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cwalt

MH
Posts:180

09/30/2008 9:14 AM
Jere Murray wrote: > Methinks you have generated a definition of FAB all your own. Nothing wrong with > that, but this one seems to require some interference with the dog by the handler. > > FWIW the pointers I hunted over as a youngster never acknowleged the handlers > presence in any way - the pointed and held point until released. Those V=-dogs may > be different as may be PLs which barely point IME. > > Jere > ~~~~~~~~~~ Not really, the pointing is a fixed action pattern itself, the holding of it is a variable since it can be terminated by a range of releasers from the human voice to a touch or a gunshot. Each species of bird and kind of terrain generates different patterns of pointing and handler approach. In our areas the dog's acknowledgment of the handler's presence is most often a shift in the position of the ears or a very slight movement of one of the front feet. This is an advantage for me in training since the dog actually tells me if I can speak to it or not. Extremely strong pointing instinct is such that some dogs may never even notice the handler although that level of intensity is rare among versatiles. Among the versatile breeds there is a great variation in styles of pointing and steadiness. Most continental versatile breeds adapt their styles to the behavior of the handler/hunter (or vice versa) and so if you survey a lot of different dogs you can soon find a line that will match your personal preferences. No doubt you have noticed that there appears to be an inverse relationship between pointing & steadiness and a bird dog's propensity to retrieve. It takes some steadiness work to get moderate pointing with a pL whereas with some pointers and setters you can't get them to stop pointing. { Cj

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