[Miriam Wade]

How much attention do you pay to using the mat in a trial? Is it critical to your strategy or not given much thought to it all?

M

 

[Charles C.]

How much attention do you pay to using the mat in a trial? Is it critical to your strategy or not given much thought to it all?

M

I may use it for alignment purposes, but otherwise I pay it no attention.

 

[Kyle B]

Good practice to pay attention to the Mat.....especially if you haven't and walk into the holding blind where there is a sign that reads "Dog must be sent from Mat" or "Dog and Handler must be on Mat" or words to that affect.....happens all the time.

 

[msdaisey]

Pay attention to it, just like Kyle said!!

If the entire dog must be on the mat, you need to learn how to approach the mat to get each particular dog situated on it.

Sondra

 

[Doug Main]

How much attention do you pay to using the mat in a trial? Is it critical to your strategy or not given much thought to it all?

M

At a LOT of trials the judges use a mat. Sometimes a specific instruction is also given like, "the dog must be sent from the mat for all birds" or "the handler must be on the mat when the dog is sent for all birds". On those occasions, I follow the instructions as best I can.

I use a mat a lot in training so using a mat at a trial is no big deal. When there is a mat there, they know they need to be on it.

 

[Angie B]

I use the mat for everything. From teaching 2-sided placement to remote casts. I also use it for steadying, correct sits and movement awareness.

Mats are rarely used in hunt tests. So obviously that is not the reason I use them like others do.

Angie

 

[Ted Shih]

In some tests, the mat is meaningless, in most, however it is critical.

A certain position on the mat may:
- Prevent your dog from seeing a gun or bird because of cover
- May cause your dog to flare left or right because of cover
- May cause your dog to dip left or right because of terrain drop off

You may position your dog one way to optimize his view of the birds, but then line the dog on a different portion of the mat to avoid factors (see above) that will drive the dog off line.

Not only should you work the mat side to side, you should also work it front and back. If your dogs feet are headed downhill, it is hard to work him. So, back him up to get all four feet level.

When you are working your dog on the mat, you want to look up as little as possible. Your focus should be on the dog, not on the field. So you create markers on the mat grid to help you align your dog. This is true for both marks and blind.

The better dog handlers take control of their environment .... and the mat is a key portion of that environment.

 

[Goldenboy]

Doesn't the Rorem video spend the better part of a chapter talking about mat mechanics? Seemed to make a world of good sense.

As Ted mentioned, there are times when the orientation of the mat is at an odd angle to the layout of the test. Funny how some people feel the need to align themselves to the direction of the mat.

Miriam, want to borrow my video?

 

[Aussie]

Miriam,

I use a mat at training. Keeps me in the same place, with certain drill training.

I love my mat. :lol:

Wish from time to time we use mats in Australia especially after a few dogs have returned from water retrieves. Left my boots in the mud, once, which trying to walk away from the line (starting pegs in our case).

 

[FOM]

Aussie,

That thing you use isn't a mat ----- too damn small But it does help with staying in the pegs.

FOM

 

[Aussie]

FOM,

Our handling area is certainly significantly smaller than the US. Oh well......off I go training, 3 hours away.

 

[lablover]

What Ted said.

So far the mat is not an issue in Hunt Tests. I don't see why it needs to be either.

 

[ducky911]

"the dog must be sent from the mat for all birds" or "the handler must be on the mat when the dog is sent for all birds". On those occasions, I follow the instructions as best I can.

I don't beleave that they can require you to have the dog on the mat for all birds---they can for the first and they can for the handler for all birds but not the dog---After your number is called you can pick the birds up in any fashion that you want.--Some dogs , not mine, will almost throw the bird at the handler and go get the next--nothing wrong with that and the dog never touches the mat after the go bird. The dogs I have seen do this have been really good markers.

I was running a pretty fast dog in a derby once and the judges told me to heal the dog for the memory bird . I was shocked to here them say anything while I was running but I said heal got a tail on the mat and sent. Later I did some reading about it and figured the judges where out of line.

Bob

 

[Ted Shih]

Bob

What in the Rule Book leads you to believe that:

1) The Judges cannot tell you where you and the dog are to be; or
2) The dog can dictate to the handler how the bird is to be delivered

Ted

 

[Misty Marsh]

I use a mat in training and the dog's have come to know it as the place to be, both for sitting healing etc., thus more line comtrol, so yes I take note of it.

 

[HuntinDawg]

I'm just curious whether anyone has ever encountered a mat in a hunt test. I've run about 15 HRC hunt tests and about 18 AKC hunt tests and I've never encountered a mat at either one as far as I can remember. I've certainly never encountered one that my dog and I were required to relate to in any specific manner. Have I just been lucky or is the mat not involved in the hunt test game?

Thanks for the info.

 

[Misty Marsh]

I have seen them in HT's, but mostly FT's.

 

[msdaisey]

I have worked at HTs, but only run one, and I wished they'd used a mat. I sat on a bucket, with a gun in my hand, my dog beside me, and inside of a holding blind.

Dear goodness - just let me run the dog (I'll put him on the mat for every bird and standing on one leg) and forget the ridiculous scenario of sitting on a bucket and running a dog!

I also agree with Ted. The judges can tell you what to do, where to do it and on what part of the mat you should be doing it on.

Sondra

 

[Luker]

I'm just curious whether anyone has ever encountered a mat in a hunt test.

Not a mat, but a platform. At the Fall Grand last year the big water series had to be run from a platform, but the platform was on the ground (raised about 3"), but a good 10-12yds from the waters edge if I remember correctly. We were instructed that the dog had to be sent from the platform for each bird.

 

[Ken Archer]

A couple years ago at the Waterloo HT, they used a mat in the water series of the Senior. I thought it was a good idea considering the mud bath that would have developed had they not used one.