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Hunt Test Special Accomodations

4K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  HNTFSH 
#1 ·
I am getting ready to run a new pup (8mos) through her first tests this spring. I have an older lab (13) that is deaf, but still has more drive than most dogs I can remember seeing. I never ran tests with the older one since she is spayed (one of my biggest regrets). I did figure practicing with an experienced dog would be easier on a new HT handler, and am considering running my older one through each test first. I am trying to target an aggressive schedule for tests this year. I'd like my pup to complete SHR/JH and, if she's ready, run some SH passes before the ducks show up. I think the older one could easily complete SHR/JH tests without any special accommodations, but since she can't hear a whistle, I need to use her e-collar vibe to get her attention on blinds. I've seen that the AKC doesn't allow e-collars, but I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of judges allowing any type of exceptions that would allow me to handle her in seasoned tests.
 
#2 ·
I would be very surprised if they would allow you to use an e-collar, even if you were just using the vibrate function. HRC and AKC will make allowances for handicapped handlers, but I' never seen it done for a dog.
 
#4 ·
I've seen minor allowances, like allowing a dog to run with adhesive tape around a wrist injury, for example. Allowing a dog to use an electronic aid to enhance performance due to hearing issues (deafness) is something I'd not expect any venue to do.

Paul Young had a wonderful lab named Daisy. She was one of the finest labradors I've ever seen. Daisy went inexplicably deaf at a very young age. Paul and Daisy continued to run judged events in many venues after she went totally deaf.

Paul and Daisy knew that they had one option on blinds....line it. (or close to it and then play the wind...a "wind save" would likely not cut it) Some weekends they got ribbons, some weekends they did not. On the weekends they did not, Paul and Daisy had to figure out how to get her and him back together if she missed the bird.
 
#3 ·
E-collars at a test are likely non-negotiable.

Regarding blinds: You don't run 'em at SHR/JR tests unless you run into some sort of trouble. (You already knew this, right?) Gunners can be pretty well hidden at these tests so hopefully your older girl can look out with you lining her up and pick out the gunner stations. (And marks coming out of a winger can look different to a dog that's used to real hunting.) If your dog gets lost on a mark I think you're just gonna have to ask the judges to have the gunners walk out to the mark, wave and toss the bird up to help her find it. (You're stuck if it's a water mark.) Judges can be generous with junior dogs in this regard (although it's not a given).

If you want some test experience without the pressure, the Fox Valley Retriever Club usually has a simulated hunt test in mid-April, held at Bong. (They may not do a water series if it's cold.)

Also, if you'll be entering both dogs in Junior tests, you can't pick and choose which one you'll run first, per AKC rules.

Otherwise, good luck and have fun. Good on ya for giving your older girl some fun.

-Julie
 
#5 ·
I appreciate the insight. I am fairly sure she can pin the JH/SHR without any help. On blinds, even when she could hear, I almost never used a whistle in the field (or water). I'd send her out and she would follow a line until she wasn't sure of herself, then look back for guidance, at which point she handles like a dream. She's always been extremely nosy and would always prefer to hunt up her own birds to being handled. As fun as it would be for her to title SH at 13, it really doesn't matter to me whether or not she passes. I am just looking to get experience as a test handler with a dog I know to be capable of both finding the bird and making me look good before I step in with the little one.
 
#11 ·
As a judge or a HT committee person, I would be willing to make any exception I could to let the old girl run, but an e-collar is too much. That said, if I were judging an old dog I knew was deaf and the dog went out and popped, if the smart handler blew the whistle and then gave a cast, I might just run out of lead in my pencil at that moment ;)
 
#6 ·
Chris... It would be fun to see her line it, but depending on distance, she might be a little unsure. How close do you think the line would have to be to not count as a wind save?
Julie... I am aware of the blinds. I am honestly already looking past the JH/SHR for both dogs, as I don't foresee it challenging either of them.
 
#13 ·
Chris... It would be fun to see her line it, but depending on distance, she might be a little unsure. How close do you think the line would have to be to not count as a wind save?
Julie... I am aware of the blinds. I am honestly already looking past the JH/SHR for both dogs, as I don't foresee it challenging either of them.
I'm not the judge on the day you're running, so I have no way to answer the question in bold.

I'd urge you to not expect any special consideration at all if you choose to run this dog. The rulebooks do cover making accomodations for handler disabilities, but not for dog disabilities. The hunt tests require the judges to judge all dogs against a standard - so I'd urge you to not expect anything beyond that.

Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for disappointment that's un-necessary.

Good luck with both old and young...have fun!
 
#7 ·
if youre just starting out in HRC and JR with a young dog don't worry about just run with it. Your other dog is 13 years old and will be just as happy hanging out on the couch. You may think she is healthy and good to go but she is a very old dog to be training and running events.
Likely a much better experience for you if you concentrate on the puppy.
 
#8 ·
Breck. It's more for my benefit than that of the puppy. The older one still wants it too bad to stay at home. She came completely back from a cruciate repair (cleared by vet) after only 4 weeks, at 12 years old, to hunt (vet's idea, not mine) most of last year. For the record, I didn't push it with either the dog or the vet. She wouldn't tolerate me leaving her behind, and God forbid I come home smelling of the field or a mallard. I think she'd love the tests, and if she doesn't (or can't), I wouldn't dream of making her continue.
 
#9 ·
OH more info to go on.
It will benefit you and puppy to concentrate on her. I would recommend bringing old dog along for training but not to run events.
.
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Tell me, what repair procedure was done on your dog for the cruciate injury?
 
#10 ·
She had LSS done. I honestly never intended on her doing anything besides keeping the cushions from floating away. I was expecting the typical 4 month recovery to be a best-case scenario because of her age. She wasn't having it. Like I said, she loves to work.
 
#12 ·
I guess that is the question, then. As she can't whistle sit, she'd have to pop on her own (which she does anyway when she feels she's lost the line...remember, she's a field dog, not a HT or FT dog). I trust her to do that, and to take casts like she always has. It would go back on the judges as to whether or not to "grade for understanding and intent" instead of crispness of the run. Judges making that kind of accommodation should be enough for her to pass.
 
#14 ·
I guess that is the question, then. As she can't whistle sit, she'd have to pop on her own (which she does anyway when she feels she's lost the line...remember, she's a field dog, not a HT or FT dog). I trust her to do that, and to take casts like she always has. It would go back on the judges as to whether or not to "grade for understanding and intent" instead of crispness of the run. Judges making that kind of accommodation should be enough for her to pass.
I would urge you to not expect any judge to make special accomodations for the part you put in quotations. The hunt test rulebooks are not constructed to ask judges to account for this. If you are arriving with a dog that's not in condition to meet the standard, it is realistic to expect that the dog may not be given a passing score.

If you're going to include her,and to have fun, that's great! But it is not realistic to expect judges to modify the standard to accomodate a dog with any sort of disability. They either can do the work , or they can't.

You've already read that at least one judge might be willing to give the dog a special consideration. You could run into more who will as well. But I think it is good to remember that these folks signed on to try and do their best to judge according to the rulebook and the standard. Some won't be comfortable giving extra consideration due to age, poor hearing, past surgery, etc.

That's my opinion.

Thanks, Chris
 
#18 · (Edited)
Maybe Blinddogmaddie will see this or someone will make contact. He would be a good person to talk to - believe he got titles of HRCH & MH on his dog that is blind, he lives in Wisconsin.

My old guy Murphy ran 10 HRC Seasoned tests from October 2012 thru September 2013. Some passes weren't pretty but he passed 8 of 10 - he turned 14 Christmas eve. Hope he'll still be able to play the game this year. I'm so proud of him and he loves the game and the birds!

Have fun in what ever you decide to do!
 
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