The 2 brown dawgs had a big week last week.  The first part of the week they participated in the American Chesapeake Club’s Working Dog Test.  Storm earned her Working Dog Excellent Certification (WDX).  To qualify for the WDX certification a dog must be steady, retrieve double marks on land and on water and deliver to hand.  Storm needs to work a bit on the steady part, but she recovered enough to earn her certification.  Good job Storm!   

 

 Thunder earned his Working Dog Excellent Certification last year at the Chessie Specialty so he was “Test Dog” for the land portion of the WDX.  The “Test Dog” runs the test before any competition starts in order to show what the test requires.  He did a great job.  

Hopefully the next time this test is run the 2 brown dawgs will be ready for the final level of the test which is Working Dog Qualified (WDQ).  WDQ requires triple marks and handling to a land and a water blind. 

 Then mid-week the 2 brown dawgs hunted opening day of the grouse season.  Storm even bagged her first grouse.  Thunder and Storm have been out grouse hunting in the past and although they have put up multiple birds, there was never an opportunity for a shot, so this is the first grouse Storm has brought to the table.  She was so proud!  

 

Thunder and Tule’s pup Smokey had a big week too.  Smokey earned her Working Dog Certification.  But before Smokey ran the test her mama Tule ran as “Test Dog” and showed her how it was done.

Good girl Tule!

 

Also this past week, Radar, another of Thunder and Tule’s pups, earned the first leg of three legs toward  his Rally Advanced Title.  Rally Advanced is the next step up from Rally Novice and all done off lead. 

Good boy Radar! 

 

There were a lot of great Chesapeake Bay Retrievers at the WDXQ Test and at the training day before the test.  I wish I could have taken pictures of then all.  Congratulations to all who participated—dogs, handlers, workers and judges!