The "Grand Standard" is an elusive little creature that is difficult to nail down as it changes depending on the judge. The best advice I could give was that given to me at a grand several years ago. If you have to say heel more than once from the blind to the line then you're not ready...If you have to say sit more than once one the line than you're not ready...
The judges are looking for "the best of the best" so taking that into context the "best" shouldn't need to be told more than once to do something. Do I feel it goes a little too far??? Sure. But like a blind, the number of whistles is irrelevant if the dog worked well with the handler. They really wanna see a "team" between you and the dog.
That said, line manners aren't the only thing to work on. Judges want to see better than good initial lines on blinds, crisp whistle sits, and prompt, accurate responses to casts given. While cast refusals are subjective, you don't want to leave it to the judges for interpretation. They also want to see good, clean marks and tighter than normal hunt areas. A big hunt will leave you with a pair of ones just as fast as a handle on a mark or loose blind will...big hunt is subjective here as what is normally acceptable in a weekend test WILL NOT fly at the Grand. Big hunts get more people in trouble than OB, IMO.
The weeks leading up to the Grand for me are riddled with lining drills, tune up drills, push-pull drills, cheating singles, and high confidence singles. NO LINE MOVEMENT is tolerated whatsoever, and standards across the board are elevated. Now, some would say "shouldn't you be upholding that standard all the time?" Sure, but undoubtedly our standards become lax during periods of complacency running and passing weekend tests and there is a great need by the handler to recognize what the standard should be and strive to uphold that in the months leading up to the Grand. The average pass rate at the Grand hovers somewhere around 20% and only about 10% of all dogs that have ever gone on to earn their HRCH titles have ever achieved their GRHRCH titles as well...the Grand Standard is what makes this so difficult. Up your standards....
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by JoeOverby
