guy
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Laverstoke GWTWe did the GSP GWT at Laverstoke and have just got hold of our mark. not as good as i had thought we were capable. 
The hunting was through chest high nettles between a roadway and a stream. He did that quite well only casting back a bit early on. wind very light. he worked well with good pace and head held well - i felt for his nose as the stingers were getting through my trousers.
Blind retrieve. This was acknowledged as a difficult one - straight out but just the other side of some very thick cover. Managed to direct him out to the spot but he insisted on blinking the dummy. nil points. but was very pleased how he handled out.
Water retrieve - spectacular water entry - wish there had been a camera. Swam out looked at dummy and then thought his time would be better spent investigating the bank. Recalled well and swam again this time picking up the dummy and swimming back only to spit it out at the edge. A consistant habit of his. I think also he had got water inhis ears from his earlier entry
Split seen retrieve over water; he swam out well got to the dummy only to go on point; there were a couple of duck further up stream sitting on a half submerged branch. He did start to stalk those so once again nil point. Shame as we were not the first dog across.
His retrieving had improved vastly over the summer - i think the evening we had done earlier in the week with a road killed rabbit put him off dummies for a while. i had hoped to be about half way up the board on this test; The GWP test we did in Derbyshire he refused all retrieves, save the water where he was marked down for not entering directly - i think he should have been marked up, the dummy was thrown beyond the mid point of a pond so he ran around the edge and came in for the shortest swim, swimming on to deliver it to hand; yours truely tried to make him present it - so he spat it out; but despite all this still was not the lowest marked. The Spinone club GWT saw us creep up a bit.
Actually thinking about it a bit we are now in 'novice' so a much stronger field.
roll on next year.
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Lin Dyke
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Never mind the dummies. If you were out there looking for birds to shoot your boy had shown you where they were. That surely has to be the most important thing. Doesn't it ??
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guy
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Surely the dog should be undertaking the task assigned to it?
However in the mind of a Brittany it is no doubt more important to point live game than it is to retrieve a dummy (well that seems like the reason to me). The question I suppose is would he have continued the retrieve if it was for real?
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Britmania
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Guy, I was very intrigued to read your description of your dogs performance and I think your dog did well under the circumstances - how would us humans like to run thru a field of head -high nettles let alone expect a dog to!!
As a person from "downunder" and not familiar with testing gundogs in your country,could I ask a few questions:
Why was the trial held where it was? Were there no other nettle free grounds in the area?
What was the purpose of the course (ie what were they testing for, the dogs ability to retrieve,whether it faces cover or whether it would retrieve thru water)?
Howcome the dog had to retrieve dummies rather than planted or fresh game?
Was the possibility of prickles in the dummy taken into account and was the dummy checked by the judge to ensure there werent any?
In NZ, grounds like that would not be used to test a gundogs performance
so I am suprised to hear that you experienced such.
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johnhod
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Surely it is best to test dogs over the varying types of ground they may be required to work on. Testing dogs on easy ground, with no distractions and no hazards is not really a test of its true working ability, to my way of thinking.
Too often have I seen dogs, that are suppossed to be good working stock, having to be directed right onto a dummy (and worse still shot game) because they couldn't find it without the help (interference) of the handler.
Please don't take this as a critcism of your dog's ability Guy. That is not my intention. Rather it is a query as to whether dogs should only be tested in "ideal" conditions.
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Granmar B
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I have to agree with Johnhod's statement of testing a dog in varied conditions. We run in rain, snow, high winds, high brush etc. Many times my bitch has been picked up, or disqualified, for not backing another dog in high brush that she couldn't see over or through. If she can see the other dog, she will back and does. Sometimes it hurts me to see them crash thru the brush, nettles, and bushes at such a fast pace to find a bird. Not ideal conditions for running a dog, but the conditions that are given.
I have also watched dogs that have been trained to point and are directed by the handler where the birds may be laying. Not near as beautiful to watch as a true bird dog, too robotic.
Guy, it may just not have been your dog's day. They all go through phases and all have good and bad days. He will do better next time, it may just be his day to be the best.
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guy
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Glad to see this thread has picked up interest. Some of the purpose of it was to let people know what is involved in Gundog Working Tests in a hope more will participate. We did three last year and at all the comment was ' isn't it nice to see a Brittany again - we haven't seen one for many years'
To elaborate - they are not Field Trials and do not use live game. The object of the exercise is to undertake a series of 'tests' - hunting and retrieving with a view to seeing how your dog performs against others and also to highlight areas of training needed. It is considered by some a useful precursor to FT and by others as sufficient competition on its own.
Topaz is a very hard hunting dog - with a tendency to 'self hunt' given any opportunity. i have done a lot of work on his retrieves over the last few months - working in gamey cover to try and make him 'multi task' but he is a dog! and we all know boys cannot do more than one thing at a time.
Hunting is his greatest love - I have seen him go on point with a dummy in his mouth - so it will be quite hard for us to beat dogs with either a reasonable retrieve drive or a weak prey drive. But that is not going to stop us trying.
Because of the style of shoot we work on I cannot let him hunt out a bit of cover in his own way (there are a number of non trained dogs doing that already) and therefore need to keep him 'reigned in' with the whistle.
We have been out in most weathers - working in snow will be a first for us. Until now only using cold game - (save one pricked duck) hoping to get some fresh shot retrieves this weekend.
On reading that back to myself it seems a bit disjointed but i hope you get the 'drift'
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Annie as admin
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Topaz the Wonder DogWell, personally I think you have both done a great job. To be honest, none of my Brittanys will ever pick up more than three dummies at one session. They can count and the first three are brought back impeccably, but the fourth one they will run out as usual, then either run past the dummy, or stop, look at it, and either come straight back minus dummy or give me a withering look and go hunting and have to be recalled. They have all been on game and I was once told if you want your dog to succeed in Working tests don't let them on game. I'm sure that is too much of a generalisation, however.
Annie
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Ghilliegumdrop
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Well all I can say is that the Ghill dog goes through anything to find a bird and that includes nettles, blackberry bushes and mud. There is no stopping her if a bird is there so I do not try, after all she is the one with the nose that tells her where the bird is hidden.
Just you wait Chris, when you and Barry get over here I will take you and show you around the farm so you can see what they have to work. [although is it work to these dogs?]
Jan
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Annie as admin
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I think you have hit the nail on the head. This breed doesn't see hunting as work - it's playtime to them.
I have just had to rescue a very wet young starling from Allez, TWICE, then the cat spotted me dragging him off it, belted across the chuckies and nearly finished the poor bedraggled thing off - it's gey coorse oot there  I dropped Allez, grabbed Sophie by the scruff, she opened her mouth and screamed at me but held onto the poor bird with her paws, so I just shoved my face into hers and yelled 'drop the b - - - - y thing' and she did! I ran inside with the two of them then came back out to look for it but it had disappeared. Either it flew off unscathed or dived under the shed to die of the trauma.
Twice retrieved by a dog, once by a cat then dropped from 4 feet, would be enough to shock any poor beast to death.
Annie
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Ghilliegumdrop
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God you lot are primitive up there and bloodthirsty. bit like the Ghill dog when she gets hold of a pigeon.
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Britmania
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I agree with the comments about working gundogs being expected to do the job in all cover.Over here we also hunt and trial in all conditions and all types of terrain but my query was focussed on the comment that the ground was covered in tall nettles.
You ought to see our dogs plough through thick gorse which is common on riverbeds over here.
Concern for a working dogs well being does not necessarily equate to it having "soft" workouts.
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Ghilliegumdrop
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They just dont seem to bother with the nettles Chris, most of the farmers leave them as cover for the birds. Also there is the EU directive as regards land lying fallow, the farmers get a grant to do this each year.
When we talk about nettles we mean stinging nettles [as opposed to the scotch type thistle] they are about 2 foot tall and usually by this time of year they are dying back so are not such a problem. Now and again the Ghilldog gets her feet in them and when her tootsies warm up she is a bit tingly on the toes but apart from that she takes no notice. You can see the young nettles in front of Ghill here.
Jan
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Annie as admin
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nettlesI have loads of both nettles and thistles as well as dockens and goodness knows what else in my field. The dogs don't bother about ANY of them but I sure do. I go out well protected from Spring untill I have a reasonable path made through for me. They can hunt either side as much as they want but there's no way I'm going to join them if they point. I command by remote control until about September
Annie
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Ghilliegumdrop
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I thought you were supposed to interact with your dog...you know the saying 'where my dog goest so do I' through mud,nettle and dirty water etc etc! Never mind standing on the sidelines watching them, get in there.
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johnhod
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Well it certainly looks as this this thread has come back to life. Where to next?
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Ghilliegumdrop
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Nettle wine??
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Annie as admin
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Gundog TrainingThe Committee are trying to get more training on the go(particularly our very enthusiastic FT Sec. John Anderson) Possibilities are making all three shows two day events with training days before them, or possibly to tie in with other shows throughout the year. Watch this space, and if anyone is interested or can help, let me or John know. I have been talking to Bill Thayne, who trained the one of first Brittanys for Trialling, and he has agreed to take a training day for us in Scotland, possibly in April next year. I have to get some birds to put down first - a pigeon loft or quail pen (including birds!) have been put on my Christmas Wish List. 
Annie
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Lin Dyke
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Annie, maybe Jan and we could catch some of the pigeons/collared doves from our gardens and get them courriered (or should that be pigeon posted ) to you. 
Love, Lin.
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guy
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perhaps there should be a separate section for Trials / Tests ? where training days and test dates can be announced and results announced?
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Victoria
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Nettles!! Chicken feed; what about Gaston and I in a swamp under disperate perluvial conditions so much so that when I used my whistle the rain came out the other end like a little fountain!!
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Ghilliegumdrop
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Sounds like any English shoot in the rain, any time, any where.
Swamps, we have swamps over here that make the Everglades look like puddles.Last time we were up the farm Ghill had so much mud on her that when she dried out I was able to take it off in two halves and make a statue of her.
Jan
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Annie as admin
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My chicken run is a swamp right now. Guess who left the water to top up the duck pond running ALL DAY!!!! Just as well it's winter or I'd have run the well dry 
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