2009 News

November 8, 2009

Deke and Chris Jobman ran the Hunstville, AL Super Retriever Series and came in 4th place! He had the best run of the 4th series with an 8 and barely missed getting 3rd and going to the Crown by 2 points. He lined a 200 yard blind with an obstacle in the 3rd series. All that obstacle training in our backyard paid off! We're proud of our boy and of Chris. Thanks for all your hard work with them. You can see the results here.
We've had a heck of a hunt test year! Since April he's gotten a Grand pass, his HRCH title, 5 Master passes, at his first Field Trial he made it to the 4th series, semi-finals SRS finish & a finals SRS finish. It'll be a hard one to top but we'll be trying again next year. For now though....it's time for Deke to come home and do some duck hunting!

November 2, 2009

Professional pics posted of the Spring Grand taken by Mark & Shannon Atwater of UpClosePhoto.com. Click here to see the pics now!

October 21, 2009

   Well, we haven't been dog training for a couple months but that doesn't mean Deke hasn't been busy! Right after our last post we sent Deke down to Chris Jobman at Flatlander Kennels to get ready for the Grand in Tennessee. Jon-Michael couldn't get time off work to go so it was up to Chris & Deke to try another round and hopefuly get his first pass.
But first, Chris ran him in a Master test Labor Day weekend in Ft. Collins, CO. He got another pass there so we're one away from his Master title. Similar to his HRCH title, we'll have to wait until next Spring to add some more letters to his name.
September 15 we all traveled to Grand Island, NE for the Super Retriever Series. JM ran Deke as an amateur, picking him up off Chris's truck after not seeing him for almost a month. For lots the dogs, including them, it was a rough first series, but JM & Deke fought their way back to end up in 8th place out of 27 amateurs. It was a weekend of ups and downs but overall we couldn't be too disappointed in the results.
   The middle of October found Chris & Deke in Tennessee ready to run the UKC 2009 Fall Grand Hunt Test. We hoped luck would be on our side this time around after getting to the 5th series in the Spring and just missing a pass. We waited for our daily updates....1st series pow....2nd series pow...3rd series pow...4th series pow...and they were going to the 5th! Time for some late night upland training under the glow of headlights....and some gentle "reminders" of how to sit on a whistle. Today about noon we finally got the text from Chris....POW "first Grand pass for Dekehead."
  It was a pretty good end to the hunt test season. Now JM and Deke just have to it all again in April so he can be a Grand dog. But for now it's time to go hunting!
Thanks for Chris Jobman and staff at Flatlander Kennels for all their long hours of hard work and dedication.

August 13, 2009

Should have known better than to post and jinx ourselves. Last weekend didn't go to well as Deke overheated and wasn't able to complete the first series. A series of events led to a very scary weekend and he spent a day at the vet while we spent it in our camper worrying about him. He's doing great thanks to all the people who helped us cool him down so quickly. We've taken the week off and we've decided not to run any more Masters for the year. Sometimes you get so caught up in trying to reach goals that you lose focus on what's really important. So we're going to take some time off until the SRS in September. The Master title will still be waiting for us next year.

August 7, 2009

We've ran four master tests since our last update. One here in Rapid City, a double header in Minot, ND and one in Calhan, CO. We're happy to report we're four for four! Two more to go...this weekend we're headed to Alexandria, SD. Depending on whether we pass or not determines where we'll head next. Our goal is to get his Master title this season. Hopefully just two more tests left for the year!
"Little tests" anyway – in September, we will be running in the amateur division of the SRS in Grand Island, NE. Last year we ran as test dog and it was a lot of fun–hopefully it'll be as fun to do it "for real."
After SRS, Deke will be going to Pro Chris Jobman's of Flatlander Kennels to get ready for the Grand in Union City, TN. Unfortunately JM can't go run him himself so the pressure will be on Chris to get his first pass. Hopefully it'll go as smoothly as May, with the exception of actually sitting on the whistle in the 5th series.

June 14, 2009

It's been a whirlwind couple of months. We ran HRC in Wood River, NE May 2 & 3 with one pass. Then it was a trip to Alexandria, SD for HRC Grand prep and the test. The prep went good, getting to train with many professionals and we did some real successful work on his line manners. In the Grand Deke hammered the first four series with 4s (perfect) scores all the way through. The last series, the last day, the last bird and young dog/young handler error just didn't let it happen. It was a very emotional and exhausting week but we were pleased with his first try at the Grand. He celebrated his 3rd birthday the day before it started.
Yesterday we decided to try our hand at a new dog game and traveled to Sioux Falls, SD for an AKC field trial. We had a shaky land series with one long hunt but then we nailed the land blind and then the water blind. By many's opinion we were heading into the fourth series in first place with eight dogs being called back to finish. But, what seems to be the new trend—the last series, last bird and young handler/dog error—stopped us in our tracks again. We were disappointed but for it being our first field trial we had to be satisified with making it to the fourth series out of 33 dogs.

April 4, 2009

Deke is finally a Hunting Retriever Champion a month and a half shy of his 3rd birthday! It was a rough day in Lincoln, NE with high winds and spotty rain. Tomorrow a blizzard is rolling in. But today we celebrate!

March 29, 2009

   What a long two months it has been since we sent Deke away for a professional "tune-up." The weather has been bad – another blizzard is moving in tonight – so we definitely feel like we made the right choice. Deke wouldn't have even seen any water yet if he'd have been here and we know down in Nebraska he's seen quite a bit, not to mention his road trip to Arkansas and Tennessee a couple weeks ago!
   Chris, the pro trainer, ran Deke in the Super Retriever Series and we couldn't have been happier with their efforts. Deke went all the way to the semi-finals and ended up 16th out of 74 dogs. Pretty good for his first time running it.
   The first test of the season is next weekend and we can't wait. This will be for Deke's HRCH title. Only scary part is that Jon-Michael hasn't ran a dog for two months so he might be a little rusty. But they'll surely do fine. We'll just be glad to have our dog back home. It's been a quiet couple months.

Read 2008 News here!



		2009 News November 8, 2009 Deke and Chris Jobman ran the Hunstville, AL Super Retriever Series and came in 4th place! He had the best run of the 4th series with an 8 and barely missed getting 3rd and going to the Crown by 2 points. He lined a 200 yard blind with an obstacle in the 3rd series. All that obstacle training in our backyard paid off! We're proud of our boy and of Chris. Thanks for all your hard work with them. You can see the results here. We've had a heck of a hunt test year! Since April he's gotten a Grand pass, his HRCH title, 5 Master passes, at his first Field Trial he made it to the 4th series, semi-finals SRS finish & a finals SRS finish. It'll be a hard one to top but we'll be trying again next year. For now though....it's time for Deke to come home and do some duck hunting! November 2, 2009 Professional pics posted of the Spring Grand taken by Mark & Shannon Atwater of UpClosePhoto.com. Click here to see the pics now! October 21, 2009 Well, we haven't been dog training for a couple months but that doesn't mean Deke hasn't been busy! Right after our last post we sent Deke down to Chris Jobman at Flatlander Kennels to get ready for the Grand in Tennessee. Jon-Michael couldn't get time off work to go so it was up to Chris & Deke to try another round and hopefuly get his first pass. But first, Chris ran him in a Master test Labor Day weekend in Ft. Collins, CO. He got another pass there so we're one away from his Master title. Similar to his HRCH title, we'll have to wait until next Spring to add some more letters to his name. September 15 we all traveled to Grand Island, NE for the Super Retriever Series. JM ran Deke as an amateur, picking him up off Chris's truck after not seeing him for almost a month. For lots the dogs, including them, it was a rough first series, but JM & Deke fought their way back to end up in 8th place out of 27 amateurs. It was a weekend of ups and downs but overall we couldn't be too disappointed in the results. The middle of October found Chris & Deke in Tennessee ready to run the UKC 2009 Fall Grand Hunt Test. We hoped luck would be on our side this time around after getting to the 5th series in the Spring and just missing a pass. We waited for our daily updates....1st series pow....2nd series pow...3rd series pow...4th series pow...and they were going to the 5th! Time for some late night upland training under the glow of headlights....and some gentle "reminders" of how to sit on a whistle. Today about noon we finally got the text from Chris....POW "first Grand pass for Dekehead." It was a pretty good end to the hunt test season. Now JM and Deke just have to it all again in April so he can be a Grand dog. But for now it's time to go hunting! Thanks for Chris Jobman and staff at Flatlander Kennels for all their long hours of hard work and dedication. August 13, 2009 Should have known better than to post and jinx ourselves. Last weekend didn't go to well as Deke overheated and wasn't able to complete the first series. A series of events led to a very scary weekend and he spent a day at the vet while we spent it in our camper worrying about him. He's doing great thanks to all the people who helped us cool him down so quickly. We've taken the week off and we've decided not to run any more Masters for the year. Sometimes you get so caught up in trying to reach goals that you lose focus on what's really important. So we're going to take some time off until the SRS in September. The Master title will still be waiting for us next year. August 7, 2009 We've ran four master tests since our last update. One here in Rapid City, a double header in Minot, ND and one in Calhan, CO. We're happy to report we're four for four! Two more to go...this weekend we're headed to Alexandria, SD. Depending on whether we pass or not determines where we'll head next. Our goal is to get his Master title this season. Hopefully just two more tests left for the year! "Little tests" anyway – in September, we will be running in the amateur division of the SRS in Grand Island, NE. Last year we ran as test dog and it was a lot of fun–hopefully it'll be as fun to do it "for real." After SRS, Deke will be going to Pro Chris Jobman's of Flatlander Kennels to get ready for the Grand in Union City, TN. Unfortunately JM can't go run him himself so the pressure will be on Chris to get his first pass. Hopefully it'll go as smoothly as May, with the exception of actually sitting on the whistle in the 5th series. June 14, 2009 It's been a whirlwind couple of months. We ran HRC in Wood River, NE May 2 & 3 with one pass. Then it was a trip to Alexandria, SD for HRC Grand prep and the test. The prep went good, getting to train with many professionals and we did some real successful work on his line manners. In the Grand Deke hammered the first four series with 4s (perfect) scores all the way through. The last series, the last day, the last bird and young dog/young handler error just didn't let it happen. It was a very emotional and exhausting week but we were pleased with his first try at the Grand. He celebrated his 3rd birthday the day before it started. Yesterday we decided to try our hand at a new dog game and traveled to Sioux Falls, SD for an AKC field trial. We had a shaky land series with one long hunt but then we nailed the land blind and then the water blind. By many's opinion we were heading into the fourth series in first place with eight dogs being called back to finish. But, what seems to be the new trend—the last series, last bird and young handler/dog error—stopped us in our tracks again. We were disappointed but for it being our first field trial we had to be satisified with making it to the fourth series out of 33 dogs. April 4, 2009 Deke is finally a Hunting Retriever Champion a month and a half shy of his 3rd birthday! It was a rough day in Lincoln, NE with high winds and spotty rain. Tomorrow a blizzard is rolling in. But today we celebrate! March 29, 2009 What a long two months it has been since we sent Deke away for a professional "tune-up." The weather has been bad – another blizzard is moving in tonight – so we definitely feel like we made the right choice. Deke wouldn't have even seen any water yet if he'd have been here and we know down in Nebraska he's seen quite a bit, not to mention his road trip to Arkansas and Tennessee a couple weeks ago! Chris, the pro trainer, ran Deke in the Super Retriever Series and we couldn't have been happier with their efforts. Deke went all the way to the semi-finals and ended up 16th out of 74 dogs. Pretty good for his first time running it. The first test of the season is next weekend and we can't wait. This will be for Deke's HRCH title. Only scary part is that Jon-Michael hasn't ran a dog for two months so he might be a little rusty. But they'll surely do fine. We'll just be glad to have our dog back home. It's been a quiet couple months. Read 2008 News here!
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