Happy 6th Birthday to Slammer and all 8 of his littermates. Time sure has flown by. You are the bestest boy ever!
Hope everyone had a Happy Birthday and many many more to come.
Category Archives: Slammer
2024 Sand Spring Year In Review
Wow what a year Sand Spring Chesapeakes has had. We said goodbye to the Gloryious One and hello to Cooter and Snapper. We are up to the most Chessies in a house than we ever had. Just like tater chips, can’t have just one so let’s go for 6. This year I think we set a record for the most titles we got on three dogs with the all-time high number of 19. Without further ado this is how our year went down.
We hit the ground running in competitions with entering Slammer in the new AKC Fetch event that opened in February. He received his Fetch Novice title. I became a Fetch judge as well and got to judge some events this year. What fun I had doing that. In March Slammer received his AKC Rally Excellent title, that will be the last title we go for in Rally.
April had its highs and its lows. Slammer received two more Fetch titles, Intermediate and Advanced. The high was after 24 years Sand Spring finally bought a puppy from another breeder. Snow Prairie Retrievers had a litter of 12. When I looked at the breeding, I saw that Gamber was the litters grandpa. I didn’t even know where all Gamblers offspring had gone so it was a surprise to see this breeding. Of course, I had to have one of these pups as we need to get our breeding program up and running again with some breeding females. I put a deposit down and on April 17th I flew to Texas and picked up baby Cooter. The low part of April was two days after I brought Cooter home, we said goodbye to Sand Spring No Gut’s No Glory – AKA Glory – Gloryious One. She was the best Gma and puppy helper that anyone could have asked for. She raised her puppies then she raised her grandpuppies. They could crawl all over her and she didn’t bat an eye. We could trust her with anything or anyone. She is deeply missed.
In May I got the biggest surprise ever, I had been showing Slammer in AKC conformation, he needed one more point for his championship. On May 5th he got one more point and Sand Spring Chesapeakes got their first AKC Show Championship. To say I was over the moon happy is an understatement. Cooter went to her first puppy UKC show with her boyfriend, good practice and getting her used to the show ring. The end of May at only three months old Cooter received her AKC Canine Good Citizen title. She was such a good puppy. In June Slammer leaped into another title, this time it was in UKC dock jumping. He received his United Master Jumper title, his personal best was jumping 22 ft.
July was another high for us, Slammer received his AKC Master Hunter title, this makes the third male at Sand Spring to get their Master title. Slammers brother Gambler has his and their dad Norman has his as well, runs in the family! Slammer also received his Champion Shed Dog title at our WACKO event we host each year. Gertie received three qualifying champion passes with two fourth place placements at our shed dog event.
August we were still dock jumping so Slammer received his United Senior Jumper Champion title. We started a new event by exercising so he also received his Fit Dog Bronze title. I did the fit dog series with Gertie as well, so she received her Fit Dog Bronze title too. The end of August Cooter and I took a little trip with her boyfriend Ronan and his mom Dana. We went to Ohio to attend the ACC National Show Specialty. We had a great time getting practice in the show ring and hanging out with all our Chessie friends from across the US and across the pond. September was another high with multiple titles and a welcoming of baby Snapper into the world. Cooter received her Fetch Novice title, one Fetch Intermediate pass and her Trick Dog Novice title. Slammer received the highest Fetch title, so he is now a Fetch Retriever. He went on to receive his Fit Dog Silver title as well. September 28 I was invited to ride along with the Crawfish gang to Carmelita’s c-sec. The baby daddy is Slammer so of course I welcomed that invitation with open arms. Early that Saturday morning we all hopped into the creeper van and off we went to Veterinary Village. Carmelita was definitely uncomfortable. By the time we got there, opened the door of the van and let her hop down I told Irene to grab a towel as she was having a puppy. So, there we were delivering the first puppy in the vet clinic parking lot. We got her and the puppy in the building where she continued to deliver the puppies, Irene and I helped deliver them then passed them off to the veterinary staff to put in the incubator to keep them warm. We delivered 8 then she shut down, so a c-sec was done at that time to get the last three out. One pup died and she ended up with 10 healthy pups. Snapper was green number 4 girl that I got to deliver so it was a very special moment. The pups went home with momma and the Crawfish gang to grow until 7 weeks of age when I got to bring Snapper home.
October we were still achieving titles as Gertie received her Fit Dog Senior title. Slammer and Gertie got to go on vacation to Saskatchewan where they hunted for a week. I haven’t been to Canada since before Covid so it was nice to go back up to hunt and visit all our friends there. The highlight of the hunting trip was me hunting for the Northern Lights in which I was successful and saw so many pretty lights and got a thousand photos of them. At the end of October John and I started guiding pheasant hunts. Slammer and Gertie were the main ones guiding, Cooter was started on pheasants.
On November 17, I brought baby Snapper home to stay. It was one of the best Birthday presents ever. We now hopefully will have two breeding females when the time comes.
We are nearing the end of 2024, and the Sand Spring gang is still racking up the titles. Slammer received his Fit Dog Gold title and his Therapy Dog Advanced title for having 50 therapy dog visits. Slammer, Gertie and Gambler have all done therapy work this year. We visit two facilities each week. We enjoy our therapy time and love to bring smiles to the residents. I even started taking Cooter so she could get used to the environment. When she turns one, I will have her tested and start her in therapy work. Gertie got two more champion shed dog passes, a couple more and she will receive her title. Cooter was entered in her first official UKC conformation show. She attended 6 shows, she received three competition wins and 75 points towards her title.
In December we got some sad news that Gertie’s sister Nina passed away from liver failure. She is with momma Guilty now and we are very sorry for Nina’s family and thank them for the great life they gave her.
For Gamblers Christmas present we took him on a pheasant hunt. He is now 13.75 years old, and he is doing pretty well for an old guy. He was in all his glory out hunting, you could see the shine in his eyes and the smile on his face flushing and retrieving the pheasants. He retrieved 9 pheasants, and he wanted to do more. There were times I couldn’t keep up with him. He was an excellent hunter in his younger years and he, despite being old, is still an excellent hunter. Can’t keep a good hunting dog down.
Shank and Bake didn’t get to do anything special this year but became the best snuggler ever. She had her yearly eye exam and her cataracts are stable. The right one is still small and the left one that is huge isn’t getting bigger or causing any problems. She gets to hang out, eat, play and babysit the pups another year.
Bones is still going strong too, his mega esophagus is stable as well and he keeps trucking on too.
Cree and Pee are well Cree and Pee, John and I are both doing well and are looking forward to another fun filled year ahead with so many events to enter and so much training to do.
I want to take a moment to say thanks to my training group as without you all we wouldn’t be where we are today, looking forward to another training session with you all too!
Happy New Year everyone!
Slammer AKC Show Champion Title
Slammer – UR03 WSD USJ HR Int-CH U-GRCH CH Sand Spring Throw The Book At Him SH RE DM THDN FDC CGCA CGCU TKA ATT FTA SPOT-ON (UNJ U-CH Sand Spring Guilt By Association SH CGCA CGCU THDN TT SPOT-ON   x   HRCH Sand Spring Norm Of Caroway MH) received his AKC champion title at the Janesville-Beloit kennel Club under Judge Barbara Burns in Jefferson, WI on May 5th, 2024. Slammer finished his championship with five 3pt majors. This is the first Sand Spring dog to become a AKC Champion. To say I’m over the moon is an understatement. Thanks to Kim for showing with me and all my peeps that helped me out with this new adventure. B/O/T/H by JoAnn and John Stancer, Sand Spring Chesapeakes, Cambria WI.Â
This day was a big deal for Sand Spring Chesapeakes as this is our very first AKC Show Champion.
Slammer AKC Fetch Intermediate and Advanced Titles
Slammer – UR03 WSD USJ HR Int-CH U-GRCH Sand Spring Throw The Book At Him SH RE DM THDN FDC CGCA CGCU TKA ATT FTA SPOT-ON (UNJ U-CH Sand Spring Guilt By Association SH CGCA CGCU THDN TT SPOT-ON   x   HRCH Sand Spring Norm Of Caroway MH) received his Fetch Intermediate on April 11th and Fetch Advanced on April 12th. When competing in advanced the dog has to retrieve a bumper from behind a blind, Slammer’s last retrieve in each trial he jumped over the blind instead of going around then jumped back over with the bumper in his mouth. The crowd applauded his great runs. Thanks to Anne De Roo and Three Hounds Training for this awesome event. B/O/T/H by John and JoAnn Stancer of Sand Spring Chesapeakes, Cambria WI.
Slammer AKC Rally Excellent Title
Slammer – UR03 WSD USJ HR Int-CH U-GRCH Sand Spring Throw The Book At Him SH RE DM THDN FDC CGCA CGCU TKA ATT FTA SPOT-ON (UNJ U-CH Sand Spring Guilt By Association SH CGCA CGCU THDN TT SPOT-ON   x   HRCH Sand Spring Norm Of Caroway MH) received his AKC Rally Excellent title on March 15th at Badger Kennel Club under judge Joni Monnich. His first two qualifying passes were done virtually with the third one being in person. B/O/T/H by John and JoAnn Stancer of Sand Spring Chesapeakes, Cambria WI. Â
AKC Fetch Titles x 3
On February 1st the AKC started its new Fetch performance event. February 17th, Scent Work Club of Central Wisconsin hosted the first Fetch Novice test in Wisconsin. Sand Spring and Crawfish thought it would be fun to enter this event since of course we own retrievers and fetching is what they love to do. Tom Pawlisch was judging the event, so I handled his two dogs Carmelita and Dieter along with my dog Slammer to their fetch novice titles. What an amazing day it was to title three Chesapeakes in this new venue. Slammer’s judges were Tom Pawlisch and Paula Kropidlowski. Carmelita and Dieter’s judges were George Deering and Paula Kropidlowski. You need to pass two events under two different judges to title. You must start out at the novice level and work your way up to the highest level, which is retriever. This is an up-and-coming event for all breeds and participants, a fun event to do with your pal. JoAnn Stancer
Slammer – UR03 WSD USJ HR Int-CH U-GRCH Sand Spring Throw The Book At Him SH RA DM THDN FDC CGCA CGCU TKA ATT FTN SPOT-ON (UNJ U-CH Sand Spring Guilt By Association SH CGCA CGCU THDN TT SPOT-ON   x   HRCH Sand Spring Norm Of Caroway MH) received two qualifying passes to earn his Fetch Novice title (Slammer was the first Chesapeake to earn this title in Wisconsin. O/H/T/B by JoAnn and John Stancer of Sand Spring Chesapeakes.
Carmelita – USJ RACEN UJJ URO2 Int-Ch U-GRCH Crawfish Cakesniffer Look Away FITB BCAT DJ RA FDC THDX CGCA CGCU TKA VHMP ATT FTN SPOT-ON (PN RACEN CHSD SHR URX UROC UAGI USJCH CA RATN EGCH Sand Spring Outlaw BCAT RA JH FDC THDX RATN DS CGCA CGCU TKA ATT TT-CBR-110 SPOT-ON x GCH Cur-San’s Fire on the River MH) received two qualifying passes to earn her Fetch Novice title. She was handled by JoAnn Stancer. O/T/B by Tom and Irene Pawlisch of Crawfish Chesapeakes.
Dieter – UMJ WSD PN USJ URO3 Int-CH CRAWFISH I DO IT AGAIN FITB BCAT RA FDC THDA DM CGCA CGCU TKA ATT FTN SPOT-ON (PN RACEN CHSD SHR URX UROC UAGI USJCH CA RATN EGCH Sand Spring Outlaw BCAT RA JH FDC THDX RATN DS CGCA CGCU TKA ATT TT-CBR-110 SPOT-ON x HRCH Sand Spring Norm Of Caroway MH) received two qualifying passes to earn his Fetch Novice title. He was handled by JoAnn Stancer. O/T/B by Tom and Irene Pawlisch of Crawfish Chesapeakes.
Sand Spring Year In Review 2023
As we end 2023 I want to reflect back on the year and share with you what we have been up too.
Starting off in January Gertie received her AKC Rally Advanced title. We did virtual videos, we needed to pass three courses.
In February Slammer and I completed his UKC Conformation Grand Show Champion with a Total dog to boot! This makes his 6th Total dog pass.
In April Slammer became a dad again to a lovely litter of pups born to Ruby. 7 more kids out there.
April 22nd was the ACC WI Chessie Fun day held at our home (Stancerville). People and their chessies came from all over the US again. It was a fun filled day. We are always thankful for the beautiful day we are given with so many wonderful friends. This couldn’t happen without everyone chipping in.
In May Slammer and John passed their first AKC Master Hunter test.
While JoAnn got to take a trip to Vegas with her friend Jodie. We had a wonderful trip, we saw so many things and places. We put on 90,000 steps while there, we got around! A special moment during the trip was when I brought my friend Susie back to Vegas to be laid to rest. She passed away 9 years ago and her last wish was for me to take her ashes to Vegas and spread them at the place where Susie took me to Vegas for my first time. It was so bitter sweet. I miss her dearly and she is pulling the one arm bandit all day long.
Another very special memory from my time in Vegas will stay with me forever as it is permanently on my arm for me to each each day. I designed a tattoo and had an artist at H & H tattoo company apply it.
The paw print is Guilty’s, the heartbeat is her actual heartbeat, the outline is her and the cattails are actual cattails that I got when I put her great grandfather Norman to sleep. Her memory lives on.
The end of June W.A.C.K.O. club hosted a Elite Shed Dog event at Stancerville. It was a three day event. Slammer and Gertie passed each day. On the second day Slammer received a 3rd place. Slammer has 65/100 and Gertie 30/100 points needed for their champion titles.
In July Slammer and John passed their second AKC Master Hunter test.
Slammer also became a dad for the fourth time. Dicca and him had a litter of 11 pups which kept Dicca’s owners on their toes.
August was a productive month. Slammer and John passed their 3rd AKC Master Hunter test.
September started out the busy month by JoAnn going Bear hunting with a friends brother and his bear hound dogs. I was successful the first morning I went out.
My friend Kim S talked me into showing Slammer in AKC conformation. I couldn’t show the first day so Kim showed Slammer, I then received a text stating that Slammer went WD/BOB for a 3 point major. To say I was surprised was an understatement. Host clubs were the Greater Racine Kennel Club and the Cudahy Kennel Club.
The second day of the show I showed Slammer and we received WD/BOB for another 3pt major. This guy was on a roll.
September was the month I had been working all year for. The ACC National Field Trial Specialty was being held in Stoughton, WI. I was one of the committee members to make this happen. It was such a great 4 days. The chair-cochair, committee members, volunteers all did an amazing job. I was happy to be apart of this event.
Right after the NFT John and Gertie headed to Saskatchewan for a week of snow goose hunting. They had a great time with their friends. Hoping this next year I can get back into going.
While John was in Canada I went to another dog show with Slammer. This show was hosted by the Sheboygan Kennel Club. He received a second and a RW.
The end of September I entered another dog show this time with Riggs. Host club was Rockford-Freeport Kennel Club. Riggs was 1st and then WD for his first 3pt major. On the second day he was 2nd/RW.
The end of October I hit a three day dog show with Slammer again. Host clubs were the Kenosha Kennel Club and Skokie Valley Kennel Club. The first day Slammer went 1st/wd/boboh for his 3rd 3pt major. The second day he went 1st/RW. The third day he went 1st/WD for his 4th 3pt major. He’s on fire!
We ended the show season of 2023 with 4 majors, 12 points and NOHS Bronze with 10 points. Unbelievable!!
October we started guiding at Lone Oak Shooting preserve again along with regular hunting. The dogs are having fun picking up birds. Gambler at 12.5 years and Glory at 12 years are still hunting and doing a great job at it. I have to scream a little louder as they are deaf but they get the job done.
Through out the year Gambler, Glory, Slammer and Gertie visited Clearview Health Campus once a week doing pet therapy. Bringing smiles to the residents.
The middle of December Slammer and I went to another Elite Shed Dog event. He timed out the first day, passed the second day and had to scratch the third day as I was called to go bobcat hunting. He now has 75/100 points to earn his champion shed dog title.
John and I both had bobcat tags, John drove me up to Sheldon, WI to hunt with the same peeps who took me bear hunting. John happened to be near the cat before I got there so he tagged it. There wasn’t another chance for me to hunt as it hadn’t snowed again before the season closed. We hunted with hound dogs and what a trip it is to witness another breed hunting.
Gambler got the privilege to hunt with his Boykin buddy Ted one last time. Gambler is 12.5 years and Ted is going on 14 years with walking disabilities. They have been hunting together a couple times during the pheasant season for the past 10 years. Gambler doesn’t play well with others but he respects Ted and it’s amazing to watch these two dogs work together to get the job done. I always have fun watching the Boykins hunt and hunting under them. Thank you Ted for many hunts with Gambler.
Bruce was able to snap this photo of Gambler and I walking side by side hunting. When Gambler’s dad Norman was 12 years old John snapped a photo of Norman and I walking side by side at Lone Oak Shooting Preserve. I now have to favorite photos of me and my pals.
Shank is Shank and has been visiting the Vet School every 3-4 months to have her cataracts evaluated. She is on daily medication and her eyes are stable. She is a fun loving little gal that doesn’t know she has a problem. Bones is her buddy as she is always stalking him and trying to play with him. He is still going strong with his megaesophagus with not having any health issues from it.
We had a uneventful Christmas and New Year.
This brings Sand Spring Chesapeakes 2023 to a close. We had a fun filled year with hoping more fun and accomplishments in 2024. We hope you all had the year you wanted and hope you have a happy, healthy and safe 2024. We will be seeing you!
Chessie Pups Available At Eska Creek
Sand Spring Chesapeakes doesn’t have any litters at this time but my male Slammer has a nice litter he sired at Eska Creek Chesapeakes, Kansas. – Scroll to bottom to see current photos.
Pups born 7/7/23
The pups are 1 week old this past Friday. Slammer and Dicca had 11 puppies, 7 males and 4 females. Females are all spoken for.
Dicca’s health clearances.
Please contact Suellen at Eska Creek Chesapeakes for more information.
eskacreekchesapeakes@gmail.com
(907) 841-4713
Follow Eska Creek on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/eskacreekchessies
Year In Review 2022 Sand Spring Chesapeakes
As we close out 2022 and bring upon 2023 I would like to take a moment to reflect on 2022 the good the bad and the ugly. I do this so I can have a record of what the year has brought when I look back and to share the year with others.
Our 2022 was started out with the good and the bad that was carried over from December of 2021. It was on Christmas day 2021 that we welcomed 2 precious Norman and Guilty pups into this world. This was Guilty’s last breeding and when we found out the bad that Guilty had something going on with her liver.
Guilty was such a great mom during this time, her liver was failing and she marched on and took care of her pups. It’s amazing what mothers will do for their young. For the next six months Guilty would be on medications for her liver and bloodwork to monitor her values. During this time she didn’t act like anything was wrong, she was still a happy go lucky dog that would do anything to please us.
The middle of February Jake and Kola went to their forever homes. I accompanied Kola on his flight to Alabama to live with our best friends Alan and Nichole whom also have another Sand Spring pup Hector. The night in the hotel and flight went so well with Kola, he adapted to everything without skipping a beat. I had a great time visiting Alabama, I got to see and do so much in the short time I was there.
Gertie and Slammer were invited to the UKC Premier. Both of them were in the 2021 Top Ten for conformation which meant they were invited to the 2022 Premier, we didn’t make it to the Premier but it was a honor to be invited.
Gertie received her AKC Therapy Dog title, she made 50 therapy visits to earn this title. Mostly she visited John’s dad who was homebound then in the nursing home. It made Gertie’s day and Howards day to do the visits. It’s always nice to make visits and put smiles on peoples faces.
Slammer and John competed in two UKC HRC Seasoned tests, passing both of them to earn Slammer’s Hunting Retriever title. During the summer he continued to train towards his UKC finished and AKC Master Hunter title. He ran two master tests in which he failed both. We learned that more training is needed to accomplish this task.
Slammer and JoAnn received their AKC Rally Advanced title. The rally events were all done virtually. He passed three rally courses.
April 25, a litter of 9 was born to Belle, Slammer was the sire. Since we were not breeding Guilty anymore and Gertie was spayed due to health reasons we took a puppy in lieu of a stud fee. We picked out this little beauty and named her Shank.
At six months of age we got some bad news on Shank. It turns out she has pretty bad cataracts so we won’t be able to breed her either. This was some pretty sad news to us as it pauses our breeding plans for a few more years. Shank is currently being treated by the UW Madison Veterinary School. So far we are managing her cataracts with medications. Surgery to replace her lens will probably be in her future but for now we are going to hope her eyes stay quite and she keeps her vision for a long time.
The ugliest thing that happened this year is that we lost Guilty to liver cancer. She was doing great on her medications until she wasn’t. Her liver was one of the worst that the pathologist has seen, we can’t believe she did as well as she did. Guilty never woke up from an exploratory surgery and after assisting in surgery and seeing how bad the liver was we chose to let her go peacefully. Guilty was 6 years young. One shouldn’t have to loose a dog that young. We will remember the great times we had with her and are blessed to have 2 of her children to keep her memory alive.
This summer I tried something new with Gertie we entered some AKC Fast Cat events. Gertie received her BCAT title. It took a little bit to get her to chase the bag as I think she thought that was dumb but she caught on or she just wanted to run to momma, which ever she got it done.
The most amazing thing of 2022 was that my friend Nichole invited me along with her on a trip the Europe. Thank you husband Alan for not wanting to go so I could go. What a trip of a life time, I can’t thank her enough for that opportunity. I also need to thank her niece Casey for being an excellent tour guide and hanging with us. Casey picked us up at the airport with her two young children, drove us to their lovely home in Bury St. Edmund, showed us their town and then it was off to Guernsey Island then Normandy then back to England then Nichole and I were off for a layover in Paris which was spent in the very boring airport. Can’t complain the rest of the trip was to die for!
We went to Normandy did all the Dday history stuff. One cannot even imagine the feeling one gets to visit that part of our history. It had so much meaning. I can’t thank those soldiers enough for their service and braveness. I will never forget what they did for our freedom.
Another favorite part of the trip for me was that I got to meet Karen from Jersey on Guernsey Island. She took a short 12 minute flight over to the Island to hang with me. What a wonderful day it was, can’t believe we’ve been facebook friends forever and we finally got to meet in person.
I didn’t get to meet just one facebook friend I got to meet three. While in Normandy my blogging friends Mark and Katty drove 3 hours one way to meet up with me, how great is that? We’ve been blogging friends back with Norman and their Easy was alive, we shared their lives and then we grieved their losses. We exchange doggie bday and xmas gifts. They are such lovely people I am so blessed to have gotten to meet them and their new doggies Phenny and Nelson. I will never forget meeting my facebook friends.
When I got back home it was time to run another UKC Elite Shed Dog event to try and get Slammer and Gertie their Working Shed Dog titles. They both passed all three days giving them their titles. Off to Champion level for us now.
Another sad time for our family was John’s dad Howard passing away. He live a good long live until Alzheimer’s took over and ended his life. We will remember him for always hunting and fishing in his spare time. He loved all our dogs and helped us out by letting them out while we were at work. He loved Gerties therapy visits when he couldn’t get out of the house.
Another good time in 2022 was when Slammer became a dad for the second time. This time he was bred to Dicca and they had 5 beautiful boys. I’m blessed to have had a part in this and to now follow along in the adventures of some of the puppies.
During 2022 Slammer and I attended a few UKC conformation shows. We have one more champion leg we need to earn to grant him his UKC Grand Champion title. We already have dates in 2023 where we could possibly get this done.
Before the dog show we ran a shed dog event in the champion division. It was snowing hard that morning so the antlers were hard to find. Gertie timed out without finding all her antlers, Slammer on the other hand was a rock star and found his 5 antlers in 4 minutes and some seconds. He ended up in fourth place for the day. We were super happy. When we were at the dog show I entered Slammer in Rally Obedience for a chance to receive Total Dog. Slammer received third place in rally with getting reserve in the show ring gave him Total Dog for the day, so all in all it was a great weekend.
This fall we didn’t go to Saskatchewan since when they decided to lift the bird ban there wasn’t enough time for John to get off work to go so we had to decline the offer to go. We did do a little bird hunting here in Wisconsin. The most fun is guiding at Lone Oak Shooting Preserve, all the dogs get a turn at guiding. What’s not to love about picking up birds, they don’t care who shoots them and I don’t care that I’m not shooting them. All I care about is my dogs getting birds in the mouth. Gambler and Glory both turned 11 this year and they still have it.
To close out 2022 there was Christmas and now Sunday 2023 starts.
All in all through the hard times 2022 was special and very memorable. Every year there are going to be good times and bad times along with some devastating times. All I can say is that these times make us stronger for the next phase in life. With family, friends and our dogs by our sides we can get through anything.
Peace and love to all!