A friend had a golden retriever. Both he and the dog were pretty knowledgeable and had trained a lot. It was the Derby, and the mark was a seriously tough single.
The line was down in the trees, hidden from the gallery. But from their vantage point they could see the dogs just after entry into the water, and could see the mark and the dog if it remained on line.
As they watched, the gun went off and the bird was thrown. They turned to the brush where the dog would emerge. Time passed and they wondered what happened. All of a sudden, the dog appeared airborne and hit the water with style. He swam to the mark, pinned it, and returned directly to the handler. Applause could be heard for a job well done.
When the handler came back up to the trucks, he was shaking his head. They asked what was wrong. He said, "oh, we got dropped". And then he said why.
At the line, he called for the bird. Up it went, the gun fired. The judge said his number, the handler released the dog, and the dog looked up in his face. Thank you no, boss. I really don't feel like getting wet today.
The handler turned to the judges and asked, "is it ok if I handle my dog"? Remember, this a Derby, and marking is of prime importance. The judges, knowing that the handler and dog would take a serious deduction, said yes, go ahead and handle the dog if needed.
Well, he did. He reached down, grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck and in front of the tail, and "handled" him airborne with a serious voiced "BACK". The judges, shocked, said, "You can't do that"! The handler, knowing the outcome already said, "I asked you if I could handle my dog".
And no, I never ran a "rug" in a Field Trial.
Any other interesting happenings in the name of competition?
The line was down in the trees, hidden from the gallery. But from their vantage point they could see the dogs just after entry into the water, and could see the mark and the dog if it remained on line.
As they watched, the gun went off and the bird was thrown. They turned to the brush where the dog would emerge. Time passed and they wondered what happened. All of a sudden, the dog appeared airborne and hit the water with style. He swam to the mark, pinned it, and returned directly to the handler. Applause could be heard for a job well done.
When the handler came back up to the trucks, he was shaking his head. They asked what was wrong. He said, "oh, we got dropped". And then he said why.
At the line, he called for the bird. Up it went, the gun fired. The judge said his number, the handler released the dog, and the dog looked up in his face. Thank you no, boss. I really don't feel like getting wet today.
The handler turned to the judges and asked, "is it ok if I handle my dog"? Remember, this a Derby, and marking is of prime importance. The judges, knowing that the handler and dog would take a serious deduction, said yes, go ahead and handle the dog if needed.
Well, he did. He reached down, grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck and in front of the tail, and "handled" him airborne with a serious voiced "BACK". The judges, shocked, said, "You can't do that"! The handler, knowing the outcome already said, "I asked you if I could handle my dog".
And no, I never ran a "rug" in a Field Trial.

Comment