EPPeake Retrievers

Blog

  • Vinny’s First Ribbon

    • Vinny can best be described as having a “happy boy” personality. Very sociable with people and dogs. His tail is always wagging and he loves to fetch anything that isn’t tied down

    First Senior Pass at Port Arthur RC

    With only one blind to complete his first senior test, Vinny took off like a rocket. He hit the water making a dynamic splash and nearly mowed down an old fence post in his way.  He didn’t deviate from the diagonal line across the water and continued straight toward the blind coming out of the water. He faded slightly down wind, as he quickly progressed  another 30 yards on land, was stopped with a single whistle and cast to the prize a few yards over. He sat obediently at honor and earned his first AKC hunt test ribbon

    WOW Factor

    Vinny seldom fails to attract attention wherever he goes. He’s 26 inches at the shoulder and 80 lbs of muscle.  His intense gaze and confident swagger captures your attention. As does, his distinctive short dense wavy, rippling coat which sheds water like the old time Eastern Shore Chesapeake Bay Duck Dogs of yesterday.  But, its hard drive or style in the field which really leaves many saying, “Wow!”

  • It’s a Long Journey to the Master National

    Not every dog or handler has the drive or tenacity to stick with what it takes to qualify for the Master National. Six annual required AKC Master Hunt passes do not come easy. It doesn’t matter what region of the country you run hunt tests.

    Every fall, accomplished Master Hunter Chessies will attempt to walk up to the line in six demanding series. Perfection isn’t necessary, but a consistent performance against the Master standard is paramount. As the days wear on, the dogs begin to unravel.  Photographs or diagrams often fail to truly depict all the factors in the series. Those who finish and presented a silver plate have endured the Master Hunt test gauntlet and worthy of praise.

    GOOD LUCK BROWN DOGS!

     

  • Dan’s background….

    Master HT Pass at the American Chesapeake Club in Oregon

    My love affair with retrievers began on Thanksgiving in 1966.  Little did I know at the time, holding our new retriever puppy on my lap, the impact she would have on my life.

    I grew up waterfowl/upland hunting and learned how to train dogs with her.  My Dad ran her in the local Michiana FT club, and I found my strong baseball throwing arm in demand as a bird boy.  One of her pups went on to become a Field Champion under a local pro.  A littermate became mine to train and hunt with through my college years. I graduated with two BS degrees, one in Electronics Engineering and the other Management.

    We moved to Southern California in the mid-80s for my new job in the US Defense industry. I soon joined the hunt test retriever movement with a NAHRA club and became an officer.  I suggested the club also hold an AKC hunt test.  Somehow, I ended up as the HT chairman of the first AKC HT in the state.

    In 1990, I transferred to Texas for a job in Quality Management.  Here I continued HT club activities/roles and became a HT judge. We purchased our first Chesapeake Bay Retriever for my wife to train for hunt tests. Later, we bred her to a dual champion and kept two pups.

    By 2000, my position as a Project Manager and our daughters’ school activities pulled me away from hunt tests.  But, I continued to hunt with our Chessies well into their later years. One day I found myself “retired”, Chessie-less and running a marathon in Chicago.   Carla, my wife decided I needed a new little Chessie “Angel” to keep me occupied.

    Angel certainly excelled at her role.  She qualified and ran her first Master National at 21 months and has continued to do so yearly. At the Inaugural Master Amateur Invitational, she became the first and only Chessie to pass. Angel has also earned show points with Carla as her handler.

    Carla and I are actively training her young male Chessie, Vinny to run in master hunt tests this fall. When time permits we get together to train with my Dad and his Chessie, Maple. I’m passionate about maintaining the Chesapeake Bay Retriever’s performance in the field and in the ring.  We must strive to maintain the breed’s conformation, intelligence and disposition to ensure they remain America’s premier waterfowl dog

  • Angel Missing the 2018 Master Amateur

    Disappointments

    We will not be returning to the Master Amateur Invitational to be held in Missouri this spring.  Angel came in heat 6 weeks early, and it caused us to scratch from three Master Hunt test in January. She “just” needs three more MH passes to qualify. There were HT three tests scheduled before Feb 28, the cutoff date for qualifying, but one club cancelled their event leaving us with only two tests. (more…)

  • CHIC – Requirements for Chesapeake Bay Retrievers

    OFA is one of the few places you can look up a Chesapeake Bay Retriever’s pedigree. Most, of the well breed conformation and field dogs will have multiple generations listed. Unfortunately, it’s also common to find holes or missing dogs in the lineage because owners failed to report test or just didn’t have them done. The real value in the OFA pedigree is when all health test conducted are reported. (more…)

  • Blogs, Dogs, and Jogs

    Designing this website and making blog posts

    It has been a fun learning experience, but making routine posts has proved to be more challenging. Blogging is a lot like exercising. Keeping up with both requires discipline. I’ll often find myself “thinking” about the next blog topic or run down the local trail. What is it that keeps me from doing either activity? (more…)

  • 2017 Master National Chesapeake Bay Retriever Participants

    Females

    Flight C #91

    Sugar-Twist Angel of Marks-A-Lot MH26 WDQ “Angel”

    Owner: Daniel & Carla Epperson  Handler Dan Epperson

    Amateur 2017 Master Amateur Qualifier – Passed (more…)

  • Dog Trainer Titles – Pros, Amateurs and Pro/Amateurs

    Amateurs

    As I walked Angel off lead, in the morning in at a nearby park, I had her sit calmly for senior citizen approaching us. “You must be a professional dog trainer? She sure is a well-trained dog!”, the woman exclaims. She continues, “I’ve watched you train her in the field many times.” (more…)

  • Adventures of Vinny – Retrieving Once Again After Surgery

    Post Surgery Workout

    Vinny could hardly contain himself, quivering with excitement as he sat at the line, ready to make his first retrieve in weeks after surgery. His desire nearly overwhelmed him, as the bird launched into the air.  Still, he sat steady not moving an inch forward. His eyes locked in on the area of the fall. He waited to hear his name, “Vinny!”, so he could blast off the line to retrieve a dead duck hitting the ground just seconds before. (more…)

  • The Road to the Inaugural Master Amateur Invitational

    It was a long journey to inaugural Master National Invitational, MAI in Georgia.   Angel started the 2017 Master Amateur qualifying period (March 1, 201 to Feb 28, 2017) with her 8th straight AKC Master pass, but we stumbled on the next few hunt tests. Cleary, we were both a little rusty after duck hunting season.

    Waterfowl hunting on a frequent basis has a way of eroding some of a retriever’s disciple. But, at the same time it affords you the chance to focus on some skills like steadiness.  Angel has been hunting since she was five months old.

    Now, I’d rather hunt with my hunt test dogs than to leave them at home just so we can pass “x” number of test in a row or title out as a Master National dog.   I looked at these first few hunt tests as just “training days”.  They are just a chance to identified our team short comings and develop a training plan for improvement.  Shrug them off and move forward.

    Our hard work over the summer paid off.  In the fall, Angel qualified for the Master Amateur by passing a series of tough test that would also count for fall 2017 Master National.  She was on a roll, our only big disappointment came from not being called back after the 4th series of the Master National in St Louis.

    In the late winter, Angel bounced back and qualified for the fall 2017 Master National quickly.  I signed her up for more test going into the Spring Master Amateur event.  Once again, figured these tests would be a good tune up opportunity. Ha, we both made some horrible mistakes in the next few tests.  Maybe it was just her coming out of her recent heat or me being absent minded. Whatever the case, we took the next few weeks to pull our heads out of the sand and fix the problems.

    Angel had now traveled 8000 back and forth between hunt tests in preparation for the inaugural Master Amateur Invitational. I knew in my heart she could do it as we headed off to Georgia. Just another 900 miles to go.