# Question for those of you who do field work



## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

Hello.

Just curious, are any of you city dwellers? If so, how do you train living in the city? How often do you train? How do you train without easy access to fields, ponds, and so on? 

Is it possible being a city dweller?

It seems all the people I know who do field work all live out in the country and have easy access to areas that are good for training i.e. open fields, ponds, no leash laws. I would probably draw some attention if I fired a shotgun off in a suburb of Cleveland... 

I really enjoy going out to field events and watching and photographing. Especially the Goldens. I also think my Barkley (almost 3 now) would excel at it. But I also realize I don't live in the best area for training (not to mention the amount of time I know you people spend training).

I'm just wondering what you folks have to say or think about this.

Thanks.


----------



## Stretchdrive (Mar 12, 2011)

When I was training field, I was going out once a week to help throw ducks/bumpers. It was an all day affair, but it gave me the opportunity to work with pros, and get help with my own dogs. It was also nice to watch how they handled their dogs, and was a great experience for me. Maybe you can find a group like that to work with. You should also look into clubs in your area, or within reasonable driving distance. They would also be a great resource for you.

I no longer train field, because I am too busy with obedience, but I do occasionaly do doubles, triples or FTP work with my dogs here in town.


----------



## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I live in New York City and field train my dogs. I call it stealth training. I first scout for training areas and plan what times I could probably get away with training without getting a ticket. However, training is not complete without getting somewhere where my dog can get flyers.


----------



## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I live in a small city. For some of our water work I use run-off ponds that I have scouted using Google Earth. Guelph also has very friendly dog laws, so I am able to legitimately use sports fields for off lead training in certain hours. For larger fields with factors to run concepts we go out to the nearby countryside and knock on doors. You get a lot more no's than yes'es but we have found enough farmers who find the work interesting that they will let us use their hay fields. I also use concervation area fields in the off season (too busy when the campers are there!) Joining clubs is also important as there you can meet others who will have training groups, and often the clubs have designated training grounds as well. Closest to you would likely be Buckeye RC which has grounds out at Hambden--a number of members with Goldens--many who also belong to Cuyahoga Valley GRC.


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Well you can do a lot of training without the shotgun so no worries with that. We rarely use gun sounds but will occasionally but it depends on where we are.

Anyway, I live in a city but probably not like what you are talking about. At 250,000 it is the largest city I have lived in and the capital but it is still a blend of country and city. There are lots of open spaces in the city--lots of empty lots, and parks etc. Some of the parks have off-leash hours others I just sneak into at the right time of day and just risk it. However, open and private land is not that far to drive too. 

You can get a lot of work done if you have a big back yard or an open field to train in. However, you should find a group and plan on traveling to train at least once a week.


----------



## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I am a city dweller and it is difficult but not impossible. You need to be creative and sometimes sneaky. We have public parks near us, that people allow dogs off leash all the time, as long as they are not 'out of control'. I pick a time when the park is quiet, and I go work my dogs. People often stop and watch thinking it is pretty cool. There is another park where the park police are adamant all dogs on leashes. But back in the woods, no one sees you :curtain: there are some fields with cover there we work until the bugs get too bad. 

I joined a local HRC club to gain access to their grounds. It's about an hour away, they have ponds. We try to get there a few times a month. We also go to a field trainer at least twice a month but he is 2 hours away. 

A lot of the drill work and transition work you can do in smaller spaces at the beginning. You need a controlled atmosphere at first anyway. 

Oh and a friend showed me an 'industrial park' not too far from home, that has a lot of open land. We have worked there also without any problem. That one has some water we can work in too. I am getting to knocking on doors at some not too far away rural properties to ask if we can train.


----------



## luvgld7 (Jan 23, 2008)

Otter,

Well you'd be in good company! The man who trained the first golden in the history of the breed to a MH did most of his training in his urban neighborhood in Houston....through azalea bushes, over hedges, across driveways. He did hunt over his dog, but most of his training was in his neighborhood. The man is Harris Greenwood and his dog was Argus' Sheba of Belvedere MH.

A little off topic, but if you want to read how he did it, here's the link:
http://www.brcdogs.org/pdf/goldenfirst.pdf


----------



## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

I love Glenda Brown's Articles on Everything Golden. She has two on this subject:

Urban Training or Urban Warfare: Urban Training 1

Using an Urban Environment: Using an Urban Environment

Good luck and have fun!


----------



## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I live in the country and have access to all kinds of fields but I have to travel 1.5hrs away (one way) to train with my group. This is a hard as gas prices keep going up. But it is something we are committed to doing. In the winter I dont have ponds to work with so that is a good time to work the obedience side of field work.


----------



## Tatnall (May 20, 2008)

I live in a fairly large city and right in town. It is much harder since we started running FTs instead of HTs but it can be done. To run FTs, I drive a minimum of 2 hours each way to train on the weekends. But we can get some work in closer to home. Office parks are often good places, especially if they don't have security. When I lived in DC, my training group (HT) would hit them up. They often have good water with some interesting factors (fountains, for example). Also industrial parks in the suburbs often have cleared undeveloped land that can be quite sizeable. Abandoned subdivisions are also good spots, but they often have sediment fences, sewer pipes and other things that can be dangerous. Parks tend to be tougher since there are usually folks (although I have run marks and blinds in Central Park in NYC many times years ago). Schools are also good. 

The key is to go early or late (early is usually best). Using gunshots are often tough, which is why I like wingers since they don't require the added boom.

It is very possible to train dogs in the city for HTs. The distances are so short, you really don't need much in the way of grounds and you can often find good ones close. Google Earth and Bing are very helpful. Water is the toughest, but most office parks have some that will work.


----------



## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

Thanks for the links, info, and so on.
You people use too many acronyms - HT, FT, MH, ... 

Are there any (more) good on-line training articles anybody would suggest? Beginners type stuff to read a little and see if this is something I want to look into more.

Thank you.


----------



## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Lots of good articles in the Field Education section of the GRCA site
http://www.grca.org/events/field/index.html


----------

