It’s all about the journey, not the destination.
I always wanted a dog. When I was five, I had Rin Tin Tin on my birthday cake. When my family went traveling, I collected ceramic dogs as souvenirs. My dad was afraid of dogs (something I didn’t learn until much later), so it wasn’t until I left home that I had dogs of my own.
I went to law school at Berkeley in the early 1980s. On weekends, I would like my 280Z at high rates of speed listening to the sound track of Vision Quest (early Madonna, Journey) at levels too loud to be good for my hearing. On day, as I was cruising through Modesto, California I saw a bunch of funny looking trucks and people in white coats. I pulled over. “What are you doing?” I said. “Running a field trial,” came the reply. “What’s that?” I said. “Come and see.” So, I spent an hour watching an Open water blind (which was - as I recall - a simple channel blind).
I asked “how do I learn more about this?” It was suggested that I read: a) Training Your Retriever by James Lamb Free and b) The Working Retrievers by Thomas Quinn. I did. But it was all hypothetical. The apartment I was in didn’t allow pets.
One day, I heard broken glass from the apartment next door, looked through my window and saw two legs dangling from the window next door. I opened my door and yelled “I have a gun and I’m calling the cops now.” Pretty soon, I see a guy running out the apartment down the stairs. Well, the person who lived in the apartment next door was the son of the man who owned the building. He called me over to his office and asked how he could thank me. I immediately replied “Let me have a dog.” He said “done.”
So I started looking for a lab. I didn’t know anything about field trials so I ended up buying a yellow show lab. Every morning I went onto campus with Murphy, worked on obedience, and threw stand alone marks. When I returned to Denver to start my career, I ran some fun trials. Murphy had never picked up a duck, but won several of the fun trials. People made fun of us, a chinese guy driving a 280Z with a big yellow dog coming out of the hatch.
Murphy died unexpectedly. I got another lab - this time out of a field trial breeding. I answered an ad in the Denver Post about some guys putting together a retriever club. I joined the Platte Valley Hunting Retriever Club (my HRC membership number was in the low 300's). A number of the guys pitched in for a lease, and I trained every day after work with the guys. We were young, Amish, and did a lot of running. I ran a couple of started and had the time of my life. Repeat - I had the time of my life. It wasn’t the ribbon. It was the pure joy of training my dog.
I decided my dog needed to be trained with the collar and placed my dog with Cherylon Loveland, beginning what was to become a relationship of almost 40 years. Chance did not have what it took and came home. I was starting my legal career and so got out of the dogs until 1998, when I got what became FC/AFC Freeridin Wowie Zowie. When I went to my first derby, there were people that made fun of the HRC sticker I had on my truck (I traded in my 280Z for a Chevy Short Bed). We finished, I got a green ribbon - and had the time of my life.
Zowie took me to the 2003 National Amateur. I was so nervous when I saw the sea of trucks parked at the first series and heard them announce me and Zowie. I would run a series and just hope that we would be called back. I was totally in the moment. Zowie and I were finalists that year. I was so green that I got in my truck to drive off when Lynn Dubose said “You can’t leave. They’re going to announce the finalists and winners.”
Around the time that Zowie finished the National, I finished an Open with his littermate, Ace (later FC/AFC Sky Hy Husker Power). I was ecstatic with my green ribbon. Anyone who says that the only person who is happy at the end of the trial is the winner wasn’t with me that day.
I have been happy when my dog sat on the mat and watched the birds without head swinging.
I have been pleased when my dog smoked the short retired (when it was having trouble with short birds), but had a big hunt on the long retired.
I have learned to take joy in the process of training a dog.
I’ve been doing this for almost forty years now. And I still love it. Because for me, it’s about the journey, not the destination.
That’s why I object to all the focus on titles or levels of achievement.
I always wanted a dog. When I was five, I had Rin Tin Tin on my birthday cake. When my family went traveling, I collected ceramic dogs as souvenirs. My dad was afraid of dogs (something I didn’t learn until much later), so it wasn’t until I left home that I had dogs of my own.
I went to law school at Berkeley in the early 1980s. On weekends, I would like my 280Z at high rates of speed listening to the sound track of Vision Quest (early Madonna, Journey) at levels too loud to be good for my hearing. On day, as I was cruising through Modesto, California I saw a bunch of funny looking trucks and people in white coats. I pulled over. “What are you doing?” I said. “Running a field trial,” came the reply. “What’s that?” I said. “Come and see.” So, I spent an hour watching an Open water blind (which was - as I recall - a simple channel blind).
I asked “how do I learn more about this?” It was suggested that I read: a) Training Your Retriever by James Lamb Free and b) The Working Retrievers by Thomas Quinn. I did. But it was all hypothetical. The apartment I was in didn’t allow pets.
One day, I heard broken glass from the apartment next door, looked through my window and saw two legs dangling from the window next door. I opened my door and yelled “I have a gun and I’m calling the cops now.” Pretty soon, I see a guy running out the apartment down the stairs. Well, the person who lived in the apartment next door was the son of the man who owned the building. He called me over to his office and asked how he could thank me. I immediately replied “Let me have a dog.” He said “done.”
So I started looking for a lab. I didn’t know anything about field trials so I ended up buying a yellow show lab. Every morning I went onto campus with Murphy, worked on obedience, and threw stand alone marks. When I returned to Denver to start my career, I ran some fun trials. Murphy had never picked up a duck, but won several of the fun trials. People made fun of us, a chinese guy driving a 280Z with a big yellow dog coming out of the hatch.
Murphy died unexpectedly. I got another lab - this time out of a field trial breeding. I answered an ad in the Denver Post about some guys putting together a retriever club. I joined the Platte Valley Hunting Retriever Club (my HRC membership number was in the low 300's). A number of the guys pitched in for a lease, and I trained every day after work with the guys. We were young, Amish, and did a lot of running. I ran a couple of started and had the time of my life. Repeat - I had the time of my life. It wasn’t the ribbon. It was the pure joy of training my dog.
I decided my dog needed to be trained with the collar and placed my dog with Cherylon Loveland, beginning what was to become a relationship of almost 40 years. Chance did not have what it took and came home. I was starting my legal career and so got out of the dogs until 1998, when I got what became FC/AFC Freeridin Wowie Zowie. When I went to my first derby, there were people that made fun of the HRC sticker I had on my truck (I traded in my 280Z for a Chevy Short Bed). We finished, I got a green ribbon - and had the time of my life.
Zowie took me to the 2003 National Amateur. I was so nervous when I saw the sea of trucks parked at the first series and heard them announce me and Zowie. I would run a series and just hope that we would be called back. I was totally in the moment. Zowie and I were finalists that year. I was so green that I got in my truck to drive off when Lynn Dubose said “You can’t leave. They’re going to announce the finalists and winners.”
Around the time that Zowie finished the National, I finished an Open with his littermate, Ace (later FC/AFC Sky Hy Husker Power). I was ecstatic with my green ribbon. Anyone who says that the only person who is happy at the end of the trial is the winner wasn’t with me that day.
I have been happy when my dog sat on the mat and watched the birds without head swinging.
I have been pleased when my dog smoked the short retired (when it was having trouble with short birds), but had a big hunt on the long retired.
I have learned to take joy in the process of training a dog.
I’ve been doing this for almost forty years now. And I still love it. Because for me, it’s about the journey, not the destination.
That’s why I object to all the focus on titles or levels of achievement.
