The Brittany Forum

guy · Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 3:29 pm Post subject: Spinone GWT

Once again the Alix and her team excelled. I did not meet anyone who did not know where they were going or what they had to do. There were maps if you needed them, the food was good and all the results were posted by the end of the day. AND the tests were that - testing. No mean feat when there were I believe over 120 entrants. One day all events will be that well run.

We ran Puppy and Graduate.
Puppy
Catja did much as I had expected - that is not as I had hoped. At the last BCGBGWT she had refused to go in the water, since then I have done a lot of work with her - to the point she will now jump in with a flying leap; however there is a big BUT she will only go into the water for the first entry of each session very timidly, as if to say 'do I have to get my costume wet?' once wet there is little stopping her. I had hoped to send her in up stream so we could approach the task already wet - I could not unfortunately find any suitable points to do this. In the end i 'helped' her into the water and she did a clean retrieve to hand with a sit present - but 0 marks.
Her other retrieving was spot on, she even took two 20/20s and her hunting i was really pleased with, it was a first for her in that type of woodland, i was grateful of the minute settling time as she started as a bootlicker, but soon got into a good stride, not however working to her boundaries and perhaps a little far ahead on occasion to really hold the judges marks. Really starting to look as if she is 'hunting' not just earnestly 'looking'.
we came about half way up the board.
Tests were-
Hunting - about 10mins in open woodland with some bramble, fern and holly. No appreciable wind.
Simple memory retrieve. - dog walked at heel off lead for about 20 metres, sat dummy thrown on. Dog walked back to start and sent on command. Retrieve to hand.
Split memory with recall - dog walked out at heel about 10 yards, dummy thrown on, 270 degree turn with dog away from this and walk on another 10 / 15 yards, dummy two thrown. dog left sat handler returns to start. dog recalled on command and sat. dog sent to retrieve dummy two and then to retrieve dummy one.
retrieve three - seen. dog sat at heel off lead. dummy thrown from about 20 yards in front about 10 yards across. dog to mark fall and is again sent on command. to add interest there was a large pile of brash on the direct route, quite difficult to get over unless you are bigger than a brittany puppy, quite hard to get around and impossible to get through.

Graduate.
As I have written elsewhere I entered Topaz with little expectation; which in hindsight was unfair. He did a very consistent performance. His blind retrieve particularly- to say I was 'gobsmacked' would be an understatement.

This blind was a send away across a 'bomb hole' into a gap in the opposite greenery, past a birch tree about 40 yards away and then needed a 'send right'. So the blind was not only a blind for the dog but once the dog had left the path it was a blind for handler as well. Where i think he found the dummy seemed at odds with where I understood it to be - once again proving you have to trust the dog's nose.
Split seen - was done with much pace and no little style. A slight drift off the line he was sent on cost us a few marks, but that drift was caused, I fear, by me not ensuring he was properly lined up before i sent him.

Water - dog sat at heel off lead, dummy tossed into a swift running stream, dog sent on command to retrieve the dummy before it disappears around the corner and into the jaws of teh retrieve dog :-) . He unlike Catja likes water so jumped straight in, although we lost marks because he swam around the dummy ( about a foot away) and picked it up swimming into the stream rather taken it as he reached it. Sounds quite efficient and pretty - but didn't look it.

Hunting. he certainly worked his ground. however with blocks of chest high (to me) bracken at times it was difficult to know if he was out of sight,out of range or out of control or all three. From the comments of the gallery afterwards he was always hunting hard - it was just the judge and I could not see it. ho hum.
he came 8th of 20 something, which i was very pleased with. the last time he ran at the ISGWT he was last.

There was 'breed challenge' this went to the HWV's. The top three scoring dogs marks were added up. Brittanys for the first time came last - when have you heard of a team of Brittanys doing anything?

There was a well attended 'special beginners' class for dogs and handlers who have never competed before - very popular - it does not matter if you dog knows nothing - for an entry fee of about £8 it is a great way to have a go, get some advice and meet similar minded people. Tests like these can be taken really seriously, they can be used as a testing ground for ongoing training or as a social event. I first went to one of these a couple of years ago and knew no one - not this time :-)

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Guy, Ellie, Topaz, Catja and in memory Barley
Beauty from Structure
www.epagneulbreton.org.uk