The Keeper of this site - Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering, University of Washington
- A background in management & engineering with Climax Molybdenum,
The Anaconda Company & The Boeing Company
- Started in Retrievers in 1963 in Butte, MT.
When I started my interest was a well mannered dog for hunting. I happened to run into Bob Sparks training Moon
(1967 NFC Butte's Blue Moon) on Silver Bow Creek one March 1964 afternoon. He was working a round pond to stop
bank running with a check cord on the dog. We visited & he asked me to join their training group as my dog was ready
for more advanced work than I was doing. I worked shift work, 2 weeks nights & 2 weeks days, so on night shift I got to
throw a lot for Moon & Buck. I was fortunate to be with a trainer that had 2 good dogs with different attributes to model,
Bob also owned Copper City Buck, a yellow that went on to achieve FC-AFC. Most of us didn't know a lot of the fancy
techniques of that time like ratshot, the stock prod & later, the early versions of the collar. Books were "Training Your
Retriever" by James Lamb Free & "The New Knowledge of Canine Behavior" by Pfaffenberger. The only Pro's were the
traveling the circuit Pro's. We had successful Amateurs like Guy Burnett to emulate but all the successful Pro's were at
least 500 to 600 miles away. None of us had the wherewithal to hire a Pro & when we were young that would have
taken the fun from what we were doing. Tests were set that the dogs were generally capable of doing in some fashion.
A dog that fails to often learns to fail. When October came we went hunting with an occasional Sunday training session
through the Fall. In Winter we worked on Sundays with the dogs, many of us worked Saturday, & hoped to be ready to
run Snake River in the Spring. We traveled to trials together & cheered for each other's dogs. All of our dogs managed
to pick up the occasional piece of silver except Moon who was a very successful competitor (9 Derby's entered- 30 Pts.
7 places, 2 greenies). Entry fees were $12.50 for the All-Age stakes & $7.50 for the Derby (pigeons). At our Helena
Retriever Club trial we breasted out the pheasants after the Open to sell for a local game feed which added sorely
needed funds to the club treasury. Those are the days I miss!!!
In 1966 I left the Anaconda Company in Butte to work for the Boeing Company in Renton, WA. Gone was the wish your
friend well attitude & in it's place came "is my friend in the rough or is the SOB on the green". The question I was most
often asked was "What Pro do you train with". I had barely arrived, ran a picnic trial & one of the Big Shots tried to buy
my dog, & never forgot that I didn't sell the dog to him. We didn't have a lot of money, so I trained with a bunch of guys
like myself, entry fees were hard enough to accumulate. I enjoyed the training & the ability to compete with the swells.
Rarely were you offered a helpful hint by the major competitors & then usually by accident. I noticed some individuals
were generally included in the callbacks so began to watch those dogs to see what was different about their
performance. It appeared that similar dog work was not rewarded in a similar manner by certain judges. Generally
these were individuals that did not currently compete, later I was told they had never competed. When my 2nd All-Age
dog passed away at the end of 1974 I took a break from actively trialing, but still worked the local trials, to help my wife
shepherd our 4 sons through their teenage adventures.
In the early 80's I returned to trialing, this time with a mostly new group of Amateurs that had enjoyed success & were
on the dog gossip circuit. I also sought more professional assistance, which was invaluable. I began to hear things like
the 7, 8, 9 syndrome- meaning it depended on who you were as to what your score would be for the same
performance. There were others but I think 7, 8, 9 is the best example. Also, as I was an unknown, I experienced bias
from judges because of the way I handled my dog. Same situation, I would receive a comment yet more well known
handlers doing the same thing would not receive the same comment. Blocking, fortunately the rule has been clarified,
yet I wonder how many more times it will be misinterpreted. We still have judges that can't determine a "Switch" or
"Hunting an Old Fall". A majority of the weak judges also had none or minimal handling experience, so in 1995 I
proposed to the Judges Corner that an individual should attain 8 handling places to go along with their 8 judging
assignments to be considered an 8 point judge. That proposal fell on deaf ears. That eventually led to this effort, which
will show an individuals credentials to carry the Judge's Book. Achievement as a handler is the only factual method I
know that will ascertain an individual has been successfully involved at this level of competition. It will not show their
judging skill, but all graduate Engineers do not make successful engineers, all graduate Lawyers do not make
successful attorneys, all graduate MD's do not make successful MD's & all vet school graduates do not make
successful DVM's, but they do have the training & background, so there needs to be requirements beyond this effort.
Most knowledgeable dog people believe it helps to have trained at least 1 successful dog prior to holding the book.
The cure for judging deficiencies seen at trials will come from a concerted effort & will require numerous changes,
some of which have not been proposed &/or embraced. It will be done by many who are not concerned about who will
receive the credit for making better judging happen because it behooves all of us to contribute as we can to a
successful outcome. It will not be accomplished by those who benefit from the present system but will be done by
individuals in our midst who know how to achieve meaningful results.
That's my personal dog history in a nutshell. One of my interests has always been Competent & Impartial Judging. Had
the skills of Field Trial Retriever Judges improved as the skills of other officials in other sports have improved over the
years this discussion wouldn't happen. I enjoy training more than I do trialing, probably because most of my friends
don't live around here. I train by myself mostly with help from my wife when doing something that requires a station
that can move. Bumperboys & wingers don't care where you place them in the field. I have been fortunate to have
been around some very good dogs, some very overhyped dogs & have owned a couple of fairly good dogs myself. All
our dogs start as puppies & as long as they show effort along with some skill remain with us. When you are doing 7
week old puppies the fairly good ones sometimes have some space in time between successes. I hope this brief history
has been informative to those curious about who runs this Website!!!!
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