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War Eagle Goes 7-for7 at 2009 Fall Grandby Enhance3022.com Staff
Some of us hunt lots of timber where the birds fall short and steadiness is the key to greatness. Many of us hunt large agriculture fields where we need hard chargers who can carry a line over a couple of football fields to get things done. Last but not least is an every-growing chunk of upland hunters who demand dogs that can range far and wide all day long chasing ringnecks, chukar, quail, and grouse. The list is never-ending and whatever the scenario, there is a dog out there that does it very well. Almost thirty years ago, a group of dedicated hunters and dog people got together and decided to create the ultimate hunting dog test and to clear any "eye of the beholder" arguments. This test is called the International Grand and it's organized by the Hunting Retriever Club Inc. The Grand takes places twice a year in various places around the country and it's open to all Hunting Retriever Champions. The Grand consists of 5 total tests that take place over a week. The tests consist of two multiple land marking scenarios, two multiple water marking scenarios and one upland test. Each of these marking scenarios also has at least one blind retrieve (a bird that the dog didn't see fall which requires whistles and hand signals to retrieve). The upland portion of the test is always the last series and can often decide a dog's fate.
"It's tough when you've asked a retriever to roll hard through the mud and muck of four series and then you have to ask them to check down for ultimate control to wing and shot," said Derek Randle of War Eagle Retrievers. "Great retrievers have enormous drive and it's very hard to flip switches and gears that quickly. It's this ability to switch that separates a Grand Champion from all other dogs." Randle went on to say that it takes years of training and a very special animal to be a Grand Champion, and he should know. Randle's dogs had more success at the 2008 Fall Grand held in Union City, Tennessee, than any other handler passing a total of seven retrievers. Considering no handler is allowed to enter more than eight, that's a pretty remarkable number and one that will likely be difficult for anyone to overcome.
"Most puppies come in at about five or six months and they go to Keith's [Allison] kennels down in Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Once he and his team have built a foundation with them and gotten them through some of the stickiest parts of training, he turns them over to me and my guys," said Randle. "We focus on the technical side of training and do our very best to get them ready for the real world of hunting and competition. It's kind of like a baseball farm system. Keith has an incredible talent for young dogs and he always has. Because he's so effective, my job is an easy. He builds the hot rod and throws me the keys and my job is to keep it out of the ditch more or less. It works for us, but we couldn't do it without great dogs. You can be a great trainer, but without a great dog it's all for not. It's a total team concept. We do our job as trainers. We rely on Rick [Wohlschlaeger] and Keith [Dodson] and all the people at Enhance who keep our dogs healthy and strong with quality nutrition. Finally, the dogs have to have great talent and believe in us. If there's a break down in any part, the wheels come off and I wouldn't be talking to you right now."
For more information on the Grand and the HRC go to www.huntingretrieverclub.org and for more great photos from official Grand photographer Mark Atwater visit www.upclosephoto.com Photos courtesy of Mark Atwater and Spencer Tirey War Eagle Retriever's Fall 2009 Grand Passes GRHRCH War Eagle's Big Bottom Gal MH - "Sully"
GRHRCH War Eagle's Perfect Image MH - "Emma"
HRCH Virgin Timber's Daisy Cutter SH - "Daisy"
GRHRCH Salty Paw's Midnight Missile MH - "Slim"
HRCH Wesley's Vineyard Deacon MH - "Deacon"
SRSA HRCH Spring River's Sun Cutter MH - "Shay-D"
HRCH War Eagle's Tell Your Mama Hay MH - "Cricket"
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What makes a great hunting dog? It's not much different than beauty for most of us it's truly in the eye of the beholder.
War Eagle employs a very unique system in the business of retriever training. Each dogs has three separate trainers and each trainer specializes in a particular state of a puppy's development.
What makes the Grand so special is the attention to detail put forth by the judges and the Grand officials to create the most realistic hunting scenarios to test the world's best hunting dogs. Decoys, calls, blinds, and winds are all taken into consideration. Handlers are required to wear camouflage clothing. Everything is set up as true-to-life as possible. With a little more than 400 Grand Champions in history and thousands of attempts, it's easy to see why these guys are proud.