05/13/2026
Shelby spent a little over a year with us before she went home last fall. While she was here we fixed several bad habits that were developed due to a lack of foundational training and worked on turning a black heart soft again. When she arrived she was a extremely talented dog with no real direction. She wanted to do things her way. We fixed those issues and got her to buy into working as a team. She learned doing things our way made her life more enjoyable and a bond was built. She could trust us and we could trust her. She finished her AKC MH title and came within one retrieving credit of finishing her AKC FC title while she was here.
To be completely honest, I was worried she’d revert back to her old ways when she went home but both of her owners have done a wonderful job of continuing to work with her. They listened to our advice and some pretty harsh constructive criticism. Something that’s not easy to do but I’m proud of them for doing it! As a result, they have grown immensely themselves and are getting to enjoy the fruits of their commitment to Shelby!
I couldn’t be more excited to announce, pending AKC approval, Shelby finished her AKC Field Champion title over the weekend! She placed second in a three point major OLGD retrieving stake giving her that final retrieve credit! I’m so happy for Carl and Stephanie and proud of their commitment to giving Shelby the structure she needed to succeed. Keep up the good work my friends and enjoy that dog of yours! Strive for excellence because you have a dog capable of anything you try to challenge her with! She’s one of the rare truly special ones! FC Hunt’em Up’s Bullit GT MH has a nice ring to it!
A little fun fact, Shelby makes the 7th FC from the two Mason X Pearl breedings. Pearl produced 11 puppies from different litters who have went on to finish upper level AKC and NAVHDA titles. To date those 11 pups have earned 10 MH’s, 3 MH12’s, 3 MHA’s, 7 FC’s, 1 GFC, 2 AFC’s, 1 RFC, 2 NWGDC’s, 1 NWGDC 2nd place finisher, 1 NWGDC 3rd place finisher, 3 NWGDC JAM’s, 4 NAVHDA UT Prize 1’s, 1 NAVHDA UT Prize 2, and 2 NAVHDA VC’s.
