"Beau"

10/26/08:  Today we finished our fourth and final pass for Beau's SHR title.  We ran last weekend at our home club, NEFHRC, and this weekend we made the drive to Metter Ga. to run in the Coastal Empire HRC test.  Both clubs put on great tests.  Beau ran very well in all four tests.  All the judges gave him some very nice compliments.  Now it's back to working on double T and then swim-by.  We want to get his 3 remaining passes at the Seasoned level to complete his HR title by the spring.

10/13/08: Next weekend is his first Hunt Test.  I think we'll knock it out of the park.  What a difference a couple of months has made in Beau.  His light has come on and confidence has gone through the roof.  The 150 yard marks on mown grass have given way to 180 yard marks in cover.  We are working now on hidden guns in his mark training.  The past couple of weeks have been spent really preparing him for the next level in the seasoned test ring.  He has done well with mini-T, to the point that he is about 90-95%.  We just started laying down the center line for his double-T work and then it's swim by.

He definately lives up to the reputation of most field (working) Goldens of being a little soft.  It has taken me some time to find out what makes him tick.

 08/01/08: Beau is working hard on getting ready for the upcoming Fall Hunt Test season.  He missed 6 months of training over the past winter and spring.  He's only 14 months old now, so he started behind the power curve!  He has however, overcome it.  We have been working on extending his marking abilities.  Long marks have become easy for him at 150+ yards on mown grass.  He still has some difficulty at about 80 yards in cover, but he is getting more and more confident every day.

He breezed through forced fetch in less than a week.  Although we aren't concentrating on it yet, we have been working on some force to pile and T work.  He has been taking his "backs" well.  And from remote sits, he has started spinning in the direction I want (instead of the way he wants).  As his confidence has increased so has his style and drive.  He is good on forcing to "blind" piles out to 60-70 yards, but again that is in cut grass.  He'll get there!  Our boy Beau is making great progress.