I'm a new member to this forum, and and also new to developing a hunting dog. We've been working with our young GSP Ruger (about 9 months old) at our local bird dog club over quail and he's progressing really well. He came into our family to be a hunter, but we are extremely interested in becoming involved in Field Trials as well. I am apt to believe that for Ruger, there will be no preparation or substitue for getting him out to the trials and just getting him the experience- my major interest at this point is what can we do to prepare ourselves as handlers? I want our dog to be given the best possible chance at success (and enjoyment) in the events, and to be a well-informed participant myself...would hate to be the bumbling novice that ruins everyone else's weekend!
I have just started looking into the NSTRA, since it seemed very compatible with a dog whose main purpose is to be a quality hunting companion. Are there other organizations that would be good to check out, or perhaps better to avoid given our situation? Ruger is AKC registered- are those worth checking out for folks like us?
There are some trials held locally, by local and regional clubs, but no larger affiliations that I can tell. Planning on making those, starting off in the gallery.
Any tips for preparing ourselves and Ruger for this new exciting endeavor? Would love to hear from both really experienced people, and fellow newbies!
Getting Involved in FT
Getting Involved in FT
Old dogs, like old shoes, are comfortable. They might be a bit out of shape and a little worn around the edges, but they fit well.
Re: Getting Involved in FT
in FT's or any event, there is a lot of commotion around the event. Not only at the break away, but on course. You have other dogs, people, judges and who knows what else. I am sure there are plenty of people on here that can tell you a lot of stories about unexpected things happening on course.
Your dog has to be dead broke to all of that and any other thing that you can think of. If you are running him in a broke stake, do yourself a favor and the other people running, make sure he is DEAD BROKE! I have seen quite a few dogs come back pretty early on course, b/c they were not conditioned for all of the extra commotion.
Other than that let you dog do his thing. Nothing nicer than seeing a dog work on his own and be were he is suppose to be when he is suppose to be there.
Good luck,
brandon
Your dog has to be dead broke to all of that and any other thing that you can think of. If you are running him in a broke stake, do yourself a favor and the other people running, make sure he is DEAD BROKE! I have seen quite a few dogs come back pretty early on course, b/c they were not conditioned for all of the extra commotion.
Other than that let you dog do his thing. Nothing nicer than seeing a dog work on his own and be were he is suppose to be when he is suppose to be there.
Good luck,
brandon
Re: Getting Involved in FT
As a follow-up question, what are some ideas on getting dogs accustomed to lots of distractions and activities prior to taking them out for "the real deal"? I am familiar with ways to get dogs used to lots of commotion in relation to obedience training, but couldn't come up with much that I thought could be done concurrent with field training, guns, etc. This is something I have been wondering for a little while- the best I could come up with is going out for training with a friend who's got some established dogs, and working Ruger amidst those distractions...but that's only one extra person and a few extra dogs. Suggestions on this would be really helpful.
Old dogs, like old shoes, are comfortable. They might be a bit out of shape and a little worn around the edges, but they fit well.
Re: Getting Involved in FT
one of the hardest things to handle is to have another dog go in and rip out a bird in front of your dog.
Training Scenario:
your dog has established point and holding, let an untrained dog, could be any kind of dog (family pet), just run in front of your dog and flush the bird.
brandon
Training Scenario:
your dog has established point and holding, let an untrained dog, could be any kind of dog (family pet), just run in front of your dog and flush the bird.
brandon