Page 425 - ShowSight - December 2019

Nancy Rickerson continued
matched my soul. That was 15 years ago and Chesapeakes are my only breed now, and my line AKC kennel name, “RiversEdge” in Chesapeakes is Internationally recognized.
What made me know that this was what I wanted to do? As a lover of all animals, and especially my dogs, I’ve always intended to train my dogs to be outstanding companions and improve their lives by training them in the work they were bred to do. For example, I trained my Malamutes in sled pulling, Corgis in herding ducks and sheep, and Sporting dogs (Griff and Chesapeakes) in bird hunting. I’m competitive in nature, so showing in competition events was/ is natural and fun for me. I’ve loved the sport of dogs since I was a 4-H kid and will to my last breath.
My first mentor in dog training and showing was my 4-H lead- er of the Lake City Canine 4-H Club. I have had many mentors through the years. Diane Wurz sold me my first Chesapeake and mentored me in the breed.
The best thing about being a breeder? I gain great pride and joy in developing my line to breed and produce the best possible Chesapeake Bay Retrievers according to the AKC standard. I own and bred the #3 Chesapeake in the Nation, with limited showing. I am incredibly proud of producing such excellence after 15 years of limited pedigree development (breeding one or two times a year).
My biggest challenge as a part time breeder is having the amount of time I wish to give to my business. I will be grateful for retire- ment from my full time job so I may give full time attention to RiversEdge Chesapeakes.
Secondly, it is sometimes challenging to perfectly match each puppy produced with the new owner and home according to each puppy’s attributes and have them placed by eight weeks of age. With diligence in requiring applications and interviews and explaining to potential new owners that each pup will be matched to new own- ers according to their lifestyle, activities, family needs, pup’s pet or show potential, and prey/hunting drive. With diligence, I have suc- cessfully placed all RiversEdge Chesapeake pups with 100% new owner satisfaction.
Do I work outside of the home? Yes, I work full time outside of the home and rely upon my outstanding dog/kennel care assistants.
Is my family involved? Yes!
Am I involved with a breed club or all-breed club and held posi- tions within the club(s)? American Chesapeake Bay Retriever Club. How did I come up with my kennel name and is it registered with AKC? My kennel name selection was a natural choice based on my environment. I live on five acres of riverfront property in Gold Bar, Washington. Thus, RiversEdge Chesapeakes was perfect. Yes
this is an AKC registered kennel name.
Do I co-breed and co-own with others? Yes. Currently, Diane
Wurz, of Echo Bay, Renee Wolfe of AKCOMI Chesapeakes and Karen Marcotte of Decocoa Chesapeakes.
Is my breed easy to place? Yes. I have advertised on the AKC site for puppy sales in the past, but for the most part, word of mouth, showing my dogs in conformation and my website: Riv- ersEdgeChesapeakes.com, is all I need for advertisement. Oh, and an occasional ad in ShowSight!
Do I think “Breeders’ Showcases” as a special event at an organi- zation’s site will give breeders the recognition they deserve? I think this is a very good idea and I’ve participated in such events. I believe it is important to showcase a variety of the breed (male, female, vari- ous ages and kennels).
What can AKC do to help breeders attain great results? Instill a higher level of scrutiny of breeder kennels and practices to ensure the highest quality of dogs bred and representing the breed.
Any hint or trick I can share with fellow breeders? Study pedi- grees and know what you are breeding to a high degree of speci- ficity in what you need to improve your line. Avoid breeding for
convenience, looks or show results alone, and above all—avoid the “crap shoot!”
Do I show my own dogs? I have an outstanding professional handler team; excellence bar none!: Anthony and Darcie Cantor. I highly recommend them!
I also show my own dogs in conformation upon occasion and do all my own showing in Rally and Obedience and hunt tests.
The most amusing thing I’ve ever witnessed at a dog show? Well, I’ll share a bit about one of my Malamute’s antics in Novice A obe- dience trials many years ago. She was wicked smart, quite a come- dian and loved to make crowds of people laugh. Consequently we failed a lot of trials, but she sure had fun! Here’s a few of her antics:
1. She loved to work the crowd during off leash heeling, loving the attention and laughter she received. While heeling she would weave out of the ring to greet people then weave back in and catch up to heel.
2. Another time we were watching the last few open dogs run their trials as we waited for Novice to start. She watched the open recalls. When we were running our Novice trial she came to me on recall and dropped 1⁄2 way to me. We had never worked on that; she picked it up while watching the open dogs. She was easily bored with Novice and thought that looked like a fun variation to the recall!
3. On a long down, she rolled over on her back (not leaving her position) and began gleefully kicking all four legs up in the air. Of course, she was rewarded with joyful laughter from the crowd— something she dearly loved and sought in different ways to elicit!
As you might imagine, we were 0 for 10 in Novice A trials. I finally gave up on a title, but she sure had a good time!
JACKIE ROBERTSON
How I got started in dogs? I grew up with dogs so always loved them. I wanted to train dogs for the blind when I got out of high school but schools, at that time, were only on the east and west coast, and I had a full academic scholarship to college, so ended up taking that instead and became an Accountant.
What made me know that this was what I wanted to do? I bought our first purebred dog, a Keeshond, in 1979. A few months later we stumbled across a Fun Match going on at a park. Entered our dog and had a fun time. Then tried another Fun Match and an AKC show. We enjoyed ourselves so much, we bought another dog from a show breeder and that dog ended up being 4th in the Country—we were hooked!
Who were my mentors? There were so few Keeshond’s in the show ring back then that we really didn’t have any mentors. We mostly relied on what we could read in books. When we switched breeds to Labrador Retrievers, Bonnie Kellner of Aristes’ Lab- radors was our mentor, and more recently, Kellie Miller and Stefanie Perrine.
The best thing about being a breeder? Having a litter turn out exactly as I thought it would, has always thrilled me. I love puppy breath, puppy noises and their wonderful little snuggles. Melts your heart sometimes when someone walks out of your house with their new best friend in their arms.
The toughest part about being a breeder? Losing puppies, birth defects and infections.
Do I work outside of the home? I am a self-employed Accoun- tant so my business is run out of my home. Does this make my hobby challenging? Sometimes it does, because tax deadlines fre- quently interfere with shows I would like to enter.
Is my family involved? My ex-husband used to show, all our kids showed in Jr’s and one of my grandchildren has also shown dogs.
Breeder Q & A
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