Dog's First Title!

[Bobb-o]

Brittany entered our youngest dog River into the Land 'O Lakes Kennel Club Dog show at the St. Paul RiverCentre this past weekend under rally obedience. I didn't really understand the whole "look at what my dog can do, give me some ribbons" mentality at first but under the insistence of the group we train with River was set to perform for 3 days.

A little background on River: I found her on a farm near Grey Eagle, Mn thanks to a sign in the front yard that simply read: "Free Puppies" Of course when you see a sign like that, you can't hep but stop and play with them. So after work, Britt and I went back up there in hopes that the little fluff-ball I fell in love with was still there. Turns out the mother was a golden and the father was a black lab, the same mix as my older dog Aspen. How could you resist this little fluffball?

So fast forward 1.5 years. Brittany had found a training club that we have worked with every week (twice a week outside of the hunting seasons). All of the training is based on positive reinforcement (clicker training). I, of course, thought the training was ridiculous at first since it seemed like we were just playing with noisemakers. But after 3 weeks I began to see a marked improvement in River. She is now at the point where I can get her to retrieve the remote for the TV and bring me a beer out of the cooler if the lid is open.

Anyways, Brittany has her entered in the dog show this past weekend. I had other fishing plans, so I was unable to make it to the Friday or Saturday runs. My fishing partner backed out on me for Sunday so I decided to head down to the show and see what all the fuss was aboot. The downstairs part of the RiverCentre was ridiculous (if you have seen "Best In Show" you would understand), but upstairs is where they were holding the events that didn't involve nothing more than your dog looking pretty. I got up there to surprise Britt and watch the runs from the rest of the training group and was shocked to hear some of the talk going on around the rings. One of the ladies who trains with us raises pure-bred Burnese Mountain Dogs and I overheard one lady who was simply 'disgusted' that a "Burner" was doing rally. To make matters worse I was told tonight during our training that one lady from Britt's group was very angry that Brittany's "Mutt" was allowed to compete and beat her pure-bred.

Long Story short, Brittany and River scored a 99 and a first place on Friday, a 88 on Saturday, and a perfect 100 and a first place on Sunday. Hmm, who woulda thought that a "mutt" with good training could whoop up on a pure-bred? Here are some more photos from the event:

[harvey lee]

Congrats to both Brittany and River! I have seen numerous farm dogs without papers or being a purebred anything that could really hunt.

Way to go on all the work

[LABS4ME]

Just remember Bobb-o... All purebreds were 'mutts' in the beginning! I think many forget that... Congrats to Brittany and River! A fantastic accomplishment. Keep it going...

Good Luck!

Ken

[Ufatz]

Lotsa fun!!! Always brings a smile to your face doesn't it, when a dog,any dog, does a good job and has fun doing it.

Here's to a long and enjoyable partnership for the pair.

[Todd Caswell]

Congrats. Not sure if you are aware of it but you can also run your mix breed dog in HRC Hunt tests and Central MN retriever club ( St. Cloud) has informal Field trials 3rd. sunday of the month Jan through April, that are open to all breeds.

[Brittany]

Thanks for the kind words, guys! I've had a lot of fun (frustration as well, but mostly fun) with River's training. I have also met some really great dog people in the process. She's the first puppy I've ever had, and I've been working really hard to make her a good canine "citizen" as most of the people in my close friends/family circle are not necessarily fans of "big" dogs. So far, so good, I think!

We'll be focusing on obedience training for the next couple months -- goal is to get an advanced title and at least a couple legs toward her CD before the hard-core hunting training gets going in the spring.

Todd-- we were actually talking about your CMRC trials last night at training. One of our guys is planning to run his dog in Hunter and Derby on the 20th. I'll likely be bringing River by to see what it's all about!

[Rick]

Well done Brittany and River. Hope I get to meet both of you someday.

Thanks for dragging Bobb-o kicking and screaming into the world of dog training

[Todd Caswell]

Quote:

Todd-- we were actually talking about your CMRC trials last night at training. One of our guys is planning to run his dog in Hunter and Derby on the 20th. I'll likely be bringing River by to see what it's all about!

Sounds good I don't think I will be judging anything this time, I will have a couple dogs running in the Qual. and possibly one in the open. Look me up and I will show you around and answer any questions you might have.

[Tom7227]

I hate to be the one to point it out but that isn't a Brittany.

[Brittany]

@Tom: Funny you should mention that -- I actually had a Britt for the past 12 years. Picked her up as a stray when she was about a 2-year-old back when I was in junior high. The very best friend a teenage girl could ask for! She became my parents' dog when I went off to college and we buried her in the back yard just this past summer. There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss her, but this fluffy yellow one keeps me busy enough to ease the ache. I'd love to have another someday--they're great little dogs!

[Jmnhunter]

Good work Brittany! when are you guys going to be back in the area to do some fishing? bob is scared to answer his phone... PS you guys should move up here, get away from st. cloud!!

[Gatzby]

A good dog is a good dog!!!! Congratulations, it was pretty cool watching river stomp the competition. You two looked like you were having fun

Steve

[Brittany]

River and I got our first Started Level pass at the NAHRA Hunt Test over in Hillman, MN a couple weekends ago. We had a great time -- she aced all 5 marks, ending up with a perfect score and a fancy ribbon to show off how cool she is...

...and now I'm hooked. We're headed up to Pequot Lakes this weekend for the Marsh and Meadows HRC Hunt Test...and if that goes well, we'll probably hit up the Prairie Lakes HRC test in Hoffman, MN July 13-14...and then NAHRA again in Foley, MN August 16-18. Add into that mix obedience and/or field training 3-4 days a week; we've got a busy summer ahead of us! I might have to sell a kidney to pay for all the training and entrance fees, but it's totally worth it.

It's been really fun and gratifying to go to these tests and see all that blood, sweat, and tears shed in training paying off. I've met a lot of great dog people and built some solid friendships over the past 15 months of training this silly yellow dog, and I'm looking forward to several more years of playing these games and seeing how far we can really go as a team.

Anybody else out there having fun running their dogs in any hunt tests --be it AKC, HRC, NAHRA or whatever-- this summer? I'd love to hear some more success stories!

[LABS4ME]

Congrats Brittany!!!

They are addicting! It's a great feeling when you realize that YOUR hardwork is paying off when you walk up to recieve that ribbon... keep it going!

I have not run any tests or trials for many years, but have been kicking around the idea again... If I get a new pup next year, I may make a run at some titles again... so no success stories from e this summer. We'll just have to rey on you for that!

Good Luck!

Ken

[Ray Esboldt]

Brittany,

Great to have you at our test a week and a half ago - FPRC NAHRA. Your dog was talked about after the test by the two judges and some of us club members. They said you referred to it as "a farm dog." We were of the agreement that it is anything but that. All were impressed and keep up the good work. River is great dog and fun to watch.

[SAX]

I hope to be in your shoes later this summer or next spring....... CONGRATS!

BTW what do I need to do to make my wife wear camo and get into training dogs?

River and I got our first Started Level pass at the NAHRA Hunt Test over in Hillman, MN a couple weekends ago. We had a great time -- she aced all 5 marks, ending up with a perfect score and a fancy ribbon to show off how cool she is...

...and now I'm hooked. We're headed up to Pequot Lakes this weekend for the Marsh and Meadows HRC Hunt Test...and if that goes well, we'll probably hit up the Prairie Lakes HRC test in Hoffman, MN July 13-14...and then NAHRA again in Foley, MN August 16-18. Add into that mix obedience and/or field training 3-4 days a week; we've got a busy summer ahead of us! I might have to sell a kidney to pay for all the training and entrance fees, but it's totally worth it.

It's been really fun and gratifying to go to these tests and see all that blood, sweat, and tears shed in training paying off. I've met a lot of great dog people and built some solid friendships over the past 15 months of training this silly yellow dog, and I'm looking forward to several more years of playing these games and seeing how far we can really go as a team.

Anybody else out there having fun running their dogs in any hunt tests --be it AKC, HRC, NAHRA or whatever-- this summer? I'd love to hear some more success stories!

[harvey lee]

Gotta be proud!

[Brittany]

Had some more success this past weekend -- even with 3 no-birds in a row on the land series the second day, she pulled off a stellar performance with no negative comments from the judges.

It's so much fun to watch this little dog work!!

[mojoputter]

Wait a minute, your dog retrieves the remote and gets you a beer..? I have an old bowling trophy that I will change the faceplate on it to say "BEST DOG EVER..!! and gice it to your pooch.

Love the pic with the ribbons in her mouth

[Lemr]

I was watching your dog run this past weekend. It did great job and so did the you. Keep up the great work

[Bobb-o]

Wait a minute, your dog retrieves the remote and gets you a beer..? I have an old bowling trophy that I will change the faceplate on it to say "BEST DOG EVER..!! and gice it to your pooch.

Love the pic with the ribbons in her mouth

yep, but the little jerk has figured out that since she gets a treat every time she does it, she should hide it so that only she can find it.

[Bobb-o]

Forgot to mention, she is also very good at retrieving fishing rods for me:

[Brittany]

Next weekend (Aug 16-18), River and I are running in the NAHRA Regional Field Test being held at the Benton Retriever Grounds outside of Foley, MN. We've been gearing up all summer long for this test and are planning to run all 3 days.

Last night, training at Tim Landecker's TKO Retrievers grounds, she proved herself to be a true "swamp collie" out in the big pond...

Can't wait to see what else she can prove at the test!

[SAX]

That is an awesome picture. I just got home from Tim's place tonight, my dog has been with Tim for a couple months and is doing awesome. I am going to run a junior HT in a couple weeks so I have been taking alot of trips out to train with Tim. I think my dog is going to be more prepared for the HT than I am, hopefully she can carry me through the test. What stake/level are you running your dog in at NAHRA?

[Brittany]

Ah, I remember you -- Bella the little yellow lab, right? Don't think we've ever actually met, but I'm sure we've been at Tim's at the same time once or twice. I'm the one with the blue Impala, so if you ever see me out there, come over and say "hi"!

We're just getting into the HT scene this summer, so I have River running in Started. She's doing Hunter level work in training right now, but I always train a level higher than I test. We're going to (do our best to) finish her 4 passes in Started and most likely skip Hunter and run at the Intermediate level next summer.

Best of luck to the two of you with your first test -- there's nothing like that heart-in-your-throat feeling you get when you're standing at the line and that first bird is launched!!