Dear Dyane,

Macy weighs in at 68 pounds. She is perfect size and in great shape. The veterinarian is very pleased with her as well as her attitude. Macy & I hunted Lake Champlain area this year with a group of seasoned duck hunters. They always had labs and goldens that were trained during hunting season and handled with rocks. This is the first time they had a trained Chesapeake in the blind. She had many impressive retrieves in choppy water for ducks and geese. She now holds the longest retrieve out of their blind at 235 yards!

The best Macy story happened at a local farmer's pond. Two seasoned hunters had downed two geese. She picked up the first goose like a pro. The best part though was the second goose. It was very much alive (that steel shot) and after seeing Macy closing in on him, he wanted no part of it and started swimming quickly away. Macy grabbed the goose high on the neck and took him under the water. When she came up the goose was dead. She feels that drowning a lively bird makes for an easier retrieval. I have been asked how I taught her that. My reply ? It is good breeding.

Joann is thinking that she wants a large male. My only request is that it is a Pond Hollow chessie! Have a wonderful holiday.

Macy, Joann and Rob Fishkill, NY

Dyane,

Sorry it took so long to get these pictures out. One of the pictures shows Gunner out about 300 yards from shore retrieving a duck. Gunner had to swim around awhile before having to dive down to get the duck. Very impressive to say the least. He's a great dog.

Steve Adams, WA.         Pond Hollow Gunwale (Sire: Ch* Pond Hollow Bering Sea X Ch Pond Hollow N TLC's Glaceir Bay MH **)

Hi Dyane,

It is Brock and Samuel. It has been a while since we have talked to each other. Since the last time I have spoken and seen you I had send Samuel to a trainer up north for 4 months to do his forced retrieve training. The trainer loved Samuel and complimented highly about Sam's trainability, he said he was easier to train than most Labradors he trains. At this time I have Samuel running blinds out to 200 yards on both land and water. I am going to start his hunt testing this spring when I have everything tightened up a little better. The trainer said that Sam will be able to go out and start to run Senior Hunt tests and do so successfully. I had him hunting several times this year and he has had a break the last two weeks due to deer season being in and I wouldn't want a hunter to mistake him, so he is going to keep going hunting with me and get as many retrieves as possible this winter and then we are going into training mode.

Thank you for such a wonderful dog,

Brock         Pond Hollow Going Great Guns (Ch Safe Harbor's Treasure Lake GEO MH ** X Pond Hollow Tintagel)

Hi Dyane,

Thanksgiving day '09 was special this year because two great Marines and their sons joined me for some fun in the goose pit. The three of us are in photo #5 IMG 1211. The three of us were together with 3rd Force Reconnaissance Co., 3rd Marine Division, USMC, Vietnam, 1968.

Bay is a wonderful hunting retriever and is loved by everyone that sees her work... and I love showing her off.

Terry Addis         Pond Hollow Migration Bay JH

Dyane,

It has been a few months since I last emailed you and I wanted to give you and update. Tucker (Pond Hollow Wing Supply; Mocha x Odie) is doing extremely well here on our farm in Lebanon County. This morning was his first full hunting experience. My father and I took him out this morning for his first Canada Goose hunt. He worked perfectly in the field retrieved all three geese. The one goose was even a 100 yard retrieve! His personality, attitude, and disposition is absolutely amazing! Every person we meet comments on how well behaved, and friendly he is. I have been giving you all of the credit because you did such a wonderful job picking him out for me and I want to thank you again for giving me this wonderful dog. On September 26, he will turn 10 months old. He is in perfect physical condition as we get about 1-2 miles of exercise every day.

I wanted to share this picture with you because as he is not even 10 months old he retrieved 3 rather large geese this morning as if he was a veteran. A few weeks back we met a gentlemen who had a brown lab. He was inquiring about Tucker and if he did any retrieving. At that point we were working on casting, and doing some dove hunting for practice. The gentlemen was shocked…. He said his dog was 6 months old and he wasn't going to start training until the dog was 1 year old! I gave him some advice but afterwards just kind of chuckled because there was a lot of missed opportunities.

I will keep in touch but I wanted to share Tuckers first goose hunting experience with you.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Ulrich & Tucker (Pond Hollow Wing Supply)

Dyane,

I just wanted to say hello and to give you the latest on Pond Hollow's Conestoga Dabbler (REMI). Our beloved dog is now eighteen months old and just completed his first "official" year of hunting. I did not know how my training program would be, considering that I am a novice trainer. Through much reading, watching video and gaining insight from professionals, I put a training plan in motion since day one with Remi. Training was difficult at times, as we all know that Chesapeakes can be a little stubborn. But, I can honestly say that with patience and persistence, I believe Remi has learned well and he has become an fantastic retriever. I look forward to many more years in the field training together. Remi has been incredible this year while in the field. It did not matter if I was hunting upland or waterfowl, Remi did it all. Nothing is more special than seeing your beloved dog, whom you trained make a fantastic blind retrieve and then deliver to hand. Wow, it has been awesome. One of my favorite hunting memories from this past season occurred on Thanksgiving morning. We hunted in the cold rain on the Conestoga river in Lancaster County and Remi made two of the finest retrieves. The first duck was relatively easy as it fell amongst the decoys, however the second duck down, was in a strong current and floated to a deep section of the river. I lined Remi and he took off down the bank on the line, jumped as far as he could and submerged himself under the water, only to pop up and swim to the downed duck. He made a great retrieve, swam back and climbed up the muddy bank to deliver that dabbler to my hand. My hunting buddy, who was present leaned over and said "wow that was incredible, I've seen that on ESPN." I was in awe, and realized at that moment that I have a really special dog. Of course not only has he been a great hunting companion, but he has been a wonderful playmate with my children and he loves to ride around in the car with my wife doing errands. He really has become a big part of our family. He occasionally remembers that he is a Chesapeake when we catch him running around with my daughter's slippers in his mouth.

Dyane, thanks for your knowledge and guidance in breeding the finest family/hunting dog that I could have imagined. Remi is truly an intelligent and wonderful dog and he continues to amaze us nearly every day.

Mark and Diane & Remi        (Ch Pond Hollow Southern Tornado X Ch Pond Hollow Singapore)

Dyane,

I think she retrieved about 100 Canada Geese this year, along with snow geese, all sorts of ducks and did a very nice job on doves. Her most favorite thing to do is chase down crippled Canada Geese - she probably handled 15 to 20 this year some ran/flew away which she chased down with wild abandon - others big ganders decided to turn and fight and it was a big mistake of their part as she has no fear and does not hesitate one second and the confrontation is quickly over- she delivered all birds to hand! And this was all before her second birthday!

Paul Billy & Riley        (Pond Hollow Tue Marshes Riley SH)

Hey Dyane,

Just a note to show you how well " Saydee " (Voyageurs once in a blue moon ) x ( CH. Pond Hollow Daphne Duck ) is ... She is now 9 months old and has already had her first hunting retrieves . After three Chessies , this one from you continues to amaze me with her relative ease of training and exceptional disposition ! In the spring we will be pursuing her hunt test titles and if my early experience is an indicator , she will breeze through it ! We have also begun prepping her for entrance in shows and go after a championship ! Thanks for your guidance with her and keep up the good work making this breed better with each litter .....

Ken Lee & Saydee