Comments on: Ethics and field trialing at its worst

By: ladytrainer1

ladytrainer1 — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:12:10 +0000

I have many problems with the way trials are run and judged. I will attend and compete in them every once in a while, but I prefer the Hunt Tests to the field trials. Hunt Test judges “grade” your dog on a scale of 0 – 10 on several catagories such as Hunting, Pointing, Bird Finding Ability, Trainability, Backing, and Retrieving, and you must have a certain # of points to qualify. If you receive a 4 or less in any one of the scored categories, the dog doesn’t qualify. There are still some “bugs” to work out here too – ie – there should be an Intermediate Hunter between Junior and Senior, Seniors don’t carry “fake” guns so the dogs don’t know they are hunting, etc. – but there is a more level playing feild. Junior Hunter is easily obtained for a natural hunter and when you get into Senior Hunter and Master Hunter – and your dog passes – that’s where your dog can shine and you can shine as a trainer. These two are not necessarilly easy or natural for the dog. Perfect execution is priceless.

By: Dave Jones

Dave Jones — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:04:48 +0000

Great comment Jacob. Thanks.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:23:19 +0000

The sport will only ever be as honorable as those who participate. It sickens me to think there are people out there who care more about the blue ribbon to hang on the wall then purity of the sport. The absolute brilliance of watching dogs do what they love, and seeing how seamless the relationship between man and dag can be. It is everyone’s job to keep the sport true and honorable by teaching a child it’s about much more than a blue ribbon. Thanks again Dave for reminding us all of this.