The following are experiences I have had at two weekend field trials ( AA stakes) and a National. An Act of God is a term I use to describe something no one saw coming, something that just happened......
1) The site of the trial was an open field with nice terrain near what was thought to be an abandonned air strip in a rural area. The dog was sent on the land blind, taking a nice line towards the bird. One or two whistles later, with a nice response from the dog, the blind was two thirds done. Out of the blue ( literally) a prop airplane buzzed the abandoned airstrip causing a great deal of noise........just as the handler was blowing several whistles to get the dog to sit and cast. The dog could not hear the whistle over the noise of the plane thus slipping several whistles. By the time the handler regained control of the dog it was well off line. The plane disapeared not to return. No other handler/dog team had a similiar experience.
2) Land triple in a grassy field with nice undulation to the terrain. The dog was sent for the third bird after doing a very nice job on the first two. Two thirds of the way to the bird the judges, handler and gallery all saw at the same time ( they had been watching the dog) a very large bull standing right over the third bird ( which was a retired gun). To know ones surprise the dog would not go near the the bird even though it was right on line when it too saw the bull. When it became obviouse that the dog was not going to go near the bull the handler picked up the dog. The bull was chassed out of the field to not return again.
3) The dog was on its way to pick up the third bird ( retired) of a very difficult land water tripple. Few dogs had done the test well. The last mark required the dog to go through a check down bird it had picked up earlier, through some water up a dike then angle in another piece of water across a "busy" pond to get the bird on the left shore. As the dog was cresting the dike at the exact point it had to make a critical decision to get in the last piece of water or skirt the pond ( which most dogs had done earlier) a loud noise was heard by all the contestants causing the dog to stop dead in its tracks. The sound was similar to that of a whistle that we would use. It also sounded like that of a band leader giving directions to a band on a football field which wasn't far away. The whistle was very clear and unmistakeable. You guessed it, the dog sat and turned to the handler looking for direction. The handler was as surprised as the dog at the sound of the whistle causing a pause before handling...upon which the dog turned and went straight to the bird ( on its original line). Again, this experince was not repeated with any other handler.....the whistle stopped as suddenly as it had been heard.
So, if you were the judge how would you respond? Each experince was a "one of a kind" during that particular series. Fortunatly, I was not judging any of these situations (although my dog was involved in one of them). I will reveal what actually happened after some discussion. I can say that in all three situations the judges decission caused a great deal of controversy.
Bill
1) The site of the trial was an open field with nice terrain near what was thought to be an abandonned air strip in a rural area. The dog was sent on the land blind, taking a nice line towards the bird. One or two whistles later, with a nice response from the dog, the blind was two thirds done. Out of the blue ( literally) a prop airplane buzzed the abandoned airstrip causing a great deal of noise........just as the handler was blowing several whistles to get the dog to sit and cast. The dog could not hear the whistle over the noise of the plane thus slipping several whistles. By the time the handler regained control of the dog it was well off line. The plane disapeared not to return. No other handler/dog team had a similiar experience.
2) Land triple in a grassy field with nice undulation to the terrain. The dog was sent for the third bird after doing a very nice job on the first two. Two thirds of the way to the bird the judges, handler and gallery all saw at the same time ( they had been watching the dog) a very large bull standing right over the third bird ( which was a retired gun). To know ones surprise the dog would not go near the the bird even though it was right on line when it too saw the bull. When it became obviouse that the dog was not going to go near the bull the handler picked up the dog. The bull was chassed out of the field to not return again.
3) The dog was on its way to pick up the third bird ( retired) of a very difficult land water tripple. Few dogs had done the test well. The last mark required the dog to go through a check down bird it had picked up earlier, through some water up a dike then angle in another piece of water across a "busy" pond to get the bird on the left shore. As the dog was cresting the dike at the exact point it had to make a critical decision to get in the last piece of water or skirt the pond ( which most dogs had done earlier) a loud noise was heard by all the contestants causing the dog to stop dead in its tracks. The sound was similar to that of a whistle that we would use. It also sounded like that of a band leader giving directions to a band on a football field which wasn't far away. The whistle was very clear and unmistakeable. You guessed it, the dog sat and turned to the handler looking for direction. The handler was as surprised as the dog at the sound of the whistle causing a pause before handling...upon which the dog turned and went straight to the bird ( on its original line). Again, this experince was not repeated with any other handler.....the whistle stopped as suddenly as it had been heard.
So, if you were the judge how would you respond? Each experince was a "one of a kind" during that particular series. Fortunatly, I was not judging any of these situations (although my dog was involved in one of them). I will reveal what actually happened after some discussion. I can say that in all three situations the judges decission caused a great deal of controversy.
Bill
