Trinity Oak
Labs

March 2009
Newsletter

Welcome to the March 2009 edition of the TOL
Newsletter! It feels like spring up here in Northern Indiana, the geese and
ducks have been back for about 3 weeks already, the past several days have
been absolutely beautiful with temps in the 60s and lots of Sun. GREAT dog
training weather!

So, grab a cup of coffee, get your pup settled
at your feet, and enjoy the latest issue of the TOL newsletter!

~Current and Upcoming
Litters~

Litter#1: HRCH "Coach" X "Dixie." Black and
yellow pups due March 24th. The sire is HRCH Wolf Creek's Ebonstar
Coach - Coach is a super duck and pheasant dog who lives to retrieve. He
finished his Hunting Retriever Championship title this past fall
passing 9-11 hunt tests on the year. Coach is black, weighs about
70 lb, and is OFA Good, Elbows Normal, and his Eyes are Clear. The Dam is
Double Creek's Dancing
Dixie - Dixie is a yellow female who weighs about 50-55 lb. She is the
banner dog on our website, and, as you can see, has a beautiful water
entry. Dixie has thrown some really nice looking pups in her past litters who
have shown a lot of bird drive, temperament, and trainability. She is OFA Good
and her Elbows are Normal. Pups are priced at $400 and we are accepting deposits
now.

Litter#2: HRCH "Blaze" SH X HR
"Bailey." All chocolate litter due March 27, ready to go in mid May. The
sire, Roux's Blazin Chocolate
Thunder AKA Blaze, is a really nice chocolate male who earned his
Hunting Retriever Champion and Senior Hunter titles last year and will be
running for his Grand Champion passes this coming hunt test season. He is OFA
Good, Elbows Normal, Eyes Clear, CNM Clear, and EIC clear. The dam,
HR Duke's Hi-Flying
Bailey AKC Bailey, is a chocolate female who weighs about
55 lb. Similar to her name, her water entry is "hi flying." She leaps 5-6 feet
off the water on her marks, very fast as well. Great upland dog, passed 4-4 in
hunt tests to earn her HR title this past fall. OFA Good, Elbows Normal, Eyes
Clear, CNM Clear. Pups are priced at $800.

Litter#3: "Morgan" MH X HR
"Star" - Black and yellow litter due April 1st. The sire is
Maple Creek's Captian
Morgan MH. He is a very nice looking yellow male who has earned his
Master Hunter title with AKC and is in training for Field Trials. He is OFA
Excellent, Eyes Clear, Elbows Normal, CNM Clear, and EIC Clear. The dam is HR Three Point Play's Super
Star. Super Upland retriever, Hunting Retriever title last fall in 4
straight tests. Star is OFA Excellent, and Elbows are certified Normal. Pups
will be priced at $500 and we are accepting deposits now.

~Recent Hunt Test
Accomplishments~

March 14, 2009 - Ohio HRC: Coach and
Tory pass their first two UKC Upland Hunter tests of the year! These were
Coach's 2nd and 3rd passes(1 more for title!) and Tory's 1st and 2nd passes.
Congrats!

~Hunt Tests~

By Abby Eash

Do you enjoy spending time training your dog? Looking for
something that your whole family can enjoy? Too many birds getting away in
the field? Hunt tests may be the thing for you!

Hunt Tests are a great way to get out and have fun with your
dog. Whether you are an all out goose hunter, duck hunter, or pheasant hunter,
the skills used in tests will help your dog become a better retriever and lose
less birds in the field.

Hunt tests were founded back in the late 80s when Field Trial
marks began to be a lot longer and tougher. In the preceding years, it had
became evident that the average "Joe" would not be able to be highly successful
in them, because of the intense competition in dog-against-dog and the time it
took to keep their training up. Hunt tests were founded with the idea in mind of
dogs competing against a set standard instead of each other's performance.

Often, when I speak to people, I get the feeling that they think
that hunt tests are something that only very experienced trainers can do. I am
here to say that is definitely not the case. I (Abby) started training labs when
I was 11 years old(2004) after a gentleman by the name of Luke Brennan stopped
by our house after seeing a sign for lab pups. He helped my brother Ryan, and I,
get started training retrievers and we ran our first JH test that fall. Although
we did not pass either of the dogs we ran, we became hooked on hunt tests and
this past fall titled our 13th hunt test dog!

Did I mention they are very addicting once you get started?! In
the past several years, we have ran dogs in 74 hunt tests -  mainly UKC,
but also a couple AKC as well.

Hunt Tests are great for the family as well, providing a clean
environment for your children which also works as an excellent way to get them
into God's great outdoors. My brothers and sisters(ages 11 to 3) LOVE to come
outside to help train, and especially look forward to hunt tests when they get
to run their dogs in the kid's puppy hunts.

Both AKC and UKC support and offer titles to be earned in Hunt
tests. The rules for AKC tests tend to keep higher standards for dogs, including
delivery to hand at Junior Hunter, an honor at Senior Hunter, and include more
technical marks/blinds at the Master Hunter level. The color of clothing in the
gallery, or that the handler wears, is not as important although they do not
encourage light colored clothing. There are 3 levels starting with Junior
Hunter(JH), Senior Hunter(SH), and Master Hunter(MH). For MH dogs who qualify to
run it, the Master National is also held once a year. In UKC, the Hunting
Retriever Club(HRC) tries to keep everything as close to a real hunting
situation as possible. That would include all camouflage clothing for
Handlers/spectators, the handler actually shooting a gun at the line in Seasoned
and Finished(just poppers, not as loud or with the contents of a real load), and
marks landing at normal hunting distances. The overall "feel" that is received
from the spectators and handlers is very friendly - everybody is there to have
fun and spend time with other dog people. In regular Hunts,
Started Hunting
Retriever(SHR) is the very first level of testing. Second, is
Seasoned Hunting Retriever(HR), and Finished
Hunting Retriever
Champion(HRCH) is the top level. As side tests,
Upland Hunter(UH) tests are held in late
winter months, and Grand Hunting
Retriever Champion (GRHRCH) tests are held
twice a year around the country. Real birds are used throughout both AKC and
UKC's Hunt venues.

For more information on AKC hunt tests, visit AKC
Retriever Tests
YouTube AKC JH
test Video
YouTube AKC SH
Test Video
For more information on UKC hunt tests, visit UKC-Hunting
Retriever Club Hunt Tests
YouTube UKC
Seasoned Hunt Test Video

~Dog Stuff of the Month~

This is for sale by Trinity Oak
Labs:

In addition to momentary, vibration and
continuous settings, the 2420 has innovative jump and rise stimulation for
greater training versatility. Jump feature allows you to instantly jump to a
predetermined intensity level. Rise setting gradually increases stimulation
level as you hold down the button until you find the appropriate level for your
dog. Includes lightweight, waterproof collar and waterproof transmitter with
backlit LCD. 1.3-mile range with antenna woven into collar. The 50 levels of
stimulation intensity are adjustable from the transmitter. Adjustable for
low-level positive stimulation and built-in safety shut-off system. Powered by
rechargeable ni-mh batteries.

This collar is about 2 years old
and was just returned to us from the DT systems repair shop where it was
entirely refurbished and is like new. 2 dog unit, retails at
$500, available from us for $350. Email us for more
information

~Recent Emails from
Customers~

Hummer(TOL Pup), Scuba &
Bear
Playing in sunny Florida!
2.22.09

------------------------------------------------------------------

Abby,

Good luck with the snow! We had our share here last
month. We never get snow, it was ridiculous. I talked to Jordan(another TOL
Customer) from Bellingham, Washington yesterday. He said his pup is 4
months old and is doing great. He wants to do hunt tests also with her and I
referred him to a trainer to help him out since this is his first time with the
hunt test thing.
I will tell you this about Grizz. He's doing great in
his training and I will be running him at every hunt test I can in Washington
and Oregon. My trainer said he'd make a good hunt test dog, but is a little
soft for the rigors of the field trials. This is fine by me. Maybe one day he
will run trials, but for now he'll be a hunt tester. I'm very happy with him and
couldn't ask for a better dog. He's laid back in the house, smart, and loves his
training.

I do notice that once you explain new concepts in his
training he picks them up very fast. I've had him for a month now since
then and a simple "No" seems to be all the correction he needs. Once again I'm
very happy with him! I'll keep ya posted on his upcoming events and
titles.

Matt and Grizz
Rochester,
WA
Grizz is from HRCH Coach X Dixie's fall 2007 litter

------------------------------------------------------------------

Abby,

I am terribly sorry that we took
this long to send you an update!! The new puppy has kept us quite busy. The
constant in and out doesn't leave much email time. The camera has been quite
busy though :-).

Here is the update. We love her! Big
surprise. We decided to call her Riley. Riley and our 11 month old bloodhound
Jordan are hitting it off great. Jordan finally has a playmate which keeps her
from drooling on my lap :-). Its been a while since I trained a lab so I got a
video for some tips. I am kind of unsure about the tactics when they tell you
not to start obedience training until 6 months old. The video is "Training your
Retriever" by White Dog Productions.

Attached is some pictures of Riley
in her new home with Jordan. I hope that you enjoy them. We will send updates
periodically.

Eric and
Brenda                    Riley is from GRHRCH Cody X HR Tory's December 2008
litter

Strasburg,
Colorado

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey!

Here are some pictures of Brody.
A couple from this hunting season, and the most recent one from the other day in
the snow.  Brody is doing well, we/he had a good season.  He does
really well over water....but he doesn't like to retrieve geese in the
field.  So that's something to work on in the off
season.

Talk to you soon,

Ben

Brody is
by HRCH Coach and out of Dee's fall 2006 litter

---------------------------------------------------------------

Abby,

Here is a picture of Bella! Thought you would like to know she is doing
fantastic! She is trained now and doing well in her cage. She LOVES being
outside and running with the boys. She has brought such joy into our household,
she is playful and fun, loving, and growing like crazy! We are so grateful to
get her from you guys and to be able to keep in touch with you. She already
loves to retrieve things and bring them back for lots of love and praise.

At the vet last week, she only weighed 9.9lbs...we
thought she was bigger! Thank you again!

Ann, Mark, Zachary and Brad
T.

Riley is
from GRHRCH Cody X HR Tory's December 2008 litter

---------------------------------------------------------------

Abby,

Here are a few pics of Koda. He is out of Tory and Code. He is 11 weeks
old and doing great. He loves the water and is already retrieving bumpers out of
the water and high cover.
Thanks!

Tim B.

Riley is from GRHRCH Cody
X HR Tory's December 2008 litter

Contact:

Trinity Oak
Labs

Mel and Char
Eash

Kids: Ryan(19), Abby(16),
Heather(11), Jon(9), Krystal(7), and Luke(3)

Website: www.trinityoaklabs.com

Topeka, Indiana

Email: [email-masked]

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