Ron Anderson on his dog Maddie

I’ll never forget that day in 1994 when I went on a duck hunt in Gibson, Louisiana. I was out hunting with a friend who had a Hunting Retriever Champion lab named Smoke. I was amazed to see Smoke stop on a whistle and take hand signals to retrieve a duck he had not seen fall. Although I had hunted with retrievers before, I had never seen an owner have that much control over a dog. After the hunt, my curiosity led me to question Smoke’s owner, Cleban Trahan, about the training of this remarkable dog. That cold night in January 1994, I was convinced i wanted to own and train my own retriever. The next week i spotted an ad for Lab puppies in the classifieds of the local newspaper. Following up on the ad I immediately went to check out the litter. I fell in love with the larger of the two black females that had not been sold. At the time i was a full time student at Louisiana State University with limited funds, so i turned to my parents for a little help. They agreed to at least see the pup that I had my eye on. After seeing the puppy, my parents agreed to pay the $150 and Maddie came home with me that day.

Maddie’s first four months were spent beer huggies and socks in my one bedroom apartment. During this time I bought two books, Water Dog and Game Dog, and started training Maddie. We worked almost everyday, and by the time the 1995-96 duck season opened, Maddie was ready to hunt. Maddie and I hunted almost everyday that hunting season with our best friends and hunting buddies, Casey Parker and brad Taylor. Maddie continued to improve and gain more confidence with every hunt.

After hunting season, I attended a boat show in Baton Rouge. It was there that I met Ken Johnson and learned about Amite River Hunting Retriever Club. Of special interest to me was the yearly hunt test, and I accepted an invitation to attend their upcoming spring test. There I watched the Finished water test. After observing three or four dogs, I was completely hooked. i thought to myself - Maddie and I could do this! We now had a new goal to work for.

A few weeks later, I joined Amite River HRC and the Hunting Retriever Club. Maddie and I trained hard all year, and i entered her in Amite River’s hunt next spring. She ran Started on Saturday and passed with ease, so on Sunday, I entered her in Seasoned. Needless to say, the whole experience was a disaster. About the only thing Maddie did right on the land series was not break. When I left the hunt site that day, I vowed I would never be that embarrassed at a hunt again. Determined to succeed, Maddie and I trained even harder; I bought more training books and tapes; but best of all, I got more involved in Amite River HRC.

In May that year, I attended Joel and Tina Soprano’s Started Dog seminar hosted by Amite River HRC. I learned more in that one day of “hands on” training than I had learned in two years of book reading. It was “back to the basic’s” for Maddie.

In the meantime, my dad bought me a new black lab puppy named Beau. Beau was going to be my hunt test dog. He had it all - a great pedigree, a FC sire, and a HRCH dam, intelligence, style, and tons of desire. After I took Beau through the basics and filled in some of the holes in Maddie’s original training, I realized my dogs needed more than the collar, yard drills, and hand thrown and Retriever Trainer Shot marks to improve. Again I turned to Amite River HRC for help. At a fun day on my family’s property I discovered what my dog were lacking - a training group. I convinced Chuck McCall, Scott Arceneaux, Dennis Weber, and John Pritchett to let me join their group.

In spring 1998, Maddie passed both days in Seasoned, and Beau passed both days in Started at Amite’s hunt. By the next spring, both Maddie and Beau had earned their Hunting Retriever Championships during the same weekend. Over the next few months we trained for the Fall Grand. During this time, beau continued to improve while Maddie stayed at about the same level. October finally came. I was so excited and eager for the 1999 Fall grand that I could hardly stand it. The Sunday before the Grand, I woke up in my hotel room ready to do some last minute training, only to find that just one of my dogs had awakened with me. Sometime during the night, Beau had died in his sleep from and aneurysm in his heart. i was totally devastated. I wanted badly to pack my clothes and leave the grand, but i felt that I couldn’t let maddie down. She had earned the right to be there and deserved her chance. However, maddie went out in the first series. My first experience at the grand was not a very good one.

After the Grand I had to decide whether to put my dream of a Grand Hunting Retriever Champion on hold until I got another dog or to train harder with Maddie. I decided I could not wait until I got another dog ready for the Grand. Maddie just had to get better. Chuck McCall, my training partner, handled her in the Spring 200 Grand, but she had another early exit. After the Grand I decided to simplify my training and Maddie really started putting it all together and running with a lot more confidence. That fall Chuck handled Maddie to her first grand pass at Rend Lake.

With that first pass under her belt, the pressure was now on because we needed that second pass for the GRHRCH title. After hunting season, Maddie picked up right where she left off, running with more confidence with each test we attended. A month before the Grand, my training partners and I trained every chance we had, and in as many different places as we could. By May 19th, Maddie and i were ready for the Grand. After somewhat of a slow start with a handle on a mark in the first series, Maddie improved and got stronger with every series. I was so relieved and excited when she sat to flush in the 5th series because I knew we had achieved our goal - a Grand Hunting Retriever Champion.

There are several organizations and many individuals who have helped Maddie and me achieve this title. I would first like to thank HRC for giving us the forum in which to showcase our dogs. Through HRC I have met many wonderful people and developed many friendships. I also owe much to my local club, Amite River, and all it’s members who supported me.

Dennis Weber is one of my training partners. I want to thank him for his help, support, advice and most importantly, friendship. I want to congratulate him and Katie on earning their first pass in Texas. I’m looking forward to seeing them in Mississippi as they go for Katie’s title.

Scott Arceneaux was always there to keep me motivated and positive when things weren't so good. He has always been willing to listen to my training problems, answer my questions and offer his advice. He also recommended the breeding and promoted the sale of maddie and Beau’s first and only litter of puppies. And for that i can never thank him enough.

Chuck McCall is not only my main training partner, he is also my hunt test traveling partner. I appreciate his patience, his willingness to share his experiences, his knowledge, and his help in making Ron’s maddie Girl a Grand Hunting Retriever Champion and a Master Hunter. We couldn’t have done it without you Chuck. Thanks for everything.

My parents, Ronnie and Vivian Anderson, helped me financially to get into the dog business. Without their support and their belief in me and my dream, none of this would have been possible. I cannot repay them or thank them enough.

Christy and Anna Kate, my wife and 14-month old little girl, allowed me time away from home to train and run hunt tests. Their sacrifice and understanding permitted me to chase my dream and to do the thing I enjoy-training and running dogs. For this, I thank and love you.

Lastly, I want to thank Maddie, the wonderful dog that made this all possible. Thanks for sticking with me through all my training and handling mistakes. You are a really special companion.