DOGGY•U

A picture is worth a thousand words, and the reason we NQed in this AKC Fetch trial is evident here in the first photo.

Last month, Denver and I competed in the AKC Fetch Retriever level, the highest level of the sport.

At this level, dogs complete three directed retrieves to bumpers hidden behind blinds approximately 80 feet away.

A helper calls out, “Hey, hey, hey!” and places bumpers behind two of the three blinds for the first two retrieves, then behind all three blinds for the final series.

Before sending the dog, the handler tells the judge the order in which the dog will retrieve the bumpers.

This photo was taken during Denver’s very first Retriever-level trial. The moment I sent him, I knew I had made a mistake.

Can you spot it?

I had lined Denver up to retrieve the bumper on the right. His head was pointed in the right direction—but his body wasn’t. His body was angled toward the left blind. So when I released him, that’s exactly where he went - to the left.

Because he picked up the wrong bumper first, we received an automatic NQ.

So what did I, as the handler, need to work on? Making sure Denver’s entire body—not just his head—was lined up with the correct bumper before I sent him. I also needed to help him settle enough at the line to find that alignment next to me despite the excitement of the trial. (He was a little sticky on the line during that first run, which made getting him lined up more difficult.)

Fortunately, we got another chance later that day. In our second trial, we were on the same page, got a clean lineup, and Denver put together a beautiful Retriever-level run.

I’m always encouraging people to film their training because video can reveal things you never noticed in the moment. But in this case, a single photo told us everything we needed to know about what to work on next.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 424

DOGGY•U

“Oh, my, my, what a time to be alive”
- A Few Of Their Own, Noah Kahan

#servicedog #servicedogs #culinaryinstituteofamerica

Accessibility: woman in teal sun shirt stands with her yellow lab in block position at her back wearing a blue service dog vest. She stands in front of a full wall display of different tins and pans and different shapes.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 310

DOGGY•U

13 years married today, nearly 20 together!
Happy Anniversary to Mr. DOGGY•U!
Without Eric, none of this is possible (and not just because someone has to have a big boy job with health insurance 😂)

For all the adventures, past, present and future, I love you. 💜

Accessibility: male and female in black DOGGY•U shirts sit with a black and grey Koolie and Yellow lab between their legs facing the camera.

Photo by @francesmphoto

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 793

DOGGY•U

So grateful 💜

Also, does anyone have a lint roller? 😅

Headed across the country for a week with the fam.

#labrador #servicedog #labradorretriever #servicedogtrainer

Accessibility: yellow Labrador retriever in blue service dog vest sleeps on handler’s leg.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 492

DOGGY•U

John Denver 💜

Photo by @francesmphoto

Accessibility: portrait of a yellow Labrador retriever in a purple service dog vest in front of purple flowers.

1 month ago | [YT] | 751

DOGGY•U

Doing big dog things 💜 🦮

Stay tuned ☺️

1 month ago | [YT] | 617

DOGGY•U

Is this a little too extra? 😂

Also, 2 DAY SALE on all DOGGY•U merch (including our “in training: please give us space” and “I’m going to need a higher rate of reinforcement for this sh*t” shirts 😉)!

doggyu.dashery.com/

Accessibility: yellow Labrador retriever in blue vest sits in a store holding a tote with a cartoon image of his face with the word DOGGY•U underneath.

1 month ago | [YT] | 312

DOGGY•U

Denver earned his Champion Shed Dog (CHSD) title this weekend!

We’ve been driving 20-30 hours round trip to the Midwest to compete all spring and it’s been such a blast.

In dog sports, good people really make all the difference, and the people who put on these shed hunting events and have taken me in as their weird little van-dwelling East Coaster who just keeps coming back, have been such a gift. If it hadn’t been for how welcoming the shed hunting community has been, there’s no way we would have earned his CHSD. But it’s been worth the drive every time and Denver loves to do his thing. Thank you to every one of you who went out of their way to make me feel welcome - it means a lot. See you in the fall! 💜

#shedhunt #fieldlab #labrador #yellowlab

Accessibility: yellow Labrador sits in front of a board with three ribbons on it and a banner that says Champion Shed Dog New Title.

2 months ago | [YT] | 427

DOGGY•U

Today Denver earned his first Beginner Novice Obedience leg under judge Ira Kaplan with a 198 out of 200, earning 1st place in BN A.

I’m totally new to competition obedience and was SO nervous to go in the ring. But after watching some of the wonderful competitors in Open, I really get the reason people love the precision of this sport! Nothing like I’ve ever trained for!

I’ll be back for more! I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful partner 💜


Accessibility: blonde woman with green vest stands next to a yellow Labrador and judge holding a blue ribbon in an obedience ring.

2 months ago | [YT] | 447

DOGGY•U

John Denver and I got to compete in another UKC Elite Shed Dog Series trial this weekend with 3 more Champion passes for the yellow boy. He now has 7/10 passes towards his CHSD.

Big thank you to Coal Country Shed Dogs for a wonderful event!

I really love playing the game with Denver, but I love the people the most. Everyone has been so incredibly welcoming to us and it makes it such a joy to compete and hang out with these wonderful folks, and totally worth the repeated 10 hour drives 😁.

Thanks for making this New Englander feel welcome and see you back in West Virginia in two weeks! ❤


Accessibility: blonde woman stands behind yellow Labrador wearing a purple and black ribbon on his collar atop coal themed hay bales with hydrangeas.

2 months ago | [YT] | 352