Owner Kathy Rasinowich-Platt discribes Shale as athletic, smart, and funny. He has a high level of prey drive and is very motivated by both food and toys - important traits in a performance competitor. Although this boy is well known for his accomplishments in competition obedience, Kathy treasures him most for being a great companion.

Shale is a handsome dog and possesses good structure and fluid movement. He has moderate substance, a moderate and correct coat that is easy to care for, a lovely head, solid topline, good balance, and an appealing Golden expression. He has a good bite and full dentition. He has no conformation negatives that would impede his soundness or function. He also has no skin problems or allergies.

One of Shale's most valuable strengths is his solid temperament. He is confident yet has a sweet demeanor, and he interacts well with other dogs as well as people. In other words, he has the good old-fashioned Golden temperament we strive to maintain.

Some of Shale's many accomplishments:

• Went from CD to OTCH/UDX in 10 months
• Companion Degree title completed 7/11/03 with an average score of 199
• Companion Degree Excellence title completed 11/16/03 with an average score of 198.6
• Utility Degree title completed 2/21/04 with an average score of 198
• Obedience Trial Champion completed 4/23/04
• Utility Dog Excellence completed 5/8/04
• Canine Good Citizen earned 6/29/06
• Golden Retriever Obedience Hall of Fame 2004
• Qualified for the National Obedience Invitational in 2004, 2005 and 2006; advanced to the finals in 2005 and 2006, and was 2nd runner up in 2006.
• Was selected to the 2006 and 2007 USA/AKC World Cup Obedience team and in 2006 traveled to Birmingham, England to compete at Crufts.
• Multiple 200’s:  1 Novice, 1 Open and 2 Utility
• Multiple High in Trials: 54 (as of 8/20/06)
• Multiple High Combineds: 46 (as of 7/31/06)
• Ranked in the top 5 All Breed Obedience for 2004, 2005 and 2006
• Ranked in the top 10 for the following obedience ranking systems for 2004, 2005, and 2006: Golden Retriever, Delaney, Toby Trigger, Schuman