Denise's pup Simon waiting
to be sent for his "mark"

The Labrador

Woman's Best Friend

By Beth Ann Amico

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My first experience in dog training began with my beagle, Rascal, when I was eight years old. He became the sometimes unwitting partner in my learning process, suffering through endless hours of heeling, jumping through obstacle courses and learning how to sit on top of his doghouse like that other famous beagle.

As a teenager (encouraged by a grandfather who had trained horses for the cavalry in World War I), my attention turned to hunter-jumpers. My competitive nature kicked into high gear; soon, multi-colored ribbons decorated the walls of my bedroom.

But one drizzling mid-winter day years later, my attention shifted back to my early enthusiasm for dog training. That was the day I had the opportunity to watch a group of field Labradors being trained. They sat patiently but eager as each retrieving dummy was thrown from the other side of a large pond. Then, with a single word from their handler, they plunged through cold water, up the bank on the other side and, nosing through the fallen leaves, found the dummy. Their return to the handler was equally impressive. They swam straight back across the pond, and once by their handler's side, sat shivering and dripping, holding the dummy until told to "Drop."

The more advanced dogs could do double, triple and even blind retrieves, retrieving dummies they hadn't even seen being thrown, going on heart and the belief that their handler knew exactly where the dummy was hidden. I watched in awe as these dogs responded to whistle commands, stopping in the middle of their swim to take a hand signal from their handler. The intensity of their desire was overwhelming, and I was hooked.

What I saw that day led to a lifetime commitment to the training and breeding of this wonderful animal, the Labrador Retriever. Now, as co-owner/trainer at Deep Fork Retrievers, I share that commitment with my husband–professional hunting retriever trainer John Amico. Together, our goal is to breed and train outstanding performance Labradors. Our retrievers demonstrate the breed's versatility by being as at home in the family room as they are in a duck blind or pheasant field.

Through my involvement with this talented breed, I have met numerous women who enjoy field training and competition as much as I do. Some are the "other halves" of well-known husband-and-wife training teams like Jim and Phyllis Dobbs, owners of the Dobbs Training Center in California. Others are fellow competitors and judges I have met at hunt tests. My husband and I compete in hunt tests sponsored by the Hunting Retriever Club, Inc. (HRC), a subsidiary of the United Kennel Club, a national registry for sporting dogs. I'm also the first female HRC hunt test judge in the state. In hunt tests, dogs compete not against each other but against a standard in a pass/fail format in simulated hunting scenarios. Although these types of competitions have traditionally been dominated by men, the number of female participants is growing rapidly. Other national retriever organizations, such as the North American Hunting Retriever Association (NAHRA), support this trend with reported increases in female retriever enthusiasts and a rise in their female membership. Of the over 1800 NAHRA members nationwide and in Canada, some 600 are women.

Deep Fork Retrievers Group
The Deep Fork Retrievers women's training group

This past year, I started a women's training group for the largest number of female clients our kennel has had in its 25-year history. This group allows women of all backgrounds to enjoy the outdoors and each other's company while developing special bonds with their dogs. The majority of them became involved in retriever training through their husbands' interest in waterfowl hunting; however, several have become very astute trainers in their own right. Kanda Keepers, an administrator of corporate communications for Hertz and owner of a chocolate Labrador named Hershey, began training her dog in our puppy "headstart" program. In this program, puppies learn the field disciplines required of a working dog–swimming, marking falls at distances and becoming acclimated to gunfire. They also become familiarized with the "tools of the trade" such as boats and decoys, all in an effort to produce a willing student ready for formal training.

In addition to attending the group training sessions, Kanda and Hershey trained nightly after work and on weekends alongside her husband Spencer and his Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Today, Kanda has several hunt test ribbons to her credit. Now, she's working on Hershey's ability to complete multiple retrieves and handling drills in order to compete in advanced levels of hunt test competition. Kanda says that she's constantly amazed at what Hershey is capable of learning.

Another member of the group, Dannette Bare, a grants and contracts assistant for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation who enjoys hunting and fishing with her husband Mike, is learning how to handle their yellow Labrador, Gauge. Dannette has also expressed an interest in getting her own personal dog to train. Amy Pennington, expecting her second child this summer, trained her family's retriever Jake so that her husband could enjoy a successful hunting season this past year. The newest member, Denise Irwin, owner of Play It Again Sports, has joined the group with her puppy Simon and is having a great time teaching him how to mark falls and navigate varying terrain changes.

Another example of Deep Fork's involvement with women and this versatile breed is our relationship with Kathy Sawyer, owner of Intercept. Her company contracts with local school districts in an effort to implement their zero-tolerance drug programs. Utilizing our stud dogs, Kathy has developed Labradors that are not only efficient drug detectors but also exhibit the kindly temperament that characterizes Labradors. She incorporates her dogs into the schools' drug programs by letting students become familiar with the very dogs that patrol the halls. This, in turn, teaches the children to have a personal affection for the dogs.

Because of the Labrador's remarkable qualities, I have been able to return to my early love of dog training and now share that love with others. I'll never grow tired of watching a puppy take its first swim or a friend's elation when her dog takes a championship ribbon. The Labrador Retriever has proven to be not only man's best friend, but this woman's best friend as well.

For more information about field retrievers and their training, call Beth Ann and John at (405) 769-4108.

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Dannette sending Guage on a water retrieve


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