Hunt test observer etiquette

[BlaineT]

Heck yeah, bring em out. Like someone else said, by then he'll be 4 months old +....my pups have gone everywhere all the time within reason of safety and other common sense issues. for that matter i just let my last little black pup pick up the ducks and get her first ribbons at right at 4 months (not recommending that necessarily) but just saying lots of us take them. She had a blast and at that age all she cared about was going to pick up birds every day so brought her to started. The judges and gallery loved watching the tiny thing out there outdoing the big dogs. lol

[JustinS]

only thing is 13 weeks only equals 3 months and 1 week

[BlaineT]

only thing is 13 weeks only equals 3 months and 1 week

i think some of us are thinking its 13 weeks old now and the hunt test is in another month.

[JustinS]

point taken

[mjh345]

Heck yeah, bring em out. Like someone else said, by then he'll be 4 months old +....my pups have gone everywhere all the time within reason of safety and other common sense issues. for that matter i just let my last little black pup pick up the ducks and get her first ribbons at right at 4 months (not recommending that necessarily) but just saying lots of us take them. She had a blast and at that age all she cared about was going to pick up birds every day so brought her to started. The judges and gallery loved watching the tiny thing out there outdoing the big dogs. lol

Great pics Blaine. I especially like the last one

[BlaineT]

Great pics Blaine. I especially like the last one

its fun when all THEY care about is having fun and getting birds and loving on you.

[jde512]

Correct. He will be 13 weeks when the test date arrives. I'm not trying to push him into anything before he's ready. Just didn't want to be "that guy" when I go watch my first hunt test.

only thing is 13 weeks only equals 3 months and 1 week

By the way Blaine - that's awesome! I can't wait until the water warms up a bit and I can see how mine takes to it.

[Hunt'EmUp]

Puppy Stake, this stake is designed for people with pups-dogs, not ready for started level, to give them exposure to birds, and the testing environment, basically they throw simple marks for puppies to go out and maybe retrieve. You've got a bunch of energetic happy people in the field to help the pup if needed, and a bunch of energetic spectators to help cheer the pup back. Even a bunch of energetic people to catch a pup, should he decide to take the bird and run. Puppy stake is very fun to watch and run, gets everyone involved in the sport. The $5-$10 buck covers the cost of the ribbon, should you be able to get your pup and the birds back .

I have a couple of pups about the same age that I'll probably put in our next puppy stake, although I'm pretty sure take the bird and run will be the order of the day, but we're going to see how they react to the me running back to the truck maneuver, that failing we're going to place bets on how long it'll take to catch each pup . Either way I'm sure it'll give the crowd entertainment and get the pups some exposure, which is basically what it's all about at this stage .

[Tom. P.]

What Chris said is great advice.I take mine all the time.He's 12 weeks and was at our upland test all weekend..Being with the other dogs and all the birds i think its great exposure.Take it slow and constantly read Your pup.

[thelast2]

Your pup will be 4+ months old. If he is up on his shots, Id have no qualms about taking him and exposing him to all the interesting sights and sounds.
When he is out of the truck, make sure you keep him on lead as you take him exploring. If he seems overwhelmed {I doubt it} take him back to the truck for a nap or some loving

Enjoy!!

+1 Totally agree, keep some distance from the gun until you see how the dog is reacting to the new noise. Heck if memory serves me Justin Tackett has a dog named "Yella" that was the star of Waterdog TV from Ducks Unlimited and that dog was only like 14 weeks old when it passed its first Started HRC Hunt Test.