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Outstanding Interview in Golden Retriever News with Judy Rasmuson

12K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  Glenda Brown 
#1 ·
For many years I have admired the spectacular work Judy Rasmuson has accomplished in field trials with her Golden Retrievers. I have longed to meet her, but to no avail. The closest I got was during a National amateur championship in Stowe, VT. I did get to snap a number of images of her with her Golden but was too intimidated, at that time, to approach her. In the latest Golden Retriever News the Field Issue published a simply wonderful and enlightening interview with Judy. Thanks goes out to the writer, Edell Marie Schaefer, Glenda Brown and Editor Sylvia Donahey-Feeney. Oh, and, most importantly Judy.
 
#4 ·
Still waiting for my issue! Hey, Tony..by any chance did you snap a picture of Judy and her "Ranger"?

Judy
 
#5 ·
is that the issue where they had an article on WD "Bill" Connor and his golden from yesteryear FC AFC Ripp N Ready..if so can anyone post up a copy of it ?
 
#11 ·
Thanks again, to Glenda and Sylvia, for all the hard work putting that wonderful field issue together. I even caught the black lab guy :) reading it and marvelling at what a spectacular publication the GRNews is.
 
#12 ·
My GRCA came yesterday. Looks like another great issue. Thanks for all the hard work that goes into it. I read the article on judy first. Very well done. I have been fortunate to see Judy run her dogs at trials when I was in Montana. After Christmas I will have time to enjoy the field issue.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Geez, thanks Bev! Was actually worried that it turned into more of an autobiography than a little "nudge" into giving upland hunting a try. (to those who haven't yet tried it, and want to) That's what it was meant to be. Just didn't want it to sound like a training manual, or instructional. Glenda has gotten plenty of very knowledgable people to write articles for that. I just wanted to help encourage those who thought about it, (and needed a nudge off the porch) :) to use that training and their Goldens for upland hunting.
And, as for the autograph, I Want yours! :) And, I'll go one better,.......the next time you and Jerry, and me and Kathy get together, I'm buyin' first round! ;)......Tullamore Dew, is it? :)
 
#16 ·
Bait that was a great article, very much enjoyed reading it. I love that whole issue, lots of great "field" Goldens, that pic of Bev's Tully shows how hndsome he is. "They call me Tully", I love it.

Even having known Judy Rasmuson for many years, it is impossible to not be overwhelmed by reading the history of her and her Goldens. In an era where it is very hard to title a single Golden in field trials, just a couple years ago she had four FC or AFC or both titled Goldens at one time. She titled her first two or three dogs as a complete amateur. She has a long history of FC AFC Goldens and Labs. She doesn't make excuses or blame politics when her dogs don't do well, she just bears down and works harder. She has high standards and hih expectations for her dogs. Quite impressive.

John
 
#17 ·
Loved it all! This is my first issue of GR News and I felt like my 3 yr old granddaughter must have felt on Christmas day! Great informative interview with Judy R. Can you imagine being an Amateur and getting invited to winter training with Jackie M and Mike Lardy ??? Holy Cow!

Loved seeing that Bait has an upland hunting article - saved it for reading today! Can't wait. And love all of Glenda Brown's work and everyone's advertising. Might be the only magazine in the world that I love the ads so much!!

I'm giddy and can't wait to dig in deeper when I get home from work!
 
#19 ·
My GRCA News just arrived today :) ..will be reading tonight.

In the meantime, though...Kathy and Bait, a most beautiful, humbling tribute and love of..."Zeke"...

Judy
 
#23 ·
I think the article was terrific, Bait. It's the kind of article that I'd like to pass along to puppy buyers ... we should not forget that it was hunters for whom the breed originated.
 
#21 ·
In reading that interview with Judy I'm struck by a number of things, first she is just so matter of fact about the outstanding success she has had with many, many dogs over a number of decades. There is no bragging or ego showing, she just states how and what she did with her dogs. Along those lines, she doesn't make excuses for Goldens, just states facts, when asked what kind of dog makes for a good field trial dog, I found the following quote from the article to be very truthfull,

"If there is a bias in this sport, it is towards compliant dogs with lots of desire. Compliant and desire do not seem to go hand in hand with Goldens. This has been the curse of finding competitive Goldens. High desire dogs don't want to handle and compliant handling dogs don't seem to want the bird enough to go through hell and high water. Then if you do find the high desire compliant dog, you have to keep that dog healthy.

There have been a large number of prominent field trialers who started with either Chessies or Goldens, and then switched to Labradors so they could have better odds of being competitive. This gives the impression that the sport is biased toward Labs. But again, this sport rewards high desire and tractable dogs... traits that are more easily found in the Labrador Retriever."


Having owned and run a number of Goldens in field trials over a number of years, I can tell you Judy is right on the money about this. Couple that with the fact that most of us Golden people stick with our puppy for life regardless of where they fall on this drive-compliant scale, and you can see why Golden FC-AFCs are relatively rare. That said, I find it interesting and remarkable that people like Judy, Jim Pickering and John Gunn so routinely buck the odds. Just a short while ago Judy had three titled Goldens and one titled Lab all competing at the same time. That kind of success is based on more than just getting lucky with the right dog, they know how to breed, train and handle.

John
 
#24 ·
"If there is a bias in this sport, it is towards compliant dogs with lots of desire. Compliant and desire do not seem to go hand in hand with Goldens. This has been the curse of finding competitive Goldens. High desire dogs don't want to handle and compliant handling dogs don't seem to want the bird enough to go through hell and high water.
John, this jumped out at me, too. We look for drive, but sometimes forget it comes in a package with high levels of confidence. That dog package may not always be "easy" to train, but it can be awesome to train ... then when the bond comes to the point when the dog can transition from his own self confidence to confidence in the team unit, there is magic.
 
#26 ·
I just happened to be checking things out on RTF and started reading this and then realized when it was first written. For all of you Golden people, there will be an excellent article about Judy and her induction into the Field Dog Hall of Fame in the upcoming March-April 2018 issue of the Golden Retriever News.

Oxband80 --- if you contact me privately, will see what info I might have that you could use. Judy is a great story and I like to think of her as a very dear friend. glendagldnblk@aol.com Can probably track down the article in 2012 for you. Edell did a marvelous interview.

Glenda Brown
 
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