20-Day Countdown to get my BDK/Murphy GSP!

[GunDogAdventures]

Well, this week I sent off my deposit to Murphy's Shorthairs to hold my first male GSP. He's out of Brian's "Murphy's Cheap Trick (Trixie) by "BDK's Chloe's Jax of All Trades" (Trey). I couldn't be more excited and think I've narrowed down his name to "Jax'd Up Trix'd Out Chevy" (Chevy). My plans are to train him myself and enjoy hunting dove, duck, quail, pheasant, woodcock, and (other?). I'm thinking of putting a JH on him and then run him in Puppy and Derby stakes before working up the SH and maybe MH. I really enjoy NSTRA, but I'd like to see if he can compete in the AKC Trials and have heard the two don't compliment each other.

Questions:
1) Can someone be competitive going for an AFC without sending their dog to a professional trainer?
2) Is it NSTRA or AKC, but not both?
3) Is JH just a waste of time, should I be looking at a NAVHDA NA tests instead?

I'm sure looking forward to bringing Lily home a little brother!!

Comments welcome!

[Sharon]

1/ Absolutely in week - end trials. I was . Remember though to get pro help if you hit any road blocks with your dog.

Championships?? Not in my experience, but perhaps other amateurs have been more successful. Pros show up with many exceptional dogs - which is a good thing as we need them .

There are different kinds of amateurs. Big difference between first dog amateur and 10th dog amateur. :)MANY amateurs are exceptional dog trainers/participants.

2/ I participated in NSTRA some. In my opinion you need a different "kind of dog " for AKC/AF.

3/ If you are inexperienced , JH is a good place to get your feet wet. NAVHDA is great too. I'm sure you'll get many opinions based on what people have enjoyed with their dogs. (I had a BDK/LB'sOHI GSP once . If I had gotten that dog when I was more experienced, I would have had a Champion.

** Key is to find a mentor at some club.

[Sharon]

I can't be that right. This guy needs some more opinions..

[GunDogAdventures]

Thanks Sharon, I did get one resourceful response from a PM sent to me, but was hopeful more would chime in. I should clarify that Chevy will be my 3rd GSP, just my first "male" (my wife has been partial to female pups in the past). My current GSP, Lily, made it into the Lone Star NSTRA Regionals, ending up as 5th runner up in her inaugural season. She also passed the first leg of her JH last fall with flying colors. So, I think we work well as a team and her talent obviously covers up some of my inexperience. I'm also currently 3rd in line for a female from Rob Martin's litter due the first week in Aug. by the brother to Llano's Tails Aflame, out of a female with pretty strong Blue Earth Rexx/Impressive lines. I've read some posts where people make comments like, "Well, we were all newbies until we got started in Field Trials." So.......come on folks......throw me some bones of wisdom. "If you're serious about getting into FTs then try xxxx." "Make sure you don't forget about xxxx when you're going through it." "And remember, always xxx." Thanks in advance.

[Sharon]

Thanks Sharon, I did get one resourceful response from a PM sent to me, but was hopeful more would chime in. I should clarify that Chevy will be my 3rd GSP, just my first "male" (my wife has been partial to female pups in the past). My current GSP, Lily, made it into the Lone Star NSTRA Regionals, ending up as 5th runner up in her inaugural season. She also passed the first leg of her JH last fall with flying colors. So, I think we work well as a team and her talent obviously covers up some of my inexperience. I'm also currently 3rd in line for a female from Rob Martin's litter due the first week in Aug. by the brother to Llano's Tails Aflame, out of a female with pretty strong Blue Earth Rexx/Impressive lines. I've read some posts where people make comments like, "Well, we were all newbies until we got started in Field Trials." So.......come on folks......throw me some bones of wisdom. "If you're serious about getting into FTs then try xxxx." "Make sure you don't forget about xxxx when you're going through it." "And remember, always xxx." Thanks in advance.

You don't need any help.

[codym]

I would recomend you focus on AKC first then move on to NSTRA. I found that it's really tough to get a dog steady to wing/shot/fall and keep them that way in shoot to retrieve. I like both sports and I encourage you to participate in whatever you enjoy, but I think in general the the level of training and polish required to be competitive in akc is much higher. Also AKC judges in my experience like to see dogs run edges and go to objectives, in NSTRA you need to keep your dog in the 40 acre boundaries. I know someone is going to chime in and say you can do both, but it is really hard on a dog and the trainer. Good luck have fun. Before you know it you will have a horse, a rig, and the whole 9. Really good people in AKC, and NSTRA for that matter.

[Brazosvalleyvizslas]

The dog will dictate its limits along with your resources to accomplish them, but yes, they can compete in AKC, NAVHDA and NSTRA. I don't waste my money on JH tests though unless I just want to support my local club. I enjoy watching them though.

[Tejas]

When I first started in dog games, I ran dogs in Jr. Hunter. It became very obvious, very quickly that the environment was not conducive to developing "broke" dogs. I went directly to the juvenile AKC stakes and got my dogs through those as quickly as possible as they aren't particularly conducive to developing "broke" dogs either.

As a matter of fact my first FC never ran in a juvenile stake. All her points were "broke" dog stakes.

You should be able to do whatever meets your fancy with a pup out of this breeding.

Why don't you check out the Lonestar GSP Club that conducts both Hunt Tests and Field Trials. It's local to you and I'm the club secretary. Our website is lsgspc.org and we're looking for people that share common interests.

[GunDogAdventures]

PART_1406836370718_20140729_181258.jpg

Thanks to Brian for sending me this pic to share!

Only 16 days to go!!

I sent my membership form into the Lone Star GSP Club and am looking forward to meeting others at training, trialing, and other events. Thanks for the encouragement with the new pups - I'll definately be on here researching and reporting our progress.

Ha! I just noticed that Lil' Chevy looks just like a little "Minnie Me" imitation of the GDF logo!!

[GunDogAdventures]

What an eternity! I'm talking about the wait, not the drive from the Dallas area to nearly St. Louis and back to pick up our new Jax'd Up Trix'd Out Chevy. Chevy slept most of the way home but was in a playful mood last night - running around the house getting introduced to all the new smells. He was REALLY interested in our cat and she had the patience to let him figure out what she was and how close he could get - ha! He slept all through the night without a sound too! I took Lily and Chevy for a walk this morning and now they're both playing on the living room floor. What fun to have a puppy again!! Thanks to Brian and Nicole for their graciousness and putting together a great litter. I also want to send out a thanks to all of those whom I talked with (either virtually or in person) for their comments, conversation, and knowledge sharing. I'll post pics soon!

[Maq Attaq]

Great looking Pup...enjoy him..we just picked up our first