Dogs and Doubles

Here’s a great chance to check out a pointing-dog field trial:

The Mid-Coast Maine Field Trial Club is holding their annual trial on May 1-2. The trial is in Prospect, ME, about 30 minutes from Bangor and an hour and a half from Augusta. It starts on Saturday at 7am.

For more info, directions to the grounds, or to enter, call Jeff Mahaney at 207-745-9759. You an email him at jmahaney@midmaine.com.

To learn more about cover-dog style field trials, go here. This site has a ton of info about the trials, along with an excellent introduction to the terms and categories it uses.

This is great event for anyone new to cover dog style, pointing dog field trials. There are several different events being run: Open Puppy, Open Shooting Dog, Open Derby, and a Gun Dog Challenge. These events are 20-30 minutes long. All of them will be run over a combination of liberated birds and wild woodcock. This is a no-kill trial, so the birds will not be shot and the dogs do not have to retrieve.

In all the events, dogs run in braces and the judges and handlers follow them on foot. You can join the “gallery” and follow along, too. This gives you a  chance to see how these trials work. You can also see how these dogs run.

If you have a pointer and you would like to try out a field trial, enter your dog in Sunday’s Gun Dog Challenge. It’s open to any breed of pointing dog and ideal for hunting dogs. Because the judges stop evaluating your dog once a pointed bird flushes, your dog does not have to be steady to wing and shot.

The stake is 20 minutes long. All you have to do is set your dog lose at the start and follow behind like you’re hunting. If your dog points a bird, walk in, flush it, and move on. That’s it. The judges will walk every brace. After all the dogs run, the judges declare a winner.

I ran my English Pointer, Puck, in this stake a few years ago. It was great introduction to the sport. If you want to get into trialing and see what kind of dog you have, you should check it out. Who knows, you may bring home a ribbon.

See you there.
Gregg

Wondering what it takes for a hunting dog to be champion? Here’s your chance to find out.

English Setter running at a Field Trial

There a nice field trial going on this Friday and Saturday in Rhode Island. It’s the Region 1 Amateur Walking Shooting Dog Championship. The trial is being held in the Arcadia Management Area in Exeter, RI, and it starts Friday at 8 am.

If you’re new to field trials, this would be a good one to check out. Fourteen braces of dogs are scheduled to run, so there will be lot of action both days. Because it’s a Walking Shooting Dog trial, the braces will be easy to follow. This is a championship trial, too, so the dogs will be top notch. Check it out and find out what these competitions are all about.

To get to the grounds:

Take Exite 5A off of I-95. Go to Route 102 South, to Route 3 South and then to Route 165 West. Take a right on Frosty Hollow Road. Watch for signs. They’re usually hard to see, so pay attention.

Here’s another video of some field trials in the UK. Beautiful dogs and scenery. Check out how the dogs run and point. There’s a lot of behavior there that would never be allowing in a North American pointer trial. You can view a full-screen version of the video if you click on the little box in the corner.

I headed to the Southern New England Woodcock Championship today.

2010 Southern New England Woodcock Championship

This trial was at the Arcadia

State Management Area in Exeter, RI. This trial started on Saturday. They were running dogs for three days, finishing on Monday. I think 17 braces (pairs) of dogs were scheduled to run.

This is a coverdog-style trial on all wild birds. Handlers walked the courses with a gallery of spectators following. The dogs ran over a number of different courses. When you’re watching, all you see are glimpses and flashes of the dogs. They hunt out to 100-150 yards. The courses wind and twist through the woods. To keep the dogs in front of them, the handlers call to their dogs.

This was championship, so all the dogs had at least one placement in an earlier trial. A lot of the top dogs and trainers in the Northeast were there, including John Stolgitis with his English Pointer male Chasehill Little Bud.

You can read some more about the trial here.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Note: birds are not shot at or harmed in any way at these trials.