OutsideK9 » Wildrose

The Dilemma: Naming Your New Pup

Ryan Krogh — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:57:00 +0000

In three weeks, I’m bringing home a new pup—a yellow lab (girl) from Wildrose Kennels, in Oxford, Mississippi. Crates, water bowls, beds, food, insurance: that’s all been a cinch compared to coming up with a good name. Everyone I ask (and trust me, it’s been just about everyone) has a different opinion about what and how I should name my new girl. Considering that I’ll say her name something like 30,000 times over the course of her life, it’s a big decision. And I want it to have some sort of meaning. As a kid growing up in North Dakota, we named pets in one of three ways: after literary or movie characters, after flowers or trees, or after one of the booze bottles we found discarded in my uncle’s defunct chicken coop. (One notable stray was named 99 Bananas.)

The other dilemma: Which one to pick?

But now when I mention that I’m getting a dog, people give me nothing but different answers and conflicting advice: name it a human name (“it’s original because it’s a human name”), a southern name (“because she’s from the south”), a southwest name, (“you live in Santa Fe, after all”). The only way to settle it, I’ve decided, is by a handy poll, below. I’ve included my childhood methods and offers that may work. And I’ve offered some names that I like, too. But the question remains: what’s the best method for naming your new dog.

—Ryan Krogh

Stream Crossings 101

Grayson Schaffer — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:09:15 +0000

Stream crossings are often where your dog’s obedience will go off the rails. Usually what happens is you set foot in a creek and your dog bolts to the other side. If you’re lucky, you’re not in his way. We prefer to train for stream crossings so they happen in an orderly manner and you never get knocked down. To perfect a stream crossing, all you need is a rock-solid heel, where your dog knows that even though the terrain has changed, the rules haven’t.

Puppy Day at Wildrose

Grayson Schaffer — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:42:27 +0000

My mom's pup and his sire, Whiskey

Friday was puppy day at Wildrose Kennels, in Oxford, Mississippi. Three litters went home with people who had flown in from as far as Michigan, Washington, and California. I met my mom in Memphis, where we rented a car and drove down to pick up our new pups—hers from Whiskey and Piper and mine from Hamish and Carol. Here’s the highlight reel.

“And That’s Going to Pay Dividends in the Duck Blind”

Grayson Schaffer — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:42:21 +0000

The Wildrose Way DVD

The Wildrose Way DVD arrived with my chocolate, Danger, as a sort of Labrador owner’s compendium. Mike shares his low-force, operant training methods from basic obedience to advanced retrieves. Having raised a dog and watched the video several times, I’d recommend using it it primarily for the more advanced retriever training like whistle stops, casting, and blinds. The drills like the circle memory, walking baseball, and ladders are excellent tools for slowly raising the bar on your dog’s retrieves. The Wildrose Way covers basic obedience and makes it very clear how important it is, but no DVD alone will get you and your dog up to speed on the subtleties and difficulties of raising a dog that wants to do nothing but perform for you. For that, you need to learn from actual human experts. $35