I received notes from Jeff Finley owner trainer of Topbrass Cotton fame. Jeff had attended a seminar at Rex Carr . Many of the notes were very old and were from former students. Jeff tried to school me in the Program, but, made no sense to me at all. I successfully ruined a couple of promising young Goldens trying to follow the program. In fact I got good at ruining dogs trying to make sense of the Carr methods without having first hand knowledge of Mr. Carr being there to advise me. In 1987 about 11 years later I got a Lab puppy from a litter my brother had leased his bitch out, Lakenheath Kizzie Kay bred to FC/AFC Wilderness Harley to go. She was going to be my first real collar dog. I made contact with a just turned new Field Trial Pro Leslie Karnes. Leslie had the National Derby Champion FC/AFC Donneybrooks St Jude, plus owned a couple of double header winners and National Finalists. She was a student of Rex Carr along with a friend of hers at the time Ah! Judy something her name slips my mind at the moment but believe she had a dog called Cody with a lot of All age points, maybe Dr Ed can help out. Anyway Leslie came back from a winter trip with my girl and Leslie started to school me in the handling of her. Took her home and started to freeze on the casts AFTER GETTING NICKED. It is called clamming, but, didn't know the terminology . Brought her back up to Leslie's and she educated me on how to get out of the problem. She would always say Rex would do this or Rex would do that never giving it in her own name.
About 7 or 8 years later it started to all make sense to me. Mike Lardy came on the scene put intellectual names on them direct pressure, indirect pressure, basic, transition, advanced etc. It really started to make sense and read those notes again and again . Mike of course went on a winter trip with the late Jim Kappus before he turned pro. Jim was a Carr student of the program. Then the Curtis brothers worked for Kappus. Andy Attar and Pat Burns worked for Mike Lardy before going out on their own. I had put a young FC/AFC Mioaks Criquetpas through basics and then got help from Pat Burns for my advanced work.
Hmm! I said maybe Mr Carr was on to something. I had a nice new puppy that was ready for basics, ran into a few problems, clamming etc, tried what Leslie through Mr Carr had taught me, it worked. Started the dog In in the Derby got a a few Derby Points and Qual JAM at about 12 or 13 months old. Sold her to Win Purtell she first went to Andy Attar, then to Mike Lardy. Fc/AFC Morgan Le Fae of Buckshot went on to accumulate about 170 all-age points until the end of her career. There were others but thanks to Mike Lardy, Wayne Curtis, Andy Attar, Pat Burns, Leslie Karnes and Mr Carr , who I never met, I now understand the program. Sometimes it takes years, but, Rex Carr is alive and well circa 2013!