Fair obstacle?

[dnf777]

Hopefully this is an easy question. Is a split-rail fence bisecting a field a fair obstacle so long as the dog can see and mark falls from the line? I can't remember ever seeing that at an event, but it seems reasonable. The fence can easily be run through, either under, or over the lower rail.

thanks,
dave

[Ken Bora]

While I have seen much more difficult objects for dogs to go over or through in hunt tests I would say NO.
I can envision some hard charging fool of a dog being so focused on the bird and the getting to it just slamming full speed into a lower cross member. And seeing as they are so easy to take apart, just have a couple workers scamper out and remove a few sections. That way if the dog marks well it has an easy path through the fence. If the dog does not,
well it is on it’s own anyway right?

[Tim Carrion]

I can't remember ever seeing that at an event,....
thanks,
dave

For good reason, injury!
Why take the risk of injury? All obstacles present a risk . We have enough natural means to get a dog injured we don't need to invent new ones.

JMO

Tim

[Tim Sharpe]

Let me start by saying I am a hunter first, and a hunt tester second. I think a split rail fence is more than fair. I train my dog to go under different kinds of fences like barbed wire, hog fence, chain link and if she can't go under, travel the fence to find a gap. This has been very helpful while dove hunting and has practically eliminated the need for me to climb over a fence or crawl under it if the bird goes over.

Hope I don't start a big fight, but I feel dealing with fences should be in a hunting dog's repertoire.

[LAwaterfowler]

Isn't the entire test an obstacle in itself? I mean this is almost like the argument in football about all of the little weak personal foul calls. IT IS FOOTBALL they hit eachother. Well this is a retirver hunt test, and they are they to be challenged. I think Ken had a good point that you may remove a small section and if the dogs takes a good line there is not problem and a dog that doesnt is in his out situation. But no, i dont think it is unfair or unsafe for that matter. Not different than starting with a Brush pile full of briers in front of you when you send your dog (an obstacle) i am too, 1st a hunter, 2nd a hunt tester

[Ken Bora]

I train my dog to go under different kinds of fences like barbed wire, hog fence, chain link and if she can't go under, travel the fence to find a gap.

Marking is being tested, not ingenuity. Hunting is not testing, testing is not hunting.

[Pals]

Poster is talking about a test event right? I would not do it if I was setting up a test, too much risk that a dog will get hurt and then that will haunt you forever. A fence bisecting a field is not a big deal when I'm hunting, but then I'm pretty darn close to my dogs in that situation and I can evalutate before sending them.

That said even removing part of fence or having an opening is no guarantee that something bad can't happen. That a look at the picture below: same dock the dogs have been jumping off of for years on our pond. Couple weeks ago a threw a mark slightly off center-been done before with no problems-well rockhead Ryder went through the railings. Screwed in 2x2's, not a scratch on him. A very lucky dog, it took me 20 minutes to calm down from that little incident.

Fence posts and wooden fences are different then brush piles, posts are solid in the ground--way too much risk. Why chance it with someone else's dog?

Just my two cents...........

[dnf777]

I appreciate the comments. Let me add, I'm not advocating or arguing against anything....my field has a fence running through it, and I was thinking about removing it. Before doing so, I wanted to see if it was maybe something I may need to train with, so thought I'd ask if this is a possibility to see at an event. I haven't been to lots, but don't remember ever seeing a fence line being crossed. That's all.

I also appreciate the concern for safety, which must always be in the front of our minds when coaching our dogs. We live on a farm, and fences are old hat for him.

[Juli H]

dnf777


...If I had such a fence on my property, I would definitely use it..I would teach my dog how to negotiate it, starting close and moving back..Always making sure my dog could see the fence from the line and giving him time to acknowedge in his head that it was there...I would make sure that the vegetation along the fenceline, on both sides was mowed short enough so that the dog could see all the rails and posts....Not at all encouraging you to make the same decision...but I would be comfortable with it......

I would not want to have something like this in a test - no telling which (if any) dogs would have exposure to this type of hazard....

Juli

[Lady Duck Hunter]

We have an old fence line - no wire running in it but every so often there is an old fence post and some shrubs and taller grasses grown up along that line. We train using that area all the time. When dogs first see it they tend to want to stay "inside" the invisible ( non-existant ) fence. Even after they've been worked through it, they still treat it as something of a barrier and will sometimes try to square off when going through it. Gives us a chance for corrections when running blinds through it.