Senior Hunter Handling Tips

[Greg Jennings]

We'll soon be running in our first SH test. Does anyone have any handling tips?

Best,

[sdgord]

Greg,
The website www.thecheckcord.com has had some articles and info on handling in hunt tests. I would give you some personal tips but I have not been able to qualify in a senior yet. Everything goes well until we get to the retrieve. A couple of things I would mention is to try to get the honor out of the way on the course instead of a call back, one of the mistakes I made as a handler was sending my young dog for a retrieve on a missed bird. Thinking that the pen raised quail would not fly again. Wrong move on my part. When moving in to flush the bird I try to keep eye contact as much as possible with the dog.
Like I said we are still working on some of the holes in our senior dogs. Too busy right now, chasing pheasants and sharptails, so we are going to get busy this winter and hopefully in the spring we will get the senior title handled.SDGORD

[snips]

Well Greg, if you see a bird get up and your dog makes a grab at it, and you look back at the judges and they are walking along talking and they don`t say anything, act like nothing happened! Like I said before, keeping your dog somewhat close is always benificial, you can get away with commands in Sr to help a situation out. Stay away from the other dog if possible, nothing good ever happens with 2 dogs hunting too close together, even if your dog is broke, never depend on the other being the same. If you get a set up back, ask the judge if ou can pick the pointing dog, and get the staunchest dog there. I used my `ol dog Rip for one back, because there was not a dog there as staunch as him. (at 12). Avoid areas of trouble, ie, spots with groups of birds gathered, if you know about them, only go as a last resort. Trouble. Don`t ever consider yourself flunked unless a judge tells you, and if there is any question in your mind, ask the judge if you should keep your dog down. Just some things I experienced last fall running 3 Sr`s.

[Greg Jennings]

Hi SDGORD,

Thank you for the pointer to the site, I'll check it out!

Best,

[Greg Jennings]

Hi Brenda,

Thank you for the tips. I'll keep it in mind.

I talked to Nav's breeder last night. She judges tests and trials and is on her fourth generation of MH Vizlsas.

One thing that she said that I hadn't thought of, was, in SH (not applicable to MH), to have my starter pistol out and ready when I flush the bird for the gunners. If they can't shoot for some reason, to fire the starter pistol. At that point, my dog can break and not get DQed.

Best regards,

[snips]

Thats true, but I train for them to stand thru the blank, or shot, even for Sr`s. You will have to stand to shot with no gunners on the back course. If your dog has a find there and stands, it is only good practice for the actual kill later in the bird field. If you allow them to chase down live birds it will only deteriorate the next find. See what I mean. I train more for allowing them to break only if they see a bird fall, or on command. When I train for Sr`s I make them stand thru shooting a shotgun in the air.

[honeyrun]

Here is part of an article that I wrote for the GSP Directory a few years ago. Hope this helps.

While judging, participating in and being chairman/secretary of AKC hunting tests, I have observed some handler blunders and attitude fluctuations. These can be minimized by following the following tips.

When running dogs in the AKC Hunting Test program, you as a handler must remember that this is NOT a competition between dogs, but a competition against a standard. Wherein, everyone can pass or everyone can fail. The scores that you receive are just a basis for the judge to calculate whether you have passed or not. These scores should, in no way, be a reflection to how well your dog did compared to someone else.These scores will vary greatly from one judge to the next, as different people perceive things in a different light.

With that said, onto the tips:

1. You should never walk in front of your bracemate’s dog.If you need to position yourself on the other side of the dogs, walk behind the other dog, or make sure that you are far enough in front of it to ensure that you will not cause the other dog to move or relocate.

2. If you notice that your bracemate’s dog is responding to your whistle or commands, be courteous to the other handler and keep commands to a minimum.

3. Don’t race around the course. This is very important. Stay with your bracemate. If you forge ahead, and the other dog goes with you, you are going to have problems. If your dog goes on point, and the other dog backs, you are going to have to wait until the other handler catches up. Here you run the risk of your dog getting to ansey, or the other dog deciding to break off from the back and steal point. What happens when you get to the bird field before the other handler, and his dog is with you? You are going to have to wait, and most likely it will be while your dog is pointing or backing.

4. Be friendly and courteous to your bracemate and judges. These are the people that can make the brace a good one or a bad one. Talking with your bracemate is a good way to relax and have fun.

5. When your brace is over, and if you have a question for the judge, kindly wait for their lunch break or a bathroom break. This helps the test to move along smoothly. When you take time between braces to talk to the judges, this makes the next brace wait on the line.

6. If you have a disagreement with your scores, wait until the judges take a break, and then talk to them. Refer to tip #5. Don’t get angry or disillusioned before you talk to the judges. There is usually a good explanation that will explain why the judges scored the way they did. Remember, they can see more than you can when they are up on the horse. By venting your opinions and frustrations to your friends and onlookers that did not see the brace, you will come off looking like a “know it all” or a “Sore loser”, neither of which you want to do. It is the judges call and the judges interpretation of the rules. Tomorrow is another day.

[Greg Jennings]

Thats true, but I train for them to stand thru the blank, or shot, even for Sr`s. You will have to stand to shot with no gunners on the back course. If your dog has a find there and stands, it is only good practice for the actual kill later in the bird field. If you allow them to chase down live birds it will only deteriorate the next find. See what I mean. I train more for allowing them to break only if they see a bird fall, or on command. When I train for Sr`s I make them stand thru shooting a shotgun in the air.

I've essentially been training as though for MH and he's doing well.

OTOH, I've come to think that he's blinking backs. I'm going to have to find a way for him to get excited about it again.

Best regards,

[honeyrun]

Let him retrieve a few birds from a backing position.

[Greg Jennings]

Let him retrieve a few birds from a backing position.

Good idea. I appreciate it.

Best regards,

[grant]

Greg,

How are all the hunt tests going. Bell and I may shoot for a SH or MH before NSTRA....

[Greg Jennings]

We didn't do any good in Cedartown. He ran off course Saturday and I let us get boxed out of the birds Sunday.

We're talking about going to the Darby's in Walhalla Thanksgiving weekend.

The hunt tests are a good, friendly atmosphere. I've made more friends through them in a couple of years than I ever have in any other "sport".

What makes a hunt test good is a combination of 3 things:

1. A wide, visible course.
2. Plenty of birds.
3. Good, experienced judges.

If all three come toether, it's wonderful.

Best regards,

[snips]

Greg, if you are in a backing situation that you need to hold your dog, I always have a dead bird in my bag to throw, or after pointing dog retrieves it have the handler pitch it to you or for your dog. Glad you are making it to Darbys, they have alot of NSTRA people and they make for good judges and gunners. Wish you could run the pup. Just a question, don`t you think having your son run him might confuse the dog as to what training you have put in him?

[Greg Jennings]

Hi Brenda,

I'd been doing the deal with either the shot bird or with one from my pocket, then praising him to high heaven. He's very bird driven and wants that bird...bad.

I think we'll enjoy the trip to the Darby's. That trip does bring up when to first run Gunner. He's ready now.

I've let my son train and handle Nav some. I completely understand that it's not the best thing for Nav's progress. I really can't say much more than that.

Best,