The Early Development Of The Elite Shed Dog Series

The Program's History

April 19, 2017

Source: Todd Kellem, UKC
Phone: 269.343.9020
Email: tkellam@ukcdogs.com

I received an interesting email on March 20, 2016, from a man in Ohio by the name of Scott Kuchenbecker. In his own words the reason he contacted UKC was, "…to see if there was any hope that he could spark some interest from the UKC in an up and coming dog sport." I was all ears at that point. The email went on to describe Scott and wife Amy’s vision of a trial format for shed hunting dogs that they were calling the Elite Shed Dog Series. I had heard of shed hunting with dogs but admittedly knew very little about it. I had never been out in the field with a trained shed dog, and to be honest, am not sure I was aware people were even holding events of this type. But he did have my attention.

United Kennel Club has always has been interested in performance events that showcase a dog’s instincts and desire to work. But there was more to this proposed program than that. The vast majority of the dogs in the sport are owner-handled which fits UKC’s philosophy to a "T". The goal was to make the event family friendly and offer different levels of participation that would appeal to all members of the family as well as new comers to the sport. Additionally, it was a field event which encourages an active, outdoor lifestyle. It just seemed to be a perfect fit for United Kennel Club.

The moment I first mentioned this proposal and its potential benefits to UKC President Tanya Raab she was all in. Not just with the idea, but I mean all in, as in how could she help with the formation of the program and what did she need to do to train her dog to run in it! Needless to say, the decision to move forward with the idea was approved and we need to thank Tanya for her involvement with Elite Shed Dog Series every step of the way.

While the vision was there, the specifics were not. I liked that about it. It allowed me to come at this program with an open mind. Scott liked the fact that UKC had experience setting up new programs and all that goes with it. I liked the fact that Scott and Amy had a lot of experience in the sport and were motivated to help with the project. Together we decided to start putting some thoughts on paper as to how such a program might be set up. It didn’t take long and we were off and running.

A couple of existing UKC programs were used to model different aspects of the Elite Shed Dog Series. From the UKC Hunting Retriever Club (HRC) we used some entry policies. From the UKC Pointing Dog Program we used some championship title philosophies. From our affiliate the Bird Dog Circuit (BDC) we used some course planting ideas. Our goal from the start was to get our rough draft of a perspective set of rules worked out to a point that was pretty close to final in our minds before we sought input from others involved in the sport. The theory being that we could get more accomplished in a short time frame between the two of us than we could have working with a more extensive committee. That did prove to be true, and we soon found ourselves ready to solicit the input of others.

A committee of shed dog enthusiasts from around the country was assembled and a conference call scheduled to go over the initial draft of running rules. To my surprise there was actually quite a bit of discussion on various segments of the rules and it was back to the drawing board for me. The proposed changes were well thought out, and once implemented, added much substance to our rules and policies draft. With one more follow up call to get the blessing and support of our committee, we were ready to announce the Elite Shed Dog Series to the sporting dog community. Special thanks to Norm Henderson (Indiana), Jeff Rada (Wisconsin), Shane Stover (Illinois), John Beyer (Wisconsin), Jeff Stingel (North Carolina) and Scott and Amy Kuchenbecker (Ohio) for their help with event procedures and running rules.

Next came the need for forms. Lots of forms. This is where we relied heavily on the experience of the UKC staff who excels at the task of designing forms that are professional, simple and intuitive. We needed an event confirmation form, event report form, entry forms, scorecards, judge tests and applications, an owner’s work book, and more. We designed brochures for event promotion. The UKC publication department did an outstanding job pulling all of this together in short order to help us meet our goal of announcing the program at the start of the new year. Special thanks to Sara Herbert and Annie Hammond for their help with everything from forms to promotional and website related.

The final and continuing stage is what I would call promotion of ESDS. UKC does have brochures available for those that will be attending outdoor shows and training clinics in their area. We need to thank Joe Johnson (Michigan), Brian Schlomann (Wisconsin) and Scott Kuchenbecker for taking the early lead in helping us to get the word out. Anyone that would like to help out in this respect is encouraged to contact UKC for some ESDS brochures.

UKC has Elite Shed Dog Series brochures available for use at sport shows and training clinics.

The official announcement in the beginning of 2017 that introduced the Elite Shed Dog Series created much excitement and anticipation amongst the performance dog community. With our first official event scheduled for the end of April, we are still fielding many calls and questions regarding this new UKC program. While we still have a long way to go, and change will be inevitable, I wanted to get some of the early development of the Elite Shed Dog Series written down for posterity sake. If you are able to attend an event in the near future and enjoy the experience, be sure to thank those listed above for the contribution they have made to bring you the United Kennel Club Elite Shed Dog Series.

A Kalamazoo, Michigan-based company founded in 1898, United Kennel Club is the largest all-breed performance-dog registry in the world, registering dogs from all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. Celebrating the unique Total Dog philosophy, UKC events highlight the instincts and heritage of dogs that look and perform equally well, as more than 60 percent of its annually licensed events are tests of hunting ability, training, and instinct. United Kennel Club prides itself on its family-oriented, friendly, educational events, welcoming both purebred dogs and dogs of unknown ancestry.