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A Tribute to My Parents -
Ralph and Lolita Manring
This tribute
is way over due and I would
be remiss if I did not give
my parents the credit they
deserve for all they
have done over the years to
make my kennel successful.
We always had a dog in our
family when I was growing up
and I can remember being
interested in dog training
at a very young age. When I graduated
college and moved to North
Dakota I got into owning and training hunting dogs.
My search for the ultimate
hunting dog initially lead me to labs and
Brittneys until I discovered
the Deutsch drahthaar. Once
I got Inga vom Hirschhafen,
my first drahthaar,
completely trained I knew
she was the one I wanted to
use as my foundation bitch
when I established my kennel.
At the time my job with the
Bureau of Reclamation
required that I moved around a
lot and that delayed me from
producing my "A" litter vom
Wildflugel. I wanted to find
the perfect property and
location for my first litter.
When I located my dream
property, my Dad and I
started developing the plans
for my kennel. Once we
agreed on the design, the
construction process got underway. I
contracted with a local
company for the concrete
work and putting up the
building, but we decided
that the two of us could
finish the outside kennel
runs and the inside of the
kennel building. My Dad came
over and spent a month with
me working 10 hours a day
seven days a week getting
the kennel completed.
He worked on every aspect of
the building from applying
the concrete sealer to help
fabricate the gates and
dividers and putting the
roofing on the outside
kennel runs and building dog
boxes. Of course we had
plenty of time to goof off
and have fun while still
getting things done. Every
time my folks
came to visit some sort of
kennel repair was needed. Without me asking,
Dad was always ready to pick
up a hammer or saw and get
things done.
While my Mom was never
involved in the construction
of the kennel, her talent
and skills were utilized in
other ways. She has always been ready
and very willing to come
over when ever I needed help
with the dogs. This included
cleaning kennel runs and feeding
my adult dogs when I had
various knee surgeries to whelping my
"M" litter by herself while
I was out of town on a
business trip. Mom loves my
dogs and puppies and
is always ready to roll up
her sleeves and help out.
She never complained and to
this day is always
Johnny-on-the-spot when I
call to ask if she
can help out. I have lost
count of the number of times
Mom has come over to take
care of my dogs. She knows
just about as much as I do
regarding the care of
newborn puppies. We have
frequently taken turns
getting up in the middle of
the night to bottle feed
pups. In the spring of 2011,
I produced my 53rd litter
and Mom was here helping out
where ever she could. I
think she has been present
for more than half of my
litters, delivering and
caring for the puppies.
My folks passed on a
tremendous work ethic and a
love of animals to me and my
two sisters. This has
carried over to my training
philosophy and how I run my
kennel. My Dad has since
passed, but my Mom still
visits almost every time I
have a new litter of
puppies. I remember the
first time they came
over to help me out just
like it was yesterday. I
never missed an opportunity
to tell them both just how
much I love and appreciated
them. It was their help and
guidance that has made my
kennel the success it is
today.
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