Ben Huels is pictured with his black lab hunting dog Ginny. Ginny got inducted into the United Kennel Club Hall of Fame this year and the American Kennel Club Hall of Fame last year. Carlyle resident Ben Huels and his black lab hunting dog have reached a status few dogs have.
Huels' female black lab hunting dog, named Ginny, got inducted into the United Kennel Club (UKC) Hall of Fame this year and the American Kennel Club (AKC) Hall of Fame last year.
Huels was told that less than 100 dogs have ever accomplished dual Hall of Fame status.
"I'm extremely proud of this accomplishment," Huels said.
The organization for the UKC Hall of Fame is the hunters retriever club and the organization for the AKC is the master's national Hall of Fame.
The Hunter Retriever Club Hall of Fame was established in 2017 to honor dogs that exemplify the ultimate hunting retriever. To qualify for this prestigious designation, a dog must have passed the HRC International Grand four times and accumulated a total of 1,000 championship points. The Hall of Fame recognizes the dedication and performance of hunting retrievers in various events.
Black lab hunting dog Ginny is pictured with one of the ducks she found during a search. Ben and Ginny have been going to hunting competitions since 2017. The AKC Hall of Fame was established in 1973 and recognizes exemplary people and dogs that made a significant contribution to the advancement of the breed in America.
Huels has had Ginny since 2017 and she will be 8 years old in December.
Huels said Ginny reaching the Hall of Fame was not even in his thought process until she was close to achieving the goal. At the beginning of June, she was within 180 points of getting in the Hall of Fame.
"That is when it became a goal," Huels said.
To be inducted into the UKC Hall of Fame, a dog must pass the grand hunt test four times and have an accumulative of 1,000 points. Huels said the grand hunt test has about a 20-28% pass rate.
A hunting dog gets 15 points per finish test.
At a finish level test, there will be marks where a dog has to sit still with its owner and watch three dead ducks get thrown out. They have to proceed to the area of the fall, establish a hunt, find the bird, and return the bird to the owner.
The dogs then have to complete a blind retrieve where they don't see where the bird lands. They have to run to a spot that they never saw a bird fall and trust the owner knows where the bird is.
"They have to take the owners' direction and direct them to that bird," Huels said.
For the AKC, a dog has to pass a master national, which is a seven-day long event, three times. Ginny went 3-for-3 in the master nationals. A dog has to qualify for that event every year.
Huels said Ginny's ability to be a team player and remembering where different birds are located makes her a good hunting dog. In terms of being a team player, Huels said if Ginny doesn't remember where one of the birds is located she will take direction from him to find the bird.
Huels has two other hunting dogs, but Ginny is the first dog he has competed with.
He said Ginny is a very special dog. She started doing the hunting competitions when she was 5 months old and she achieved a hunting retriever champion title at 10 months and 10 days old. Ginny tied for the sixth youngest dog ever to get the hunting retriever champion title.
With the Hall of Fame status reached, Huels might try to play some bigger games with Ginny later on. But he said at this point, Ginny is just going to relax, enjoy life and live on a couch.
Huels lives in Carlyle with his 11-year-old son, Waylon. The two have traveled with Ginny to Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi for hunting competitions. Waylon has traveled to all the states with Ben and Ginny since he was 4 years old.
Huels said there isn't a big ceremony for the Hall of Fame induction. They will receive a certificate congratulating them for entering the Hall of Fame.
