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>>nice sequential system for training sight
backing without a bird that leads
to no point stealing
problems.
Cj>>>
Maud collects all the field trial judges notes for
the British breeds of birddogs year-book in Sweden, every note that has been
written during the year. They are then, all of them, published once a year. She
has done this for many years and I have read a lot of them. I can assure you
that dogs that do not back their bracemates is a problem, a huge problem in
field trials. In my personal view they destroy so much for good dogs so a dog
that cant be stopped before it runs into some other dogs point flushing the
birds and destroying the day for both of them, should be banned from trials
for 12 months after it has sinned!
That is my personal view but many faithful
field-triallers who sees the trial more as a competition than a tool for
selecting breeding animals disagree. They say it is part of the sport. Of
course, if field trials are a sport rather than a tool for selecting breeding
animals, then it is OK! What they do not think of is that the dog that
destroyed another dogs point today will be started at some other trial the next
weekend and spoil a good opportunity for some other dog. This goes on for ever
it seems!
We have an enormous tardiness in our field trial
system. The system was created long ago when only wealthy people could
afford to run birddogs. Those who could also had the time and money needed to
properly train them. Today all kinds of amateurs are starting their dogs
at field trials designed for dogs that have been trained to some decent
extent. The huge inertia in the system prevents from making any changes so that
the trials would be up to date, properly meeting the standard of many of today's
dogs. Dogs that clearly are not trained in a proper manner should be excluded
from any trial for some time, they should be "given more time to train", if I
may express myself in a more polite manner.
I can understand that in today's society and fading
populations of game birds in Europe, it is difficult for an amateur without a
huge bank account to give the dog proper experience of game. However the
opportunities for obedience training have not become lesser or more expensive.
On the contrary more and more obedience classes for gundogs are held around the
country.
Well, now to something that lowers my blood
pressure instead of increasing it. Lady Briz short chase of a moose yesterday,
until Maud stopped her with the whistle, gave Briz another view of life. Birds,
no matter how big, are not worthy game for her anymore. Today she ran into two
cranes on a field and she did not even look at them! "Beyond my dignity" she
said  ))
Unless the summer comes back soon, then it was a
short one this year. We have had late September temperatures and more rain than
we need for some time now. Southern Sweden has been flooded and in our part of
the country people are disappointed with their vacation weather. In June I have
picked both mushrooms, blueberries and strawberries. It must be for the first
time in my life that early. Well, I am quite sure we will have some hot weather
before the September month actually is a reality.
In addition my training of British game shooting
develops slowly but surely. I still have a lot to learn about controlling my
body movements but it works forward in a very positive way. Should the damn
doctors give me a by-pass operation soon, then the grouse or whatever would have
a hard time in escaping my gun next autumn!
Torsti
Borta Med Vindens Kennel "Ask not what your dog can do for you. Ask
what you can do for your dog." www.rospigan.net |