By Ellen Withers

Every duck hunter in Arkansas wishes for a well-trained dog and Clint Johnson, of White County, has trained one of the best retrievers in the country.

During the Super Retriever Series competition held Oct. 2 in El Campo, Texas, Savannah swam away with the top honors. Handled by Johnson, her owner and trainer, the two outshined their competition and brought home $3500 in prize money and a War Eagle boat. ESPN will air the highlights of this competition in April.

Savannah, a 6-year-old black Labrador retriever, carries only 62 pounds on her small frame, but her diminutive size is no hindrance to her retrieving talents. She left her larger rivals behind when she accomplished what none of the other dogs were able to do in the Super Retriever Series competition.

Savannah won the first of three competitions in the series. The second will be held in Virginia in April and the third will be held in Stuttgart, Arkansas in May.

The top three dogs from each of these three competitions will meet in June in Hot Springs, Arkansas for the Super Retriever Series Championship. As the winner of the first competition, Savannah has earned her spot in the finals, giving her another chance to display her talent against the other contenders in Hot Springs.

These competitions give points based upon two types of retrieves. A marked retrieve is where the dog is allowed to see the simulated bird, called a bumper, fall to the ground. The dog is allowed to go get the bumper only upon the command of their handler. A blind retrieve forces the dog to rely entirely upon the signals of their handler, as the dog is never given the opportunity to see the simulated bird fall. An orange bumper is used for a blind retrieve because dogs are not able to see this color. They have no way to spot the retrieve until their handler brings them close enough to identify the bumper by its shape.

In the picture: Clint Johnson and Savannah... winners of the 2004 Super Series Competition in El Campo, TX.

In the Super Retriever competition, the distances for a dog to find and retrieve a mark can be as far away as 400 yards. In a regular hunting test, 150 yards is the maximum distance. Most dogs that compete are Labrador retrievers, although all breeds can enter the competition.

Registered in the El Campo, Texas competition were 58 teams, consisting of leading hunting dogs and field trial dogs from around the country and their handlers. By the end of the second day, Savannah and Johnson were in fifth place. They moved up to fourth place during the semi-finals.

As four out of the five dogs were eliminated during the final competition, the judges were concerned they may have made the test too difficult for any dog to complete. They found their fears were unrealized, because Savannah accomplished what the rest failed to do, finding the distant mark that had not been found by any of the other dogs.

Johnson said “It was a humbling experience to be a part of a winning team at this national competition. Great trainers that I’ve admired my whole life have been past winners of this series.”

This was the fourth Super Retriever Series entry for Savannah and Johnson. Although they had placed well previously, once before making it into the semi-finals, they had never before earned a spot in the final round.

Savannah’s official name is South Ridge’s Cache River Queen. Her father was Johnson’s stud dog, although he didn’t own her at birth. He was in the process of training her for her original owner when an opportunity to buy her was presented to Johnson and he jumped at the chance.

Not just a competition dog, Savannah is a house dog that duck hunts with Johnson on a regular basis. She also has been an eager participant in dove and goose hunting.

Johnson is a professional trainer and works with approximately 26 retrievers at a time. Such training is a family affair for Johnson, his wife Shawna and their five-year-old daughter Christen. Shawna said, “It’s my job to help Clint any way I can and to act as his cheerleader. I’m very proud of everything he’s been able to accomplish.”

“My daughter Christen knows just what to do and when to do it,” explains Johnson. “The dogs respond to her, even though she’s young.”

“I got into this business because I wanted to have a good duck dog when I was in college. I didn’t have much money, so I worked out a deal with a man who let me pay him for a dog over time,” Johnson said. “I continued to train my dog and the man noticed the improvement each time I brought him a payment. He asked me to help him train other dogs and it let me earn a little money, too.”

“I’m living my dream,” Johnson said. “I’ve gone from working with dogs in my spare time, to training dogs as my occupation.”

“All the dogs are trained by voice, by hand signals and by whistle,” Johnson explains. When Savannah knows she’s being put to work, her body trembles with excitement. “She is doing what she has been bred to do and what she wants to do. She has a tremendous amount of desire to succeed and that is part of what makes her a champion.”

While working a run, Savannah will turn and look to Johnson for direction, when she hears him give her one chirp of the whistle. Her response to the whistle is so strong, she makes a wake in the water just turning to see what signal he’s giving her. Savannah should be able to compete until she is at least ten years old.

Currently, one of the dogs Johnson is training is a fifteen-week-old black Labrador puppy named Thunder. “He has a natural instinct to retrieve and a desire to be successful. I just help develop those instincts in a young dog.” Johnson explains, “Thunder and Savannah get along well together and Savannah helps me with his training. A little competition for the bumper keeps the younger dog focused.”

Even at such a young age, Thunder responds immediately to Johnson’s commands. “I train him to concentrate on the mark and my commands. Being patient helps develop an award winning retriever.”

The love of the sport of retrieving is evident in the young pup. The desire is visible, although his age and size make him swim twice as hard to cover the same distance as Johnson’s adult dogs, but this doesn’t dissuade him from making the retrieve.

Another promising dog is a male named Horton. Both Horton and Savannah have earned the designation of American Kennel Club Master Hunter.

Johnson uses the services of three different veterinarians to keep his dogs in top shape. “Whether they’re training or competing, I have to watch all of the dogs very carefully for injuries. They can suffer many types of sports related injuries, such as sprains and strains, and have four legs that can be affected,” Johnson said. “Those dogs that have suffered some type of injury in the past will sometimes try to hide their new injury from me. They remember being taken out of the competition or the practice previously and none of them like being put on the sidelines until they heal.”

When Johnson is training a dog owned by someone else, he keeps them for a minimum of four months. “For championship level training, I might keep them as long as two years.” Johnson said, “No matter how long I train them, the final component of their training involves transitioning the dog to respond to the commands of their owner. The owner and the dog have to learn to work together as a team. Trust is a major element to success.”

Watching Savannah and Johnson work together in a seamless example of teamwork, it is obvious that local duck hunters and retrievers have an excellent example of the partnership between man and dog to emulate.