SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

The September 22, 2023 Daily Report brought to you by Banded – Avery Sporting Dogs (ASD), official sponsor to the National Retriever Club of Canada.

The caravan puled into the Fosgate Rd site for the completion of Series #7,  a double land blind with a dry shot. A beautiful dawn greeted us. Temperatures were around 4 C, wind was minimal to none from the east and a skiff of frost covered the vegetation with a silvery blanket in low lying ares. The faint tang of winter is definitely in the air.

The blind is run from east to west. The first test dog to the line at 8 am  was “Flicker” FTCH AFTCH TsolumSide Shine The Light handled by Linda Page. Flicker had a nice entry, squared the channel and ended upon the right hand field across the channel. She did not finish the blind. The male test dog “Spade” Beaverdams Ace of Spade handled by Glynn Matthews also had difficulties with the entry of the left hand blind, squared the channel once in the water and required a number of casts to get along the shoreline to the blind. The rising sun behind the test dog handlers was a major issue. The judges called a 20-30 minute delay until the start of the test to allow the sun to travel to a point where it wouldn’t be a factor in handler visibility.

At 9 am “Grit” FTCH Bowrivers Trail Blazer QFTR handled by Laura Danforth ran the test to check visibility. The dog showed handler visibility was good. The first running dog #6 came to line at 9:10 am. The test progressed quickly with the final dog finishing at 10:45 am.

Call backs from Series 7 are 6,7,9,10,12,16,18,19,21,23,33,35,36,37,38,40,41,44 – 18 dogs back for Series #8. Series #8 will be a water triple with an honour held at Test site #1, Swamp Dog farm.

The water triple was tight  with all birds being thrown from right to left. All birds were drake mallards. The test was run from north to south with 5-20 km/h winds varying from east to south east to directly south at some points during the afternoon. Both the long and middle gun were retired. The test took about 7 minutes per dog. Following the retrieves the dog moved over to the honour mat on the left hand side of the line.

The retired middle distance and long retired bird provided some challenges to dogs. The middle distance bird landed in cover by the edge of the pond almost directly in line with the far gun station. If this was over run then the dog would easily continue on long. Running the long bird second after the go bird created issues with the middle retired as dogs would tend to run long again, necessitating handling. The long bird was at the end of a field sloping gently from left to right. That slope combined with a cross wind from left to right at times tended to push a wet dog to the right, resulting in a backside of the long gun and some long hunts in the bush line behind the gun station. Going too far to the left, whether cheating water or avoiding the middle bird could result in dogs getting way left up the field where a group of Canada goose decoys were located.

The male test dog Spade handled by Glynn was the first test dog to run. Spade picked up the first two birds without a problem. When sent for the long bird he exited the water early to the left and ended up far left in the field behind the decoys, he then worked his way down to the bird. The female test  “Jazz”  FTCH AFTCH Razors M-M and All That Jazz handled by Matt Mutchenson picked up the first two birds cleanly. The long gun proved problematic as the dog cheated the water to the right and ended up getting pushed right by the wind and terrain, resulting in backsliding the long gun. A long hunt in the bush line to the right of the station ensued until Jazz worked her way out into the field to the bird.

Dog #36 started the test shortly after 12 pm with the last dog running at 3:30 pm. Call backs came quickly 15 dogs back. 6,9,10,12,16,18,19,23,33,35,36,38,40,41,44

Series 9 will be a land quad at the Shelter Pond Distillery Test Site. The caravan will leave HQ at 7 am, test dog at 7:30 am, starting dog at 8 am. Caravan through the Distillery Parking Lot. Speed is DEAD SLOW. You MUST pick up after your dogs, everywhere except in the barley field.

To finish the days report here are some photos of a paddle that is steeped in field trial history, signed by National Judges over more than a decade. It is getting full so may be retired soon!

The weather is turning and we may get wet tomorrow. Pease bring rain gear!

Good luck to everyone!

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