Friday, November 17, 2000 |
End of 7th And The 8th Series
Eighth Series Water Blind with Poison Bird
Friday morning was again sunny, windy and quite cold with temperatures around 27 degrees. The remaining 20+ dogs completed by about noon. With a few exceptions work was not too good this morning either. At this point 3 dogs were mentioned as in good shape, They were; Maxx, Prize and PDQ (Quick). Callbacks came fairly soon and only 26 potential National Champions remained. Those lost were: 1, 2, 8, 22, 44, 49, 55, 56, 59, 68, and 83. Starting dog for the 8th series would be #24.
The stake was moves north, back to Hwy 53, West of Judd Little' s ranch. There a long entry water blind with a poison bird was constructed. It was about 250 - 300 yards long with the first 100 yards leading to the water. Once in the water, the dogs had to cross a scented point, re enter the water and parallel the shore to land beyond. About 60-70 yards back on land, a dead mallard lay in the grass marked by a "portable" bush. On land to the right, about halfway past the line a poison bird - a dead pheasant was thrown to the right (away from the line) before the dog ran. It took about 5 minutes per dog. (Originally a flyer had been shot angled back toward the line to the blind for the first test dog. For the second it was shot away from that line. Both dogs were instructed to pick up the bird after recovering the blind. After they ran, judges decided to go with a dead bird thrown away from the line and dogs would not pick it up. The blind was nearly downwind. Early work was variable. Later some dogs were tempted to hunt the scented point, only one or two wanted to retrieve the poison bird. A real danger was running water on the right. Several had serious or fatal results when they were unable to hear whistles there. Unfortunately, Maxx was one of them. Suspected hearing problems surfaced again when Maxx appeared not to hear and kept on going - completely out of the test.
The series was completed and call backs listed only 19 dogs in contention. Those lost were: 14, 16, 23, 32, 38, 65 and 71. The ninth will be water marks with two retired guns and 1 flyer back at the Sea Ranch. Test dogs at 7:30 a.m. with the first running dog, #43 at 8 a.m.
The stake was moves north, back to Hwy 53, West of Judd Little' s ranch. There a long entry water blind with a poison bird was constructed. It was about 250 - 300 yards long with the first 100 yards leading to the water. Once in the water, the dogs had to cross a scented point, re enter the water and parallel the shore to land beyond. About 60-70 yards back on land, a dead mallard lay in the grass marked by a "portable" bush. On land to the right, about halfway past the line a poison bird - a dead pheasant was thrown to the right (away from the line) before the dog ran. It took about 5 minutes per dog. (Originally a flyer had been shot angled back toward the line to the blind for the first test dog. For the second it was shot away from that line. Both dogs were instructed to pick up the bird after recovering the blind. After they ran, judges decided to go with a dead bird thrown away from the line and dogs would not pick it up. The blind was nearly downwind. Early work was variable. Later some dogs were tempted to hunt the scented point, only one or two wanted to retrieve the poison bird. A real danger was running water on the right. Several had serious or fatal results when they were unable to hear whistles there. Unfortunately, Maxx was one of them. Suspected hearing problems surfaced again when Maxx appeared not to hear and kept on going - completely out of the test.
The series was completed and call backs listed only 19 dogs in contention. Those lost were: 14, 16, 23, 32, 38, 65 and 71. The ninth will be water marks with two retired guns and 1 flyer back at the Sea Ranch. Test dogs at 7:30 a.m. with the first running dog, #43 at 8 a.m.
