Because Dori enjoyed Obedience training so much with Walter, she wondered what it would be like to train and compete with an “obedience breed,” a Golden Retriever. We’d had two Goldens in the past, but had not trained or competed with either. Our first Golden, Mister, was a beautiful and angelic rehome we adopted at the age of 4. At that time, Steve was serving in the military at Fort Carson, Colorado, and neither Dori nor Steve knew competition obedience even existed. Mister was a wonderful family companion, enjoying long hikes in the mountains.
Our second Golden, Cheyenne, was a rescue, and we adopted her when she was 4. Mister had already passed away, and Charlie was just 7 months old when we brought Cheyenne home. Her medical history indicated she had been struck by a car when she was a year old. Cheyenne was permanently lame, so competitive obedience was out of the question for her. However, we did take her to home obedience classes to teach her all of the basics: come when called, walk nicely on a leash, sit, down, and stay.
Dori and Steve loved their Goldens, and Dori kept ruminating about getting a Golden Retriever puppy. She’d done some research into Golden breeders in the region and knew many Golden owners favored One Ash Kennels, long-time breeders of performance Goldens, as well as Clumber Spaniels. One day in August 2008, Steve picked up the phone and called One Ash. He reached Elaine Brent, the owner. She explained that she had a litter of Goldens on the ground, only 3 weeks old, all female, and graciously invited us to visit. We hopped in the car and sped to Wayne County, just 40 minutes from our house. The seven Golden Girls were absolutely adorable! Dori visited every week until one of the puppies came home with her.
Elaine thought Bee’s registered name should have been Queen Bee because that is what she is! Bee rules the Swissy boys, and loves every minute of it! The boys wouldn’t know what to do without a girl to boss them.
Dori and Bee have developed such a close relationship. When Dori is not at work, they are almost inseparable. Their heeling in the ring is that of a well-oiled team. They attained the Utility Dog Excellent (UDX) and Obedience Master 1 (OM1) titles and are pursuing an OTCH.
Bee also loves agility and is beginning to train for hunt testing. Their past, present and future successes would not be possible without the expert instruction and guidance from Linda and Mike MacDonald of HY-BAR Training Center, LLC.
Bee is a very sweet, loving and super obedient girl who wears a smile on her face 90% of the time. She is always up to do anything her family wants to do. She’s a happy and enthusiastic player! Dori and Steve enjoy having two breeds in the family. It is teaching them a lot about training approaches in a working breed vs. a sporting breed.