I understand what the difference is as far as what the dog needs to do to achieve each title. Just curious as to why some dogs stay at SH level? Is it because that is what that particular dog is capable of? Or does it have more to do with that is as far as the owner wants to take them. I would think any dog that can be trained to a SH level would be able to obtain MH status as well. Or am I wrong in thinking this? Are some dogs only capable of a SH level and not "smart" enough to go on to MH? I have a pup with a SH sire and am curious if it is the dog or the owner that chose not to go on to a MH. Hopefully this makes some sense???
SH vs MH
PMC
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I understand what the difference is as far as what the dog needs to do to achieve each title. Just curious as to why some dogs stay at SH level? Is it because that is what that particular dog is capable of? Or does it have more to do with that is as far as the owner wants to take them. I would think any dog that can be trained to a SH level would be able to obtain MH status as well. Or am I wrong in thinking this? Are some dogs only capable of a SH level and not "smart" enough to go on to MH? I have a pup with a SH sire and am curious if it is the dog or the owner that chose not to go on to a MH. Hopefully this makes some sense???
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My old dog Flash was "just a SH"...he could of passed Master except for the heeling to the line...I created a test wise dog, it took many, many years to get him to walk to the line with me vs. kindly pointing out how slowly I walked and exactly where the line was! 
He could do all the requirements of a Master dog, but that one....by the time I figured out I was an idiot he was one pass short for his HRCH and I was playing the white coat game with my next dog Bullet. So...hopefully that helps with your question.
And my Flash is a prime example of why, when a newbie is given the advice to slow down, don't be in a hurry to run your puppy in events that the old time RTFers just shake their heads when down the road a few months later the same poster is asking how to fix issues which are a direct cause for running a young dog way too often! But hey Flash got me lots of ribbons at a young age...(God I miss that dog!)
He could do all the requirements of a Master dog, but that one....by the time I figured out I was an idiot he was one pass short for his HRCH and I was playing the white coat game with my next dog Bullet. So...hopefully that helps with your question.And my Flash is a prime example of why, when a newbie is given the advice to slow down, don't be in a hurry to run your puppy in events that the old time RTFers just shake their heads when down the road a few months later the same poster is asking how to fix issues which are a direct cause for running a young dog way too often! But hey Flash got me lots of ribbons at a young age...(God I miss that dog!)
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The mechanics are the same but difficulty level goes up exponentially, some can handle it some can't.
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I know a breeder that trains hunting dogs but always gets a JH or SH title for his personal dogs to add to their value. He doesn't take it farther because the training is a different direction than he trains a hunter (in his words).
My opinion is still out on it. He has some NICE hunting dogs that do thing I bet a MH wouldn't do and vis-a-versa.
My opinion is still out on it. He has some NICE hunting dogs that do thing I bet a MH wouldn't do and vis-a-versa.
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Money, time, dogs ability, lose interest in the game....
lots of reasons
lots of reasons
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658 Posts
Can't get into any master tests.
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178 Posts
Can't get into master tests because if limited entries....
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898 Posts
Im going to take my Trap thru senior and seasoned only.
I personally don't see where doing the requirements for mh will make him any better of a hunting dog.
He doesn't have to do blind retrieves to those distances in my hunting situations, nor has to stay in the water just feet from shore, when in hunting its faster to take the shore.
To me, its just a game at that level.
But,
Who knows, maybe I may try master one day, and get hooked all over again?!
I personally don't see where doing the requirements for mh will make him any better of a hunting dog.
He doesn't have to do blind retrieves to those distances in my hunting situations, nor has to stay in the water just feet from shore, when in hunting its faster to take the shore.
To me, its just a game at that level.
But,
Who knows, maybe I may try master one day, and get hooked all over again?!
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I think it's harder for the average joe without a lot of knowledge to train for master and it requires more equipment or help. Average joe can more easily buy a couple of wingers or bumper buoys and teach doubles. There are many master concepts avg joe might not know how to train for.
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Sometimes they pick up SH when young and run the dog in FTs and don't go back to do the MH--or only run a test a year or so, so it takes time.
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Time to train the concepts, lack of grounds to train and money. Training up to senior on your own or with a small training group is pretty easy. Past that, not so much unfortunately.
I don't think looking at EE for number of passes is always fair, IMO. Sure, do it and maybe for those pros and regulars it is a good indicator of dogs ability, but for amateurs, half the dogs failures in the upper levels are due to the handler. If I had a dollar for every time I blew the whistle wrong, or didn't blow the damn whistle, I'd have my entries paid for this spring!
I don't think looking at EE for number of passes is always fair, IMO. Sure, do it and maybe for those pros and regulars it is a good indicator of dogs ability, but for amateurs, half the dogs failures in the upper levels are due to the handler. If I had a dollar for every time I blew the whistle wrong, or didn't blow the damn whistle, I'd have my entries paid for this spring!
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participate in multiple dog sports....so MH has to wait a while....
If you have a solid senior level dog then you have a better trained hunting dog then most. Bringing that dog along to MH takes that much more dedication to training/keeping the dog tuned up to consistently do the work. It is easy to let things slide a bit out hunting with a senior dog and if you don't stay on with the training post season it will get harder and harder to get that dog back to MH level.
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Most described many reasons well. For me I got the SH and decided to go to FT instead of the mess made because of the Master National ( see multiple other threads ). I already was training to Qual level marks and blinds.Takes the same amount of time and money to train for. Just working on being a better handler.
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There are lots of factors involved. Of course MH has more difficult concepts and is also less lenient. The biggest factor I think, is that there are far fewer people capable of training a dog to the MH level vs SH level. In that case many need a pro, and not everyone can afford one or are willing to send their dog to a pro for various reasons. And of course the difficulty getting into the tests affects people's desire to attend the MH hunt tests. Also One MH test takes 2 days, so only one pass per weekend. Where you can do two SH tests in a weekend and title faster. I think some folks therefore take a long time to accumulate enough passes for the MH title, and some probably give up before they get all the needed passes.
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Since limits and therefore difficulty entering tests only started in the Spring of 2013, that is not a valid reason. It might be a reason going forward,but historically there has been little to no difficulty getting into HTs.
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