Retrievers may reign supreme at hunting and finding birds, but 鈥淒ime,鈥� a 10-year-old Standard Poodle, is a new stand-out in the duck pond and onshore.
Dime, Duxbury My Ten Cents, MH60 MNH SHU, is the first Poodle to qualify at three , earning the prestigious AKC Master National Hunter (MNH) title. Her prowess in the field has also earned her a treasured place in the , a first for a Poodle. She qualified in 2019 and 2021.
When Dime isn鈥檛 seeking waterfowl and upland game in streams and onshore for her owner-handler Jack Combs of Advance, North Carolina, the Standard Poodle shows off her second talent. She鈥檚 a Canine Good Citizen and certified therapy dog who comforts adults and children in courtrooms and hospitals with Combs鈥� wife, Mia DiBenedetto.
Earning a Master National Hunt Title
Qualifying for the Master Hunt title is no easy feat. It requires dedication, rigorous training, and a lot of patience. 蜜桃视频 awards a to a dog that completes three Master Nationals. In a hunt test, dogs retrieve birds in water and on land and receive scores on their hunting style, perseverance or courage, steadiness, control, and delivery.
The Master National is a 10-day event, and dogs must qualify or pass six AKC Master-level tests鈥攖wo on land, two on land-water, and two on water during the qualifying year before entering. Dime鈥檚 three Master National passes earned Combs an Amateur Team Excellent Award from the Master National Retriever Club. She鈥檚 eligible to participate in any future Master National events without re-qualifying.
It takes an intelligent, energetic, and versatile dog to excel at hunting and therapy, and Dime comes from a high-achieving Poodle family with hunt and therapy titles. Her brother, 鈥淪moke,鈥� Duxbury Smoke Jumper MH MAR MHU, X, achieved a Master Hunter title, and Dime鈥檚 dam, 鈥淭en,鈥� Bibelot鈥檚 Tolka Hands Up MH81, earned her AKC Therapy Dog Distinguished title after completing 400 therapy visits.
Ten also made her mark as a hunter as the first Poodle to qualify at a Master National. Dime鈥檚 sire, 鈥淭ye鈥� HRCH (Hunting Retriever Champion) CH Lemmerle Silk Tie MH MHU CD WC WCX UWC UWCX, is the first breed champion to earn a Master Hunter Upland title and the second breed champion to earn a Master Hunter Retriever title.
Preparing for the Hunt
Combs began training Dime and her littermates for a hunting title at 8 weeks. The first lesson involved teaching her to come when called. 鈥淚 asked someone to hold her while I walked 10 or 15 steps in front of her with a little bowl of food,鈥� says Combs. 鈥淚 gave her the food bowl when she came to me.鈥�
The next lesson meant introducing the puppies to water and swimming. When Dime鈥檚 litter was about 10 weeks old, Combs took the mother and the pups to a lake with a sandbar where the water was only four or five inches deep. The puppies follow as the mother runs onto the sandbar and swims. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how they become acclimated to water,鈥� Combs says. He teaches the puppies to walk on a lead and perform short retrieves on land and water.
Using his access to a hunting preserve at Village Farm in Rhode Island, Combs takes the 12-week-old puppies into the field with birds. They鈥檝e never seen a bird before, so this is a chance to see if a puppy is attracted to the smell of birds. Instinct kicks in if the puppy follows and startles a bird into flying away. 鈥淭his tells me the puppy understands what a bird is,鈥� Combs says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tremendous feeling to know your dog has it,鈥� Combs says.
鈥楶udel鈥� Paddle Power
While Standard Poodles are known for their elegant coat style, their secret super-power is their hunting ability. Their original purpose was water retrieving, as their name comes from the German word 鈥減udel,鈥� meaning 鈥渢o splash in the water.鈥� Water-resistant curly coats, strong swimming skills, intelligence, and versatility make Poodles a strong contender on the hunting scene.
Poodles weren鈥檛 Combs鈥� first breed. He grew up with hounds and Beagles and was involved with hunting terriers, like Lakeland Terriers and Parson Russell Terriers. After judging terriers in underground hunting at the Great Yorkshire Show in the U.K., Combs observed a retriever demonstration and never expected to see a Standard Poodle swimming to fetch a bird. When the handler blew a whistle, the dog stopped, treaded water, looked at the handler鈥檚 arm signal, and turned in the correct direction toward the bird. 鈥淚 thought to myself, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 incredible,鈥� and when we returned to the U.S., I knew I had to have a Poodle,鈥� Combs recalls.
Combs and DiBenedetto found a Standard Poodle breeder in Colorado whose dog had a master hunter title, and they soon acquired their first Poodle. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had Poodles for 20 years now,鈥� Combs says.
After serving as a faculty member at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, for 35 years, Combs and his wife retired and later moved to North Carolina. 鈥淲e moved here because we knew people, and the area had a lot of land and water resources for hunting,鈥� Combs says. 鈥淲e train with this group three or four days a week.鈥�
Paws of Support Through Therapy
Seven years ago, Dime began accompanying Combs鈥� wife, Mia DiBenedetto, to several hospitals and courtrooms to visit patients and children as a therapy dog.
When Combs and DiBenedetto winter in Florida, they take Dime to see adults and children at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in Tallahassee, Florida. While living in Rhode Island, they visited with children at the Hasbro Children鈥檚 Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. The team shared time with children and adults in North Carolina at the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Sometimes, DiBenedetto receives a call to bring Dime to the courthouse if a child needs comforting before testifying. As soon as Dime enters, she works her magic, easing a child鈥檚 fears. DiBenedetto takes Dime on therapy visits, but occasionally, Combs tags along. 鈥淚鈥檓 as proud of Dime鈥檚 therapy dog work as I am of what she does in the field,鈥� says Combs. 鈥淪eeing Dime in the hospital comforting a child or an adult who doesn鈥檛 feel well and the smile the dog brings them is phenomenal.鈥�
From field to bedside, Dime handles the jobs with grace and style. For Combs, watching his dogs learn and grow mentally is very special. 鈥淭he relationship I have with my dogs is one of my life鈥檚 greatest treasures,鈥� Combs says.