Iowa partners with dog trainers for wildlife area revitalization

NORTH LIBERTY - Dog enthusiasts are partnering with the state to revitalize a wildlife area while enhancing their own opportunities to train and enjoy time with their best friends.

'We've got about five years' worth of projects lined up right now,” said Jason Hedlund, vice president of the Eastern Iowa Hunting Retriever Association, which is spearheading the effort to upgrade about 300 acres on the south edge of the state's 13,708-acre Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area.

Among them, Hedlund said, are expanding and upgrading a parking lot, repairing a leaky dike on Sand Point pond and converting about 200 acres of rough vegetation into fields of brome grass.

The club has already converted what had been little more than a large puddle into a pond with islands and peninsulas that is ideally suited for technical water retrieve exercises.

Hedlund, of Cedar Rapids, said the retriever association raises money for the projects, which are undertaken with the Department of Natural Resources' cooperation and approval.

'This is a nice area for anybody to come out and exercise their dog,” he said.

In addition to the retriever association, other dog clubs and individuals routinely take advantage of Eastern Iowa's only designated dog training area on public ground, according to Hedlund.

About a dozen club members were there Saturday morning working with their dogs on both terrestrial and water retrieves. The dogs are required to make so-called 'blind” retrieves, guided only by their masters' hand and voice signals, and to retrieve birds whose locations they note and remember as the bird falls from the sky.

The exercises provided little more than review for Pearl, a 10-year-old Labrador with a master hunter title, who performed them flawlessly with little wasted time or effort.

Pearl's master, Keith Stroyan of rural Tiffin, who joined the club as a founding member in 1987, said he works with his three dogs on a daily basis.

'I am an addict,” he admitted.

Prince, a 3-year-old Labrador working toward his master hunter title, performed with more energy and only slightly less savvy than Pearl.

Prince, who has leapt 25 feet 8 inches in jumping dog competition, ranks 11th in the world in that sport, according to his master, Chris Kenney of Anamosa.

'I'm just glad this is out here,” said Robert Pearson of Solon, who joined the retriever association just last week, inspired by a desire to turn his 8-month-old Labrador, Zoey, into a good water retriever and duck hunting companion.

Training Zoey, he said, is also a great way to spend quality time with his daughters.

'I'm not real into dead ducks, but this is a great place for dog training,” said Diane Eastman of Shellsburg, a nonhunter, who was there preparing her dog, Kane for a run at both breed champion and master hunter titles.

For more information on the retriever association, go to www.eihra.net

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