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A few miles south of Maryville, there's a house tucked away off the highway hidden by a thick row of trees.
Many people may not know this house, but it has been the home to some of the best looking and most talented athletes in the world.
Chuck Parietti has the awards to prove it.
Parietti is the owner of the home and those athletes: German Shorthair Pointers. He's raised and bred for nearly two decades.
Parietti's Odyssey Kennels has eight dual champion German Shorthair Pointers under its belt. For those who don't speak the language of the American Kennel Club (AKC), dual champions are the cream of the crop. Not only are these dogs accomplished in the showroom, but equally adept at bird hunting in the field.
"On top of the pyramid you've basically got dogs that do both of these," Parietti said. "And compete in both venues and end up being titled in both venues. That's what's called a dual champion in AKC vernacular."
Parietti said it's an honor bestowed on maybe two or three dogs a year.
He estimated around 250 dogs have reached dual champion status since 1947.
"When you think about one or two or three out of 12,000 a year, and we've done eight, working on our ninth," Parietti said. "That's when the air is rare."
Those credentials make Parietti an expert when it comes to producing dual champions. It all starts with breeding, Parietti said.
At the beginning, it started with a white and brown GSP named Blitz. Blitz was Odyssey's first dual champion and Parietti has an entire album dedicated to her and her accomplishments. Parietti called Blitz Odyssey's "foundation matron."
"We started with her as kind of 'She's the one we want to build around.'" Parietti said. "She lived until she was 16. She was a super, super dog."
It wasn't just her good looks and obedience that made Blitz special. Parietti said she possessed a trait not even the best trainers could teach.
"She just had a knack," Parietti said. "It's just like any athletic aptitude. Where did it come from? Some guys can hit a baseball. Other guys can't.
"She just had the ability to find birds when other dogs couldn't find birds."
A few miles south of Maryville, there's a house tucked away off the highway hidden by a thick row of trees.
Many people may not know this house, but it has been the home to some of the best looking and most talented athletes in the world.
Chuck Parietti has the awards to prove it.
Parietti is the owner of the home and those athletes: German Shorthair Pointers. He's raised and bred for nearly two decades.
Parietti's Odyssey Kennels has eight dual champion German Shorthair Pointers under its belt. For those who don't speak the language of the American Kennel Club (AKC), dual champions are the cream of the crop. Not only are these dogs accomplished in the showroom, but equally adept at bird hunting in the field.
"On top of the pyramid you've basically got dogs that do both of these," Parietti said. "And compete in both venues and end up being titled in both venues. That's what's called a dual champion in AKC vernacular."
Parietti said it's an honor bestowed on maybe two or three dogs a year.
He estimated around 250 dogs have reached dual champion status since 1947.
"When you think about one or two or three out of 12,000 a year, and we've done eight, working on our ninth," Parietti said. "That's when the air is rare."
Those credentials make Parietti an expert when it comes to producing dual champions. It all starts with breeding, Parietti said.
At the beginning, it started with a white and brown GSP named Blitz. Blitz was Odyssey's first dual champion and Parietti has an entire album dedicated to her and her accomplishments. Parietti called Blitz Odyssey's "foundation matron."
"We started with her as kind of 'She's the one we want to build around.'" Parietti said. "She lived until she was 16. She was a super, super dog."
It wasn't just her good looks and obedience that made Blitz special. Parietti said she possessed a trait not even the best trainers could teach.
"She just had a knack," Parietti said. "It's just like any athletic aptitude. Where did it come from? Some guys can hit a baseball. Other guys can't.
"She just had the ability to find birds when other dogs couldn't find birds."
Blitz passed along her special skill set along to her son Sam, who was also one of Parietti's dual champions.
Sam died in 2003 at a young age due to cancer but is still one of Parietti's most accomplished dogs. That's because Sam is still winning awards. He was named one of the 2009 Field Trial sires of the year, which means his offspring are still performing at a top of their class. Sam was also nominated for the German Shorthair Pointer Hall of Fame this year.
"So those are probably the two that are put on a pedestal," Parietti said. "Everything you've accomplished you've built around those two great dogs."
Odyssey's success was literally built around Blitz and Sam. Their bloodline continues to flow in the Odyssey Kennels today. That's because Parietti runs a line-bred operation. That means he breeds within the family line, without inbreeding.
"Generally, this is a line bred-operation," Parietti said. "We started out with the breed stock that we felt we needed to have to compete and we've stayed within those bloodlines."
To make sure they stay away from inbreeding, Parietti does venture outside of the bloodline once in a while. This also allows Parietti to add certain traits from other dogs into the mix and perfect what he wants in a dual champion.
Not just any German Shorthair Pointers get to breed with the Odyssey dogs. Parietti is extremely picky. He said he looks for titles, good pedigrees and most importantly good bird dogs.
The Odyssey dogs are not bred very often. In the 15 years he's been doing it, Parietti said around 150 dogs have been born in Odyssey Kennels.
"It's kind of low volume, high quality," Parietti said.
When a litter is born, Parietti immediately starts evaluating to see if a dual champion is among its ranks. He said the dog’s build is an important factor but so is attitude. He said the most courageous newborns usually make the best dual championship dogs.
These "leaders of the pack" are then picked for specialized training. Parietti keeps his numbers low. He currently has only eight dogs at his home. Don't think the others go by the wayside. High end hunting dogs are in high demand. Parietti said his puppies can be worth $1,000 and there's always a waiting list of potential buyers.
For those selected to undergo dual championship training, the work begins at a young age. Parietti said preparing the dogs for the show room is the easy part. It's getting them ready for the field that takes years to perfect.
"The foundation of all training of bird dogs is 'Whoa.'" Parietti said. "When I say 'Whoa.' you stand still and don't move until I tell you to do otherwise."
The 'Whoa' command is much more complicated than getting a dog to stay. These dogs, when properly trained, won't move a muscle no matter what happens around them until they're given the proper command. In other words the dogs have to be "broke".
Parietti defined a "broke" dog as one that will find a bird, point, wait until the handler dismounts and shoots. Even with a bird fluttering up only feet in front of its face, gunshots going off and whatever other distractions nature has to offer, "broke" dogs ignore their natural instinct and sit unflinching, waiting to be released with proper command.
On top of all this training, the pointers have to be exceptional athletes. Parietti said field trials could have a dog running for half an hour to an hour at a time.
"Most of the field trial venue around here is on horseback," Parietti said. "They've got to have really good speed, range, bird finding ability and at the same time be totally broke."
Just like any other athlete, the GSPs have to workout. Parietti said he runs his dogs with his horse often to keep them in shape.
Getting a dog into the proper physical shape and getting it ready for the field can take years. Parietti said most dogs aren't even ready to be dual champions until they're four or five years old.
Of course there's always exceptions. Three-year-old Rudy is already a dual champion. A spark plug of a dog in a breed known for its energy, Rudy seems to have a never-ending supply of energy when on the hunt. Yet, she reins it all in when she's spots a bird.
Then there's Maverick, a 2-year-old female in Odyssey's pack. She's still a little young to have all the commands locked down. But with a gorgeous build and a desire to work the field, she seems to be the next in line to earn a dual title and continue on Odyssey's legacy of success.
