Field trial help

1

12gaugedust

New member
Alright im thinking about entering my brittany in his first field trial in march.. Although he knows how to find birds, but he is trained with the whistle and e collar. If i dont use the whistle or e collar im thinking he wont listen like he is supposed too.. I dont know enough about it hoping to get some guidance in this.. Thank you
 
I've never seen a field trial in which handlers were not allowed to use whistles.
 
Well the field trial is at des plaines wildlife state park in willimington ill.. And its for lasalle brittany club, so idk much about it, just found out about it.. If i can use the whistle i think we will be ok. I dont speak to him in the field, i blow the whistle and he responds that way.. Kinda nervous to enter it!
 
Just get the first one under your belt, go have fun. Its a new experience for you and the dog, some of it will go well, some not so much, most likely.
 
britts again

right, have a good time and hope to at least come out of there with having learned something. if your dog is trained to the e collar then he is not trained, you can't train with the collar, you can reinforce however what ever he should have learned. oh well, supposed to be nice ya know. good luck and enjoy

cheers
 
not using the nick or anything, just the tone button.. And the whistle.. The nick is only for correction when he ignores me and doesn't listen.. I dont like shocking my dog and i try not too.. But i usually hit the tone and he turns, and hit it twice he comes back. ( usually )
 
Go, have fun, ask questions. Let your dog run, don't try to hack him around to much. Just let him have fun. I assume it's a puppy or derby type of stake?
 
If it is a club event, they should be glad to have you there, and most will go out of their way to help you. Just remember to park your ego at the gate, and go with the flow...whatever happens with you and your dog has ALREADY happened to most of them. :) They won't sit in judgement.

It can be a lot of fun, certainly a learning experience and both you and your dog will learn stuff from it.

Have fun, bring your sense of humor, and you may end up making some new friends.
 
I say go for it. I did my first field trial last year and had a blast! I participated in a cover dog field trial and found most everyone to be very helpful and nonjudgemental. It's all about fun and enjoying your dog. :)
 
12. The trial will be an AKC sanctioned trial. If you've never been, there are some things you need to know. First off, if your dog is over 24 months old it will have to run in either Gun Dog or All Age adult stakes. Typically those are walking stakes with horseback handling allowed. What that means is everyone will be on a horse, but you can handle off foot. Second, those are broke dog stakes and if the dog moves on a find, blows a back, or doesn't stop to flush, the dog will be disqualified and not allowed to continue (don't let that scare you though, when you start out the goal is to just "get around", and not to win). However, if your dog is less than 24 months old you can run Derby, and if its less than 15 months you can run Puppy. Those stakes are geared more towards the young dogs who aren't "finished" and they are judged more on their potential. Puppy's dont even need to find a bird in order to place. No birds are killed, but you do fire a blank pistol after the find.

Whistles are the norm, along with tracking collars that you give the judge before your brace in the event your dog gets lost, but E-collars are not allowed.

Pm me if you have ny questions. My dog competes on the American Brittany Club circuit and I occasionally handle her in Amateur trials. You can also get ahold of the LaSalle club and talk to them for info. We need more people to be involved in the sport and trials are a TON of fun. But don't go expecting a lot. Trials are very competitive and it takes a lot of training and work to get a dog to the point where they can actually compete, let alone win. But you will learn a lot and the people are great.
 
kismet said:
if it is a club event, they should be glad to have you there, and most will go out of their way to help you. Just remember to park your ego at the gate, and go with the flow...whatever happens with you and your dog has already happened to most of them. :) they won't sit in judgement.

It can be a lot of fun, certainly a learning experience and both you and your dog will learn stuff from it.

Have fun, bring your sense of humor, and you may end up making some new friends.
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for the hunter, fall is the island and the rest of the year is the swim.//charles fergus
 
look to join a local dog club in your area. They have a lot of retriever/pointer/flusher clubs thats main purpose is to assit in helping you train, learn more about hunt tests an field trials. That is how I got started and how I am still learning. Really cheap resource and tons of valuable information.
 
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