Amateur wins NCC National Field Trials (article)

[FLocker]

Full disclosure, this involves flushing dogs, but still very cool, and def a big upset:

http://www.wcsh6.com/life/programming/l ... &catid=144

[hustonmc]

Since I know nothing of flusher trials...........What organization was this trial. What is the format, what did this cute little cocker do better then the other dogs? And they mentioned that Lucy actually hunts, I take it they're assuming the other cockers at the trial are just trial dogs, or was that a slight at cockers?

[Sharon]

The link tells you some of what is required in the field.
This dog " actually hunts" during the hunting season, whereas the other trial but don't hunt during the hunting season.
Congrats. to the dog and her owner. This is a classy win and it's very good to see a cocker spaniel hunting line doing well. This would have been a "Flushing breed trial" , ( Springer Spaniels etc.) I have setters but I really enjoy flushers too. Just as much training involved.

[hustonmc]

The link tells you what is required in the field.
This dog " actually hunts" during the hunting season, whereas the other trial but don't hunt during the hunting season.
Congrats. to the dog and her owner. This is a classy win and it's very good to see a cocker spaniel hunting line doing well. This would have been a "Flushing breed trial" , ( Springer Spaniels etc.) I have setters but I really enjoy flushers too. Just as much training involved.

Sharon.............I know you know better. The link states that "In a field trial, the dog must find and flush birds from a field. After the birds are shot, the dog must retrieve them quickly running a straight line to the bird and back to the handler.", LOL. REALLY!!!!!!! I hope for the sake of the Cocker breed there is more to it then that, LOL. There's more to it, there are hunting cocker lines, these dogs deserve their titles.
I'm just curious about kind of format this was. Was in a timed BDC type Championship. Maybe a format where the dog competes head to head in a brace with another dog and is scored by obedience and ground coverage as birds found and retreived. Maybe Ground coverage is weighed more importantly then actual number of birds found, etc. I agree that this is an awesome accomplishment, just curious how the flushing cocker championships work.

[Dave Quindt]

I'm just curious about kind of format this was. Was in a timed BDC type Championship. Maybe a format where the dog competes head to head in a brace with another dog and is scored by obedience and ground coverage as birds found and retreived. Maybe Ground coverage is weighed more importantly then actual number of birds found, etc. I agree that this is an awesome accomplishment, just curious how the flushing cocker championships work.

English Cocker Spaniel Club of America National Field Championship, sanctioned by the AKC, with 58 starters. The AKC Is the primary sanctioning body of both springer and cocker field trials in the US; same goes for retrievers.

Summary write-up available here:
http://www.akc.org/events/field_trials/ ... csca/2009/

Good explanation of spaniel field trials here:
http://www.essfta.org/Versatility/fieldtrial.htm

FYI,
Dave

[Neil]

Great to see amateurs do well.

The current National Champion pointer is amateur handled, and won the Purina Dog of the Year.

The recent Brittany Purina Dog of the Year is amateur trained and handled.

Neil

[hustonmc]

[quote=
Summary write-up available here:
http://www.akc.org/events/field_trials/ ... csca/2009/

Good explanation of spaniel field trials here:
http://www.essfta.org/Versatility/fieldtrial.htm

FYI,
Dave[/quote]

Thanks, that was a good read. Although I play the pointing dog game, I'm well trained hunting dog enthusiast, of any style. I see that the runner up was handled and owned by an amateur as well.

[Calisdad]

Since I know nothing of flusher trials...........What organization was this trial. What is the format, what did this cute little cocker do better then the other dogs? And they mentioned that Lucy actually hunts, I take it they're assuming the other cockers at the trial are just trial dogs, or was that a slight at cockers?

First off, that's a good looking cocker. Notice it doesn't have the boxey snout the AKC likes so much. "What did it do?" It found birds! Quickly.

For a dog to hunt and field trial in these events is remarkable as one of the main scoring traits in a flushing field trial is to be steady to flush and shot. Not something most hunters care for. These dogs are trained to work distinct patterns. A person has to spend a lot of time with their dog to teach them to turn this on and off.

Most here are probably aware there are gun dog competitions. Flushers have no trouble keeping up with and outscoring pointers at these events. http://www.nagdog.com/scores.htm

Kudos to Lucy and Sheryl. (gee- they didn't need any testosterone to win )

[FLocker]

They're not pointers, and the idea of a 20-30 lb serious gun dog might be a bit of a surprise, but working cockers make a lot of sense for a lot of bird hunters. The ability to get under cover that taller dogs go right over is a big advantage. Most have a natural retrieve (though there is a raging debate about FF and its breeding implications), are fast and can handle any upland bird all day.