Patience means always keeping the goal in mind.
Impatience means you have forgotten your goals in a short time.

Angelika Evans is one of those people you cannot imagine without Retrievers. She trains her dogs on a regular basis, participates in tests and trials and takes them out hunting. She breeds Golden and Labrador Retrievers in the kennel
'...of Mountain Forest Glade'

We met Angelika Evans at her home in Delbrück-Westenholz – a former farm including one hectar of fields – perfect to train and to live with dogs.
 

How did your passion for Golden and Labrador Retrievers begin?
When I was a kid I always wanted a dog. Each Christmas and each birthday I put this wish down onto my wishlist. Unfortunately, it was never fulfilled at that time.

I was a mother of two little children when I finally got the chance to buy a dog. Anna, a Golden Retriever from showlines moved in with us. Her patience and placidness was perfect for our family situation back then. My youngest son David learned to walk with her. Training Anna became my hobby. She had a lot of fun working with game and we completed many hunting exams. Out of this  I developed the interest in hunting, took the hunting exam and got my shooting licence. Working with Dummies was never Anna's passion, but I was able to train her to intermediate.
 

Did you always want to work with your Retrievers or did the interest arise from a certain dog?
I did not necessarily want to train Anna. She was supposed to be a family dog. Even though she  once in a while retrieved a dummy (which does not mean it was perfect), she was the one that awoke my interest in the work with dummies.
 

What are the most important aspects of training your dogs and where can you compromise?
Training the dogs – working with the dogs – needs to be fun for both parties: dog and handler. That's the most important part for me and I do not compromise on this. If the dog has fun working with me as a team I can afford to reproach him if he is not playing to my rules. Especially when you go out hunting, dogs tend to develop their own will and like to work independently. I prefer 'soft' dogs, therefore my reproach can be soft, too. I would not want to work with a 'tough' dog.
 

Why do you participate in tests and which are your favourite tests?
I participate in tests because we both enjoy them. For the dogs it is much more exciting than training, despite the long waiting times. For myself, I meet a lot of interesting people and I like the challenges. You need to react spontaneously if you want the dog to get the dummy fast and successfully. I prefer working tests as the rules are the same for all participating teams. The judges can put out interesting tasks for each level and though I started on working tests many years ago, I am surprised what good challenges they always come up with.
Of course, I go to hunting tests, too. But I find them less thrilling as each task is clearly defined and differences are only specified by the terrain. Field Trials I consider to be as exciting as working tests, but as they are naturally held during the hunting season I don't get the chance to participate that often as I am out hunting with my dogs.
 

Why did you start breeding?
When Anna was two years old I wanted a second dog. We loved Anna - she was healthy, had a very good (and tested) character and passed a few exams. We decided to breed her and Anna's breeder was very supportive. After the first litter I loved breeding!
 

Which characteristics do you consider to be important in a bitch when breeding?
My guidelines have changed over the last few years. The first litters I bred were pure showline breeds. The bitches needed to have very good health results no matter whether I bred them myself or I bought them. A good temperament was also very important to me. Of course, I wanted them to look like Golden Retrievers, too, but beauty was not the major goal. I look for a good temperament and the dogs need to have fun working.
 

How do you choose the right stud dog?
I try to concentrate on eliminating the negative qualities of the bitch. I am looking for a stud dog that can fill in the gaps. You have to consider, that breeding does not mean to pair small and large and therefore to get medium. That makes it difficult to balance out deficiencies. I aim for this but it does not always work out the way I want it to.
 

Where do you see risks and opportunities regarding health issues?
I strongly recommend the health checks implemented by the kennel club. Of course if you compare health results from e.g. The British kennel club you will see that their dogs are not necessarily healthier than ours but I feel more comfortable knowing the risks and being able to take them into account due to genetic testing and breeding figures.
 

What changes have you observed over the last few years regarding training, breeding, interacting with the dogs?
Many handlers have changed the way they train their dogs. They are more positive, try to have fun with their dogs. It is also nice to see that there are many working tests organised that give people the chance to compete and to train their dogs according to their natural habitats since not all dogs are taken out for hunting. Some people get overambitous. I understand this since I too am ambitious and like to win. However, with success in mind, some people cross the line into abuse. They train no matter what the price and without compromise. I would like to ask those people why they decided to own and train past and present dogs and how they justify the misshandling of their dogs. There are dogs that simply cannot meet a handler's expectations.

That counts for breeding, too, by the way. Not every dog is meets the aim of a breeder and therefore should not be bred.
 

What are your hopes for the future?
First, I wish for good health for myself and my dogs. I would like to be able to continue my wonderful hobby for a long time.
 

Thanks for taking your time. And lastly: what's the secret of your success?
Success is not everything...
Do I have a secret for success? My dogs are my friends, my family. we work so well as a team because my standards of success are realistic. We know each other, not only during training but in daily life. I am full of life and I like to have dogs around me that are happy and soft. Each day I realise how much they give back. I love long walks with them and love to see them running and playing with each other as much as I enjoy watching them curled up with each other in the evening. I enjoy training with them. Not always, but most times it deeply satisfies me. They enrich my life and I take pleasure in enriching the lives of my domesticated wolves. :-D
 

Imprint

Special Thanks to
Angelika Evans
Golden und Labrador Retriever kennel “of Mountain Forest Glade”
web site

Questions:

Christiane Stricker, Jarka Svenka

Photos:

webPure, Angelika Evans

Translation into English:

Nele Dageförde

Translation into English - corrections:

Christiane Bundey

Copyright:

The interview was given exclusively for the info web site All about Retriever and is protected by copyright. The reproduction and media distribution of these photos and text or its parts is not permitted without prior written consent. Who will publish any parts of the content of this site without permission will be prosecuted.

© November 2011