When did you get the Retriever addiction

[Swampcollie]

I got bit by the retriever bug in 1963.

[Pupknuckle]

I had meat dogs since 1975. In 2008 I was with a training group training a new meat dog. The fellow heading the group suggested we all enter a Junior Hunt Test. I did not want to do it. He finally convinced me and the hook was set. Took that dog to a Master title and now have a 2 year old getting ready to run Senior, An 8 month old ready for Junior, and a new Ainley Chassis Mount on the way. Guess I'm addicted!

[tripsteer1]

first lab was in Montana 1956(I was 5 years old), nothing but labs and 2 heelers since.

[Blklab]

About 30 years ago when dad came home with my first lab. Trained all the time and continued till about two years ago when my job took over.......man I wish I could get back to training instead of working way toooooo much.

[browndoggirls]

reminds me that i am "so much" of a newbie! 1998- i met the 7 yr old lab that stole my heart - and years later it lead me to have a few small conversations with richard about 'grand-pups' before he left. i was hooked a second time when i picked up that 'grand pup'. thanks ken for bumping this thread. now i have 3 loving chocolate girls... an almost 4 yr old mh with a plate, a 3yr old mh (hopin' to go to kansas) and a 10 month old - running the first jr this coming weekend. AND THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO DO!!!! and SO MUCH TO ENJOY ON RTF!

[Colonel Blimp]

1966 the year England won the World Cup.

I was in Birmingham orthopaedic hospital having my knee reconstructed after a Rugby injury; took about six weeks with all sorts of complications. Not only did I see every game on TV (twice!) but I read the late Peter Moxons book on dog training which set me off into the world of Springers. At heart I'm still a Springer bloke, but retrievers are all I have at the moment. I think my addiction is with dogs generally not just retrievers, I love watching hounds work in a pack, and some of the shepherding collies round here are wonderfully clever animals.

Eug

[gdgnyc]

I had gotten Gabe, a golden, as a pet around 1980. I was never allowed to have a dog as a kid. I had started hunting, without the dog, but without much luck. I then went to an LIGRC Field Trial. I went home and started training Gabe, got Free's book and Wolter's book and trained with the LIGRC a bit. I then started pheasant hunting and grouse hunting and actually finding birds and retrieving them. Then hunt testing started and our club got involved with that. My end game has always been hunting with a well tained dog but I always had my eyes on HT's and FT's. And I love the challenge of training a high flying dog.

[crackerd]

When I saw with great glee my first gundog pick a goose 15 years ago

The hits -



and highs -



just kept on coming.



and in the case of the white ones, comin' and comin'



MG

PS Eug, hope another squandered two-goal lead yesterday v. Everton hasn't sent you back to the Birmingham Accy.

[Colonel Blimp]

PS Eug, hope another squandered two-goal lead yesterday v. Everton hasn't sent you back to the Birmingham Accy.

Worse yet, as a half Irishman living in Wales I was really looking forward to a Sunday lunchtime pint in the village pub. After the boys in green stuffed the boys in red in Cardiff (Six Nations Rugby for the ill informed) I dared not show my face!

Eug