'Believe Blue' Retriever School
From Purina Pro Club Magazine – Issue 69 - Posted January 2010
It's a curious sight.
A dozen retriever enthusiasts are crowded beneath two tents situated atop a small mound of grass in northern Minnesota. They're surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of woods and water — an outdoor paradise. Yet these die-hards will spend the next three days hunkered down under tents, swatting horseflies, taking notes and taking turns running their beloved dogs.
At 8 a.m. the biggest man on the mound looks at his watch and rises from his chair. Standing atop the mound, he looks bigger than 6 feet, 4 inches and 260 pounds. All eyes are on this imposing figure.
"Welcome to the seminar," says Dave Rorem, the professional handler and retriever trainer whose reputation and experience enticed all these people to descend on northern Minnesota. He wears a crisp blue shirt — his favorite color for good reason — and makes a promise to the faithful.
"I'm not going to be bashful about telling you what I think," Rorem says. "You and your dog are a team. This is about the art of handling, about being a better handler. You need to have a game plan every time you step to the mat with your dog. Throughout this seminar I will say 'good dog, bad handler,' or 'bad dog, good handler.' Take no offense. I'm not saying you have a bad dog, or you're a bad handler. I'm just saying that in this particular situation, at this moment in time, your dog did something good or bad, or perhaps you as a handler made a good or bad decision. Let's say you blow a dumb whistle. Bad handler! But maybe your dog will bail you out. Good dog!"
As Rorem talks, seminar participants write furiously in their seminar binders. The cover of the binder reads "Dave Rorem — Believe Blue — Handling 101 & Then Some."
Dave Rorem does Believe Blue, as in blue ribbon. With his wife, Paulette, and daughter, Ty, they comprise Team Rorem — a force to be reckoned with on the All-Age Retriever Field Trial Circuit.
After 35 years in the retriever game, Rorem says he still learns something new every day. "I saw my first field trial in 1975 and ran my first field trial in 1976. I made my first field champion in the early 1980s and had my first national finalist in 1988. I went to Rex Carr (the late, legendary retriever trainer and Rorem mentor) in 1990-91 and kept on learning. No matter how good you think you are, you never stop learning."
Along the way, Rorem has won four Canadian National Open Championships, trained six Canadian National Champions, handled 50 National Finalists and trained more than 70 Field Champions and Canadian Field Champions. Last November in Texas, Rorem handled NFC Two Rivers Lucky Willie to win the coveted National Open Championship Stake. The large silver trophy is prominently displayed in the Rorem house along with an artist's portrait of "Willie" and the NRC blue ribbon.
But blue ribbons will have to wait. It's time for the men and women on the mound to run their dogs under the watchful eye of Dave Rorem.
The Art of Handling All dogs participating in the June 2009 Rorem handling seminar were at least 3 years old with some level of advanced training. Most had experience competing in Qualifying, Amateur or Open All-Age field trials, and three were already accomplished Field Champions.
To "handle" a retriever is, essentially, to guide the dog across land or water using whistles and hand signals, ultimately to a destination where a bird or training dummy has been planted. In a "blind" retrieve, the dog has no idea where the bird is or where his final destination will be. Retrievers are trained to take a "line" to the bird, and are sent in that specific direction.
When the dog veers right or left, the handler blows a whistle. Dogs are trained to stop upon hearing a single blast of the whistle, to turn and look for direction from the handler, and then to accept a cast or hand signal and proceed in the appropriate direction.
Competing at a high level, often at distances of several hundred yards, requires a near flawless performance and a total "team" effort. Subtle voice inflection, timing and rhythm make a difference. Precision counts. That's where Rorem and other professionals excel, and that's why seminars like Rorem's "Handling 101 & Then Some" are so valuable for amateurs and professionals alike.
Paul Hanson, a Minnesotan and board member of Pheasants Forever, attended a Rorem seminar a year ago and couldn't wait to come back with his 4-year-old Labrador, Jazztime Northern Exposure ("Arctic").
"In just three days, I literally get to watch 100 dogs and 100 handling situations with one of the best in the business critiquing and analyzing what we're doing," Hanson says. "It would take years to get this kind of experience any other way."
And in case memory fades, there's videographer Sylvia McClure capturing every minute of the Rorem seminar. Each participant gets a DVD that reveals the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Big Man Goes First Rorem arrives at the line with a young Labrador named Seaside's Kingfish ("King"), owned by clients Frank and Rita Jones. King is the so-called "test dog" who will set the standard for a dozen nervous handlers to follow.
The big man pauses to make a point.
"Dogs cannot lie to you," Rorem says. "Every dog will tell you what they are going to do — it may just be the flicker of the eyelid that tells you what their intentions are, but it will be there. My focus is the dogs' heads, and those two eyes. The eyes are the window to their soul."
He's made his point, but the crowd wants more, and Rorem is quick to oblige, speaking just a bit louder, now.
"IF YOU LEARN NOTHING THIS WEEKEND BUT HOW TO WATCH A DOGS' EYES, you'll improve your game as a handler 100 percent."
With that, Rorem stands beside King and stares down at the beautiful Labrador's head, and the tops of those two piercing eyes. King is focused, so is Rorem, and the handler sends the first dog for the first retrieve of the day. The performance is solid. Much of the work that follows on this Friday is not. There's hope for all and plenty of room for improvement.
One by one, the seminar participants and their dogs take turns. It's been said that a day spent watching a "blind" retrieve test is a lot like watching paint dry. But for the faithful and Team Rorem, it's like watching an artist paint a masterpiece. Every move is analyzed. Every whistle debated. Every cast critiqued.
"Way too fast," Rorem says often. "Slow waaaaaaay down."
"Good whistle," he says once in a while. "GREAT HANDLE!"
"Twenty feet too slow," Rorem says, meaning the handler let the dog travel 20 feet past where a whistle should have stopped him.
Rorem punctuates his points with a series of sound bites. Some are profound.
"Perfect is the enemy of good," Rorem says. "I strive for excellence. If you try to be perfect, you're probably going to be in big trouble."
Some comments are common sense. "Before you blow a whistle, you have to ask yourself two questions: Do I need to prevent something, or can I improve the dog's position? That's the art of knowing when not to blow." Some comments are humorous. When a handler makes a dramatic, exaggerated, flailing move and gasps a breathless "OVER" to get her dog to go right, Rorem says, "The judges would call that a 'Hollywood Cast.' I call it smart."
A retired state and federal game warden, Rorem has a dry sense of humor. He also clearly loves the retriever game — as well as the people and dogs.
Meet the Players Ann Heise from Rochester, Minn., is among the first to arrive at Rorem's 330-acre property. She's driving a black pickup with an eight-hole chassismount dog box. A gray-muzzled Labrador is sticking his head out the backseat window and making his presence known.
"That would be 'Izzy,' my backseat dog," Heise says of recently retired FC Candlewoods Ebonstar As Good As It Gets, an 11-year-old veteran well-known to Team Rorem.
Heise and her husband, Bob, are avid field trialers with 10 or more dogs at their HiRoller Labs kennel, including five in field trial competition. They have been Rorem clients for more than 10 years.
"These seminars are amazing because I learn things about me that I'd never see in training," Heise says. "It's good for the dogs, too."
>Heise's teammate at this seminar is FC Topflights Eba Ace of Spades ("Ace"), an 8-year-old who she campaigns in Amateur All-Age Stakes.
Heise explains that improved handling skills lead to placements in field trials or passes in other performance events, with a goal of earning titles that enhance a dog's breeding value. "After all, if the dog has intelligence, desire, trainability, marking and memory, you owe it to that dog to be the best team you can be," she says.
Brian Mosher seconds that notion.
"I have a dog that has the talent, a dog that can give me a lot of years," Mosher says of his 4-year-old retriever Brackish Water Dark Warrior ("Duncan"). "At this point, I don't have the experience as a handler — not to the level I'd like — so I'm going to do something about it."
Louie Churak of Bemidji, Minn., who co-owns and handles The Bear XVII ("Yogi"), says when he first started competing he was "afraid to blow the whistle." Since working with Rorem, he's improved his handling skills and, in turn, took Yogi to the eighth series at the 2009 National Amateur Retriever Championship.
"Dave doesn't sugarcoat anything, he tells it like it is," Churak says. "If you can accept that and can listen and learn, you'll be a better handler."
While the seminar attracts Minnesota "locals" like Heise, Hanson, and Churak, others come from as far south as Louisiana and Texas, and across the country from Connecticut to California.
Marty Fluke drove more than 1,500 miles from Houston for Fluke's Little Buddy ("Buddy"), an athletic 3-year-old yellow Labrador. "In my book, Dave's the best there is," Fluke says.
Larry and LindaAnn Bozeman traveled from Louisiana. "Dave doesn't let up," says Larry Bozeman. "He's constantly in tune with what's going on, what's changing, what it takes to win."
Clint Avant, a pro from Texas, was in the area after the National Amateur Championship Stake held in nearby Virginia, Minn. "I run a lot of the minor stakes, and the All-Age competition is obviously a lot tougher," Avant says. "I thought I'd take advantage of this learning opportunity. It's for me, and it's for the dog."
So Long Horseflies, Hello Rain Seminar participants woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of rain and gusty winds.
"It wouldn't be a Rorem seminar if it didn't rain," says Debra Ziegler, who flew in from Red Bluff, Calif., to handle Moonstones Ignites on Impact, MH, QAA ("Flint"). "This is my fourth one. Each one is different, except for the rain."
Susan Bledsoe, an attorney from Wisconsin, also is a repeat customer and proud owner of eight dogs, including 7-year-old FC Tribute to Justice ("Honor").
"Every time you come back you hear something in a different way, and he raises the bar," Bledsoe says. "Dave is black and white, and I like that."
Bledsoe is clearly committed to her dogs, and the field trial game. "You learn by doing," she says. "Honor is my first field trial dog and he's the one I've made my mistakes with. My eventual goal is to be at a National and be a finalist."
A dozen handlers take turns running Rorem's clients' dogs, then their own. The hours pass and the rain ends — just in time for a walleye fry featuring Dave Rorem's secret batter.
Sunday is more of the same, and when the session ends just before lunch, Rorem recaps the learnings. Each participant receives a "Believe Blue" lanyard and whistle. And everyone gets an opportunity to vote on the most improved handler. The clear winner is Susan Bledsoe, who did several nice jobs with her talented Honor and earned a nice Tri-Tronics prize.
As the handlers begin to disperse, packing for the journey home, Julie Anderson is all smiles. A retriever enthusiast from Bristol, Conn., Anderson attended all three days as an observer.
"This was just fantastic," she says. "I have some young dogs, one here with me, but I just wanted to learn by watching the others. I love the dogs, I love the pedigrees, the history of these great retrievers. I would say to anyone — go to the seminar. The pros share their "
http://purinaproclub.com/Dog/ResourceLibrary/HealthGeneticsTraining/Search/484227b0-7280-4c1c-bccf-092594434491
From Purina Pro Club Magazine – Issue 69 - Posted January 2010
It's a curious sight.
A dozen retriever enthusiasts are crowded beneath two tents situated atop a small mound of grass in northern Minnesota. They're surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of woods and water — an outdoor paradise. Yet these die-hards will spend the next three days hunkered down under tents, swatting horseflies, taking notes and taking turns running their beloved dogs.
At 8 a.m. the biggest man on the mound looks at his watch and rises from his chair. Standing atop the mound, he looks bigger than 6 feet, 4 inches and 260 pounds. All eyes are on this imposing figure.
"Welcome to the seminar," says Dave Rorem, the professional handler and retriever trainer whose reputation and experience enticed all these people to descend on northern Minnesota. He wears a crisp blue shirt — his favorite color for good reason — and makes a promise to the faithful.
"I'm not going to be bashful about telling you what I think," Rorem says. "You and your dog are a team. This is about the art of handling, about being a better handler. You need to have a game plan every time you step to the mat with your dog. Throughout this seminar I will say 'good dog, bad handler,' or 'bad dog, good handler.' Take no offense. I'm not saying you have a bad dog, or you're a bad handler. I'm just saying that in this particular situation, at this moment in time, your dog did something good or bad, or perhaps you as a handler made a good or bad decision. Let's say you blow a dumb whistle. Bad handler! But maybe your dog will bail you out. Good dog!"
As Rorem talks, seminar participants write furiously in their seminar binders. The cover of the binder reads "Dave Rorem — Believe Blue — Handling 101 & Then Some."
Dave Rorem does Believe Blue, as in blue ribbon. With his wife, Paulette, and daughter, Ty, they comprise Team Rorem — a force to be reckoned with on the All-Age Retriever Field Trial Circuit.
After 35 years in the retriever game, Rorem says he still learns something new every day. "I saw my first field trial in 1975 and ran my first field trial in 1976. I made my first field champion in the early 1980s and had my first national finalist in 1988. I went to Rex Carr (the late, legendary retriever trainer and Rorem mentor) in 1990-91 and kept on learning. No matter how good you think you are, you never stop learning."
Along the way, Rorem has won four Canadian National Open Championships, trained six Canadian National Champions, handled 50 National Finalists and trained more than 70 Field Champions and Canadian Field Champions. Last November in Texas, Rorem handled NFC Two Rivers Lucky Willie to win the coveted National Open Championship Stake. The large silver trophy is prominently displayed in the Rorem house along with an artist's portrait of "Willie" and the NRC blue ribbon.
But blue ribbons will have to wait. It's time for the men and women on the mound to run their dogs under the watchful eye of Dave Rorem.
The Art of Handling All dogs participating in the June 2009 Rorem handling seminar were at least 3 years old with some level of advanced training. Most had experience competing in Qualifying, Amateur or Open All-Age field trials, and three were already accomplished Field Champions.
To "handle" a retriever is, essentially, to guide the dog across land or water using whistles and hand signals, ultimately to a destination where a bird or training dummy has been planted. In a "blind" retrieve, the dog has no idea where the bird is or where his final destination will be. Retrievers are trained to take a "line" to the bird, and are sent in that specific direction.
When the dog veers right or left, the handler blows a whistle. Dogs are trained to stop upon hearing a single blast of the whistle, to turn and look for direction from the handler, and then to accept a cast or hand signal and proceed in the appropriate direction.
Competing at a high level, often at distances of several hundred yards, requires a near flawless performance and a total "team" effort. Subtle voice inflection, timing and rhythm make a difference. Precision counts. That's where Rorem and other professionals excel, and that's why seminars like Rorem's "Handling 101 & Then Some" are so valuable for amateurs and professionals alike.
Paul Hanson, a Minnesotan and board member of Pheasants Forever, attended a Rorem seminar a year ago and couldn't wait to come back with his 4-year-old Labrador, Jazztime Northern Exposure ("Arctic").
"In just three days, I literally get to watch 100 dogs and 100 handling situations with one of the best in the business critiquing and analyzing what we're doing," Hanson says. "It would take years to get this kind of experience any other way."
And in case memory fades, there's videographer Sylvia McClure capturing every minute of the Rorem seminar. Each participant gets a DVD that reveals the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Big Man Goes First Rorem arrives at the line with a young Labrador named Seaside's Kingfish ("King"), owned by clients Frank and Rita Jones. King is the so-called "test dog" who will set the standard for a dozen nervous handlers to follow.
The big man pauses to make a point.
"Dogs cannot lie to you," Rorem says. "Every dog will tell you what they are going to do — it may just be the flicker of the eyelid that tells you what their intentions are, but it will be there. My focus is the dogs' heads, and those two eyes. The eyes are the window to their soul."
He's made his point, but the crowd wants more, and Rorem is quick to oblige, speaking just a bit louder, now.
"IF YOU LEARN NOTHING THIS WEEKEND BUT HOW TO WATCH A DOGS' EYES, you'll improve your game as a handler 100 percent."
With that, Rorem stands beside King and stares down at the beautiful Labrador's head, and the tops of those two piercing eyes. King is focused, so is Rorem, and the handler sends the first dog for the first retrieve of the day. The performance is solid. Much of the work that follows on this Friday is not. There's hope for all and plenty of room for improvement.
One by one, the seminar participants and their dogs take turns. It's been said that a day spent watching a "blind" retrieve test is a lot like watching paint dry. But for the faithful and Team Rorem, it's like watching an artist paint a masterpiece. Every move is analyzed. Every whistle debated. Every cast critiqued.
"Way too fast," Rorem says often. "Slow waaaaaaay down."
"Good whistle," he says once in a while. "GREAT HANDLE!"
"Twenty feet too slow," Rorem says, meaning the handler let the dog travel 20 feet past where a whistle should have stopped him.
Rorem punctuates his points with a series of sound bites. Some are profound.
"Perfect is the enemy of good," Rorem says. "I strive for excellence. If you try to be perfect, you're probably going to be in big trouble."
Some comments are common sense. "Before you blow a whistle, you have to ask yourself two questions: Do I need to prevent something, or can I improve the dog's position? That's the art of knowing when not to blow." Some comments are humorous. When a handler makes a dramatic, exaggerated, flailing move and gasps a breathless "OVER" to get her dog to go right, Rorem says, "The judges would call that a 'Hollywood Cast.' I call it smart."
A retired state and federal game warden, Rorem has a dry sense of humor. He also clearly loves the retriever game — as well as the people and dogs.
Meet the Players Ann Heise from Rochester, Minn., is among the first to arrive at Rorem's 330-acre property. She's driving a black pickup with an eight-hole chassismount dog box. A gray-muzzled Labrador is sticking his head out the backseat window and making his presence known.
"That would be 'Izzy,' my backseat dog," Heise says of recently retired FC Candlewoods Ebonstar As Good As It Gets, an 11-year-old veteran well-known to Team Rorem.
Heise and her husband, Bob, are avid field trialers with 10 or more dogs at their HiRoller Labs kennel, including five in field trial competition. They have been Rorem clients for more than 10 years.
"These seminars are amazing because I learn things about me that I'd never see in training," Heise says. "It's good for the dogs, too."
>Heise's teammate at this seminar is FC Topflights Eba Ace of Spades ("Ace"), an 8-year-old who she campaigns in Amateur All-Age Stakes.
Heise explains that improved handling skills lead to placements in field trials or passes in other performance events, with a goal of earning titles that enhance a dog's breeding value. "After all, if the dog has intelligence, desire, trainability, marking and memory, you owe it to that dog to be the best team you can be," she says.
Brian Mosher seconds that notion.
"I have a dog that has the talent, a dog that can give me a lot of years," Mosher says of his 4-year-old retriever Brackish Water Dark Warrior ("Duncan"). "At this point, I don't have the experience as a handler — not to the level I'd like — so I'm going to do something about it."
Louie Churak of Bemidji, Minn., who co-owns and handles The Bear XVII ("Yogi"), says when he first started competing he was "afraid to blow the whistle." Since working with Rorem, he's improved his handling skills and, in turn, took Yogi to the eighth series at the 2009 National Amateur Retriever Championship.
"Dave doesn't sugarcoat anything, he tells it like it is," Churak says. "If you can accept that and can listen and learn, you'll be a better handler."
While the seminar attracts Minnesota "locals" like Heise, Hanson, and Churak, others come from as far south as Louisiana and Texas, and across the country from Connecticut to California.
Marty Fluke drove more than 1,500 miles from Houston for Fluke's Little Buddy ("Buddy"), an athletic 3-year-old yellow Labrador. "In my book, Dave's the best there is," Fluke says.
Larry and LindaAnn Bozeman traveled from Louisiana. "Dave doesn't let up," says Larry Bozeman. "He's constantly in tune with what's going on, what's changing, what it takes to win."
Clint Avant, a pro from Texas, was in the area after the National Amateur Championship Stake held in nearby Virginia, Minn. "I run a lot of the minor stakes, and the All-Age competition is obviously a lot tougher," Avant says. "I thought I'd take advantage of this learning opportunity. It's for me, and it's for the dog."
So Long Horseflies, Hello Rain Seminar participants woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of rain and gusty winds.
"It wouldn't be a Rorem seminar if it didn't rain," says Debra Ziegler, who flew in from Red Bluff, Calif., to handle Moonstones Ignites on Impact, MH, QAA ("Flint"). "This is my fourth one. Each one is different, except for the rain."
Susan Bledsoe, an attorney from Wisconsin, also is a repeat customer and proud owner of eight dogs, including 7-year-old FC Tribute to Justice ("Honor").
"Every time you come back you hear something in a different way, and he raises the bar," Bledsoe says. "Dave is black and white, and I like that."
Bledsoe is clearly committed to her dogs, and the field trial game. "You learn by doing," she says. "Honor is my first field trial dog and he's the one I've made my mistakes with. My eventual goal is to be at a National and be a finalist."
A dozen handlers take turns running Rorem's clients' dogs, then their own. The hours pass and the rain ends — just in time for a walleye fry featuring Dave Rorem's secret batter.
Sunday is more of the same, and when the session ends just before lunch, Rorem recaps the learnings. Each participant receives a "Believe Blue" lanyard and whistle. And everyone gets an opportunity to vote on the most improved handler. The clear winner is Susan Bledsoe, who did several nice jobs with her talented Honor and earned a nice Tri-Tronics prize.
As the handlers begin to disperse, packing for the journey home, Julie Anderson is all smiles. A retriever enthusiast from Bristol, Conn., Anderson attended all three days as an observer.
"This was just fantastic," she says. "I have some young dogs, one here with me, but I just wanted to learn by watching the others. I love the dogs, I love the pedigrees, the history of these great retrievers. I would say to anyone — go to the seminar. The pros share their "
http://purinaproclub.com/Dog/ResourceLibrary/HealthGeneticsTraining/Search/484227b0-7280-4c1c-bccf-092594434491