Labber
02-18-2008, 10:20 PM
I'll jump ahead in the rulebook, and post these parts for a while as they are likely to be referred to alot!
16 EVALUATION OF DOG WORK
16.1 Natural Abilities
16.1.1 The judges must judge the dogs for their natural abilities
including their memory, sagacity, intelligence,
attention, nose, courage, perseverance and style. Natural
abilities are of great importance in all stakes,
whereas abilities acquired through training are of less
importance in the Qualifying stake than in those carrying
championship points, and are of comparatively
minor importance in the Junior stake.
16.1.2 Memory
(a) Accurate marking, or memory of falls is of paramount
importance. However, this does not
imply that dogs which excel in marking shall not
be severely penalized, or even eliminated for
deficiencies in or a lack of the other required
abilities. However, in Junior stakes, tests are usually
so devised that marked birds constitute a
large percentage of the retrieves by which each
dog’s performance is judged.
(b) Ability to mark does not necessarily imply pinpointing
the fall. A dog that misses the fall on
the first cast, but recognizes the depth of the
area of the fall, stays in it, then quickly and systematically
hunts it out, has done both a
creditable and an intelligent job of marking.
Such work should not be appreciably outscored
by the dog that finds or pinpoints on its first
cast. However, a dog which consistently, (i.e.
during the entire stake), marks its birds in a
closer area, hence more accurately than another
dog, should be judged accordingly. All things
are relative, and conceivably, such differences in
marking alone might be sufficient to determine
the final placings in a particular stake.
(c) What precisely constitutes the area of the fall
defies accurate definition. At the outset of every
test, each judge must arbitrarily define its hypothetical
boundaries for himself, and each bird in
that test, so that he can judge whether dogs
have remained within the judge’s own concept
of the area of the fall, as well as how far they
wandered away from the area and how much
cover they disturbed unnecessarily. In deter
mining these arbitrary and hypo-thetical
boundaries of the area of the fall, due consideration
should be given to various factors.
(i) The type, height and uniformity of the cover
(ii) Light conditions
(iii) Direction of the prevailing wind and its
intensity
(iv) Length of various falls
(v) The speed of individual dogs
(vi) Whether there is a change in cover (i.e.
from stubble to plowed ground, or to ripe
alfalfa, or to machine-picked corn) or
whether the fall is beyond a hedge, across a
road, or over a ditch; and finally and most
important
(vii) Whether one is establishing the area of the
fall for a single, or for the first bird a dog goes
for in multiple retrieves, or for the second or
the third bird, since each of these should differ
from the others. In general, the area of the
fall for a single should be relatively small; the
area for a first retrieve in a double should be
smaller than for the second bird, and both of
these should be larger in a triple, and larger
still for the third bird in it. Also, the area for
short retrieves should certainly be smaller
than for longer retrieves. Since there are so
many conditions and variables to be taken
into consideration, it is obvious that each
judge, and for every series, must attempt to
define for himself a hypothetical area of a fall
for each bird, and then judge the dogs
accordingly. However, the penalties inflicted
should vary in their severity, depending on
the distance which individual dogs wander
out of the area, the frequency of such wanderings,
the number of birds mis-marked in
a given test, and by the amount of cover disturbed
in these meanderings
(d) Dogs which disturb cover unnecessarily, clearly
well out of the area of the fall, either by not
going directly to that area, or by leaving it even
though they eventually find the birds without
being handled, should be penalized more
severely than those handled quickly and obediently
to it.
16.1.3 Sagacity
A dog which fails to find a bird, which in the opinion
of the judges the dog should have found, shall be
eliminated from the stake.
16.1.4 Intelligence
Intelligence is a quality not often tested intentionally,
since few tests can be designed for that specific purpose.
On occasion, dogs may have an opportunity to
demonstrate an unusual degree of intelligence, or
lack of it, through the manner in which certain performances
are completed. When those occasions
arise, and usually they develop by chance rather than
by intent, each dog must be credited or penalized on
the basis of intelligence demonstrated.
16.1.5 Attention
Attention is displayed, even as a dog comes to line.
The dog’s eagerness and general attitude when coming
on line, its alertness in locating the gunners, in
acceding to its handler’s commands, and its zeal for
the hunt, are highly desirable traits. Conversely, lack
of attention and lack of interest should be penalized.
16.1.6 Nose
(a) Most retrievers have a good nose and, as a rule,
have numerous opportunities to demonstrate
this all-important quality at every trial. Usually it
is something in the dog’s work which suggests a
dog lacks a good nose, thus attracting the judge’s
attention. Such suspicion should be recorded so
it can be verified or eliminated by the dog’s performance
in subsequent tests. On the other
hand, scenting conditions are mysterious and little
understood, although obviously affected by
many factors such as type of cover, wind, frost,
rain, location of fall, acidity of soil and apparently
many other conditions. Extreme caution must
be exercised before a dog is charged with a poor
nose and penalized accordingly.
(b) Repeated evidence of poor nose is in itself sufficient
justification for elimination from the
stake. Because scenting conditions are affected
by so many factors judges should exercise
extreme caution in invoking this penalty.
16.1.7 Courage
(a) Courage, too, is a trait which cannot be tested
at every trial. It may be displayed by a willingness
to face, without hesitation, rough cover,
cold or rough water, ice, mud, or other similar
conditions which make the going rather tough,
and of doing it repeatedly. The facilities of trial
grounds, or the weather, do not often supply
the proper situation for a series specifically
designed to test the dogs’ courage.
(b) Because the facilities or weather necessary for such
a test are often limited, such test should usually
come late in a trial, unless there are rea-sonable
grounds for assumption that all dogs will receive
comparable tests.When such test can be arranged,
they are frequently of great value to the judges in
evaluating their relative merits in this highly desirable
trait which all retrievers should possess.
16.1.8 Perseverance
(a) Perseverance is shown by a dog’s determination
to complete the task at hand; i.e. systematically,
aggressively and without faltering, to search for
and make the find of the bird that the dog has
been sent to retrieve.
(b) A lack of perseverance may become apparent if
a dog, after having been sent to retrieve:
(i) Returns to its handler voluntarily before
finding the bird or does not go when
ordered, except, when in the opinion of the
judges, the dog was confused as to whether
it was really ordered to retrieve, in which
case no penalty shall be assessed.
(ii) Stops its hunt, or continues at it in a slow,
unenthusiastic, disinterested manner;
(iii) Pops or looks back at its handler for directions
on a mark and before it has hunted for
a considerable time
(iv) Switches birds
(v) Blinks a bird—fails to pick up the bird,
actually leaving it after making the find
Most of these are serious faults and should be
judged accordingly.
(c) Switching birds implies a dog gives up its hunt
after a search, leaves the area, and goes for
another bird, or drops a bird it is retrieving and
goes for another. Except in the latter case, a dog
should not be judged as switching unless it goes
to the area of a fall, hunts, fails to find and then
leaves that area to hunt for another fall.
(d) It should not be considered lack of perseverance
if, while on the way to one fall, the dog sees or
finds another bird and retrieves it first; or, if on
the way to one fall, but long before the dog reaches
the area of the fall, it changes its direction for
some reason or other and goes for another bird.
16.1.9 Style
(a) Style is apparent in every movement of a dog
and throughout its entire performance at trials
by the gaiety of its manner, its alertness on line,
its eagerness and speed on retrieves, water
entry, pick-up of birds and return with them.
Dogs may be credited for outstanding and brilliant
exhibitions of style, or they may be
penalized for deficiencies in style. The severity
of the penalty ranging from a minor demerit to
elimination from the stake in extreme cases.
(b) Style makes for a pleasing performance. Style
and ability to mark constitute the important
factors for placings in Junior stakes.
(c) In all stakes, in respect to style, a desired performance
includes:
(i) An alert and obedient attitude
(ii) Fast, determined departures on land and in
water
(iii) An aggressive search for the fall
(iv) A prompt pick-up and
(v) A reasonably fast return
16.2 Trained Abilities
16.2.1 Judges must judge the dogs for their abilities
acquired through training, including steadiness, control,
response to direction and delivery. The
importance of these acquired qualities varies in different
stakes. For example, a reasonable degree of
steadiness and general obedience are the requirements
in Junior stakes. A greater degree of steadiness
and some degree of the other qualities are expected
in the Qualifying stake.There should be expectations
of full refinement in acquired attributes in those
stakes carrying championship points.
16.2.2 Steadiness
(a) Dogs on line sometimes make various types of
movements when game is thrown. Such movements
may be interpreted as efforts by the dogs
to improve their view of the fall, and some
occur through sheer excitement. Except for an
occasional change in position in order to better
see a fall, all such movements on line of a running
or honouring dog should be penalized as
unsteadiness - the degree of penalty depending
on the extent and the frequency of repetition of
the offenses. If the handler makes no effort to
stop or restrain his dog, a judge should not
interpret movement on line as a deliberate
intent to retrieve, since nothing was done to
stop the dog. On the other hand, if the handler
does make an effort to stop his dog, a judge
should assume the handler believed the dog
intended to retrieve and should deal with such
infraction accordingly. In any case, creeping or
jumping forward should be penalized as
unsteadiness and if repeated, and seriously
excessive, may be in itself sufficient to justify
elimination.
(b) It is proper for judges, if they wish, to require
dogs which have jumped or crept forward a predetermined
distance (usually a few feet ahead
of the handler) to be brought back to heel
before being sent for their birds. Judging procedure
is outlined in these rules.The requirement
of steadiness is a very important factor in judging
the work of retrievers.
(c) In an All-Age stake, if a dog makes a movement
which, in the opinion of the judge, indicates a
deliberate intent to retrieve without having
been ordered to do so, or if the handler speaks
or gestures to his dog to prevent such movement,
that dog shall be deemed to have broken
and shall be eliminated. In any stake other than
an All-Age stake, if a dog makes a slight break
and is brought immediately under control, the
dog need not be eliminated but shall be penalized
for unsteadiness. In all stakes, after the
judges have directed that a dog be ordered to
retrieve, that dog is entitled to run in and
retrieve and shall not be accused of, or penalized
for breaking, even though the judges did
not see or hear the handler send the dog.
16.2.3 Control
(a) When called to be tested, a dog should come
tractably at heel and sit promptly at the point
designated by its handler. The dog should
remain quietly where placed until given further
orders.
(b) Retrievers which bark or whine on line, in a
blind or while retrieving, should be penalized.
Loud and prolonged barking or whining is sufficient
cause to justify elimination from a stake.
(c) Control is closely allied to the dog’s response to
direction, but it also includes obedience at all
times. Control also includes line manners, walking
tractably at heel, assuming the staying in any designated
position on line, as well as remaining
quietly on line beside the handler after delivery of
the bird.When called, a dog should return promptly
to his handler, particularly in those instances
where judges decide the dog shall be tested again,
at a later time, either because another dog broke or
due to any one of a variety of other circumstances.
(d) While on line, dogs shall be penalized if they are
noisily or frequently restrained by their handlers.
The degree of the penalty should correspond to
the extent and frequency of repetition of the
infraction. Although such is not required, it is a
considerate gesture by judges, if they are in agreement,
to notify handlers when their methods of
restraint are incurring penalties for their dogs.
(e) A dog who pays no attention to many whistles
and direction by its handler can be said to be out
of control and, unless in the opinion of the
judges there exist valid mitigating circumstances,
it should be eliminated from the stake.
(f) When a dog is on a blind retrieve the handler
should endeavour to keep the dog on a reasonably
direct line between the starting position and the
bird to be retrieved so that the dog does not avoid
natural obstacles which may be on that line. A
blind retrieve is a test of control and dogs that are
allowed to vary from the line may be penalized or
even eliminated if judged to have avoided the test.
16.2.4 Response to Direction
(a) Response to direction is all important in handling
tests. A dog must be brought back to the
area of fall when he has mismarked. In such
response to direction, a dog should take the
original line given to it by its handler and continue
on it until it either makes the find or until
stopped by the handler and given a new line.
The dog should then continue in this new
direction until it finds, or is given further directions.
Faults, or justifications for penalties,
include the following:
(i) Not taking the line originally given by the
handler
(ii) Not continuing on that line for a considerable
distance
(iii) Stopping voluntarily (i.e. popping-up and
looking back for directions)
(iv) Failure to stop promptly and look to the
handler, when indicated
(v) Failure to take a new direction (i.e. a new
cast, when given) and
(vi) Failure to continue in that new direction for
a considerable distance
(b) The seriousness of the penalty for any or all of
the foregoing faults varies with the seriousness
of the infraction, whether that infraction was
repeated and how often, and whether there was
a combination of various infractions. However,
before inflicting a severe penalty because of a
dog’s failure to stop promptly at the whistle,
judges should determine whether the wind, the
cover, or the distance seriously interfered with
the dog’s ability to hear its handler.
(c) In general, the performance in the test should
be considered in its entirety; an occasional failure
to take and hold a direction may be considered
a minor fault, if offset by several other very
good responses.
(d) A considerable penalty should be imposed for
repeated, willful disobedience of the handler’s
orders and less penalty when, after taking proper
direction, it does not continue on it as far as
the handler desired. Stopping voluntarily, to
look back for directions, in an isolated instance,
may be considered a minor fault, but frequent
repetition may convert such popping-up into
the category of serious faults.
16.2.5 Delivery
(a) Upon finding the game, the dog should quickly
pick it up and return briskly to its handler. A
dog should not drop its game on the ground,
but distinction should be made between deliberately
dropping a bird, and readjusting a bad
hold or losing its grip because of a struggling
bird or running over uneven terrain. Upon
returning, a dog should deliver the bird
promptly and tenderly to its handler. A dog sitting
to deliver should not outscore a dog
making a clear delivery without sitting. A dog
should not drop the bird before delivering it
and the dog should not freeze, or be unwilling
to give it up.The dog should not jump after the
bird, once the handler has taken it from the dog.
(b) Penalties for faulty delivery may range from
minor for an isolated minor offense, to elimination
from the stake either for a severe freeze or
because of repeated moderate infractions. A
dog that is unwilling to release a bird on delivery
should be penalized, and if compelled to do
so by severe methods should, unless in the
opinion of the judges there exists valid mitigating
circumstances, be eliminated.
(c) After delivering a bird to its handler, a dog
should stand or sit close to its handler until given
further orders.
(d) Hard-mouth is one of the most severely penalized
faults in a retriever. Furthermore, once a dog
has been charged with this fault, it carries that
stigma for life. Therefore, hard mouth should
only become the judges’ verdict when there is
incontrovertible proof of it. Torn skin or flesh,
alone does not, in most cases, constitute such
proof since damage of that type may be caused in
a variety of ways, such as sharp sticks and stones
in the cover. Dogs can unintentionally damage
birds when making retrieves from heavy cover, as
well as by their fast, positive pick-up. Some birds
are particularly susceptible to damage. On the
other hand, crushed bone structure may be
accepted as trustworthy and sufficient evidence of
hard mouth even in the absence of a particularly
obvious of tearing of flesh.
(e) Other faults are frequently confused with hardmouth,
although, in reality, they are entirely
separate and distinct from it - even though, in
addition, the dog may actually be hardmouthed.
Freezing, in particular, falls into his
category. A hard-mouthed dog may have a gentle
delivery and certainly, a sticky delivery does
not imply hard-mouth.Rolling a bird or
mouthing it, while making the retrieve, may be
erroneously associated with hard-mouth in the
opinion of some, even though the bird is not
damaged. If such mouthing is a fault at all, then
it is one of only minor importance.
(f) A dog should be eliminated for hard-mouth or
badly damaging game, but, before doing so, all
judges should inspect the bird and be satisfied that
the dog alone was responsible for the damage.
(g) Judges should remember that a dog is either
found to have a hard-mouth or it is not so
found, and, if guilty, the dog must be eliminated
from the stake. Other various types of
inconclusive evidence should merely be recorded
in the judge’s notes, pending the manner in
which birds are handled in subsequent series.
While it is not required, it is a considerate gesture
on the part of the judges to keep separately
any bird for which they are eliminating a dog
for hard-mouth and show it inconspicuously to
the handler of the dog at a later time.
17 CLASSIFICATION OF FAULTS
17.1 Guidelines
17.1.1 Classification of the many faults which may be exhibited
by retrievers during the course of a trial shall be
primarily in terms of generalizations. In the lists that
follow, various infractions are catalogued as serious,
moderate and minor faults.
(a) Each fault should be considered as a single
occurrence, and only to an average degree.
(b) Repetition of a fault indicates a weakness or a
bad habit and justifies a more severe penalty
than an isolated case. The same holds true
when there is a combination of different faults.
Such repetition or multiplicity of faults frequently
indicates failing or an habitual
tendency which produces neither a finished job
nor one pleasing to the eye.
(c) The faults listed in this classification are limited
to those that are observed most at retriever
trials. Others may occur and this classification
may serve as a helpful guide, on such occasions,
in determining the relative importance of such
unusual offences.
(d) The primary consideration of judges in respect to
the importance of faults here listed, as well as others
which may occur, is to determine the extent to
which any and all such infractions would detract
from the full enjoyment of a day’s shoot.
(e) A judge may be thoroughly justified in moderating
a penalty or even in failing to impose one,
if there have been extenuating circumstances to
justify such action. Much can be achieved in
attaining great uniformity of judging through
uniform definitions of the various serious, moderate
and minor faults. However, the personal
equation cannot be eliminated completely since
each judge must determine the relative seriousness
of individual faults, repetition of faults, or
combination of faults, which occur in the performance
by dogs in a particular trial.
(f) The faults set out in these summaries are
extracted from the fuller descriptions set out in
front of the body of the rule book. In case of
conflict between the faults described below and
the rules set out in the body of the rule book,
the rules shall govern.The applicable rules with
page and section numbers are set out In parentheses
beside each specific fault. Where there is
a “cf.” notation it refers the reader to similar
descriptions of faults but with different degrees
of seriousness.
17.2 Serious Faults
17.2.1 These faults are usually sufficient to justify elimination
from the stake:
(a) Retrieving a decoy and returning with it –
mandatory elimination.[Section 16.1.8 (a)]
(b) Breaking – mandatory elimination, except
in Qualifying and Junior stakes. [Section 16.2.2
(a) & (b)]
(c) Hard Mouth – badly damaged game, which in
the opinion of the judges was caused solely by
the dog without justification – mandatory elimination
[Section 16.2.5(d)]
(d) Watching blind retrieves being planted for or
retrieved by another dog – mandatory elimination
of both dog and handler from the stake.
[Section 15.4.4(e) Watching birds being thrown for or retrieved by
another dog - – mandatory elimination of both
dog and handler from the stake. [Section
15.4.5]
(f) Repeated evidence of poor nose. [Section
16.1.6 (a) & (b)]
(g) Reluctance to enter either rough cover, water,
ice, mud or any other situation involving
unpleasantness or difficulties for the dog after
having been ordered to several times. [Sections
16.1.7 (a) – cf. Section 17.3.1 (c)]
(h) Returning to the handler without the bird
and without having been called in. [Section
16.1.8 (b), (i)]
(i) Stopping its hunt [Section 16.1.8 (b) (ii)]
(j) Switching birds (giving up after a search for one
bird and going to an area of another fall or
dropping a bird it is retrieving and going for
another). [Section 16.1.8 (c) & (d)]
(k) Blinking the bird (ignoring it when found and
leaving it) [Section 16.1.8 (b) (v)]
(l) To hold or intentionally touch a dog while
under judgment [Section 15.4.7 (c)]
(m) Out of control (paying no attention to many
whistles or directions of its handler) [Section
8.1.2 & Section 16.2.3 (e)]
(n) Extreme freeze (unwillingness to release a bird
on delivery until compelled to do so by severe
methods) [Section 16.2.5 (a) & (b)]
(o) Loud and prolonged whining or barking. [Section
16.2.3 (b) - cf. section 17.3.1 (j) & 17.4.1 (m)]
(p) Deliberate blocking by a handler so a dog will
not see each bird as it falls (this applies both to
the working dog and the honouring dog) [Section
15.4.8]
(q) Throwing anything to persuade a dog to enter
water or to enter water. [Section 16.1.8 (a)]
(r) Failure to find a bird the dog should have
found. [Section 16.1.8 (a)]
(s) Touching a dog or hissing or speaking or otherwise
threatening a dog by displaying equipment
or making obvious threatening gestures in an
All-Age stake to restrain it from breaking,
except in extraordinary circum-stances. [Section
15.4.6 & Section 15.4.7]
17.3 Moderate Faults
17.3.1 Infractions in this category may actually be so slight as
to warrant their consideration as only a minor fault, or
they may be so severe as to warrant their consideration
as a serious fault. Repetitions of a moderate fault or a
combination of several of these moderate faults may
readily convert the total infraction into a serious fault.
(a) Failure to mark the area of the fall, requiring that
the dog be handled to it (worse on a single or first
bird than on any subsequent birds) [Section
16.1.2 (a) to (d)]
(b) Leaving the area of a fall or not going to it and disturbing
too much cover [Section 16.1.2 (d)]
(c) Reluctance to enter rough cover water, ice, mud or
other situations involving unpleasant going for the
dog. [Section 16.1.7 (a) - cf. Section 17.2.1 (g)]
(d) Hunting in a slow, disinterested, unenthusiastic
manner either at once or after a short search [Section
16.1.9 (a), (b) & (c)]
(e) Poor style, including a disinterested attitude, a
slow or reluctant departure, quest for game, or
return with it. [Section 16.1.8 (a) & (b), (ii) &
(iii)]
(f) Popping (looking back for directions on a marked
bird before an extensive search) [Section 16.1.8
(a) & (b), (iii)]
(g) Noisily or frequently restraining a dog from breaking
in minor stakes, except in extraordinary
circumstances. [Section 16.2.3 (d) - cf. Section
17.2.1 (o) & 17.4.1 (g)]
(h) Not stopping for directions after 2 or 3 whistles,
particularly consecutive whistles, which the dog
should have heard. [Section 16.2.3 (a) (iv), (b) &
(c) - cf. Section 17.2.1 (m) & 17.4.1 (h)]
(i) Deliberate failure to take lines and various directions
given to the dog (failure to hold lines and
casts more than a short distance) [Section 16.2.4
(a) to (d) - cf. Section 17.4.1 (k)]
(j) Moderate whining or barking of short duration.
[Section 16.2.3 (b) - cf. Section 17.2.1
(o) & 17.4.1 (m)]
(k) Going well out of its way by land to a fall in a
marking test, without certainty of purpose, to
avoid going into the water on a water retrieve.
[Section 10.3 & Section 16.1.7 (a)]
(l) extreme or persistent creeping or serious lack of
steadiness combined with general poor line manners.
[Section 10.3 & Sections 16.2.2 (a) & 16.2.3
(a) - cf. Section 17.4.1 (f)]
(m) popping on a blind if repeated [section 16.2.4
(d) - cf. Section 17.4.1(i)]
17.4 Minor Faults
17.4.1 Either severe or repeated or a combination of these
minor faults may convert them into a moderate fault
or even a serious fault. Also they may be so slight as
not to merit a penalty at all.
(a) Lack of attention [Section 16.1.9 (c) (i)]
(b) Going well out of it way by land on the return
from a water retrieve, without certainty of purpose.
[Section 10.3 & Section 16.1.2 (d)]
(c) Poor line manners including heeling poorly, not
immediately taking and staying in the designated
position, tendency to creep. [Section 10.3 &
Section 16.2.3 (a) & (c)]
(d) Slow pick-up of a bird, dropping a bird at delivery
or during the return, slow return, sloppy
handling of a bird. [Section 16.1.9 (a) & (c),
(iv) & (v) & Section 16.2.5 (a) & (b)]
(e) Leg lifting, particularly on the way to a fall.
[Section 16.1.9 (a) to (c)]
(f) Slight unsteadiness on line including occasional
instances of slight creeping. [Section 10.2 &
Section 16.2.2 (a) & (b) & 16.2.3 (a) -cf. Section
17.3.1 (l)]
(g) Slight and isolated instances of quiet speaking
or hissing at the dog in minor stakes. [Section
16.2.2 (c)]
(h) Not stopping at the first whistle it should have
heard but stopping at the second or third. [Section
16.2.4 (c) - cf. Section 17.3.1(h)]
(i) An isolated instance of looking back for directions
in a blind retrieve (popping) before taking
a line or cast for a reasonable distance. [Section
16.2.4 (a), (iii) & (d)]
(j) Occasional failure to take the handler’s directions.
[Section 16.2.4 (a), (v), (b) & (c)]
(k) Occasional failure to hold a line or a cast for more
than a few yards. [Section 16.2.4 (a) (iv) & (c)]
(l) Slight freezing or reluctance to give up a bird or
roughness with game (short of hard mouth).
[Section 16.2.5 (a), (b) & (e)]
(m) Slight, short whining or a bark on being sent to
retrieve. [Section 16.2.3 (b) - cf. Section 17.2.1
(o) & 17.3.1 (j)]
(n) Excessive lining [Section 15.3.3 (b), (vi)]
And so ends sec 16 & 17
16 EVALUATION OF DOG WORK
16.1 Natural Abilities
16.1.1 The judges must judge the dogs for their natural abilities
including their memory, sagacity, intelligence,
attention, nose, courage, perseverance and style. Natural
abilities are of great importance in all stakes,
whereas abilities acquired through training are of less
importance in the Qualifying stake than in those carrying
championship points, and are of comparatively
minor importance in the Junior stake.
16.1.2 Memory
(a) Accurate marking, or memory of falls is of paramount
importance. However, this does not
imply that dogs which excel in marking shall not
be severely penalized, or even eliminated for
deficiencies in or a lack of the other required
abilities. However, in Junior stakes, tests are usually
so devised that marked birds constitute a
large percentage of the retrieves by which each
dog’s performance is judged.
(b) Ability to mark does not necessarily imply pinpointing
the fall. A dog that misses the fall on
the first cast, but recognizes the depth of the
area of the fall, stays in it, then quickly and systematically
hunts it out, has done both a
creditable and an intelligent job of marking.
Such work should not be appreciably outscored
by the dog that finds or pinpoints on its first
cast. However, a dog which consistently, (i.e.
during the entire stake), marks its birds in a
closer area, hence more accurately than another
dog, should be judged accordingly. All things
are relative, and conceivably, such differences in
marking alone might be sufficient to determine
the final placings in a particular stake.
(c) What precisely constitutes the area of the fall
defies accurate definition. At the outset of every
test, each judge must arbitrarily define its hypothetical
boundaries for himself, and each bird in
that test, so that he can judge whether dogs
have remained within the judge’s own concept
of the area of the fall, as well as how far they
wandered away from the area and how much
cover they disturbed unnecessarily. In deter
mining these arbitrary and hypo-thetical
boundaries of the area of the fall, due consideration
should be given to various factors.
(i) The type, height and uniformity of the cover
(ii) Light conditions
(iii) Direction of the prevailing wind and its
intensity
(iv) Length of various falls
(v) The speed of individual dogs
(vi) Whether there is a change in cover (i.e.
from stubble to plowed ground, or to ripe
alfalfa, or to machine-picked corn) or
whether the fall is beyond a hedge, across a
road, or over a ditch; and finally and most
important
(vii) Whether one is establishing the area of the
fall for a single, or for the first bird a dog goes
for in multiple retrieves, or for the second or
the third bird, since each of these should differ
from the others. In general, the area of the
fall for a single should be relatively small; the
area for a first retrieve in a double should be
smaller than for the second bird, and both of
these should be larger in a triple, and larger
still for the third bird in it. Also, the area for
short retrieves should certainly be smaller
than for longer retrieves. Since there are so
many conditions and variables to be taken
into consideration, it is obvious that each
judge, and for every series, must attempt to
define for himself a hypothetical area of a fall
for each bird, and then judge the dogs
accordingly. However, the penalties inflicted
should vary in their severity, depending on
the distance which individual dogs wander
out of the area, the frequency of such wanderings,
the number of birds mis-marked in
a given test, and by the amount of cover disturbed
in these meanderings
(d) Dogs which disturb cover unnecessarily, clearly
well out of the area of the fall, either by not
going directly to that area, or by leaving it even
though they eventually find the birds without
being handled, should be penalized more
severely than those handled quickly and obediently
to it.
16.1.3 Sagacity
A dog which fails to find a bird, which in the opinion
of the judges the dog should have found, shall be
eliminated from the stake.
16.1.4 Intelligence
Intelligence is a quality not often tested intentionally,
since few tests can be designed for that specific purpose.
On occasion, dogs may have an opportunity to
demonstrate an unusual degree of intelligence, or
lack of it, through the manner in which certain performances
are completed. When those occasions
arise, and usually they develop by chance rather than
by intent, each dog must be credited or penalized on
the basis of intelligence demonstrated.
16.1.5 Attention
Attention is displayed, even as a dog comes to line.
The dog’s eagerness and general attitude when coming
on line, its alertness in locating the gunners, in
acceding to its handler’s commands, and its zeal for
the hunt, are highly desirable traits. Conversely, lack
of attention and lack of interest should be penalized.
16.1.6 Nose
(a) Most retrievers have a good nose and, as a rule,
have numerous opportunities to demonstrate
this all-important quality at every trial. Usually it
is something in the dog’s work which suggests a
dog lacks a good nose, thus attracting the judge’s
attention. Such suspicion should be recorded so
it can be verified or eliminated by the dog’s performance
in subsequent tests. On the other
hand, scenting conditions are mysterious and little
understood, although obviously affected by
many factors such as type of cover, wind, frost,
rain, location of fall, acidity of soil and apparently
many other conditions. Extreme caution must
be exercised before a dog is charged with a poor
nose and penalized accordingly.
(b) Repeated evidence of poor nose is in itself sufficient
justification for elimination from the
stake. Because scenting conditions are affected
by so many factors judges should exercise
extreme caution in invoking this penalty.
16.1.7 Courage
(a) Courage, too, is a trait which cannot be tested
at every trial. It may be displayed by a willingness
to face, without hesitation, rough cover,
cold or rough water, ice, mud, or other similar
conditions which make the going rather tough,
and of doing it repeatedly. The facilities of trial
grounds, or the weather, do not often supply
the proper situation for a series specifically
designed to test the dogs’ courage.
(b) Because the facilities or weather necessary for such
a test are often limited, such test should usually
come late in a trial, unless there are rea-sonable
grounds for assumption that all dogs will receive
comparable tests.When such test can be arranged,
they are frequently of great value to the judges in
evaluating their relative merits in this highly desirable
trait which all retrievers should possess.
16.1.8 Perseverance
(a) Perseverance is shown by a dog’s determination
to complete the task at hand; i.e. systematically,
aggressively and without faltering, to search for
and make the find of the bird that the dog has
been sent to retrieve.
(b) A lack of perseverance may become apparent if
a dog, after having been sent to retrieve:
(i) Returns to its handler voluntarily before
finding the bird or does not go when
ordered, except, when in the opinion of the
judges, the dog was confused as to whether
it was really ordered to retrieve, in which
case no penalty shall be assessed.
(ii) Stops its hunt, or continues at it in a slow,
unenthusiastic, disinterested manner;
(iii) Pops or looks back at its handler for directions
on a mark and before it has hunted for
a considerable time
(iv) Switches birds
(v) Blinks a bird—fails to pick up the bird,
actually leaving it after making the find
Most of these are serious faults and should be
judged accordingly.
(c) Switching birds implies a dog gives up its hunt
after a search, leaves the area, and goes for
another bird, or drops a bird it is retrieving and
goes for another. Except in the latter case, a dog
should not be judged as switching unless it goes
to the area of a fall, hunts, fails to find and then
leaves that area to hunt for another fall.
(d) It should not be considered lack of perseverance
if, while on the way to one fall, the dog sees or
finds another bird and retrieves it first; or, if on
the way to one fall, but long before the dog reaches
the area of the fall, it changes its direction for
some reason or other and goes for another bird.
16.1.9 Style
(a) Style is apparent in every movement of a dog
and throughout its entire performance at trials
by the gaiety of its manner, its alertness on line,
its eagerness and speed on retrieves, water
entry, pick-up of birds and return with them.
Dogs may be credited for outstanding and brilliant
exhibitions of style, or they may be
penalized for deficiencies in style. The severity
of the penalty ranging from a minor demerit to
elimination from the stake in extreme cases.
(b) Style makes for a pleasing performance. Style
and ability to mark constitute the important
factors for placings in Junior stakes.
(c) In all stakes, in respect to style, a desired performance
includes:
(i) An alert and obedient attitude
(ii) Fast, determined departures on land and in
water
(iii) An aggressive search for the fall
(iv) A prompt pick-up and
(v) A reasonably fast return
16.2 Trained Abilities
16.2.1 Judges must judge the dogs for their abilities
acquired through training, including steadiness, control,
response to direction and delivery. The
importance of these acquired qualities varies in different
stakes. For example, a reasonable degree of
steadiness and general obedience are the requirements
in Junior stakes. A greater degree of steadiness
and some degree of the other qualities are expected
in the Qualifying stake.There should be expectations
of full refinement in acquired attributes in those
stakes carrying championship points.
16.2.2 Steadiness
(a) Dogs on line sometimes make various types of
movements when game is thrown. Such movements
may be interpreted as efforts by the dogs
to improve their view of the fall, and some
occur through sheer excitement. Except for an
occasional change in position in order to better
see a fall, all such movements on line of a running
or honouring dog should be penalized as
unsteadiness - the degree of penalty depending
on the extent and the frequency of repetition of
the offenses. If the handler makes no effort to
stop or restrain his dog, a judge should not
interpret movement on line as a deliberate
intent to retrieve, since nothing was done to
stop the dog. On the other hand, if the handler
does make an effort to stop his dog, a judge
should assume the handler believed the dog
intended to retrieve and should deal with such
infraction accordingly. In any case, creeping or
jumping forward should be penalized as
unsteadiness and if repeated, and seriously
excessive, may be in itself sufficient to justify
elimination.
(b) It is proper for judges, if they wish, to require
dogs which have jumped or crept forward a predetermined
distance (usually a few feet ahead
of the handler) to be brought back to heel
before being sent for their birds. Judging procedure
is outlined in these rules.The requirement
of steadiness is a very important factor in judging
the work of retrievers.
(c) In an All-Age stake, if a dog makes a movement
which, in the opinion of the judge, indicates a
deliberate intent to retrieve without having
been ordered to do so, or if the handler speaks
or gestures to his dog to prevent such movement,
that dog shall be deemed to have broken
and shall be eliminated. In any stake other than
an All-Age stake, if a dog makes a slight break
and is brought immediately under control, the
dog need not be eliminated but shall be penalized
for unsteadiness. In all stakes, after the
judges have directed that a dog be ordered to
retrieve, that dog is entitled to run in and
retrieve and shall not be accused of, or penalized
for breaking, even though the judges did
not see or hear the handler send the dog.
16.2.3 Control
(a) When called to be tested, a dog should come
tractably at heel and sit promptly at the point
designated by its handler. The dog should
remain quietly where placed until given further
orders.
(b) Retrievers which bark or whine on line, in a
blind or while retrieving, should be penalized.
Loud and prolonged barking or whining is sufficient
cause to justify elimination from a stake.
(c) Control is closely allied to the dog’s response to
direction, but it also includes obedience at all
times. Control also includes line manners, walking
tractably at heel, assuming the staying in any designated
position on line, as well as remaining
quietly on line beside the handler after delivery of
the bird.When called, a dog should return promptly
to his handler, particularly in those instances
where judges decide the dog shall be tested again,
at a later time, either because another dog broke or
due to any one of a variety of other circumstances.
(d) While on line, dogs shall be penalized if they are
noisily or frequently restrained by their handlers.
The degree of the penalty should correspond to
the extent and frequency of repetition of the
infraction. Although such is not required, it is a
considerate gesture by judges, if they are in agreement,
to notify handlers when their methods of
restraint are incurring penalties for their dogs.
(e) A dog who pays no attention to many whistles
and direction by its handler can be said to be out
of control and, unless in the opinion of the
judges there exist valid mitigating circumstances,
it should be eliminated from the stake.
(f) When a dog is on a blind retrieve the handler
should endeavour to keep the dog on a reasonably
direct line between the starting position and the
bird to be retrieved so that the dog does not avoid
natural obstacles which may be on that line. A
blind retrieve is a test of control and dogs that are
allowed to vary from the line may be penalized or
even eliminated if judged to have avoided the test.
16.2.4 Response to Direction
(a) Response to direction is all important in handling
tests. A dog must be brought back to the
area of fall when he has mismarked. In such
response to direction, a dog should take the
original line given to it by its handler and continue
on it until it either makes the find or until
stopped by the handler and given a new line.
The dog should then continue in this new
direction until it finds, or is given further directions.
Faults, or justifications for penalties,
include the following:
(i) Not taking the line originally given by the
handler
(ii) Not continuing on that line for a considerable
distance
(iii) Stopping voluntarily (i.e. popping-up and
looking back for directions)
(iv) Failure to stop promptly and look to the
handler, when indicated
(v) Failure to take a new direction (i.e. a new
cast, when given) and
(vi) Failure to continue in that new direction for
a considerable distance
(b) The seriousness of the penalty for any or all of
the foregoing faults varies with the seriousness
of the infraction, whether that infraction was
repeated and how often, and whether there was
a combination of various infractions. However,
before inflicting a severe penalty because of a
dog’s failure to stop promptly at the whistle,
judges should determine whether the wind, the
cover, or the distance seriously interfered with
the dog’s ability to hear its handler.
(c) In general, the performance in the test should
be considered in its entirety; an occasional failure
to take and hold a direction may be considered
a minor fault, if offset by several other very
good responses.
(d) A considerable penalty should be imposed for
repeated, willful disobedience of the handler’s
orders and less penalty when, after taking proper
direction, it does not continue on it as far as
the handler desired. Stopping voluntarily, to
look back for directions, in an isolated instance,
may be considered a minor fault, but frequent
repetition may convert such popping-up into
the category of serious faults.
16.2.5 Delivery
(a) Upon finding the game, the dog should quickly
pick it up and return briskly to its handler. A
dog should not drop its game on the ground,
but distinction should be made between deliberately
dropping a bird, and readjusting a bad
hold or losing its grip because of a struggling
bird or running over uneven terrain. Upon
returning, a dog should deliver the bird
promptly and tenderly to its handler. A dog sitting
to deliver should not outscore a dog
making a clear delivery without sitting. A dog
should not drop the bird before delivering it
and the dog should not freeze, or be unwilling
to give it up.The dog should not jump after the
bird, once the handler has taken it from the dog.
(b) Penalties for faulty delivery may range from
minor for an isolated minor offense, to elimination
from the stake either for a severe freeze or
because of repeated moderate infractions. A
dog that is unwilling to release a bird on delivery
should be penalized, and if compelled to do
so by severe methods should, unless in the
opinion of the judges there exists valid mitigating
circumstances, be eliminated.
(c) After delivering a bird to its handler, a dog
should stand or sit close to its handler until given
further orders.
(d) Hard-mouth is one of the most severely penalized
faults in a retriever. Furthermore, once a dog
has been charged with this fault, it carries that
stigma for life. Therefore, hard mouth should
only become the judges’ verdict when there is
incontrovertible proof of it. Torn skin or flesh,
alone does not, in most cases, constitute such
proof since damage of that type may be caused in
a variety of ways, such as sharp sticks and stones
in the cover. Dogs can unintentionally damage
birds when making retrieves from heavy cover, as
well as by their fast, positive pick-up. Some birds
are particularly susceptible to damage. On the
other hand, crushed bone structure may be
accepted as trustworthy and sufficient evidence of
hard mouth even in the absence of a particularly
obvious of tearing of flesh.
(e) Other faults are frequently confused with hardmouth,
although, in reality, they are entirely
separate and distinct from it - even though, in
addition, the dog may actually be hardmouthed.
Freezing, in particular, falls into his
category. A hard-mouthed dog may have a gentle
delivery and certainly, a sticky delivery does
not imply hard-mouth.Rolling a bird or
mouthing it, while making the retrieve, may be
erroneously associated with hard-mouth in the
opinion of some, even though the bird is not
damaged. If such mouthing is a fault at all, then
it is one of only minor importance.
(f) A dog should be eliminated for hard-mouth or
badly damaging game, but, before doing so, all
judges should inspect the bird and be satisfied that
the dog alone was responsible for the damage.
(g) Judges should remember that a dog is either
found to have a hard-mouth or it is not so
found, and, if guilty, the dog must be eliminated
from the stake. Other various types of
inconclusive evidence should merely be recorded
in the judge’s notes, pending the manner in
which birds are handled in subsequent series.
While it is not required, it is a considerate gesture
on the part of the judges to keep separately
any bird for which they are eliminating a dog
for hard-mouth and show it inconspicuously to
the handler of the dog at a later time.
17 CLASSIFICATION OF FAULTS
17.1 Guidelines
17.1.1 Classification of the many faults which may be exhibited
by retrievers during the course of a trial shall be
primarily in terms of generalizations. In the lists that
follow, various infractions are catalogued as serious,
moderate and minor faults.
(a) Each fault should be considered as a single
occurrence, and only to an average degree.
(b) Repetition of a fault indicates a weakness or a
bad habit and justifies a more severe penalty
than an isolated case. The same holds true
when there is a combination of different faults.
Such repetition or multiplicity of faults frequently
indicates failing or an habitual
tendency which produces neither a finished job
nor one pleasing to the eye.
(c) The faults listed in this classification are limited
to those that are observed most at retriever
trials. Others may occur and this classification
may serve as a helpful guide, on such occasions,
in determining the relative importance of such
unusual offences.
(d) The primary consideration of judges in respect to
the importance of faults here listed, as well as others
which may occur, is to determine the extent to
which any and all such infractions would detract
from the full enjoyment of a day’s shoot.
(e) A judge may be thoroughly justified in moderating
a penalty or even in failing to impose one,
if there have been extenuating circumstances to
justify such action. Much can be achieved in
attaining great uniformity of judging through
uniform definitions of the various serious, moderate
and minor faults. However, the personal
equation cannot be eliminated completely since
each judge must determine the relative seriousness
of individual faults, repetition of faults, or
combination of faults, which occur in the performance
by dogs in a particular trial.
(f) The faults set out in these summaries are
extracted from the fuller descriptions set out in
front of the body of the rule book. In case of
conflict between the faults described below and
the rules set out in the body of the rule book,
the rules shall govern.The applicable rules with
page and section numbers are set out In parentheses
beside each specific fault. Where there is
a “cf.” notation it refers the reader to similar
descriptions of faults but with different degrees
of seriousness.
17.2 Serious Faults
17.2.1 These faults are usually sufficient to justify elimination
from the stake:
(a) Retrieving a decoy and returning with it –
mandatory elimination.[Section 16.1.8 (a)]
(b) Breaking – mandatory elimination, except
in Qualifying and Junior stakes. [Section 16.2.2
(a) & (b)]
(c) Hard Mouth – badly damaged game, which in
the opinion of the judges was caused solely by
the dog without justification – mandatory elimination
[Section 16.2.5(d)]
(d) Watching blind retrieves being planted for or
retrieved by another dog – mandatory elimination
of both dog and handler from the stake.
[Section 15.4.4(e) Watching birds being thrown for or retrieved by
another dog - – mandatory elimination of both
dog and handler from the stake. [Section
15.4.5]
(f) Repeated evidence of poor nose. [Section
16.1.6 (a) & (b)]
(g) Reluctance to enter either rough cover, water,
ice, mud or any other situation involving
unpleasantness or difficulties for the dog after
having been ordered to several times. [Sections
16.1.7 (a) – cf. Section 17.3.1 (c)]
(h) Returning to the handler without the bird
and without having been called in. [Section
16.1.8 (b), (i)]
(i) Stopping its hunt [Section 16.1.8 (b) (ii)]
(j) Switching birds (giving up after a search for one
bird and going to an area of another fall or
dropping a bird it is retrieving and going for
another). [Section 16.1.8 (c) & (d)]
(k) Blinking the bird (ignoring it when found and
leaving it) [Section 16.1.8 (b) (v)]
(l) To hold or intentionally touch a dog while
under judgment [Section 15.4.7 (c)]
(m) Out of control (paying no attention to many
whistles or directions of its handler) [Section
8.1.2 & Section 16.2.3 (e)]
(n) Extreme freeze (unwillingness to release a bird
on delivery until compelled to do so by severe
methods) [Section 16.2.5 (a) & (b)]
(o) Loud and prolonged whining or barking. [Section
16.2.3 (b) - cf. section 17.3.1 (j) & 17.4.1 (m)]
(p) Deliberate blocking by a handler so a dog will
not see each bird as it falls (this applies both to
the working dog and the honouring dog) [Section
15.4.8]
(q) Throwing anything to persuade a dog to enter
water or to enter water. [Section 16.1.8 (a)]
(r) Failure to find a bird the dog should have
found. [Section 16.1.8 (a)]
(s) Touching a dog or hissing or speaking or otherwise
threatening a dog by displaying equipment
or making obvious threatening gestures in an
All-Age stake to restrain it from breaking,
except in extraordinary circum-stances. [Section
15.4.6 & Section 15.4.7]
17.3 Moderate Faults
17.3.1 Infractions in this category may actually be so slight as
to warrant their consideration as only a minor fault, or
they may be so severe as to warrant their consideration
as a serious fault. Repetitions of a moderate fault or a
combination of several of these moderate faults may
readily convert the total infraction into a serious fault.
(a) Failure to mark the area of the fall, requiring that
the dog be handled to it (worse on a single or first
bird than on any subsequent birds) [Section
16.1.2 (a) to (d)]
(b) Leaving the area of a fall or not going to it and disturbing
too much cover [Section 16.1.2 (d)]
(c) Reluctance to enter rough cover water, ice, mud or
other situations involving unpleasant going for the
dog. [Section 16.1.7 (a) - cf. Section 17.2.1 (g)]
(d) Hunting in a slow, disinterested, unenthusiastic
manner either at once or after a short search [Section
16.1.9 (a), (b) & (c)]
(e) Poor style, including a disinterested attitude, a
slow or reluctant departure, quest for game, or
return with it. [Section 16.1.8 (a) & (b), (ii) &
(iii)]
(f) Popping (looking back for directions on a marked
bird before an extensive search) [Section 16.1.8
(a) & (b), (iii)]
(g) Noisily or frequently restraining a dog from breaking
in minor stakes, except in extraordinary
circumstances. [Section 16.2.3 (d) - cf. Section
17.2.1 (o) & 17.4.1 (g)]
(h) Not stopping for directions after 2 or 3 whistles,
particularly consecutive whistles, which the dog
should have heard. [Section 16.2.3 (a) (iv), (b) &
(c) - cf. Section 17.2.1 (m) & 17.4.1 (h)]
(i) Deliberate failure to take lines and various directions
given to the dog (failure to hold lines and
casts more than a short distance) [Section 16.2.4
(a) to (d) - cf. Section 17.4.1 (k)]
(j) Moderate whining or barking of short duration.
[Section 16.2.3 (b) - cf. Section 17.2.1
(o) & 17.4.1 (m)]
(k) Going well out of its way by land to a fall in a
marking test, without certainty of purpose, to
avoid going into the water on a water retrieve.
[Section 10.3 & Section 16.1.7 (a)]
(l) extreme or persistent creeping or serious lack of
steadiness combined with general poor line manners.
[Section 10.3 & Sections 16.2.2 (a) & 16.2.3
(a) - cf. Section 17.4.1 (f)]
(m) popping on a blind if repeated [section 16.2.4
(d) - cf. Section 17.4.1(i)]
17.4 Minor Faults
17.4.1 Either severe or repeated or a combination of these
minor faults may convert them into a moderate fault
or even a serious fault. Also they may be so slight as
not to merit a penalty at all.
(a) Lack of attention [Section 16.1.9 (c) (i)]
(b) Going well out of it way by land on the return
from a water retrieve, without certainty of purpose.
[Section 10.3 & Section 16.1.2 (d)]
(c) Poor line manners including heeling poorly, not
immediately taking and staying in the designated
position, tendency to creep. [Section 10.3 &
Section 16.2.3 (a) & (c)]
(d) Slow pick-up of a bird, dropping a bird at delivery
or during the return, slow return, sloppy
handling of a bird. [Section 16.1.9 (a) & (c),
(iv) & (v) & Section 16.2.5 (a) & (b)]
(e) Leg lifting, particularly on the way to a fall.
[Section 16.1.9 (a) to (c)]
(f) Slight unsteadiness on line including occasional
instances of slight creeping. [Section 10.2 &
Section 16.2.2 (a) & (b) & 16.2.3 (a) -cf. Section
17.3.1 (l)]
(g) Slight and isolated instances of quiet speaking
or hissing at the dog in minor stakes. [Section
16.2.2 (c)]
(h) Not stopping at the first whistle it should have
heard but stopping at the second or third. [Section
16.2.4 (c) - cf. Section 17.3.1(h)]
(i) An isolated instance of looking back for directions
in a blind retrieve (popping) before taking
a line or cast for a reasonable distance. [Section
16.2.4 (a), (iii) & (d)]
(j) Occasional failure to take the handler’s directions.
[Section 16.2.4 (a), (v), (b) & (c)]
(k) Occasional failure to hold a line or a cast for more
than a few yards. [Section 16.2.4 (a) (iv) & (c)]
(l) Slight freezing or reluctance to give up a bird or
roughness with game (short of hard mouth).
[Section 16.2.5 (a), (b) & (e)]
(m) Slight, short whining or a bark on being sent to
retrieve. [Section 16.2.3 (b) - cf. Section 17.2.1
(o) & 17.3.1 (j)]
(n) Excessive lining [Section 15.3.3 (b), (vi)]
And so ends sec 16 & 17