River Birch Bohland CD RAE owned by Brittany Rupp of Gully, MN

River came to Brittany’s home as a 12-week-old fluff ball, thanks to a “Free Puppies” sign in the yard of a farm in rural Minnesota.

 “She’s the first puppy I’ve ever had, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that if I didn’t get some experienced help with her training, that cute little fluff ball was going to turn into a big yellow tornado,” Brittany said. 

They found a trainer who offered retriever training and obedience classes since Brittany’s husband wanted River to be a hunting companion.

 “She took so well to those classes that we eventually allowed ourselves to be talked into entering competitions, and she proved to shine in Rally,” she said.

Brittany enrolled River in the AKC Canine Partners program for all dogs, including mixed-breeds and rescues. The AKC number gave her the ticket to enter AKC events.

“River loves to work and train — it keeps her out of trouble. When we’re not training for the rally/obedience ring, we’re out fetching bumpers and ducks with the local retriever club. On top of her show ring success, she’s turned out to be an excellent hunter and gun dog. We just have a blast together!”

River earned the top title in AKC Rally – the Rally Advanced Excellent title — on May 2, 2015, at the Duluth Kennel Club trial in Duluth, MN. That day, she also earned the High-Combined in Rally Excellent B and Rally Advanced B and qualified for the 2016 Rally National Championship.

“This fluffy dog is so much fun,” Brittany said.