Gordy on the list!

Miikka's kid Gordy made the US Derby List!  If you remember he's the pup I kept from the Arson x Miikka litter and his "official" name is Elmingos Controlled Power Play.

I raised Gordy up until about 5 months old and then he went to his forever home.  He was a delight to raise and continues to be a delight to be around.  Such personality!!!  He's a spitting image of his dad and his Dad was an awesome specimen.

Gordy has a very bright future ahead of him.  I think he's on 9 Derby finishes in a row and has one left before he ages out.  He's a very bright and consistent young dog that doesn't make many mistakes.

Miss Libby and I made it to the last series of the Open this past week-end at a trial in Montana.  She had run a great trial up until then.  She was the only 3 year old in the last series and it certainly was not a 3 year old test.  I needed to get Momma Darbi off the truck to pull that test off....years of experience and wisdom.

Trust me when I say Momma D would have been very happy if that was the case.  She's been driving me a little bonkers lately with her...ahhh...exuberance.

Libby tried her little heart out, but she got confused.  Very happy with her effort.

Sun Goddess

Hattie is growing up.

She's 5 months now.  She loves to sleep like a cat with both her front feet curled underneath her and loves to sit in the sun on the bench seat.

Hattie has been a delight to raise and other than having an affinity for wicker baskets, for some reason, she has been very easy.

I see a lot of Hattie's mother (Meg) and grandmother (Darbi) in her, but she also has some of the Chopper mannerisms through her dad Juice coming through.  I love it.

Dock Dog

As you know, I gifted my little Ahti to my nephews after she decided Field Trials were not for her.  

A better home one could not ask for.

Ahti and one of my nephews had a chance to practice at a Dock Dog competition before the competitors started.

Certainly not the world's biggest jump, but great fun was had by all.

Go Zink!

Congrats to "Zink" (Elmingo's Little Man - Shaq x Miikka) for placing in TWO Amateurs the past two week-ends.

Zink got a third two week-ends ago and a second this past week-end.

Way to go Zink and Rett!!

More puppy raising

One point that I forgot to make a couple of blogs ago when it comes to raising puppies, is about pups and water.

I remember I had a young pup at a Field Trial once and he was only about 9 weeks old.  Someone, who thought they were important, came up to me and asked if I had introduced the pup to the water yet?  I responded that I had not.  They told me I was making a big mistake and I needed to hurry up.  Huh?

Different strokes for different folks, but I doubt this certain pup's ability to get off the point at a trial in October when it is 5 years old has anything to do with how quickly I put him in the water out of the womb or not.

My belief on pups and water is that they will get in when they are ready.  Yes, I don't make a big deal about it.

Everyone is in such a hurry when raising pups.  It is as if some people think they will have a better dog if they can do water retrieves at 3 months vs 5 months vs 7 months.  I know people that put little life jackets on their tiny puppies, put them in the water and then they send me videos of the puppy swimming around with a terrified look on its face.  Yes, your puppy got in the water before my puppy...how wonderful.

I start taking pups down to the water's edge as soon as I can, depending on the weather.  And when I get there I don't do much.  I don't wade out up to my knees and I don't make a big fuss about it.  I may toss a twig in the water, or invite Miikka with us to show us how it's done, but it's a low stress, high fun  environment.

Some pups swim early and some swim late.  I've never had a problem raising a pup this way and invariably they start swimming around on their own sooner or later.

No pup that I've raised has been "bad" in the water yet...in fact they have all been quite good water dogs.  Is this because of how I introduce them to water...maybe, I doubt it...I think what I do is teach them not to HATE the water though.

Dogs are good in the water for a variety of reasons.  Pre-disposition/genetics, early training, never being allowed to cheat (throwing cheating marks before we have the tools to deal with a cheat) and a CLEAR understanding of the water in Basics.

Again, how a pup is raised and how well it's Basics are done will determine a dog's water attitude for the most part.  We can make a great water dog hate the water if are not careful, but we can also make an average water dog good and reliable with thoughtful training.

Libby does it again

Miss Libby got an Open fourth this week-end!

This is four Open finishes in a row for her, with three placements!  She needs the coveted win to qualify for the US National in South Carolina this November.  Wins in Opens are hard to come by...VERY hard...so I'm not holding my breath, but I will keep my fingers crossed.

This is all very impressive for a 3 year old dog.

We had a great week-end at Horsetooth Retrievers.  First, Second, Fourth and Fifth (Reserve JAM) in the Open...and three of those four dogs are three and younger.  And we won the Qualifying too!

Our future looks bright and all the (mucho, mucho) hard work is paying off.  We have an exciting truck of dogs and they just keep coming.  Willie and Gordy in the Derby look great, and we have a few Basics dogs that are making us smile every day....including my home-raised Rip.

Being a pro is a tough, tough life.  It is exhausting, demanding, never-ending and all-encompassing but it's week-ends like this that make it all worth while...and then some.

Love my "kids"

If you've ever looked at our training website (www.horsetoothretrievers.com), you'd notice that I try to promptly post results from the trials that we run.

I posted these from our last trial:


COLORADO WOMEN’S
OPEN
2nd - Elmingo’s Flip Your Lid

QUALIFYING
1st - Horsetooth’s Center Ice
4th - Horsetooth’s Otto Know

DERBY
3rd - Elmingos Controlled Power Play
JAM - Horsetooth’s Willie T Wiffic

I raised every one of those dogs.  There is an art to raising a puppy for sure.  I think I do a good job, but I've also had lots of practice...13 puppies in 3 years at last count I think.

I am now raising Hattie and am already on the hunt for my next pup to raise.

Things I've learned from raising pups:
-get one from the best bitch you can afford.  Sires are great and there are some I am really fond of, but by and all, the best dogs I've raised have been out of the best bitches.
-don't fret about anything when they're young.  I had one dog I raised that was a STAR as a puppy.  She looked like the second coming of Lean Mac.  Then the more work we started doing and the harder the tests became...she just fell apart and we washed her out.  She hated the yard and hated the job.  We did everything to make her love it, but she didn't like retrieving with rules and that was that.  On the other hand, one pup I raised did NOT retrieve, even by 5 months old.  He would wander out at a walk, shuffle around and maybe pick it up.  I didn't fret and stopped retrieving with him completely until he showed me he was ready.  I let him be a puppy and raised him the best way I knew how.  He is now 9 months old and a retrieving fool.  He is stylish and fun and LOVES his yard work in the morning.  He looks like he's going to be very nice.  It goes to show that they are just little guys.  One has to be careful not to teach them to hate retrieving and I think I could have done that easily with this little guy if I had pushed him.
-I only teach the mechanics of the retrieve when they're young and nothing else.  Go out, pick it up and bring it back.  A dog cannot be advanced without the mechanics down.  If they go out great, pick it up and then play keep away...everything else stops until I get them returning reliably.  And I stay at 20 yards on short grass until we got this part down cold.
-Pups need to learn to learn.  Teach them everything.  I taught Willie to shake a paw for example.  It is a parlour trick, but she was so wanting to learn MORE, MORE, MORE as a young puppy that I tried to teach her new things all the time.
-Noise (and general obnoxiousness) on the line needs to be dealt with as SOON as it shows up.  It IS a big deal and it is not at all cute if they are thrashing and screaming while we're throwing puppy bumpers.
-Most importantly, just let them be a puppy.  I think the best pups are raised in the house.  So much more opportunity to learn.  Do no get on the counter, do not jump on people, wait at the door while I go out and on and on and on.  I let them have toys (many, many toys) and play and run.  There is THEIR time and there is MY time.  I don't bother them on their time, but I expect compliance on my time.

I have oodles and oodles I could say about this, but the most important part of a dog's life is the first year.  How they are raised and how their Basic Training is done can create or prohibit success of the dog at any level.

Gorgeous Meg

A picture of the NEW FTCH Elmingo's Prime Suspect with her owner Jill and her handler Kevin.

I am so proud of the FIRST Elmingo Field Trial Champion!!

Horse and hounds

I am an Amateur at heart.  You see, my horse WON a blue ribbon at a show a couple of weeks ago with his trainer, so you know what I did...I brought him home.

My trainer gave me the same look that Luckiest Man Alive gives some people when I asked "Can I bring him home for a week"?  I didn't care.  I wanted to enjoy him.

I've had Zed 2 1/2 years and I've never had him home.  Why not, I thought.  We have the room and a safe place to keep him.

Some random horse photos from the past week or so.

Heading out on the evening ride with the "girls".

Going for a swim after the ride...everyone but Zed that is.  He wanted no part of it.

Zed at a show with his trainer.  Since I don't get to ride very much, I don't have the "legs" to do a show.  But...I'm planning on showing Zed in August now that I'm home for a bit and able to ride more.

Zed in my front yard...literally...after the show.  Picture from my deck.

The new sign at Horsetooth Retrievers.

Peek-A-Boo...with Hattie snot on the window.

Hattie at the most recent horse show.  It was a hot day and she was very tired from all the visiting.  I tied her up for a second so I could take some pics of Zed showing.  Looks like the tying was unnecessary....she wasn't going anywhere.

3 more points

Miss Libby got SECOND in the Open this past week-end at the Colorado Women's field trial.

So proud of her.

FTCH "Meg"

A giant CONGRATS goes out to NEW FTCH Elmingo's Prime Suspect.

"Meg" is from the Prime x Darbi breeding of 2008.

Way to go Jill and way to go Meg!!!!  These moments are so fun as a breeder.

And a good luck to the two Elmingo dogs running in the Canadian National Amateur starting next week:
Elmingo's Violence on Request (Prime x Darbi)
NMH GMH Elmingo's Pacific Eider (Shaq x Miikka)

Blue x 2

We are up in Canada.

Yeah!!!

I love it when we come "home".  I do not dislike the USA by any means...but I am a very proud Canadian.

We ran the trial in Lethbridge, Alberta this past week-end.  I used to live in Lethbridge and the Rocky Mountain Sporting Dog Club was my home club for a lot of years.

I always enjoy coming up to see old friends, help out at my old club and just have a good time.

Elmingo's With One Twist (Mattie) WINS the Qualifying and Elmingos Controlled Power Play (Gordy) WINS the Derby.  Pretty good week-end for Miikka kids.  Above is a pic of Mattie, her owner/handler/trainer Tim and myself.  Mattie is a gorgeous dog and has Miikka's fabulous personality.

I judged the Amateur at the trial and Luckiest Man Alive judged the Qualifying.  Pros can judge in Canada...something we can't do in the US.  I find judging fun, but stressful.  I always root for the dogs and hate to see someone go out in the last series when they've have a great trial, or pick up on the water blind when they had the best work coming in.  Firstly I know how it feels...it sucks, and secondly, like I say, I am always cheering for the dogs to do well.

It's a hard game...and I'm a bit of a softie, so I hate to be the one responsible for someone's bad week-end or day.  But it is what it is.  This is why when I have a bad day, like I did on Sunday running dogs, I keep a good attitude.  It's not the judge's fault...it's not the test's fault...it's not anyone's fault...even if I made an error, or the dog makes a mistake.  But I do find it nice to be on the other side of the line once in a while to remind me what it is like to be in a judge's shoes.  No matter if I think their test is great or horse-poopy, I will always thank them for their time and have a smile on my face.  It's not an easy job...and it's usually thankless except for the one very happy person at the end of the day.

Thank you to everyone that judges.

Me next please...and other musings

Popcorn night at our house.

Can you tell??

Miss Libby is now a (mostly) full time house dog.

Her and I were having "relationship" issues.  EVERY owner and their dog has relationship issues.  Every.Single.One.  If you say you don't...then have a nice trip down the River Denial.

I see it day in and day out in my line of work now.

Dogs act differently for their pros then for their owners.  There doesn't seem to be an emotional undercurrent with the dogs and us that they have with their owners.  If they fail a test in training...we don't care...we just chalk it up to a good lesson.  If they haven't finished a few trials in a row...we don't panic...we just practice "normal training" and recognize every dog has highs and lows.  We don't try to make dogs anything they're not.  We don't put pressure on the dog to perform at a higher level then they are capable, nor do we settle for less than their best effort because it makes us feel good as a handler.

Darbi marked better for me than for Kenny because she was loosey-goosey, but she got OFF the point on a water blind for him way better than for me.  A different level of respect.

Well, Libby and I were having our own relationship issues.  BE AN OPEN DOG NOW I said to her every day without even knowing it.  THE CLOCK IS TICKING...DARBI IS GETTING OLD...HURRY UP!!!  Geez, she's just a baby and she's doing great, Kenny would say.  Be patient, Kenny would say.  What's the hurry, Kenny would say.

So much pressure on the poor little dog.  So much pressure on me.

Then I started looking.  I looked at EntryExpress pages of dogs I know.  Dogs I love and dogs I would love Libby to grow up into.  Hey, looky there...this dog never finished an Open until it was almost 4 and now it has over 100 points.  This 200 point, multi National Finalist dog didn't have a WIN in an AA stake until she was 4 1/2.  Hey, this dog didn't have much of a Derby career, did just okay in the Qual, struggled as a 3 year old in the AA stakes and is now Super Dog.  Wow.  What an eye opener.

And then Kenny brought Libby in the house.  She's ready, he said.  She knows the work is the most important part of her day and this won't hurt her, he said.  This will be good for Marcy and Libby is what he didn't say.

I didn't want her in there.  I was pining for my Darbi.  I wanted my Darbi with a young body.  I wanted a do-over.  I held it against Libby.  I wouldn't give her a chance.

Look at me Mom, Libby would say.  Look how hard I'm trying, Libby would say.

But you can't finish a Field Trial, I would say.  Darbi can do that test, I would say.  When are you going to finish an Open, I would ask.

Kenny ran her in three Opens in the past 6 months.  He got to the fourth series in all 3 and was 4th place in his most recent one.

Doesn't take a rocket surgeon to see what was going on.  It was simple. He believed in her. She trusted him. He wasn't resentful she wasn't Darbi. He was happy she was Libby. 

Love her for who she is.  Train her for where she's at.  Stop with the pressure and the pining and the whining.  It'll come.  It takes time.

Libby and I finished our first Open together last week-end.  The start of something wonderful, I say. 

Uh Oh

Looks like Hattie has been hanging out with Miikka too much.

Centennial Trial

Man, am I tired.

Kenny and I, and our fabulous clients, put on the Centennial Retriever Club trial this past week-end.

The weather gods also decided to make this the first uncomfortably hot week-end of the year!  Ugh.

Thankfully the trial went off, mostly, without a hitch.  It was a fun time for all.

It was also a big week-end for the Elmingo kids!!

Congrats to Open placers:
"Turq" (Backwater Smokin Turq-PrimexDarbi) got third and "Libby" (Elmingo's Flip Your Lid-ShaqxMiikka) got fourth!  Turq needs just one more point for his FC and it was the first, of hopefully many, Open placements for Libby!

Qualifying Winner!:
"Sleuth" (Tartan Mystery Man of Elmingo - PrizexDarbi) WON the Qualifying, making him Qualified All-Age!

Derby Jam:
"Gordy" (Elmingos Controlled Power Play - ArsonxMiikka) kept up his consistency and finished yet another Derby.

Way to go kids.  So proud of you all!!

Horses and hounds

Hattie and I spent the day at the Colorado Horse Park today watching my guy Zed in a show.  It is an unbelievable facility!

I don't get a chance to ride Zed as much as I'd like, so I have half-leased him to a girl from my barn and they are having a great time.  My trainer rides Zed on my half of the days that I can't make it...which is often...and Ashley rides him the other half.

Zed was a bit of a spaz at the show today, but Ashley handled him like a champ.  He is a grandson of Secretariat and he showed it today.

Hattie took it all in stride and while wary of the very LARGE horses at first, she quickly settled in and had a great time.  I think a couple dozen people stopped to visit with her and it was great socialization!

Hattie meet Zed.  Zed meet Hattie.

Dirty nose.

Looking good Zed and Ashley!!

Ahh....Canadian Flag.

Turq's Blue

I received a picture of Turq with his owner and his BLUE ribbon.  It's way too fun not to share.

I also just got word that Turq's sister "Harper" (Elmingo's Violence On Request) placed SECOND in an Amateur in Canada in her first All Age stake.  Way to go Harper!!

Apples and trees.

The first night I brought Darbi home as a 7 week old puppy, she slept in a laundry basket beside the bed.

Yes, a laundry basket.

She whined once in the middle of the night to be taken out to pee, but never once did she get out of the basket.

Now, many years and many puppies later, I realize how remarkable that really was.  Miikka didn't last 3.2 seconds in the laundry basket at the same age.

Darbi was just that easy and always has been.

While Hattie may not be spending her nights in a laundry basket...it is very much her place of choice for napping.

If we don't know where Hattie is...go look in the laundry room...I promise she'll be in there.

This has reminded me of my first night with Darbi.  Such sweet memories.

Family Day

My new puppy has arrived!!!

Her name is Tealgrove's Hat Trick..."Hattie".  She is an 8 week old bundle of cuteness.

Here is Grandma Darbi hanging out with Hattie at training today.

Darbi  is enjoying her retirement much more than I expected.  She seems to get that she is done the hard training and is happy to be done.  It surprised me a little bit, but I am so relieved that she is content.  I didn't think she'd let go very easily, but I am thrilled to be wrong.

But of course she doesn't want to be too far from the action yet.  She is shown here supervising me running Boomer on a test.

Three generations!!

Meg, in the collar, is the working stiff in the family now.  You wouldn't know looking at her that she had puppies just 8 short weeks ago.  She is definitely happy to be back at it.  She is a great mom.

Darbi still has a camera aversion, but thankfully the daughter and granddaughter are more happy to pose.

And another Darbi daughter, Asia, (Elmingo's Shanghai Surprise - Prize x Darbi 20011) has come for a visit.  She looks a lot like her mom and is a very intense and intelligent retriever.

Yahoo Turq!!

Just last week we put Turq on a plane to go visit his owner for a little while.

Turq decided to go and WIN an Amateur in Maryland while he was on his vacation.

This qualified Turq for the National Amateur to be held in Wisconsin this summer.

WAY TO GO TURQ!!!!

Momma Darbi and I are very proud.

Darbi deserves it.

I decided to retire Darbi today.

That's it.

I had been going back and forth about it for weeks now, as you know.

It's time and she deserves the rest.

It was such a hard decision for me and I agonized over it.  You see, she still loves her job.  More then ever, really.

But her heart was holding out longer then her body.  I was just hoping she'd look at me and say "mom, I'm tired and I don't want to do this anymore".  She never did...she never has.

I had her eyes checked on Tuesday and the Great Doctor confirmed what I knew...she just couldn't really see the long bird anymore.  Her body aches and Old Man Time has caught up with her.

She's not going to be happy about it...no way.  But I couldn't live with myself if she hurt herself running a big test because she's not as strong nor agile as she used to be.  And I didn't think it was fair to ask her to punch 300+ yards, on birds that were barely visible to her, on heart and training alone.

I cried when I finally decided after watching her train today.

It just really sucks.

Anyone who has had a special relationship with a special dog knows it is so hard to say "enough, old friend.  You deserve to sit in the sun and watch the other dogs do the work now".  It's so hard to let go of the fun we've had over the years.  But to keep her going would be selfish.

Darbi was never the world's greatest trial dog, but she is simply the World's Greatest Dog.

Getting closer...

We're getting close to the arrival of my new puppy Hattie!  I can't wait.  Isn't she a doll??

We had a great week-end at the Brazosport trial.  My Libby got a JAM in the Open!!  She's starting to figure it all out and put it together.  She's still a baby and was the youngest dog in the fourth series.  Very proud of her!  A dog's three year old year is a big transition year.  They are too experienced and far along for the Qualifying, but learning the ropes in the Open.  It's a tough year for most dogs.  Time, patience and hundreds of marks and blinds will get her through it.

And the most fun of all was that I placed SECOND in the Open with one of my favorite dogs that is not mine...Boomer!!!  This second place finish gave Boomer his FC, so he is now FC CFC Backwater's Boomer.  It was such a thrill to run a near perfect field trial in an 80+ dog trial.  Boomer was amazing and it was a true honor to stand beside him.

Tough decision...

I don't know which is more gorgeous...

the amazing fields of Bluebonnets in bloom right now in Texas...

or Gordy.

I'm sure you all remember him as the little boy I kept from the Arson x Miikka litter.  He is now owned and loved by Brad and Diane Clow, but I wanted to show what a handsome boy he has grown up into.

Gordy (Elmingos Controlled Power Play) placed third in the Derby at the appropriately named Bluebonnet trial this past week-end.

Way to go Gordo!!

Thundershirt

Darbi is afraid of thunderstorms.  Poor thing.

She has gotten progressively worse the older she gets.  There is no manic behavior by any means, but she hides, shakes and pants until the storm has passed.

One time, while running her at a field trial, a thunderstorm was rolling through and she couldn't function.  She was swimming around in circles on the water blind and wouldn't respond to anything, so I just picked her up...for which she was very grateful.

I bought this Thundershirt for her and it has been very helpful.  She seems to just relax and not become so frightened.

During last year's Canadian National, a thunderstorm came in right before she was to run one of the series.  I thought to myself "well, this good run is over".  But I put on her Thundershirt as soon as I heard the first rumble, removed it immediately before she ran and she ran a great series!  Then I put her away with it back on.

I have heard of other success stories with the Thundershirt.  I know one trainer that has a nice field trial dog that has chronic bloat.  The dog bloated almost daily and they were at wits end and euthanasia was considered an option.  This dog now wears a Thundershirt nearly full time and he hasn't bloated since.

I know of another dog that is one of the Type A field trial dogs that can be crazy making.  This particular dog frantically barked, spun and...uh...pooped in the crate during training or travel.  The Thundershirt cured the dog of the behaviour WHILE the shirt was on.  No more barking or messes in the crate.  Amazing.

I'm not sure if it works for all dogs...but it seems to work.

Colorful

The Bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas.

They are native to the area, but their abundance in Texas is also a result of Lydon Johnson's wife, through her work with the National Wildflower Center...now the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center.

They are everywhere and amazingly beautiful at this time of the year.  You see them in fields and alongside most roadways in the ditches.

Libby poses in the field right behind where our trailer is...along with my next door neighbour.