Against Long Odds
By Ellen English

And the winner is... # 56 … 2004 NAFC-FC Chickamauga Choo Choo! Owned by Dr. and Mrs. Mac DuBose and handled by Lynne, “Chicka” makes a truly outstanding National Amateur Champion. Besides her exceptional drive and determination, she has battled injuries that would have sent most dogs into retirement and yet has gone on to win one of the very toughest retriever trials in the entire country.

The 2004 National Amateur was held in the Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area and on private grounds in and around Batavia, New York. “It was spectacular,” Lynne recalls, “marshy, with rolling hills and lots of water... very demanding terrain.” There are 10 tests, 5 on land & 5 in water, for the 6 day competition. Usually the difficulty level increases as the trial progresses although this National started with an unusually demanding 1st & 2nd series. Of the many national competitions Lynne has competed in, she considers the 2004 Amateur one of the toughest. Fortunately, Chicka’s marking skills were at their peak and she didn’t have to hunt many birds, she pretty much went right to them. “Each series was a thrill to run with Chicka,” Lynne says, and of the 10 series, the fifth and the tenth stood out.

“The fifth series was a particularly challenging test,” as Lynne describes it. “There were 4 marks, 2 of which were flyers and 2 dead bird-retired marks-the longest of which was about 200 yards. The flyers were visually close to each other and a high number of dogs had to be handled. It was a beautiful series set in a hay bale field with interesting terrain but the hay bales did confuse the dogs. We had all kinds of weather...from hot to cold and rain to sun, plus difficult winds. Additionally, it was a ‘mixed bag’ of birds, which is the most difficult form of retrieval in terms of game. The dogs become keyed into the scent of the first bird retrieved and then have to re-focus on very different scent for subsequent birds of different species. It really was a make or break series.”

The 10th & final series was a “stem winder,” Lynne recalls, where “anything could have happened. The dogs ran from a dike with a canal of water in front of it. The canal altered the line the dogs took to each bird so that when they crossed and came out of the water they had to re-orient themselves to get to the bird. There were 3 live birds, 2 of which were close enough to truly test the dogs’ steadiness. A flyer at 50 to 75 yards is very exciting to the dogs, especially one with the desire of a dog like Chicka. Fortunately, she stayed by my side! The long retired bird was thrown in extremely high cover and was very difficult for the dogs to focus on with those 3 flyer guns up close. There were brilliant marking dogs in the last series who would have made fitting National Champions. I was grateful that Chicka marked all 4 carefully and came out on top.”

Chicka’s victory is all the more impressive when you consider the obstacles she overcame just to make it to the 2004 National Amateur. She has had removal of 2 separate ruptured lumbar spinal discs and total replacement of her right hip due to injury/infection. The rehabilitation following these multiple surgeries could not have been accomplished without the skilled and innovative care of Dr. John Sherman at VetHab Clinic of Raleigh, NC. In spite of her remarkable natural and trained abilities, she could never have competed at this Olympic level without this long and arduous rehabilitation program. The injuries she sustained were the result of years of her reckless, high speed retrieving style. As recently as January 2004, we were concerned that her field trial career was ended. Chicka’s desire to retrieve inspired all of us to not give up.”

Lynne’s husband, Dr.Mac DuBose, whose Lab, “Zinger” won the 2002 National Open and was our Lab of the Month in January of 2003, offers some heartfelt perspective on his winning team: “Chicka’s been through a lot, including multiple injuries and severe muscle wasting. It took a lot just to get her ready to run the trial. She’s probably spent more time in rehab in the past 2 ½ years than she has in training, but Lynne never gave up on her. We suggested that it might be time to retire Chicka, but Lynne wouldn’t hear of it.”

Chicka’s interesting name comes from her place of birth: Chickamauga, Georgia. The Choo Choo part comes from Chickamauga’s close proximity to Chattanooga, Tennessee, familiar to many from the song “Chattanooga Choo Choo” that Glenn Miller popularized in the 1940’s. Born May 21, 1996 to a litter from breeder Phyllis Garner, Chicka stood out from her siblings because of her “intrepid puppy behavior,” Lynne recalls fondly. “At just 6 ½ weeks of age, she was the one who was willing to leave her littermates and go exploring. She was so lively and alert and already eager to retrieve, even then.”

The DuBoses started her training the day they brought her home. “It was very clear from the beginning that her enthusiasm would need to be controlled, even at that young age,” Lynne remembers. “When she saw something thrown, she would whirl, twirl and do somersaults, trying to get away to go get it. It required both of us for training even one so small because it took one of us just to hold her!” Chicka’s first success showed just how precocious she was: at only 4 months of age, she won a Puppy Stake, competing against dogs that were up to a year old. “She won with a mighty swim across a large pond...full of sticks and lily pads,” the DuBoses recall with amazement.

At approximately 7 months old, Chicka moved to Right Start Kennels in Wisconsin to train with Jim VanEngen in his young dog program. Even in this early stage of training, her natural ability became as evident to Jim as it had to her owners. She next trained with Andy Attar at Autumn Run Kennels, also located in Wisconsin, and at two years of age, she started training with Mike Lardy and Dave Smith of Handjem Retrievers. Chicka continued to train seasonally each year at Handjem, except for the extensive periods of rehabilitation over the past 2 ½ years.

At just two years of age, Chicka began to place and win in All Age field trial events and she qualified herself for the National Open at an unusually young age-just 2 years and 5 months. She did so by winning her 1st of three “Double Headers” which occur when an Amateur handler wins both the Open Stake (competing with professionals) and the Amateur Stake (competing only with other amateurs) in a weekend trial, which doesn’t happen very often. She has been a finalist in the National Open and the National Amateur several times, but this is her first National win.

At home, Chicka enjoys the devoted attention of the DuBoses. “We like to have all our dogs in the house, particularly at dinner time... that’s our ‘family time’ and they each have their own special spot. When asked what Chicka’s favorite toy is, Lynne laughs, “it’s the one some other dog has! She waits until they’re not looking and then grabs their toy. She stockpiles them! She’s quite a character.”

Each day brings at least one training session plus her daily re-hab exercises, including “power walking.” When asked what the future holds for their Champion Chicka, Lynne says “with luck and careful management, she’ll be able to continue in competition.” For this spirited Lab who lives to retrieve, retirement is probably not on the near horizon. “We won’t retire her until she tells us she needs to be retired!”

Tail End:

If you’d like to learn more about field trials, we invite you to visit the following links:

Working Retriever Central

All Labs’ Field Glossary

The American Kennel Club (AKC)  

Field Trial Rules and Standard Procedures for Retrievers

Retriever Journal

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