# Has your dog changed as they have aged in field work?



## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Has your dog become easier or harder to work with as they have aged?
Have they gotten faster or slower?
Have they understood concepts as they have aged differently?
What kind of changes have you noticed about your dog that are different than when they are 2 years old versus say 5 years or 8 years old?

I’ve found Riot to be far more patient on blinds. Less looking around on a whistle sit, and more focus on me. Maybe he’s grown more patient? Or maybe I’ve learned to work with him better?
When Lucy was 6 or so her blinds became super nice. She went into a groove and started working with me more than she had when she was 2.

So what have you noticed about your dog as they have aged?


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I think that Thor has become more patient all around. And so far steadier at a Continental Shoot.


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## FTGoldens (Dec 20, 2012)

For many field trial dogs, their training just seems to gel somewhere around 4-6 years, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. While there are exceptions, most FC and AFC titles are earned after the dogs hit what we could consider middle age. By that time, they have made a few thousand retrieves; they have seen all possible set-ups (there may be a new concept every now and then, but they will have seen the standard tests on multiple occasions).
Many will become a bit more settled down, although some don't. Some slow down a bit; very few, if any, get faster as they mature.
As to blinds, a Hall of Fame field trial pro, Tommy Sorenson, once told me that most dogs finally understand what a blind is about after they run about 5,000 of them ... I'm certain that he just pulled a number out of the air, but his point was well made.


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