Hunt Test Results

2011 Mississippi Headwaters AKC Test at Bemidji, MN - July 22nd and 23rd.  Train ran in this double master test.  He was dog #1 in the runnning order for the Friday master test.  The first series was a land triple with a live flyer thrown as the second bird.  Things got off to a rocky start when Train took a nice initial line to the go-bird, then pulled off it to try to pick up the flyer.    So I had to handle on the first bird of the first series, the future didn't look too bright at that point. He ran the double blind reasonabley well. The land/water series was a double with a water blind which Train nailed.  The water series was a triple with an indented short go-bird.  When sent for the third bird Train got pushed over close to the go-bird area, but worked through it and remembered the mark for his first AKC Master Pass!  The Saturday test started with a challenging land triple that featured a long memory bird with a wipe-out bird in front of it.  Train got caught up a little in the scent of the memory bird so I stopped him and handled him to the bird, thus using up my handle on the first series again!  The land water series was a double with a double blind.  The live flyer landed in a variety of places and a lot dogs were dropped in this series.  Train was fortunate with his flyer and picked up the birds clean.  The first blind was flawless, but it took two great casts at the end to pick up the second blind.  The water series was a double with a blind along the stream.  The judge plucked a duck all along the line to the blind, six yards off the line on the up-wind side, thus making this a long poison bird blind.  Train handled the marks out of order but picked them up clean.  His blind was good enoughn for his second Master Pass of the weekend!

2011 Prairie Lakes HRC Test at Hoffman, MN - July 9th and 10th.  Tiger and Train ran in the Finished Tests both days.  Train was dog of the day on Saturday, and Tiger was dog of the day on Sunday.  Saturday's tests had some interesting components to them, but Train focused well and came through both the land and water series clean.  Tiger had problems on the land series.  She had to run past a short memory bird to get the go bird, then caught scent of the other short memory bird on the triple and I handled her to the go bird.  She picked up the memory birds fine, but had problems on the same type of set-up on the water series.  Sunday's land series was a little hairy as far as the cover, but a nice test.  Both dogs picked up the triple clean, but Train's blind was a little loose.  The water triple had a long memory bird with a wipe-out bird in front of it.  Tiger handled it well, but Train got a little confused so I handled him to the short bird and he did remember the long bird.  When we ran the blind between the right hand marks, Train again was a little loose and got too far off line and had too many cast refusals to pass.

2010 APLA Fall Test at Webb, IA - we entered Bailey in the Certified Pointing Retriever Test on Sept. 25th.  The weather was the story during the Saturday test.  It was raining when we woke up in Spencer, and it only quit for 25 minutes during our run in the upland field with Bailey.  Pete and I chose Pheasants for this test instead of Chukars, and that might have been the difference for Bailey.  All other handlers chose Chukars, and the first five dogs did not even locate a bird, much less point it.  When they planted the pheasants for our run, one bird busted and flew out of the field.  Bailey pointed that spot for 15 seconds before she started hunting for the bird.  She was quartering nicely when she bumped the first pheasant.  It flew toward a corner of the field over a hill and I wasn't sure it was still in the field.  I figured we had a chance so I headed for the corner and Bailey pointed the bird and held it for at least 10 seconds.  She made the retrieve and we were on the board.  The next bird she ran into as she turned and caught it.  I think the third bird ran on us and she couldn't locate it.  Her efforts were enough to carry us to the Water Series.  She had no problem with the water marks, and earned her Certified Pointing Retriever Title on her first attempt!!  Bailey is owned by Pete McGinty and Wade Stottler.

2010 Land of Lakes HRC Test - Kelly Farms at Hugo, MN, Sept. 11/12.  I ran Brie in the Started Tests and Train in the Finished Tests over the weekend.  On Saturda,y both the land and water series of the Started Test were fairly straight forward, with Brie running straight lines to all four birds.  The Finished Water Series featured a triple with the two left-hand marks ending up almost in-line down the shore.  75% of the dogs handled on one of those two marks.  Train nailed all three and needed only three whistles on the blind.  He handled the land series equally well, and lined the blind.  On Sunday, the Started Water Series had the dogs pushing through a lily pad patch or two which caused some dogs to get caught up and fail to push through to the bird.  Brie was once again straight as an arrow on land and water, earning her Started Hunting Retriever title in fine style.  She marked well and really ran with confidence.  Brie is owned by Dillan and Ernie Meyer of Redwood Falls, MN.  Train handled the Sunday tests as well as any dog there.  The land series had a walk-up with a blind, then a triple with a diversion.  He once again lined the blind.  The water series was a triple with a big-dog blind and an honor.  He front-footed the marks and took every cast to the blind to earn his Hunting Retriever Champion title.  Train is owned by Julie and Wade Stottler of Madison, MN.

2010 Valley HRC Test - Norfolk, NE.  Saturday and Sunday, August 21st/22nd.  I ran Meyers Timbercrest Brie in the Started Tests, and our dog, Train, in the Finished Tests.  Brie did a great job in her hunt test premiere.  The Saturday test had a 75 yd mark as the first bird in the land series that ate a lot of dogs up.  The cover was thick, and a number of dogs never pushed deep enough.  Brie ran straight and long and front-footed the bird, then nailed the 50 yd. mark.  The water series was very straight-forward and she did a nice job on both marks for her first Started Pass.  The Sunday land test featured another 75 yd. mark on the crest of a rise, but the cover was so long the dogs thought it fell about 45 yards out.  Many dogs failed to push deep enough to pick up the mark.  Brie was the second dog to run and she ran straight and true on both birds.  The water test was much shorter and she did a great job, even picking up an accidently lauched bird after she got back with the second bird.  Brie is owned by Ernie and Dillan Meyer of Redwood Falls, MN. 

Train had trouble with the Finished Test on Saturday.  The land series was a triple with a blind.  The second bird was a breaking bird that landed about 8 yds from the line, with the line to the third bird about 5 yds to the left of the breaking bird.  Train picked up the breaking bird first, then ran over the top of the go bird and had a two whistle handle to pick it up.  He ran long on the memory bird too, and had to be handled to it.  While he took great lines to the marks and remembered them, he failed to check down on them.  Guess what we'll be working on this week!?!  Train did a better job of marking on the Sunday test.  He picked up the water triple clean, then took every cast on a tight blind.  The land series was a triple that had all three birds landing on the crest of a hill, so if they ran long you lost sight of them.  Train had a big hunt on the go bird, then stepped on the second bird.  He ran a little long on the third bird, so I stopped him and handled him to it before he disappeared on me.  He three-whistled the blind for his second Finished Pass!

2010 Duluth Retriever Club - Friday, July 30th.  Both Tiger and Train ran this test.  The first series was a water triple with a blind up the middle.  Tiger ran it clean, but Train again had to handle on the middle bird.  The second series was a land triple with a double blind, but the outside marks were on the edge of the water.  Train ran deep on both of them, and had to be handled, thus dropping him from the test.  Tiger went out under control on all the marks and stepped on them, then did some nice work on the blinds.  The land/water test was a double with a breaking bird live flyer 25 yards from the line, and an honor.  Tiger got a bad flyer that curled behind the gunners station, but she handled it well and picked up the memory bird. She did get interested on the honor, but didn't move.  She front-footed all the marks and two-whistled all the blinds to pass her fifth Master Test.  Along with her Senior Title, that gives her an AKC Master Title!!  What a great way to get the title.

2010 Mississippi Headwatesr Retriever Club - Friday and Saturday, July 24 and 25.  The Bemidji test was a Double Master Test.  Tiger was entered both days, and Train entered for the Friday Master Test.  The Friday test was again very tough.  The first series was a land/water triple with a short mark on the near shore of a ditch full of water, and a longer mark on the far side, with a flyer as the go bird.  Tiger picked it up clean, but Train had to handle on the middle birdg.  The second series was an interrupted quad with a hot blind in the middle of the set up.  Train was the fourth dog to run, the first three were picked up.  He lined up for the fourth mark and took a great line, but flared the tree line a bit and I had to handle him to it.  Then he had a hard time on the blind and was dropped.  Tiger flared some goose decoys on the fourth bird and had to be handled to it.  The third series was a water double with a double blind.  Tiger nailed the marks, lined the first blind,and two whistled the second blind for her Fourth Master Pass!  Tiger was entered in the Saturday test but flared some decoys on the land triple and got into the blind area and then some high cover.  I tried to handle her with a back left, but she disappeared into the trees and showed up at the flyer station - an old fall.  End of story.