Freighter had his first hunt test of the season this past weekend and he was out in 30 seconds. I am not sure if it was exactly 30 seconds, but it was quick because he broke (left before being sent to retrieve) after the second bird was thrown.
Not exactly the way we hoped to start the year.
Freighter sat and waited in the blind while hubby took the lead off and put it in his pocket.
This is an improvement over last year when Freighter would have been doing back-flips because he was so excited.
The test started with a “walk-up”. A walk-up is where the handler approaches the line with their dog at heel and at some point a duck is thrown. It is supposed to be a surprise for the dog so there is no duck call to signal the bird is coming, only a shot when the bird is launched. The dog is under judgment the entire time they are coming to the line meaning the dog cannot run ahead of the handler and should be at heel and under control.
Once the bird is in the air, the handler can either blow a sit whistle or say “sit”. Hubby says “sit” which has worked better for Freighter than the whistle. Unfortunately the gun fired at the exact same time hubby said “sit” and it may have been that Freighter did not hear it. Whatever the reason, Freighter did not actually sit. He stopped when hubby stopped, but he never sat.
Even though he is not sitting, it would have been OK if Freighter had just stood there, but he did not and after the second bird was thrown, Freighter glanced at hubby and then decided to leave on his own to retrieve it.
Freighter only got a few steps out before hubby called him back and Freighter returned, but in a Master Test you are out when that happens. Freighter looked a bit confused because he did not even have a chance to retrieve a bird in the first hunt test of the season. Oh well dude, you know the rules.
Walk-ups are an area we have not been able to really practice enough this season so the next morning we were out working on them. Come back tomorrow to see how that went.
ohhhh, I’m so sorry that the first test ended not like expected… Hugs to you and hugs to Freighter. We hope for the next test and maybe then the timing is better and there is no shot what covered the command… sometimes the devil lures in the smallest detail… this shot maybe came just a second too late or too early :o(
Bummer that Freighter didn’t sit. But that picture of him & hubby carrying the gun is a very cool one!
Oh Freighter, we are so sorry. Hope you do better next time. We can’t blame you for being excited. That must be a very exciting thing to do. We know you will do better next time.
What’s a Chessie to do? And we have to wait for the next installment? Know Freighter will do the right
thing! Just another result of odd winter, spring and layoff. Keeping our fingers crossed. He and hobby make quite the pair, partners. What a great photographer capturing their every move (even the wrong ones). Take heart, this will succeed!
Aw, bless his heart! Well, sometimes stuff just happens. I’m sure that with practice, it will go better next time.
Ohhh bummer. I love that he’s so excited and that even in that excitement, he listens.
Oh dear, how disappointing for you all. I thought you had covered just about everything! I hope the next day’s training went well.
Oh bummer! At least in our sport of nose work, even when you hear the “no” or if you time out, you get to do the rest of the trial. Better luck next time, Freighter!
Oh, Freighter! I do have faith you’ll get it together and be a Master Hunter soon.
Oh, I can just feel everyone’s disappointment, especially Freighter’s at not getting to go for a bird! It’s hard to feel down on their enthusiasm, but I know it has to all be done right. He’ll get it!
Oh no! Freighter was doing so well with his training and his other tests, I thought for sure he’d ace this too. It probably was just that he didn’t hear the “sit” command, but what a shame! I’m sure he’ll do much better next time.
Oh darn. We’re sorry you were out so quickly, Freighter. But the season’s just begun, and we know you’ll do better! 🙂
Sorry to hear things didn’t get off to the start you were hoping for! Start-line stays are hard for Barley in agility class, so we get it! It’s so hard to sit still when you’re ready for fun. Hope that things go better next time!
I hate the 30 sec for 85 bucks trick. I hope he gets it next time. Nice try!
Sorry you had an early exit, but it won’t be long until he gets back into the swing of things.