Hunting trials put emphasis on dogged discipline

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Grand Forks Herald

By Vince Meyer

PEQUOT LAKES, Minn. - The shotgun sounded, the bird fell to the ground and Piper made the mark. Its handler gave the signal and the young toller bolted off to make the retrieve.

Then it got tough. Piper got distracted, sniffed the grass and rolled in the dirt. Intent on everything but the job at hand, the dog needed several strong admonishments before it picked up the bird and brought it back to its dismayed handler.

So it goes at a dog trial, where even the best-trained dogs sometimes go astray.

Piper's reluctance might have been due to the presence of a road between his starting point and the place where the bird fell. Something as simple as that - a change in cover type - can throw off a dog's perception, explained Jim Wills, owner of Hunts Point Sportsman's Club, where the Marsh and Meadows Hunting Retriever Club hosted this month its first licensed regular hunt tests. Dogs came from as far away as Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, the Dakotas and Iowa.

Fifty-one dogs entered the tests each day in one of three categories: Started, Seasoned and Finished. Each dog competed against itself. Using standards set forth by the United Kennel Club, judges graded the dogs and gave each a passing or failing grade.

How a dog is handled is perhaps the biggest factor in its performance.

"Discipline," Wills said. "It's just discipline. You can't let the dog decide what it wants to do. It's not a matter of being harsh or abusive, it's just a matter of enforcing discipline."

Though many handlers were frustrated by their dogs performance, others saw the pooch pull through. John Wilhelm of Jefferson City, Mo., and his Labrador, Raider, pass in the seasoned category. Raider must pass four different trials to earn "champion" status.

"From here," Wilhelm said, "we'll go to Columbia, Mo., then St. Louis and then New Athens, Ill. I'd like to get him to pass all those before hunting season, but that might be pretentious."

Each level of standards is tougher. Started dogs make single marks, seasoned dogs two marks and finished dogs three marks. Seasoned dogs have land and water trials.

Finished dogs cannot be physically handled by their handler and after its tests are completed must remain at heel as the next dog starts its tests. If it breaks heel at any time it's automatically disqualified.

The trials were made tougher by the intense summer heat. Temperatures soared to 100 degrees on the first day. The second day was cooler, but the humidity was higher. None of the dogs or their handlers suffered heat stroke. Plenty of water was available for the dogs to drink and bathe in after each trial.

These were the first trials hosted by the March and Meadows club, which formed in August 2005.

"It went really well," said Peggy Wills, who kept statistics for the weekend. "Our members are young and energetic. They work well together. We heard a lot of good comments from the people. The judges said they didn't expect it to go as smoothly as it did."

Two trials are planned for next year, Wills said, though dates haven't been set.