
Andi Christensen and FireStarter
Kennels
Andi’s
family got their first Brittany when she was around 4 years
old. She started showing in breed rings and in Junior Showmanship
with German Shorthaired Pointers before she was ten years old.
The Christensen family also participated in NSTRA, Colorado
Gun Dog, hunt tests, and field trials.
Neighbors saw how well their dogs were trained and started
sending their dogs to stay with them for "boot camp".
Andi would keep the dogs in her room at night to work on their
crate training. Andi’s mother, Tracy Haines (then Christensen)
worked on basic obedience during the day, and Andi would help
continue training when school was out.
Andi
got to help with the Christensens' first two Brittany litters.
One was out of their first Brittany named Buddy, and another
sired by their dog, DC Sunnyvale Point of Interest, JH, "Luke"
(shown at left). Tracy showed Luke to his CH, and he earned
both his JH and his FC, making him an 8th generation Dual Champion.
Andi’s dog Dylan is out of this litter.
When
Andi was 14, she started running Dylan
(FC Making R-Point, shown at right with Andi) in puppy and derby
stakes at field trials. Little did they know that he was going
to be the biggest running true All Age Brittany any of them
had ever owned. While Andi would handle him, she’d see
him 3 hills away, "sing" to him, all with tears in
her eyes in fear she was going to lose him! Dylan quickly got
all of his juvenile points and collected a lot of placements,
but he was the only derby at the time that needed a scout for
a call back!
Right
after college Andi got a Dutch shepherd named Tali (shown at
left) that she trained for obedience and every trick in the
book. Her friends and family were impressed with how well she
behaved that they started leaving their dogs with her overnight
or for days at a time so she could work with them.
In the past 2 years, Andi has started FireStarter
Kennels, and is also continuing to enjoy and compete in
shows, hunt tests, and field trials with her own Brittanys.
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