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SITE DIRECTORY Total
E-Collar Conditioning Total
Retriever
Training with Ordering |
Mike Lardy began training professionally in 1981. He and his wife, Cindy, and their children live near Montello, Wisconsin. At Handjem Retrievers, Mike and his assistants, Dave Smith and Ray Voigt, train 24 dogs daily in situations designed to prepare them for challenges that will place them among the top nationally competitive retrievers. During the winter months they go to southern Georgia for training. Mike's training grounds at both locations feature a variety of water and land settings. Mike has trained retrievers that have won twenty National Championships; seven National Championships and one Canadian National Championship handled by him, and one National Championship, nine National Amateur Championships and two Canadian National Amateur Championships handled by his clients. In 2003 Mike ran his 33rd National Finalist. Cotton Pershall had the prior all-time record number of 30 Finalists run by a professional retriever trainer. Cotton's first Finalist was in 1942 and his last in 1973. This record had stood alone for almost 30 years until Mike tied it in 2002 and surpassed it in 2003. In addition to the 33 National finalists handled personally by Mike, numerous Handjem-trained dogs have been Finalists with their owner-handlers or Mike’s assistant, Dave Smith. Dogs trained at Handjem have attained over seventy-two Field Champion titles and Mike's clients have made close to that number of Amateur Field Champions. In addition, Mike has contributed in the training and development of many other titled dogs. Nine great dogs, partly or primarily trained at Handjem Retrievers, have been elected to the Retriever Field Trial Hall of Fame: Bunnie, Lottie, Tank, Harley, Abe, Hattie, Maxx, Babe and Gus. In his youth, Mike's family had Brittany Spaniels and Golden Retrievers. Hunting for ducks, pheasants, and grouse with his father, Henry, an avid sportsman, was an important part of growing up. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Wildlife Ecology he went to the University of Idaho where he earned a Master's degree in Wildlife Resources. When a government hiring freeze made wildlife management jobs scarce, Mike spent the winter of 1981 training with the late Jim Kappes in Texas. Upon returning to Wisconsin several people approached him about training their dogs and thus he began a career as a professional dog trainer. Mike writes a training column for The Retriever Journal and conducts periodic workshops designed to help individuals train their own dogs.
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