Please take a moment to congratulate a special lady and a very special dog on their latest but apparently not last great accomplishment.

This last weekend Chris Wellsandt and her girl Flicka earned their Master Hunter title which is and exceptional accomplishment alone but Chris has taken a retired Paws broodbitch and placed every concievable title you can think of on this dog "MH, OM1, UDX,RE,OAP,OJP, NA,NAJ,WCX,CCA UKC: UD,HR,UpH,AG-1, CKC: OTCH, JH,RN,WCI".

Chris is devoted to Flicka and Flicka gives back with all she's got. Flicka is 8.5 years old and still going strong and they're not done yet! Chris now has her sights set on a tracking title for Flicka.

That's certainly worthy of mega HUGE congrats!!

I am very, very impressed. I would love to know about her training strategies. Awesome!

WOW - how did Chris do it all with Flicka?! Kudos to both!!

Beautiful job! That is an amazing accomplishment!

Toni
www.retrieverlife.com

Wow, that is very impressive. Congratulations on such a wonderful partnership and a huge list of accomplishments.

Absolutely Fantastic! Good job for you and your dog! I'll bet you have one special bond with each other!

Amazing list of titles- how do you keep them all straight? Big congratulations!

incredibly impressive!!

Just curious, Robin. How many puppies did she produce for Paws with a Cause? I bet they made super assistance dogs!

Peggy,

I don't know Flicka's statistics with Paws but I do know she's out of show lines with 5 generations of Champions behind her.

Chris has been really tickled to see the kudo's that have come their way thru this post and she'd love to post a bit of Flicka's story here soon. The last couple of days she's been at a field work seminar and working with her new puppy "River", a son of Ch Poplar Forest Top Gun SH, "Gunner", who if he hasn't done it already, only needs one more pass to become another CHMH. Gunner is a Blades son.

1st I want to thank RLD for acknowledging our accomplishment. 2nd for all of you who replied to her e-mail & acknowledging this success as awesome as I believe it to be. There is so much I would enjoy sharing about Flicka (Swedish for pretty girl) & someday hope to write an article about her in the LQ.
Because of her start in life & her journey w/me/us, my heart swells in joy. We finished 5 out of 9 MH tests. As impressive was finishing 3:UD's in 5 mos. UKC/CKC/AKC. We evolved into UDX and OM1 scores above 190.
WHY proud? not just because she was a PAWS puppy, but she is English Lab, 5 gen. of CH's all back to Sandyland. Peggy was talking about the old lines. When I raised her older bro. Jett I wanted to learn about Labs. When I studied & saw fotos..I was amazed on how Jett and Flicka looked like the 'historic' labs. She has her CCA, 1 pt deducted for coat'. The judges smiled as she came up to be scored,and as many say, "I like her". Now that I have found this site, I think I will enjoy reading the interaction I have seen scanning the recent inputs.
Flicka's pedigree carries Beachcroft heavily and Inselheim, Dickendal.
The ?? about her litter successes: 50% of 2 litters of 7 & 8. One litter of 10 she lost at 5 wks. due to low progesterone. 3 sons, 3 bros.) are Narc dogs. Thus the nose to hunt. Service/Helper(not Blind aid dogs) must retrieve and use their brains to accomplish specific skills per individual needs. She is a problem solver. Thus Flicka has made training her very easy. I had no objective to be a title collector...it just kept happening without a lot of drill training. . "My service dog"
Yes, as Peggy said...MH requires training w/a pro.Time, travel to find locations, and $ on gas, etc. As I knew this; Didn't plan to train for MH. but was told by pro: "I didn't think you would get SH in limited showing. You have to do MH. You can do tracking when you both are older." Relunctantly we took another step on the Journey.
Wanting to see if she could do what a lab was bred to do, 4 yrs ago started trng w/UKC guys who relunctantly let me in the group.. Flicka had her Started title in 3 mos. (before she was retired from PAWS..another story..) I wanted to see if she could upland hunt as well. Her foto is on the Colonial Farms brochure and owners call her the 'miracle dog"..When we came out to learn about Upland, after first session Bill said "Lady I don't want to take your $$". 3 mos. later we had our title and best. . .
Flicka does what comes naturally to her nostrils, husband gets the thrill of shooting and I of working the girl and seeing her mark and find the bird which lands where my husbnd didn't believe it did. Chuckle.

I probably have chatted too much, but if you were to know me & my pride in the gift we have in Flicka from volunteering to raise a PAWS puppy as one of 3 retirement goals to what she has accomplished and given not in titles alone to me and others, you would understand.
Thanks you RLD for acknowledging us. I am so humbled and grateful for your gift. Thanks to all for acknowledging Flicka specialness that she is a Lab for all Reasons and All Seasons.

Chris, I think you should write a book about Flicka and what you two have accomplished together in such a short time! You are truly inspirational!

Thank you Patty, I wish I could write a book; writing a story will be hard enough... not talented enough... But that is what I would want Flicka's legacy to be..Inspiration. That is what I try in life to motivate and inspire those who say I/my dog can't. "Can't" is the motivator. Of course our breed lives for praise so that is their motivation...Electronic collar is SELDOM used on Flicka. Indirect pressure when she decides to 'test' me & do it her way... ie. "No, Here", try again". I think the high driving labs require the E collar more than the English. Note, Flicka is a "Steady Edwina" .

Beautiful!! Congratulations :)

You and Flicka have so much to be proud of. Enjoy the notoriety, it's well deserved by both of you.

Where can we possibly see fotos of Flicka? Is there a photo account around? I found one photo of her so far and she's beautiful. I would enjoy seeing more, maybe of the work you do together. TIA and enjoy your success together.