[mtncntrykid]

I am considering running my 1 year old that has just gotten her JH title in an couple upcoming events this next month. My question is should I just run her as junior as a positive test or run her in senior just for the experience? We are currently working walk out blinds but nothing cold and she has never been in an honor situation at this point (although she has excellant line manors). I wouldn't expect passes at senior yet as there is more work to do ...... but would the experience be good or bad.

Your thoughts?

 

[tshuntin]

I would not run a test that I was not prepared to have success in, or at least very close. More bad than good would come in my opinion.

 

[captainjack]

I wouldn't run either. Dogs get trial wise soon enough, no need to expedite the process by running more JH. And I would never run a level up from where my dog is in training. Crashing and burning is detrimental to the puppy. If you have to handle on a mark it is much more difficult than running a SH blind. Regardless of how good a market you have, you may need to handle. Could be that the pup didn't see a mark for example.

 

[ad18]

Nope, don't run until you and the dog are ready.

 

[Wayne Nutt]

I'm with the "no" group. Nothing good will come from it. Go watch some SH tests though.

 

[chuck187]

Its not fun for me, as an amateur, to go to a test just to fail. I like to know my dog can at least do the work in training to make a solid run at the test. I really would like to run my dog in Masters, but I know for sure that he is not ready.

 

[Sundown49 aka Otey B]

I would not run a test that I was not prepared to have success in, or at least very close. More bad than good would come in my opinion.

Very good advice !

 

[Kenneth Niles Bora]

x7, I'll jump on the NO train!
Maybe junior needs a test dog


.

 

[ErinsEdge]

No. Have you ever gone and watched a senior? I would suggest you go and watch a few. If the dog is only doing walk out blinds, how do you expect the dog will do cold blinds outside the marks? Marks with a walk up? There are so many things that could go wrong-no go, go to marks, pop, not see the marks. The jump from Junior to senior is huge as is to master. Your dog will be ready to run senior when it can do master set-ups in training. Go watch a bunch of seniors and then go home and train. You can't expect a dog to be tested on something it has no idea what to do and the only experience that will be gained you might have to spend month undoing.

 

[Rick_C]

The thing about experience is that it can turn out to be either good or bad. And you usually don't know which it'll be until you've experienced it.

Stay home and train.

 

[RaeganW]

Is there a reason he shouldn't run the dog in Junior? I agree that Senior is a bad idea, but if the OP is a green handler, they have to bite the bullet and run the dog at some point. Wouldn't a Junior test with a JH dog be a pretty safe bet?


(Go team Toller!)

 

[mtncntrykid]

Thanks for all the feedback. The reason I posted this thread is exactly what most of you have said, uncertainty about any benefit. Back of my mind sensed possibility of more harm than good.

Regan W,
Good question, what about just another junior pass for the dog and experience for me. Is this a benefit?

 

[kdeckels]

I would agree with everyone else considering where you're at today. When I first took the leap in seasoned I had never seen the test other than YouTube, but I was sure my dog was doing that level work.

 

[O.clarki]

So can you run again as a Junior if you already got 4 passes at that level?

 

[mtncntrykid]

Good question. I would think that if you choose to support the club and pay the entry fee, there would be no problem. It is experience that I have a hard time duplicating in a training session.

 

[O.clarki]

To answer my own question I looked it up- yes you can run again as Junior if you already passed 4 times - I was not aware of that.

 

[Pigpen]

Running junior after a title is still a bad idea in my opinion. Bad habits can form and you have no way to correct them. As someone stated already, dogs get test wise as is. I would never want to make that worse. I have a very test wise dog. More bad than good could come of it.

 

[mtncntrykid]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have decided to pass on running her until next spring. I will continue her training and she will have her first hunting season this fall. By next spring I hope to be along far enough to confidently enter.

Just FYI, I went out training this afternoon and ran her on a cold blind. Although she went out, it was slow and I had to handle here with 4 whistle stops to get her there. You could tell she was somewhat confused so we went right back to the walk to the pile blind to get the confidence back. Patience is going to be a better teacher than any hunt test right now, I think.

Will a season of fetching ducks help in my training for this or is it going to create habits I will need to stay on top of and get corrected early?

 

[Pigpen]

Will a season of fetching ducks help in my training for this or is it going to create habits I will need to stay on top of and get corrected early?

Keep your standards high. They tend to deteriorate during duck season if you're not careful. With a lot of dogs, real hunting experience turns on a certain drive that cannot be replicated in training or tests.

 

[Kasomor]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have decided to pass on running her until next spring. I will continue her training and she will have her first hunting season this fall. By next spring I hope to be along far enough to confidently enter.

Just FYI, I went out training this afternoon and ran her on a cold blind. Although she went out, it was slow and I had to handle here with 4 whistle stops to get her there. You could tell she was somewhat confused so we went right back to the walk to the pile blind to get the confidence back. Patience is going to be a better teacher than any hunt test right now, I think.

Will a season of fetching ducks help in my training for this or is it going to create habits I will need to stay on top of and get corrected early?

Got to be careful when running a minority breed also. We don't blend in with the rest of the hunt test crowd...if you know what I mean... then if you got a dog who obviously is not ready to run at that stake not only will it show but it will stick out and be remembered...remember for how long just depends on how badly your dog blows up.

Not only to the judges of the day, but to the rest of the handlers who could well be your judges of tomorrow.

I don't mean to offend but a lot of people have preconcieved ideas about our breed. It's nice to NOT give them any more. ;-);-)

And hunting your dog is likely the best thing you could do for her. Just keep your standards up.

Have fun.