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Area retriever club celebrates hunting dogs, offers resources for its members
The Southwest Missouri Retriever Club, licensed in 2000 with the American Kennel Club and United Kennel Club, offers local retriever and hunting enthusiasts the opportunity to improve their obedience and handling techniques.
One of 10 Missouri retriever clubs, SMRC looks to promote the use of pure-bred retrievers as hunting dogs, and offer positive environments for retrievers and handlers to build relationships.
There are two annual hunt tests through the SMRC; one spring, one fall. Between these events are monthly outings giving their 40 plus members further hunting and training opportunities. The club conducts sanctioned and licensed hunt tests under the rules and regulations of the AKC and UKC.
The AKC held its first licensed retriever hunt test in 1985 making it the younger of the two clubs. Hosting only 13 events with 681 entries the first year, the organization had grown to 341 events with 34,799 entries in 2005.
The UKCs' Hunting Retriever Club was founded in 1984 and offers 200 licensed hunting tests annually with an average of 73 registered dogs and 682 persons participating in each event.
When a retriever is put into a hunt test it can win several different titles, the top title being Hunting Retriever Champion in the HRC, and Master Retriever in the AKC. To become a top retriever the dog must perform tasks like finding and recovering three or more birds brought down prior to being sent in to retrieve. The dogs must also refrain from attempting another animal's retrieval.
Ed Bures, president of SMRC, stopped by the Nevada Daily Mail offices on Monday, on his way to a duck hunting outing, and had nothing but praise for the hunting dogs.
"These dogs are athletes," said Bures, "There are tests that require them to swim 300 yards to retrieve a bird, not seeing where it fell."
Many SMRC members do not hunt according to Bures, "people just want help training their dogs."
SMRC offers the guidance of pro-trainers like Phil Brown of Brownie's Ozark Retrievers, Ash Grove, Mo., and Bud Mcconnaughey of Red Label Retrievers, El Dorado Springs, Mo., and facilities to exercise retriever training.
"A lot of people can't afford to do this on there own, so they join," said Bures, "It gets them started in the right direction."
The spring HRC hunt test will be held by the SMRC in the Shawnee Trails, Mindenmines area near the beginning of April 2008.
More information about the Southwest Missouri Retriever Club and other retrieving clubs can be found online at www.swmorc.com, www.akc.org,www., www.huntingretrieverclub.org;