SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

The September 19, 2023 Daily Report brought to you by Banded – Avery Sporting Dogs (ASD) official sponsor to the National Retriever Club of Canada.

A hard rain overnight tapered off to cloudy skies and some showers which greeted judges, handlers and workers to the third day of the CNRC. Wind was very light from the South as the judges set up Series 4 at Swamp Dog farm, a water blind with a dry shot. The blind planter is standing at the blind in the photograph.

The blind was a semi no sight entry, with dogs having to crest a hill and then drive through cover into the water, negotiating a shoreline swim to the first point. Once on the point, dogs were required to cast off and continue on down the pond, passing the second point, pushing through tall, dense cover on the shoreline at the end of the pond and driving up about 15 yards to the blind. The dry shot was fired when the dogs were on the mat and the handler indicated that they were ready.

The dry shot created all sorts of problems, pulling dogs to the right up on the shoreline. Dogs that went wide into the water often ended up in the middle of the channel over by the island which created its own set of challenges. Red Zones included fading behind the right hand point and out of side, as well as getting caught up in the shoreline cover at the end of the pond.

The first test dog was FTCH AFTCH Razor’s Catch Me If You Can QFTR JFTR “Sparky”, handled by Nolan Nelkenbrecher. Sparky had a good initial line into the water, handled the shoreline swim and point well before finishing the blind.

The second test dog Clubmead’s Dolce Vita “DeeDee”, handled by Debby Montgomery was heavily influenced by the dry shot, ending up on the land to the right side of the line and was unable to handle back into the water. DeeDee did not complete the blind. The judges announced that the test would run as is and invited handlers to the line.

Dogs dropped after this series were#15, #28 and #42. Dog # 37 is to start the Fifth series, a land quad.

Series 5, the land quad, necessitated a change in location to a reclaimed gravel pit area located about 15 mins from Swamp Dog Farm. The initial set up was redesigned after the test dogs Sparky and DeeDee ran at about 2:00 pm.. Rain showers have begun again in earnest with a stiff easterly wind complicating things. The test is at the north end of the field running to the south, with a substantial crosswind. The test is shot long right ( right to left) (drake mallard), long left (left to right, retired, drake mallard), short left (left to right, retired, hen pheasant) and short right (right to left down the hill, rooster pheasant). Marks 1 and 4 were fairly straightforward. Marks 3 and 2 presented challenges to the dogs. Mark 3 was a hen pheasant thrown across a gap into a shallow ditch and cover. If dogs did not check down they would be up wind of the bird and tend to run through the gap and curve around the back of the gun station resulting in a hunt. Station 2 was thrown into the open field. Directly on line to the bird was a shallow dugout that was not visible until the dogs were quite close to it. Veering to either side of the dugout had the potential to put dogs off line and up wind of the bird resulting in a backside of the gun station or getting lost out in the back of the large field. Another test dog – dog #42 Docheno’s Got Me All Fired Up “Ember” handled by Matt Mutchenson ran the redesigned quad and the test was on.