KENNEL TALK

By

Ken M. Blomberg

“Dogs in Wisconsin”

The Badger state is home to scores of gun dog and field trial clubs. Individual hunting dogs owned by residents in our state must number in the tens of thousands. Wisconsin has a long history related to hunting dog breeds and several communities celebrate their uniqueness.

Historians recognize that in the early 1900’s, Doctor F.J. Pfeifer of New London, almost single-handily established the American Water Spaniel (AWS) breed in the USA. Pfiefer's Wisconsin kennels held up to 132 dogs and reportedly sold more than 100 puppies a year to hunters across the country. Pfiefer also formed the original AWS breed club and helped develop a written standard, which led to recognition by the United Kennel Club in 1920, the American Field Stud Book in 1938, and the American Kennel Club in 1940. "Curly Pfiefer", owned by Pfiefer himself, was the first registered American Water Spaniel.

In 1986, the AWS was designated the official state dog of Wisconsin. But not after a long struggle convincing lawmakers that Wisconsin needed a state designated dog. In a 1984 “Kennel Talk” article for Badger Sportsman, I wrote, “Three cheers for the city of New London…proclaiming the breed the city’s official dog…the Governor recently stopped at New London and encouraged the student lobbyists to be persistent” in their attempts to influence state legislators. Their determination paid off.

The city of Mineral Point has canine landmark and its most famous and best-loved dog is a zinc cast statue. According to the local Chamber of Commerce, “The dog has overlooked more than 130 years of Mineral Point's history and local residents have made it known on several occasions that this dog is special and not to be tampered with or removed. Originally, the dog promoted the large and elegant local department store of Gundry and Gray. Both men were from Cornwall and it was a British custom to help identify stores by using statutes of animals in much the same way that cigar stores were once identified by wooden Indians. In 1984, Wisconsin Power and Light took action to have the dog restored for future generations.” A trip downtown will lead you to this historic gun dog landmark.

More recently, the City of Oshkosh has hosted the DU Festival each summer that revolves around a “Hunting Dog Village”. For the past three years, I’ve attended this event in mid-August and enjoyed the exhibits and numerous demonstrations. Dogs are welcome and everywhere you look, just about every breed imaginable can be seen with their owners. A real crowd pleaser each year is the retriever seminar put on by Doug Janes of Donnybrook Kennels, Cedar Grove. Exhibits featuring gun dog training equipment and supplies can be found in several of the halls. Last summer, Badger Sportsman exhibited their publication with thousands of attendees.

Not to be out-done, this summer Madison will be hosting nationally televised sporting dog events, including retriever trials, agility and “Big Air” competition. A year ago, Madison officials struggled to put on a happy face after ESPN rejected the city's bid to play host to the cable television network's Great Outdoor Games. This year, local officials are proud to announce the fifth annual event is coming to Madison on July 8^th to the 11^th. The Games, featuring more than 20 competitions in outdoors events such as fishing, shooting, timber sports and sporting dog contests, draws more than 200 participants - about 10 percent of which are from Wisconsin - from around the world.

"Wisconsin is a paradise for outdoorsmen and women, so we expect great competition, large crowds and compelling television," said Christine Godleski, vice president and general manager for ESPN Outdoors.

According to promoters, “The retriever trials test the overall hunting ability of the competing dogs. Actual hunting situations are replicated to test the bond between handler and dog. Dummies or ‘birds,’ are launched into the retriever course, which includes grass, meadows and water. There are also decoy ‘birds’ and other elements intended to distract the dog. Time begins and the handler gives the command for his dog to retrieve a selected ‘bird.’ The dog will be led by a variety of commands, including hand signals and audio commands. The dog that honors his handler's commands and retrieves the designated ‘birds’ with the fewest infractions will be crowned champion.”

In the 2003 Great Outdoor Games Big Air competition in Nevada, Skeeter, a 3-year-old female black Labrador, claimed the gold medal in the Big Air competition at Rancho San Rafael Park with a jump of 23 feet, 3 inches. Little Morgan, the defending gold medalist and world record holder, managed a jump of 22-4 in the finals to take the silver medal. A favorite spectator sport, dogs are sent on a retrieve and the distance of their leaps are measured.

You don’t have to look far in our state to find activities related to hunting dogs. The more communities across the state and the general public become exposed to the wonderful world of gun dogs, the more they’ll like what they see. Promoting the use of well-trained dogs afield puts a positive spin to hunting in general. Enjoy and promote our sport in your hometown.