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Failed dog continues to run.... from the April - May, 2003 Judges Corner by Tim Gibson
Scenario: The
new Seasoned handler at the land series had no problem with the walkup portion
of the test. He did have some
difficulties controlling the dog on the blind, with the dog eventually
“stumbling” on the bird in what was clearly a failing performance.
When the handler moved to the bucket to run the marks, the judged
indicated his test was over because he had failed the blind.
The handler responded that he knew he had failed the blind, but it was
his understanding he could run the other portion of the test.
The judges said no, he could not and asked him to leave the line. Question:
Were the judges correct? Answer:
In this case, the judges were wrong,
and I’ll explain why. It’s
pretty clear to everyone that a dog who has “failed” in the morning series
can come back and run in the afternoon (unless of course it was disqualified).
One of our founding principles, as spelled out in the Preamble of our rulebook
is: “Except for the Grand, a hunting retriever will be able to compete in
all tests at each level of competition without being eliminated”. There
has, however, always been some confusion about when a dog should or should not
be allowed to continue the test after failing part of it, and when or if the
judge must allow the dog to continue if the handler so requests.
Who decides, and what considerations should be factored into the
decision? Should this decision
depend on the testing level or the circumstances? I’ll try to answer these
questions. The Guidelines for Conducting
Events states, “The reason for limiting the number of entries is to give
each dog an opportunity to run all tests even if they failed a portion of a
test”. The rulebook is more
specific at each testing level. The
Started test Description states: “The
Started Hunting Retriever can participate in all four tests regardless of
whether or not it passes each test.” That being said, Started judges
should encourage and allow Started dogs to run all birds.
The test Descriptions at Seasoned, and Finished both say, “Failure
of the hunting retriever to pass any of the hunting tests will not prevent the
hunting retriever from participating in a subsequent test…”.
It’s pretty clear then, that the Seasoned judges should have allowed
the dog to continue after failing the blind. What if the dog is picked up?
Can it (or should it be allowed to) run another part of the test?
The rulebook Guidelines for Conducting Events says, “Judges should
ask a Handler to pick up their dog if that dog has, in the Judge’s mind,
already failed and is creating bad habits or endangering itself”.
Most bad habits are created when a handler looses control of their dog
during the test (because there is no opportunity for a correction). When the
dog’s performance has deteriorated to that point, I recommend judges first
strongly “suggest” to the handler the dog be picked up, then require it if
necessary. Most handlers who pick their dogs up on a test won’t ask to run any
other parts of it. It they do, the
judges have a decision to make: to balance “giving each dog an opportunity to
run all tests even if they failed a portion of a test” against their
obligation not to let “bad habits” continue.
I suggest judges might use the following parameter to help decide to
allow a dog to continue a test: If requested, always lean toward allowing a dog
to keep running unless you feel that by continuing, the control problems you
observed will almost certainly reoccur (i.e., a bad habit will continue
to build). Here are some examples: 1) A Seasoned dog breaks on the walkup, which is a clear failure. Immediately following the break, do the judges yell, “pick up the dog”? No, the damage is done, and not letting the dog get the bird is the handler’s decision. The handler may not want the dog to continue, which is fine. Absent the handler pulling the dog, do the judges allow the dog to run the remainder of the test? Yes. Just because it broke on a walkup does not mean it won’t be steady sitting at the bucket for the marks or perform well on a blind. 2) A Seasoned dog runs amok on the blind and the judges reach the point where they ask the handler to pick up the dog (remember the criteria above – it is being picked up because it has clearly failed and is creating bad habits). Should it be allowed to run the marking test if requested? Yes. The dog may do a great job on the marks and the lack of control on the blind will not necessarily be repeated (especially if the dog is not handled). 3) A handler looses control of their Seasoned dog when handling to pick up the second mark of the double and the judges ask the handler to pick up the dog. The handler wants to “try” the blind. The judges should probably first make an effort to guide the handler toward voluntarily taking the dog off the line. Then if necessary, advise the handler that their test is over because the control problems will more than likely continue on the blind. 4) The dog broke on the first flush at the Upland Hunt Test. Should it be allowed to continue? No. The dog has clearly failed, and to give it a second flush to potentially break on again would be perpetuating a really bad habit. Life would be much easier for judges if every handler who failed a portion of an advanced test would simply pick up their dog and head to the truck. When they don’t make the right decision, judges must make it for them. I hope this discussion will help you do that. |
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The Judges Corner - copyright
2006 All Rights Reserved Last modified: February 18, 2008 |