Callbacks to the 4th......

88 dogs are back to the 4th series water marks. The Judges dropped 12 dogs.

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37 ,39 ,40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60,
62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 104, 105

56. FC-AFC Lanes Lets Get Ready To Rumble “Ali” LM, Mark Smith

Ali took 3 whistles to get on the levy, then 3 whistles on the land bridge to get Ali into big water. He then had 2 whistles while swimming which carried him to the point and to the bird for a fantastic job. 

 

55. FC Peakebrook's Brawny Force “Dozer” LM, Al Arthur

Dozer had 3 whistles to middle of  land bridge where it only took  1 whistle to put Dozer in  big water. Dozer carried a great line to the point coming out just right of the tree for a quick whistle to finish the end strong.

54. NAFC Paddle Creek's Pack Your Grip “Traveler” LM, Chad Baker

Trav was fast keeping Chad on his toes. Trav took 3 whistles up front which carried him to the middle of the land bridge. Only 1 whistle to put him in the big water where he quickly got out on the right shore and needed a quick whistle back into the water. Trav had 2 whistles in the water while swimming to the point and required 3 more whistles to maneuver the end for a compliant blind.

53. FC-AFC Candlewoods Life Is A Highway “Freeway” LM, Paul Sletten

Freeway had one of the best blinds of the morning. Freeway had 1 whistle to get to the middle of the land bridge where he only required 2 whistles to convince him to take a big leap into the water.  Freeway carried his line to the point where he only required 1 whistle to pick up the bird.

 

52. FC-AFC Hardscrabble Carbunnation “Fizz” LF, Karl Gunzer

Fizz took 4 whistles to get to the levy, 1 whistle with a big verbal cast to get to the middle of the land bridge. Then Fizz took 3 whistles to get in to the big water where she carried a great line to the point with 1 additional whistle at the end for an excellent blind. 

 

50. FC Trumarc's Dot Come “Dottie” LF, Danny Farmer

Dottie needed 3 whistles to get to the levy then she carried line to the edge of the land bridge where she required only 2 whistle to get into the big water.  Dottie took  5 whistles while swimming to the point where a  verbal cast put Dottie on the point and  3 additional whistles to the bird

51. FC Salty Paws Hammerin Hank “Henry” LM, Bob Starford

Henry had 2 whistles to the levy and 4 whistles to get into the big water. Henry had 2 whistles to tighten his line in the water and carried it to the point and on the bird. Great job.

 

49. FC Millforge On A Roll “Lucky” LM, Bill Sargenti

Lucky had 3 whistles to first pond, 1 big cast with a verbal back off the levy and 1 big verbal cast out to sea. Lucky had a few whistles near the point while he was getting out and on 1 additional whistle to the end for a great blind.

48. AFC Texas Troubador “Tubb” LM, Martha Russell

Tubb had 3 whistles that carried him to the middle of the land bridge and 1 whistle to get in to the big water.  Tubb had 3 whistles while swimming that carried him to the point and all the way to the bird for a fantastic job. The Gallery commented "he always gets in the water."

Our Judges ...

We would like to thank our Judges for giving so much of their time to this 2012 National Open!

Tommy Parrish, Julie Cole and Dave Seivert

47. Road Warriors Dieter Brock “Deets” LM, Ty Rorem

Deets took 3 whistles to the levy, then carried a nice line to the left of the bush pile and 1 cast to get into the big water. Deets had 3 whistles while swimming and then drove to point to zero in on the bird with no additional whistles on the end for a spectacular job.

Alex Washburn Describes the Third Series Water Blind

We caught up with Alex after she ran "Punch" for comments ...

46. FC-AFC Coolwater's Knockout “Punch” LM, Alex Washburn

Punch took 3 whistles to the levy. Alex gave a loud verbal took back off the levy that carried Punch almost to the big water where he only required 1 whistle to get in and swim. Then 1 whistle on the point for an job well done. 

45. FC Bluenorth's Davey Crockett “Davey” LM, Alan Pleasant

Davey took 2 whistles to levy and carried line to the right of the brush pile and 1 to get into the water where Davey swam to the point with 1 whistle on the point to the end for a nice job. 

44. Carronade's Esprit De Corps “Cori” LF, Ray Voigt

Cori had 1 whistle to get in the first piece of water then carried that line to the middle of the land bridge.  Then 4 whistles to the get the dog left of the brush pile and in the big water.  A couple while swimming and 1 while on the point to complete blind.

43. FC Forry's Charmed One “Piper” LF, Ed Forry

Piper was quick to perform the blind.  The begin was smooth with few whistles to reach the first piece of water. Piper had 1 on the levy and a couple more to get in the water and then finished strong for a nice job.

3rd Series Continues......

The wind is calm but lightly out of the North and the mat is facing due South.  The sun has risen and temps are in the mid 30's warming to 65 degrees.  The dog starts behind the right edge of the mound where the handler is instructed to stay near the starting point until the dog enters the first piece of water.  At that time the handler may travel to the top of the mound to finish handling the blind.  The dog travels about 80 yards on land to the corner of a large pond (catches that piece) then must handle out and down the back side of the dam where the dog is out of sight of the handler for a brief moment.  After the dam the dog quickly pops up on a  large land bridge and must handle into a large pond.  There is a significant point protruding from the right hand shoreline a good way into the water where the rooster pheasant is planted.  Just shy about 50 yards of the large point is a small island to the left which hugs the left boundary of this blind.  Once the dog reaches the large point it gets a bit tricky.  The dog quickly encounters a small pot-hole of water where the handler looses site again for a moment and the dog exits quickly near the end. The handler must have a whistle ready because it is easy to loose the dog here.   This blind is measured at 305 yards and is taking 5:10 mins a dog.  

A Chilly Start to the Day....

"They aren't supposed to have weather like this in Texas!" is something that was overheard over and over yesterday...sort-of like a sunny day in Seattle. Local residents explained how cold it could really get and so today we are starting off in 37 degree temperatures with a high of 63 degrees. Us reporters have put every layer on we have and are hoping for sunshine to warm us up...or alternately that the weatherman gets it wrong!! We have to feel lucky, though, as it was snowing yesterday in Wisconsin where the Retriever News is located.

Thanking Our Sponsors...

At this time, we would like to thank our Official Sponsors, Purina and Avery Sporting Dog. They support the Retriever News, this blog and our sport in general.

We would like to also thank our other sponsors who provide goods and services to us retriever enthusiasts in the sport.