From the President:

Spring 2026

Spring Training

Each spring brings a new training season: a time to tune up older dogs after hunting season, help young dogs move on to more advanced work, and reconnect with training partners. Many of us will be training from now until September as we prepare for fall tests and the upcoming hunting season.

Before the ribbons, photographs, and test results, there is often a quieter moment that stays with us: the first light of morning, a handler hoping things will come together, a dog eager to work, all reminders of why we do this. When we hunt and train our Spinoni to do the work they were bred for, we build a bond like no other — shaped by shared experience, trust, and understanding.

Our club helps keep those traditions alive.

We are more than a group of people who enjoy Spinoni. We are a community committed to preserving the working ability, soundness, and character of the breed. Every training day, hunt test, youth event, conservation effort, and conversation with a new handler plays a part in that work. These qualities did not happen by accident, and they will not continue without care. They depend on thoughtful breeding, honest evaluation, steady training, ethical hunting, and members willing to share what they know.

This year, I hope we continue to focus on the basic values we have in common.

Let’s be generous teachers. Every experienced handler was once a beginner with a whistle, a lead, a young dog, and plenty of questions. When we welcome new members, explain the work, and invite them into the field, we make the sport stronger and more approachable.

Let’s be good stewards of our dogs. A hunting companion is both an athlete and a partner. We owe our dogs fair training, proper conditioning, patience, veterinary care, and opportunities to do the work they were bred to do.

Let’s respect the land, the game, and the people who make our activities possible. The future of hunting dogs depends on habitat, conservation, public trust, and ethical conduct. Each time we enter a field, marsh, woodland, or training ground, we represent our dogs, our club, and the sport we care about.

And let’s remember that success is not measured only by ribbons, plaques, titles, or birds in the bag. Sometimes success is a young dog making its first honest retrieve. Sometimes it is a junior handler gaining confidence. Sometimes it is an older dog, gray around the muzzle, still giving us one more good day afield.

I am grateful to every member who plants birds, throws bumpers, judges events, sets up tents, maintains grounds, mentors newcomers, works dogs in bad weather, serves on committees, and shows up when help is needed. A club like ours is built by people willing to lend a hand.

May the coming training season bring safe gunning, sound dogs, good fellowship, and many memorable days afield.

As always, please feel free to email me at any time at annbagnell@gmail.com.