The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

For many dog owners, August 1 is a momentous date as this marks the beginning of the testing season for professional retriever dog trainers.

Each year hundreds of retriever dog owners compete to win a minimum of six qualifications in order to qualify for the Master Nationals in September. Each qualification includes three separate tests for water, land and a combination of both.

Puget Island resident Barbara Strauss and her black lab, Kite, qualified in May for the Master Nationals, after working with professional trainer Butch Higgins. From the age of six months, Kite has been trained by Higgins through his business, Butch Higgins Retriever Kennels. With his training, Kite went on to qualify for the Master Nationals in 2010, 2011, and 2012. On her second year of competition she won a pewter plate. She also qualified for the Canadian Nationals at the age of three.

This year Strauss qualified Kite and will be showing the lab herself. As an amateur trainer, Strauss is unique because most dog owners only use professionals.

In the run up to September Strauss plans to train Kite at least three days a week at home while visiting local sites such as Deer Island and Big Creek for more environmental training. If successful in September, Kite will again be awarded a pewter plate which in the dog champion world means “dog has been plated."