New DUAL champion

[Maureen Cooper]

I am very proud to announce the achievement of Laurelle Draper and her Labrador 'Inca' on attaining their dual Championship. Inca was RT Ch Coalsgarth Clipper UD ( Ch Zenchel Blue Peter (AI) x RT Ch Coalsgarth Jarrah) and she is now RT Ch & OC Coalsgarth Clipper. I dont think the word 'dual' applies unless the dog has the show title which to me, seems a pity when you read my comment below!

We occasionally see a dual Champion with a show/Field or Retrieving title and sometimes Field/Retrieving titles but show titles may be obtained by just 17 x 6 pt challenges and having never beaten anyone, but the amount of dedication required to gain CD, CDX and then UD titles and then aim for an Obedience Championship blows me away. For those uninitiated, to gain this last title one needs to get a further 5 scores in the Utility ring of 185 points or better (the pass is 170!) and also achieve first place three times under two different judges.Laurelle and Inca got 195 points on Jan.8th losing just 5 points out of the possible 200. This last win gave them the title.

This is my small kennel's first dual champion, Inca being one of the eight champions I have bred ( 6 retrieving and 2 show) and I am RAPT!

VERY well done, Laurelle and Inca!

Maureen at Coalsgarth, as well as Sylvia at Zenchel

[Joanne Hagan]

Congratulations Maureen, Laurelle and Inca, that is a fantastic achievement, both to have a Retrieving Champion title & an Obedience Champion title - both sports requiring a lot of dedication and training to get to the top!! Well done to you all and with a lovely score to boot as well

Jo Hagan - just starting in UD with my boy Jake, and aspiring for that OC and thus Dual Champion too

[Robert Tawton]

To Laurell and Inca,

Congratulations on completing the “double”. I am au fait with the amount of work that underpins a RT Ch title and I can only guess at the effort needed to gain the Obedience Ch title. Well done!

Kindest regards, RWT

[Maggie Hankinson]

Congratulations Laurell and Inca, R T Ch & OC, what a great achievement, and great to see you finish it off with such an excellent score. I know only too well how easy it is to lose those points in UD. A great endorsement for Maureen's kennel too.

Maggie

[Jadine MacKenzie]

Congratulations on breeding your first "dual", Maureen, and of course to Laurelle for handling Inca to these achievements. After all, no matter how good the dog is, they can't achieve these awards without a good handler. I expect that Rt Ch & OC would be close to the toughest titles to acheive.
I have gained both Rt Ch and UD (obedience) titles with my GSPs in the past, and personally from a training sense, think the Rt Ch was the toughest. But having said that, I expect that the attainment of OC might be just as tough, due to the number of not only passes in UD with high scores, but wins required at that level. It takes a very consistent dog to obtain high scores in UD, where just one tiny little mistake can spell the end of the trial.
A dog that I bred, CH Oakridge Flaming Swords UD is currently being (O) trialled in Vic, and is part-way there towards his OC.
Maureen, it is a fair comment of yours that one can attain a show title with only 6 point Challenges, and never having to beat another dog, but it is not fair of us to assume that every Dual Ch (with a show title) has scraped through with this minimum of effort.
The previously mentioned GSP (hopefully on his way to an OC title) has won some major awards in the show ring, including Dog CC at the last National GSP show & also at the Sydney Royal.
And his sire, Dual Ch (R) Oakridge Argonaut CDX, had over 300 Challenge points, was a multiple Best in Group winner, and I believe is also the only All Breeds Best in Show winning Dual Ch GSP in Australia.
So please don't tar all "Duals/show" with the same brush as some, who may have only just collected a heap of 6 point CCs (which I expect there could be a few of).
Each performance title that we achieve with our dogs is a tribute to their temperament and ability, and to the skills of their handlers ... and one would hope that every show title awarded (judges can refuse to award CCs) is an endorsement as to the conformational soundness of those dogs.
Whatever type of "dual" Inca is, it's quite an achievement ...... and so is the fact that you've bred 6 Rt Ch Labs!
Cheers,
Jadine

[Maureen Cooper]

Jadine, it was never my intention to tar all Dual Champions with the same brush, I did use the word [i]may as you said. I just get a bit cynical when mentioning show Champions!!! And I have shown 2 to their titles and taken "In Groups" with both not just 6pt challenges. It in no way reflects on your achievements as I have seen yours and know their titles, people like Laurelle and so many of you retrieving ladies have my fullest admiration. Why do you think I put up the award in the National in NSW for highest scoring dog with show and an obedience title (CD upwards)?

BTW I found out that Laurelle had won the ring with every one of her five passes!!! Way to go!!

Maureen

[Karen Parnell]

Congratulations to both Laurelle and Maureen.

To get a dog titled in both disciplines is a huge achievement. Over here in NZ we find that dogs doing both struggle as one discipline requires working close with handler (obedience) and the other involves the dog having to work and think for itself (field - remember, handlers here are penalised if they have to 'help' their dog find birds!). Consequently I have seen top level obedience dogs (Test C) stuggle with field work... they are fine in the 'minor' events but are at a loss when they get into Open class. I don't know of anybody who has taken the time to do both as to get a Champion in either event here takes at least 5 to 6 years to get titled in one!!

Well done Laurelle!!

Cheers
Karen.