I swear I must be a glutton for punishment. Case in point; the morning of the HRLRC WC/WCX. It was miserable with the rain and dampness. The weatherman said that there wasn't a chance for the sun to shine. He was right. It rained most of the day. (this is July?)

If the rain wasn't enough, I was running 2 1/2 year old Robin (Can.CH.Woodhaven's Silk-N- Silver,CD,WC,Can.CD,WC) who was on day 16 of her season! Wait, it gets worse. The test was held at the place where she had been bred twice that week. I must be insane.

I had been training Robin for the WCX for almost a year. The HRLRC test requires a double on land and back-to-back singles in water. The dog must be steady and deliver to hand. It took Robin quite awhile to understand the concept of doubles. On the day she finally did one, you could almost see the light bulb click on and hear her say, "Okay, now I get it."

We continued to train and finally in June I felt she was ready so I entered the test. She then came into season; and lost her brains. She began to refuse to go out to this one mark in the water. She kept going out to the other mark. The people I trained with blew duck calls, called her name, threw numerous birds, bumpers and stones to get her out there. Finally, she'd swim out and get the object and make a perfect delivery. Not willing to give up, I continued to train her, hoping that on the day of the test, she'd remember how to do it correctly.

In 1990 HRLRC working tests were held once again at the beautiful Windsong Farm - home of Betty Dunlap. There were 18 WCX dogs and 26 WC. Some of those WCX dogs would later drop down to WC.

Since Robin was in season, she was running last in the WCX. She had to be isolated from the other dogs so she wouldn't distract anyone. My husband Terry and I got to the test early and set up our canopy so Robbie could stay dry. We then put up a sign with large letters which read: "WARNING: Bitch In Season!" Robin vocally protested her isolation all day.

The dog and handler were required to heel (off lead) approximately 20 yards to the line. When ready, the handler signaled. After a duck call, a pigeon was thrown and a gun went off (#1). The same was done for mark #2. The handler (the dog usually) could choose which mark to retrieve first. After retrieving the first bird, the dog was sent immediately for the second.

Mark #1 consisted of a gunner and thrower hidden behind the trees. The bird landed in a clump of grass. The dog had to race down a hill to the bird, then back up the hill to the handler. Mark #2 the gunner and thrower were visible on top of another hill. The dog went down a hill, then up the other hill to the bird. The mark wasn't as easy as it sounded. The bird landing on the opposite hill tended to distort the dog's idea of distance.

After waiting for the other WCX dogs to finish, I was finally allowed to move Robin into the blind. I slipped the lead off her and waited for the judge's call. While I waited I gave her a pat on the head and asked her to be a good girl. The judge then called "dog" and I took a deep breath, said a prayer, told Robin to heel and stepped out from behind the blind. Robin heeled perfectly to the line and sat at my side. (all that obedience training paid off) I let her take a look, then signaled. Out came bird #1, out came bird #2. the judge again called "dog" and I released Robin. She shot out to bird #1 (being closest to us, I knew she'd go to that one first), nailed it and returned. After she delivered to hand, I told her to heel and then sent her for the second bird. She remembered where it was, grabbed it and brought it back to hand. I slipped the lead back on, gave her a big hug and took her back to the crate.

Terry and I volunteered to throw and gun for the WC dogs. The WC consisted of a straight retrieve of 50 yards. (no hills) We were visible and the cover was ankle high. There were quire a few dogs who obviously had been trained on longer marks. They overshot the birds and just kept on going. Some of the dogs irritated their owners by going right to the bird, standing over it, then wandering away. (blinking the bird) We could tell the dogs who had never seen a bird before. They'd go out to the bird, put their mouth on it, spit it out and return birdless to the handler. 8 dogs from the WCX and 20 from the WC passed land and went on to water.

Once again the dog and handler had to heel about 20 yards down a hill to the line. Duck #1 was thrown just to the right of the island. The gunner and thrower were hidden. In order for the dog to get to the duck, it had to go through reeds at the shoreline, decoys and patches of algae. Duck #2 was thrown from a boat into open water.

When it was Robin's turn, we heeled down to the line where I lined her up for the first bird. I had a feeling we might be in trouble when she kept looking at the boat. I finally got her looking in the right direction and signaled. The duck call sounded, the bird was thrown and the gun went off. Robbie was looking right at it. There was no way she could have missed it. Her ears were up and she was quivering. (a sign she was ready) I sent her and almost died when she veered off and swam out to the boat. It was exactly what she had been doing in practice.

Since there were no recasts allowed, she had failed when she continued to swim around the boat without going over to her bird. Well, I finally called her in, walked her down to the water's edge and sent her again towards the island. With the help of a duck call, the little bugger went right out and retrieved her bird. Ah well, there's always next year.

Next was the WC water. The gunners and throwers were in the same places except the persons on the island stepped out from behind the reeds and were visible. They also threw to the left of the island into open water. The decoys were also removed.

One WC dog I'm sure gave his owner gray hair. This dog had his Can. Ch. and his CD. All he needed was a WC in order for him to qualify for his HRLRC All-Purpose Labrador Award. He had failed in his quest last year. This year he ran up and down the shoreline, went in the water and came out, over and over again. Finally, he went out to the island, ran around out there, when he finally had to have winded his duck. He then went and got it and brought it back. He had no problems with his second duck.

One of the WCX dogs slipped on the grass when he was entering the water for his second bird. He almost did a somersault in the water. (we all gave his a 3.9 for his dive) He didn't give up, but went out and nailed his bird to pass.

By far the star of the test had to be a little 5 1/2 month old yellow girl named Maggie. On land she bounded right out, picked up her pigeon by the wing and returned it to her owner. On water, she swam out, grabbed her ducks, which were almost as big as she was and brought them right back. You never would have guessed that she had been in the water for the first time just the week before. We gave her a standing ovation and her owner was beaming with pride. Her mother Kenya ran right after her and passed also.

There were 6 WCX dogs and 17 WC dogs who earned their titles. Despite the rain and some of the dogs not passing (thanks Robin), everyone had a good time.

P.S.

Robin gave birth to 8 beautiful puppies on September 10, 1990. I guess she's forgiven for failing the WCX. (this time!)

© 1990 - LRM

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