Hi Everyone, 

I just wanted to let you know that after a year and a half of training, Katie ran her first Hunt test. 

 These tests are intended to test the hunting ability of a retriever.  To get a qualifying score she needs to complete two water and two land retrieves.  The marks land up to 75 yards out in heavy grass and up to 60 yds in water. They are also thrown 90 degrees apart from the dog.  These four retrieves take an entire day of waiting your turn with about 30 other dogs to run your tests.  We wait in line for land and then when everyone is done we all move to water and wait again. There are two judges that score your dog.  If she achieves a qualifying score 4 times (16 retrieves all together and four days of waiting your turn) then she will get a title in Started (UKC).    I'm proud to say she passed all her retrieves and got herself two beautiful ribbons.  One for Saturday tests and one for Sunday tests.  So did her sister Maddie.  That means she has two passes and needs two more for a title.  She was the only dog there that was not a purebred and no one turned their nose up at her.  Because we are not competing against each other everyone is very encouraging  and a wonderful sport and I feel lucky to be a part of it. 

Once she gets her title she will train for Seasoned and then Finished levels.  At these levels she will do double and triple retrieves.  This means there are 2 or 3 marks done consecutively.  She needs to watch all the marks come down before being sent for the last fall.  After returning with the bird she is then sent back out for the remaining marks one at a time.  She needs to remember where they landed.  It takes months to teach them to get that mental picture and keep it.  Eventually she will do blinds. This is fun because a dead duck is planted out  in the field or water's edge.  She is sent out in a straight line totally trusting that I am really sending her to something.   This trust takes time to teach.  When she gets off course she is cued with my whistle to stop, sit and look at me (in water she needs to face me and tread water).  At that point I give her hand signals to turn her toward or away from me and get her going in the right direction.  We are now learning double retrieves and handling taking lessons near Columbus once a month from a professional. 

This is just a brief description of what we have done.  When they called Kate's name for her ribbon both days I got a lump in my throat.  She has come such a long way.  Katie is the kind of dog that constantly needs to be told what she should be doing.   She had no obedience training and came into our house at approx 2-3 years old and stood on the back of the sofa and looked at us.  My only thought was "holy crap what did I get myself into?"  My hope was that if the only thing I ever achieve with her is to have her off leash without running away I would be thrilled.  Look how far she has come.  

When I got her she weighed just 50 lbs and had been in foster care for 5 months.  I could see every rib and vertebrae in her back and tail.  It was scary.  It took months before she started to gain weight.  Little by little the bones started to disappear.  I really feel that once she realized she had a home she began to settle in and worry less.  She now weighs 70 pounds and is still very trim.  She considers this her home now and patrols the property to make sure everything is in place.  It's really kind of comical. 

She is my best buddy.  Yes her sister Maddie is a sweetie but just doesn't have the loyalty that Kate does.  She follows me everywhere and is so happy to please.  I love her with all of my heart and have learned as much from her as she has learned from me.  It has been a slow process.  She has some emotional baggage and I just try to go slow and steady.   She thrives on structure and you can see by the wagging tail that she is enjoying herself.  Her registered name is Katie's Golden Heart.  Thank you G.R.I.N. for my best friend!  You can see her runs on YouTube!

Love and Kisses,

JULIE AND KATIE