[Sophie Gundog]

Wow,had a first happen and was wondering if this is common across the country.

Local training spot,I go two,three times a week after work, good place for us that train alone, T drills ,walking fetch drills,remote sits and release,blind work.

This is the third time now that this Pro has been there , only running about four dog, so I take the field at 180 from him,parking lot between us, starts there in the parking lot, hi nice looking dog... No comment, ok, I go do my training, finish the drills and need to move to the water,as this will have me moving at a 90 degree to the pro working field, I ask if this is ok, short and curt, go for it.

Finish up the water work and do walking fetch back to the truck, the pro has moved to the field I finished the land drills on and was just getting ready to run, so I thought here is a good time to do a honor in the parking lot before I put the dog up, so sit and the pro is across a cable in thr field about thirty feet away.

Pro to me are you going to put that dog away, well I wanted to do a honor, pro says this is a mean dog I have so put up your dog..

Ok of course testing allows this type of dog right?

So in the two years doing this I have been very lucky, I have made very nice contacts, involved with a sharp traing group filled with some of the best dog people in this location, have seen guys take the time to help out be nice and give back to this game.

So after three times beings snubbed and treated rude by this pro I guess it is what it is.

Wondering if this happens to the other solo trainers out there?

 

[Matt McKenzie]

There are jerks in every profession.

 

[Good Dogs]

The polite thing would have to been to ask if you could "honor" with your dog.

 

[Kenneth Niles Bora]

who owns the land?


.

 

[Sophie Gundog]

Yes I agree asking to honor in hindsight would have been the proper thing.


The land is owned by the state fish and wildlife Dept. and signed for dog training

 

[WBF]

Have you properly introduced yourself to him? He might really be a great guy. Being a pro he probably looks at training a lot differently than you. This is your hobby, he is at the office. This is no excuse to be rude, but he might feel the same way about you. Next time you see him start up a conversation. I've ran into the same situation and found out that I was totally wrong about someone.

 

[Sophie Gundog]

You know you could be correct,never hurts to try,thought I did by saying nice looking dog , guess I need to try harder.....

 

[WBF]

Give it a shot Steve. If he turns out being rude and selfish like you suspect, just flood him with kindness brother and you will know you did all you could.

 

[T-Pines]

I agree with WBF. It might be best to wait patiently until all dogs are put up. You can't assume that he can divert even a tiny bit of his attention away from his dog to respond to you.

Jim

 

[Bamaboy]

Essentially all of my training, and hunting for that matter, are on public land. I run into this all the time. The good thing about public land is that you have access to it, the bad thing is that everyone else does as well. Prior to moving to this area, the situation was the reverse ... training and hunting almost all on private ground. First few times I bumped into folks on the public land, I was extremely apologetic because it was obvious I had interrupted their training/hunting. Finally one of the older fellows gave me some advice that has served me well..... this is public land and not private land, everyone has equal right to be here unless otherwise stated in the regulations, while you should be respectful of others you don't have to apologize to anyone for being here, there are those that will try to tell you it is first come first served when it isn't, if you cave to the a$$holes they will take the place over. In this case, you were working hard to be respectful of the other trainer. Interesting that he is a pro but not relevant in my mind. We had a couple of "pro" outfitters try to take over a big piece of public ground during turkey season a few years ago ... saying they had paying clients hunting the area and we needed to move on. Also had a group of "pros" training pointers try to take over an entire parking lot and the only decent training area every Sunday .... only day when hunting is not allowed. Area was 75-100 acres and they wanted no one else around. We worked both situations out in the parking lot and it has not been a problem since. Made no friends in either situation but we now get along. As for the other trainer not being happy/cordial about your being in the area .... frankly I see that as understandable, as I am not happy when someone else wants to hunt/train the same area that I have chosen. Simply because of the situation, I don't look to make a lot of friends on the public ground, just get along well enough that we can coexist. As for the honor situation, you were in a public parking lot ... you don't have to ask anyone's permission to be in a public parking lot. That said, probably would have been good to ask the other trainer if he minded you honoring given that you were relatively close to him ..... mostly because you don't know how it will affect the dog he is working with. With a young dog, you being so close could be a huge problem. At the same time, would have been good if the pro had politely asked you to put the dog up with the explanation that I was working with a particularly aggessive dog ... the respectful thing to do. Asked this way, I would apologize and immediately put the dog up ..... the respectful thing to do. Always a balancing act with public ground .... go out of your way to be respectful, but be prepared to stand your ground if the other party is not prepared to do the same.

 

[Miriam Wade]

WBF makes a good point-this guy is at the office. While it would be nice if he were a bit more polite-I'm sure he's focused on what he's doing and has a plan for his day and his dogs. It's also his business. Some pros welcome day trainers if you pay and others only offer it to their clients.

I was training a couple years ago on great grounds and some very successful amateur trainers/FTers were using the same grounds. I asked if I could train with them and it was "No". I was a bit hurt, but in hindsight-they didn't know the level of my dog, what I was working on and how much time away from their training my dog would take. I would have loved their help and insight, but it's not anything owed to me.

As for the honor-I definitely would have asked him before assuming it was ok. He doesn't know your dog and he has a responsibility to his clients to be sure that he keeps them safe.

Lastly, this guy happened to be a pro, but another amateur may have felt the same way. I think most pros are in this for the right reasons. It's a fallacy that field trials are full of cut throat attitudes. I was at a trial recently where a very, very successful pro approached me and said he'd watched my dog run and said I had a "special animal". He didn't need to take the time to do that, but it made my day and was appreciated.

Sooo-if you see this guy again-ask point blank if you can train with him, but be prepared to respect his answer and move on.

**Didn't see Bamaboy's post because I was typing, but he makes some good points too!
M

 

[Mike Perry]

Local training spot,I go two,three times a week after work, good place for us that train alone, T drills ,walking fetch drills,remote sits and release,blind work.
QUOTE]

Stuff similar to this has happened to me several times. I train at a local abandoned airoirt and walkers have no problem ust walking right up and starting a conversation while I am working my dogs. Try not to be rude, but I keep on doing my thing. Also have had people with kites decide that the best place to fly the kite is right in the middle of my set up.
You say you do T work, remote site, blinds etc. and all of this requires some whistles, possibly verbals also. 180 degrees away does not mean much or 90 degrees either. Distance is the measure.
Unless you were 300-400 yards away which it sounds like you were not, you were intruding and disrupting his session. He was there first.
JMHO
MP

 

[Sophie Gundog]

Good point ,yes whistle we're in use on both parties, he was running blinds also.but I could see your point, I seem to be used to the whistles at training and testing, seems that when seniors are running there is master flight near by, so I did not think that through, if that was the cause then I was in the wrong.....

 

[labsforme]

Steve, if this is the pro I am think of early last year I had gone out there to train and he and Adrian were both there.They were running master set ups and had been there a while.I watched and then asked how long they would be.They invited me to use their set up and even threw birds for me.I think you just caught him at a bad time.He had been gruff with me in the past too.I think just his personality. I know how I feel when someone I don't know and unknown dog want to get too close to my dogs.

Jeff

 

[Keith Stroyan]

If the dog is a fighter, he did you a favor.

 

[Steve Amrein]

1st I am not a pro. I used to and sometimes do train on public land. Quite frankly it sucks even if past National AMs/Opens have been held on the site. The place has 36 lakes and thousands of acres. If someone came while I was in the middle of training and set up that CLOSE I would feel they were the ones being rude. What if he had a bitch in heat, a fighter or so on and you just approached with your dog ? I know most of the UKC and AKC HT and the Trial folks that train at Busch. So if someone came with his dog they are a unknown qty. What if my dogs are staked out. Will your dog attack, jump on and scratch my truck? Run out in the field and muck up my set up. Or the person out in the field yelling " NO HERE" and blowing your whistle.

Try introducing yourself 1st before even getting you dog out. Ask if he mind if you set up XXX over in the other field. If they seem receptive the may invite you to train with them. I am sure another person in the field throwing birds would be welcome. If asked to train with dont start by changing his set up. He may even ask to meet on a regular basis.

 

[Socks]

I agree with WBF. It might be best to wait patiently until all dogs are put up. You can't assume that he can divert even a tiny bit of his attention away from his dog to respond to you.

Jim

This, I know of a pro that is very busy and doesn't have a lot of time to talk when he's training. It's work time for him.

 

[BonMallari]

life is wayyyy too short to worry about one rude dog trainer, pro or amateur..move on or go around them

 

[Sophie Gundog]

Steve seems you are assuming a little regarding set up and location, I am sure your kinda putting into the location you are used to training at, this was not setting up to push anyone out,just saying.. Not that it changes anything if you feel that way then for you your right.

 

[savage25xtreme]

If the dog is a fighter, he did you a favor.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Not all dogs with pros are there to run FT/HT. That might have been someones gun dog that flat don't like other dogs around. I have 2 friends that have great gun dogs but they must work alone.