Storm did not fare well at this weekend’s hunt test.
It was a difficult test that had a lot of difficult factors.
The first series was a land water triple with a water blind. The flyer was the first bird down off to the left. Depending on where it was shot it was either landing in some piles of cut hay, a marshy area behind the piles of cut hay, or sometimes in the cut grass. The birds were not falling in a consistent spot so the area was well salted with scent. If the dogs got too far out beyond the bird, they tended to get pulled to Mark #3 or #2 or even back further in the area behind the bird.
Stations #2 and #3 were set up in a line to the right. We call those “in-line” and to make those marks more difficult, they also fell in-line so we call them wipe-out marks. One mark crossing the path of another tends to “wipe-out” the other in the dog’s mind.
To make the test more difficult, there was a “hot” blind set out to the right of Mark #2. This means that the bird was already in the field rather than being placed there after the dog ran the marks. If a dog got to the right of that mark, they were drawn over to the hot blind and had to be handled back to the mark. Picking up a hot blind is an automatic fail. Some dogs stopped to pick up Mark #2 on their way out to pick up Mark #3 (which was the “Go” bird). If that happened often Mark #3 was lost to them.
The whole test was set in at the bottom of a hill which formed a kind of bowl. In order to take the line to Mark #2 and #3, the dogs had to cross through a small pond.
The one bright spot was that Storm was absolutely steady at the line and did not lift her fanny or a foot. She did stretch a bit for the flyer but settled right back down for the next two marks. Unfortunately, she was a bit too fixated on the flyer.
Storm would not take her eyes off the flyer so rather than pull her off it, hubby sent her there.
Despite hunting and hunting, Storm could not come up with the bird. There was some wind blowing across the test from right to left and eventually Storm caught wind of the birds on the other side of the field.
Hubby tried to handle her back to the flyer but by then she was having no part of it. She kept digging around to the other birds.
Eventually hubby called her in, but in true Storm fashion, she ran over and picked up Mark #2.
When I saw that test I figured it would give Storm trouble. Cover in a bowl of a field is something we have not really trained because we do not have access to those kinds of fields. Add in all the difficult factors and Storm was pretty much lost in space.
But we can train more wipe-out marks and we can train poison birds to help her pull off one mark to another. Blowing off her handler’s whistle is also something we can train. So the next morning Storm was out working some handling drills. I will have those pictures in another post.
Sorry, that this test ended not with a smiling Storm :o( I’m sure at the next one she will be fabulous. I sometimes imagine what would happen when Easy would run in a hunting test…. I better stop to about that, lol :o)
Always love to read your blog each day! I am not active with mine anymore as I have been really busy with work…we are preparing for the season here with at home training..our first HT is at the end of October…even though mine are pointing breeds, I learn something new all the time! Thanks for sharing!
I can understand why she had a hard time – that’s one hard test. Love that she still came back with a bird though. You go Storm.
Gosh that must have been a hard one. Nevermind there is always tomorrow and at least it looked like nice weather.
Have a marvellous Monday.
Best wishes Molly
At first those umbrellas looked like giant turtles in the field! Poor Storm, it was tough, but she seemed to have fun at least, and it is a team effort, so if she hasn’t trained it well enough, it isn’t all her fault. Better luck next try.
Sorry to hear Storm didn’t do so well, but she’s always a winner with us. 🙂 I do love that she just HAD to come back with a bird….ANY bird!
I’m glad she’s steadier. That’s good progress. Sounds like a tough hunt!
Sorry you had a bugger of a test, that is a doozie, of course she isn’t going to come back without a bird even if it’s not the right bird. I love the photos of them at the line, looks like a painted picture with the beautiful clouds in there. Next time girl.
This test sounds very difficult. More practice means more fun, right Storm?
That really does sound like it’s very difficult. She came back with a bird though, which seems like a good thing to those of us who don’t really understand it all! 🙂
Oh poor Storm. Did she have anything to drown her sorrows in? 🙂 I saw you drowned yours in Mexican. LOL
Including a margarita. Prickly Pear. 🙂 Storm got to train again on Sunday. That was because she blew off her handler in the field. 😉
Hi Y’all!
Hey! Sometimes we know better than you Humans…It’s time for fun! Like a REAL hunt and retrieve! Not some silly test.
That’s just another dog’s view.
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Those umbrellas look like mushrooms! Poor Storm but she seem to have fun digging for the birds? 😛
Tough test, sorry she didn’t do better.