Jim Elam is a former middle and high school teacher and coach. During his last two years teaching, Jim immersed himself into books about dog training. Under the mentorship of some of the best trainers in the business, Jim left his 20 year teaching career and started Lake Country Retrievers in November 1998. He began gun dog training along with basic handling for dogs, which later went to the US Marines for bomb detection scent training. Jim and the LCR team now focus on AKC Hunt Test training and training good waterfowl hunting dogs. LCR also offers a 4 week obedience only course for most large breeds.