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About Us
The Original Crew
 
Thunderstruck
Retrievers is located near Alexandria, Minnesota on 120 acres
of softly rolling glacial hills providing both training ponds
and cover. We specialize in Golden Retrievers--raising, competing,
hunting, and breeding Goldens who are multi-purpose: strong field
trial and hunt test competitors with friendly, loving attitudes
who can serve as hunting companions and pets.
The
Golden Retriever venture began in 1980 with the purchase of Otterness's
Misty Morning (a granddaughter of FC AFC Right-On Dynamite John
FDHF) from Ralph and Theresia Doubeck. Todd was looking for that
four-legged hunting companion, and he found her in Misty. He began
training and competing at Central Minnesota Retriever Club while
still in high school and learned the ropes of dog training from
the Doubecks and Lawrence Martin, spending hours throwing birds
and handling Misty. His hunting buddies at the time will always
have memories of that unbelievable dog. As some of our friends
joke, it helped having a dog that knew more of what was going
on than the trainer. Her talent and intellect definitely got Todd
hooked on dog training and Golden Retrievers. Since that time
we have always had Goldens; however, as we got married, started
a family, began T & B Lawn Care, and Benita started teaching
high school English, Todd got out of trialing for awhile.
As
our children, have gotten older, we decided to begin training
and trialing/testing together, so after close to 25 years of owning
our own business and teaching, we embarked on an additional venture--Thunderstruck
Retrievers. (We decided we couldn't call it Thunderstruck Goldens
since we might venture from the breed some time and add a Labrador
or Chesapeake!) We have also found that our experience in small
business and Benita's past experiences in education are a definite
plus as it has been helpful that some of the practices used in
business and teaching are transferable to the retriever training
world.
We
enjoy both hunt tests and field trials, but our competitive side
prefers the field trials. It is definitely addicting!! We enjoy
training the dogs together and both of us handle our dogs.
Our
dogs come from long-proven stock, which demonstrate longevity,
health, and success. In respect to the Golden Retriever breed,
we are always conscious of genetics and clearances; we conscientiously
choose our breedings and make sure all animals we breed have health
clearances for hips, elbows, heart, eyes, and thyroid. We also
do DNA tests for common hereditary diseases, such as prcd-PRA,
PRA-1, NCL, PRA-2, and Ichthyosis. We want to do our part to ensure
your puppy will have a healthy start.
If
you are eager to have a working dog that also will be a great
companion in your home, please contact us. We breed for the competitive
homes that will give our puppies a job to do as they grow, but
our litters will also be appropriate for hunting companions and
as pets. Our goal is to send puppies to your homes that are well
socialized, eager to learn, inquisitive, and full of desire. We
work hard to match litters and puppies with the client's needs
so that a life-long relationship grows!
We
strive for quality. If you are considering a current litter or
one in the future, we invite you to visit with us about our dogs,
facilities, breeding program, training, and philosophy. Also,
browse our site to get a sense of Thunderstruck Retrievers.
We
look forward to hearing from you,
Todd and Benita Otterness
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