NEWS

Zanesville's Own National Gun Dog Champ
Local man handles, owns German Shorthaired Pointers
By DAVE WEIDIG, Sports Editor

Left - Bill Monk of Zanesville poses with QC's Prime Suspect along with the judges at the National Amateur Gun Dog Championship last month in Medford, N.J. Monk was handler for the Medina German Shorthaired Pointer, which won the national title over 20 other dogs from all over the country. The 4-year-old dog was among the youngest in the competition.

ZANESVILLE - When Bill Monk pulls out of his driveway for gun dog competition, he pulls out to win.

Little did he know that when he left late last month for Medford, N.J., he would be bringing home a national championship in his first national event.

The 34-year-old Monk, who grew up in Columbus and moved to this area from Iowa about four years ago, was the handler for QC's Prime Suspect, which beat out 20 other dogs from all over the country for the 2006 National Amateur Gun Dog Championship. Monk is director of operations and transportation for the Longaberger Company, and the dog is owned by Jennifer Goodall Sheehan of Medina.

"I worked with the dog for four months; got her in shape and conditioned her," said Monk, who trains QC's Prime Suspect and his own two dogs on his 20 acres of land plus adjoining woodlands, fields and creeks. "I train out here every night for an hour, building endurance. The dogs run along with my 4-wheeler, pull weight and swim. The dog is 55 pounds of muscle."

The dogs have to be well-conditioned to compete in field trials, which simulate the conditions of actual hunting. QC's Prime Suspect and Monk's two dogs, Top Gun Good Time Charlie and Hailey's Comet, are all German Shorthaired Pointers which compete in American Kennel Club events.

The field trials test the dogs' ability to scent and seek out game birds, in Monk's case mostly quail and Hungarian chuckers. In competition, as in actual hunting, the bird dogs range back in forth in fields until they scent a game bird. They then track the bird to its hiding place in a thicket or other undergrowth, and aim, or "point" their bodies directly at the bird, standing still until the bird is flushed out of its hiding place and is fired at by the hunter. Blanks are used in the competition.

QC's Prime Suspect had to make it to the second series of six dogs out of the 21 which started the competition. She wound up beating dogs from Long Island, N.Y., Connecticut and Illinois in the finals.

"It's a test of skill and stamina; the dog has to stand on point until the handler gets there," Monk explained, noting that the dogs usually run 200 to 400 yards ahead of the handler and that competition usually takes between a half hour and an hour each round. "They can't chase thebirds unless the handler tells them to. The handler flushes the bird and fires the blank pistol. The handler then heels the dog or collars him.

Bill Monk of Zanesville poses with his German Shorthaired Pointer, Top Gun Good Time Charlie (4 in July), which has won gun dog competitions in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Tennessee and all over Ohio.

"Every time the dog comes into contact with a bird, it must perform flawlessly. If a dog sees another dog on point, it has to honor that point or be disqualified."

Monk said QC's Prime Suspect already had two birds halfway through the course. "I knew at that point, we didn't need to get another bird," he said. "We just had to finish strong.

"The dog made moves and casts along treelines that no other dog did," Monk said. "She was looping these fields. After the third field, I got a knot in my stomach. I thought, 'we have a shot at this.' We're a team

"Her birding was flawless. Her bird work and stamina put us in the lead by the end of the day."

He noted that most dogs hit their prime when they're about 6 years old, and that QC's Prime Suspect won't turn 5 until November. "Other than (my) Top Gun Good Time Charlie, she was one of the youngest dog in the competition," he said.

Monk, an AKC-licensed judge, has also had a lot of success with Top Gun Good Time Charlie (4 in July). The dog has won in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Tennessee and all over Ohio. He already has nine points towards his amateur championship (10 are needed) and seven towards his field championship, with 10 needed there as well. Monk received Charlie as a gift as a puppy from his good friend in Iowa, Steve Ries.

"We actually took about a year off from competition, because we weren't working well together," Monk admitted.

He also has a 1-year-old dog, Hailey's Comet, which has gotten a win and placed in several events.

Next up is the second national competition, the Fall Horseback Trial in Eureka, Kan., where both QC's Prime Suspect and Top Gun Good Time Charlie will be entered.

"I'm an avid hunter," Monk said. "When I moved back to Ohio, I knew there weren't a lot of wild birds.

"I do it for the competition and for time with my dog. I love the competition. And I can pass it down to my kids, from the training standpoint. They're with me all the time outdoors and every so often, they have a kids trial."

Monk and his wife, Tina, have three sons: 5-year-old Wiley, 3-year-old Owen and 1-year-old Ian.