Get to know… Susan Bledsoe, Claims Counsel,
Acuity Insurance
aself-proclaimed “crazy dog person,” Susan Bledsoe is the proud owner of several champion performance dogs.
Q. How many dogs do you have?
a. a self-proclaimed “crazy dog person,” Susan Bledsoe
is the proud owner of several champion performance
dogs.
Q. What kind of training?
a. My dogs participate in american Kennel Club field trials,
which are basically competitions that focus on a breed’s
natural instincts. So, for my retrievers, the field trials consist of
a series of four events, testing their skills on land and water. in
one event, they see a bird fall from the sky and then have to
retrieve it. They also do blind events where the dog does not
see the bird fall, so they rely on hand signals from the trainer
who stays back at the starting point for the entire event.
Q. That sounds difficult.
a. it is, especially the blind water retrieval. We train the
dogs to follow our hand signals and to stop and look to
the trainer for a new command when they hear our whistle.
When they are doing the blind water retrieval, they are
stopping and treading water every time we need to give
them a new command. The distances range from 100 to
450 yards, so it’s physically demanding on the dogs.
year was in the top 46 in nationals and he’s only 4 years
old. The prime age for these dogs is 6 to 8, so he has a lot
of potential and even a little fan club. He’s also a great dog
to have around the house.
Q. How did you get started?
a. When i first had my own place, i had a cocker spaniel
that was very high energy. i quickly learned that training her
in field trials turned her into a different dog. in the field, she
was really good and focused. i trained her and worked with
her for many years. From there, i went on to working with
Labrador retrievers.
Q. Which dog is your most successful?
a. Right now, it’s Ruckus. He’s a field champion and last
My first field champion is Honor and he’s also a great dog.
One day my friend found a feral cat under a viaduct and
brought him to my house. Honor took over as his mother,
carrying him around and taking care of him. Today, almost
six years later, those two are still best friends.
Q. You must know a lot about getting rid of dog hair.
a. it’s a never-ending battle. i basically never put away my
vacuum cleaner. i’ve found that Kirby vacuum cleaners work
the best at picking up dog hair.
Know someone we should interview for Who Knew? Send your suggestion to susan.wisbey-smith@theclm.org.
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