I am asking a lot of questions - sorry?

[Hotchkiss]

I know I am new to this forum, but I am very very excited about bird dogs and my GSPs in particular. I have hunted for years with friends and their dogs. I ALWAYS wanted to have my own, but my work schedule did not allow me to devote enough time o the dogs to be fair to them. Got the time now so trying to learn! Where can I find a summary of what it takes to be a field champion and the other classes of recognition some of these dogs and their owners are striving for through hunt tests and trials. I know very little about that. Thanks.

[ACooper]

No need to be sorry... Ask away.

This could be of some use to you http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RFTPNT.pdf

[Cajun Casey]

How much truly disposable income do you have?

[Hotchkiss]

How much truly disposable income do you have?

FAR more than my wife knows about!

[kninebirddog]

How much truly disposable income do you have?

FAR more than my wife knows about!

better hope she isn't looking over your shoulder or it maybe far less then you think

[Cajun Casey]

How much truly disposable income do you have?

FAR more than my wife knows about!

First, you buy HER something.

What is the background of your dog? That will give you an idea of where to start in events.

[Brittguy]

Many dogs will never be field champions no matter how much work they receive.So be prepared to either be willing to sell the dog after you have put a lot of time and emotion into him so you can get another, and another or be willing to own a lot of dogs.Sometimes you get lucky and this doesn't happen, but it will if you stay in the game long.

[Hotchkiss]

How much truly disposable income do you have?

FAR more than my wife knows about!

First, you buy HER something.

What is the background of your dog? That will give you an idea of where to start in events.

I have her with me at a very nice Carribean Island right now so I am going to say she is good to go .

I have one dog who comes out of a line of AA field trial dogs and two that come out of more hunting stock (foot hunting not from horses). I suspect I will end up with several dogs, but that is okay.

[GUNDOGS]

How much truly disposable income do you have?

FAR more than my wife knows about!

better hope she isn't looking over your shoulder or it maybe far less then you think

....ruth

[RayGubernat]

Hochkiss -

I was always told, and I have come to believe that the only truly dumb questions are the ones we do not ask.

There are a lot of thigs about dog games that are written and I encourage you to read the AKC rulebooks for both field trials and hunt tests. Skim through them first and then re-read the sections about performance requirements, judging, stake requirements and such. There is a lot in there and a careful read is in order.

There are also a lot of things about these dog games that are NOT written. The devil is in the details, as they say, and there are lots of little things that experienced participants know, understand and take for granted that are not at all intuitively obvious to the newcomer.

There is a wealth of knowledge on this, and several other chat boards. I personally view these boards as an excellent vehicle for passing on all manner of knowledge, especially that which has been acquired through personal experience and hands- on efforts and is generally not in print anywhere.

Just please understand that there are as many different opinons on things as there are people and some opinons are not as well informed as others. Some opinions are based on experiences and represent biases that differ from yours(or mine). Specifically, not everyone participates in field trials or hunt tests and folks have different views on the usefulness of those endeavors and the usefulness of the dogs that participate in them.

You will have to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Ask away. If there is something you do not wish to ask the entire immediate world, feel free to use the PM feature.

RayG

[Joe Amatulli]

The best way is to go out and watch, talk to the people that have been doing this for years. Starting 5/6/11 at Ionia Michigan the NGSPA Region 4 holds its championship and it has 2 AKC trials at each end. If you want to see some excellent GSPs run in both the championships and the week end trials, that is the place to go.

A warning and don’t take this the wrong way, but there are a number of want-to-bees on this forum, some have never been to a trial, so take what you read with a grain of salt, go see what you are interested in.

[Wagonmaster]

Yeah, so if you are at a very nice Caribbean island with your wife, what are you doing talking to us????

For a summary of what it takes to become a Field Champion, go to Ch. 14 of the AKC Pointing Breed Field Trial Rules, www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RFTPNT.pdf

[Hotchkiss]

Yeah, so if you are at a very nice Caribbean island with your wife, what are you doing talking to us????

For a summary of what it takes to become a Field Champion, go to Ch. 14 of the AKC Pointing Breed Field Trial Rules, http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RFTPNT.pdf

Good question! She likes the islands. I like the farms and hunting - and my newest enjoyment is bird dogs and this seems to be the best forum around. I have been to a few trials and looking forward to several more this year!