S. 19, take Old Cairo Road west. The painted gate and gold “TDH” sign are on the right after the second pecan grove.
Legal
The Dogs Hunting Co., LLC (“we”) operates thedogshunting.com. This policy explains what we collect when you use this site or write to us.
If you use the contact form or email us, we receive the name, email, phone number, and message you send. We use that only to answer you, hold a hunt date, or discuss a dog. We do not sell mailing lists.
This single-file site does not set marketing cookies. Your browser may store a page hash for navigation. If we later add booking software, we will update this page.
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Privacy questions: hello@thedogshunting.com or The Dogs Hunting, 4180 Old Cairo Road, Thomasville, GA 31792.
Legal
By using thedogshunting.com you agree to these terms. Hunt contracts, training agreements, and dog placements are separate written documents signed at the kennel.
A date is not held until we confirm by email or phone. Deposits for hunts and litters are described in the confirmation letter. Weather and bird conditions can change a course; we will offer another day or a credit, not a guarantee of a bag limit.
Guests follow the guide’s instructions on the course. Loaded guns ride open and empty in the wagon. We reserve the right to end a day if someone is unsafe around dogs or people.
Photos, names, prices, and stories on this site are for this business presentation. Prices may change before a contract is signed.
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia. The kennel office is in Thomas County.