Fall Trials Revisited.

[captainjack]

My wife tells me that I am a pain in the butt and have a hard time letting things go, but here goes. Have you been tracking the weekends since Bancroft? Answer this... would you rather be running your dogs, judging or working at a field trial in this October or would you still prefer July.

Could you imagine a national amateur in October.... or do you think July is still the best time to be running??:sorry:

A little off topic. I will be helping Ron Craig drive to South Carolina where he is judging the amateur at Palmetto Retriever Club. Looking forward to running, but it sure is a long ways to go to run a field trial.

Looking forward to seeing some of the US dogs that I have not been able to see - especially The Preacher who is a top yellow male, amateur trained and out of Bored Out Ford. Has a double header win and is qualified for US National Open. Now why would anyone want to see a yellow?:1:

And yes Dennis - there are still some of us that want to see the big dogs do big tests and wish them the best. Love watching Tule... would like to do the test better than him... but how can anyone wish bad luck to great dogs!

Tell me it ain't so ...Joe.:thmdn:

Peter

[3 black dogs]

Well Peter

Your wife is a smart woman LOL I hope you have a good trip with Ron and do well at the trial something tells me you will.

Do I miss running an october trial this year not realy I have been out chasing ducks and dealing with a nice litter of pups. Ask me this question next year and maybe you'll get a differnt answer.

Maybe you should take up waterfowl hunting you only live 10 minutes from the best waterfowling in ontario!

Chris

What do you think of a club having a Master/ Qual trial in the fall next year? I see this done alot in the USA?

[captainjack]

Chris,

I do some duck hunting, but find that for the past number of years that the hunters are doing more sun bathing than shooting. I train with an old duck hunter and he has been going out every day and is doing very little if any shooting.
Seems the ducks are also waiting for the cold weather before they hit Long Point, but from all accounts - my dog retrieved more ducks today training than his dog retrieved all week.
This still is not about hunting vs field trialing - there is ample time in the fall to do both. And both are very enjoyable hobbies. My point is still - test the dogs in the climate that they are bred to work. Which in my limited knowledge about waterfowling is not the summer.

Peter.

[eden beardsall]

It would be great to test the dogs in the late fall when conditions are more like hunting season but we cannot use most of the Marshes or trial grounds as they are open to hunters .Clubs are not allowed to hold their trials there during the open season.
A lot of private grounds are not open trials in the late fall because of the many vehicles that must drive on farm roads that are rather wet . Thirty or more trucks park in your field and often if it is really wet the field is a mess. Even in the summer there are places that become unavailable if the weather is wet.
I'm sure if it were easier to find trial grounds the clubs would make an effort to hold more events
As I watch this forum I wonder if the workers would be available, the guys are away hunting and without the workers there can be no trials.
As an old senior citizen who no longer hunts I would like to see a few more late trials but we have to make do with great weekend trainings.

[Anna Scott]

Guess Eden and I have both been kicking this one around. Fall trials would be nice if you could count on weather like this. I know this year I was pretty beat by the time that Bancroft rolled around and I think it really showed in the lack of performance in both me and the dogs. We have used the month of October to give back to our club. After the first Thanksgiving in many years with family (even the hubby no moose tag) we have reguvenated and been able to host a junior handlers day, a great training day this past weekend, an obedience trial next weekend and a fun day on Nov.4th. These are things that wouldn't have been possible if we were still training for and running trials. I guess it all boils down to choices and opportunities.

[Huntmaster]

Chris,

I do some duck hunting, but find that for the past number of years that the hunters are doing more sun bathing than shooting. I train with an old duck hunter and he has been going out every day and is doing very little if any shooting.
Seems the ducks are also waiting for the cold weather before they hit Long Point, but from all accounts - my dog retrieved more ducks today training than his dog retrieved all week.
This still is not about hunting vs field trialing - there is ample time in the fall to do both. And both are very enjoyable hobbies. My point is still - test the dogs in the climate that they are bred to work. Which in my limited knowledge about waterfowling is not the summer.

Peter.


Here is my last two Sundays, sun bathing, teaching some young lads how to hunt, all are related to me! Only two guns in the blind, and a lot of missing. But for filling a few limits, Id say its worth going out, and only getting better. In one picture you will see a couple PinTails.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/goinggoingsold/ducks/IMG_0422.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/goinggoingsold/ducks/IMG_0420.jpg

[captainjack]

Now that looks like fun - but it sure hasn't been Long Point public marsh so far. It also reinforces my desire for fall trials - if that was July you would both be in shorts and chances are your dogs would over heat doing that many retrieves. Love to see you and your dogs out hunting - after all these are hunting dogs!

[Huntmaster]

Now that looks like fun - but it sure hasn't been Long Point public marsh so far. It also reinforces my desire for fall trials - if that was July you would both be in shorts and chances are your dogs would over heat doing that many retrieves. Love to see you and your dogs out hunting - after all these are hunting dogs!

I think the season for trials is short also, but I kind of understand that the serious hunters that train and work hard all spring and summer with their dogs going to Ht,Ft want a break to do what they are training the dogs for in the first place,,,to hunt,,,. At first I thought they don't hunt every week-end so why not a HT or Ft in between. But its not that easy, anyone running a dog will want to tone it right up to the test, meaning less hunt time. If there was enough guys and girls to want a fall test that didn't get enough in the summer, then yes have a few more. But if the turn out is low, the clubs that put them on will be frustrated they went to all that work for just a hand full of handlers.

The birds are here, you just got to find them. After the first freeze, all the birds that sit in back ponds will be forced to the rivers and fields. This sounds like what most are use to and looking for. But times have changed with the weather, and we have to change to. Hunt the back ponds and places these birds are at. Don't rely on years past experience when it was colder. There are way more birds now then there ever was in Ontario. Stay away from big open water right now, hunt that after freeze up. Bet you will do great if you try to change your old habits. FIND THE BIRDS, then hunt!!!

I do OK out there right now, but the best is yet to come, the last thing I'm going to do is wait for the perfect weather and shorten my hunting season. Hell, if I can hunt ducks in a T-Shirt instead of freezing my n,,ts off, I'm in!!!