My guess. Dogs can detect moving objects. They do have limited ability to focus. But they do have a wider field of view to see more. So at the line important to have the dog watch the area of where the bird falls or he might be clueless as he runs out?
When I had my first MH, I swear I could see her doing the geometry calculations--working out all the angles and distances! She was amazing...I was only there to take the birds. We miss you Scarlett ! (Ruthless Scalawags Scarlett, CD, MH pointed in breed ring).
Good humor...but I seriously wondered about this also. Particularly when the dog sees a mark from a good vantage point, then runs through heavy cover and somehow knows when to stop and hunt for the mark. An awesome thing to see....
BUT... it's obviously learned or "honed" in training. We have heavy sage brush here. I think our dogs start to see the falls in relation to the cover (multiple big clumps.) BUT take them to a mowed field, and they lose perspective and get confused. It was a real revelation to me. Lesson is, lots of terrain and cover conditions to input more data into their brain-boxes.
Then how do you explain the dog that trains in one environment, (all sage and cactus) then goes to a test held on grounds with deep grass cover, rolling and featureless, yet marks as well if not better than training at home?
Dogs learn in pictures somewhat. When I built my new kennel I used panels that were two foot shorter than the old panels, so my new kennel was shorter. When I told my older dog to kennel he would run over to the same spot on the concrete that used to be inside the front gate and sit. I would have to tell him kennel again and point inside the gate to get him to go into the kennel. He did that for a pretty good while.
They also appear to be situational learners. If you throw marks the same distance for too long the dog will run the same distance from you and look for the bird.
Which brings up the question, how many different locations do you train in before you consider the dog to have mastered a command?
For example a dog that heels correctly in the yard will not have the same level of performance in a new locations with new distractions.
I think binocular vision, like a human is the answer. They are able to triangulate to a distant point. Don
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