# Eeek! First Hunt Test Coming Up!



## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I have no advice but wanted to say good luck! In your recent threads it sounds like you guys have been doing great with training!!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

An almost newbie here 

I would recommend you do some work with runners / cripples. I did not do enough work on this and should have ...


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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

Sunrise said:


> An almost newbie here
> 
> I would recommend you do some work with runners / cripples. I did not do enough work on this and should have ...


Agreed!! One time I released my girl and the duck stood back up and just started walking all around. She was like " You want me to pick up this thing?" She came running back to me looking at me like : "Where is my dead bird?"


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Practice EVERYTHING - walkups, sitting on the bucket, sitting in a boat, decoys of all types - basically try to expose yourself to anything that you could encounter in a HT.

Going to your club training days sounds like an excellent idea. They'll probably set up scenarios for you and give you hints what to do and not do, for example w/ the leash etc.

If you can afford it, I would sign up for both days. That way you would at least have a choice. If you didn't want to run the second day you could just skip it, whereas if you didn't sign up ahead of time and wished you had, you wouldn't have the choice anymore. 

Don't forget to have fun! Good luck. Can't wait to hear all about it.


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## marsh mop (Mar 13, 2009)

Goldensail, enter both days. Have fun and go from there. You will find out a lot about your dog at a hunt test, this is not training. Do some training like Sunrise talked about, just in case, throw a wing clipped bird with shots and see how she does. This should set her over the edge as far as excitement goes. If she freaks on live birds, force her on the live bird and she should be good to go. Trust me, JR will seem very small at some point so think BIG and have fun.
Jim


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

go both days, and have fun! you will meet some great people, Scout is well trained and you'll do fine. April is a LONG way off!


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Train on as many possible situations as possible, including cripples before entering a test. I have seen numerous dogs fail due to birds that aren't quite dead. 

I will be different and tell you to only enter the dog one day. Yes it's a lot of fun to run both days but it may cause you problems later if you do. Most dogs tend to loosen up in the trainability department during the test. (Some quite a bit. ) You DON'T want to create too many opportunities where the dog can get away with undesireable behavior in a setting where you can't do anything about it. 

Goldens are very quick learners so you don't want to teach them that they can blow you off in test situations.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> April is a LONG way off!


But it isn't! January is practically over, and when I expect Scout to come into heat next month that puts three weeks when we can't train water (my group let's us train when she's in heat, we just get stuck to the very end to be fair to the boys).

I will see about getting a cripple. She'll get a live flyer every time at training days which I hope will really excite her.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Do you think you'll have time to get through swim-by before the test? Since you're doing t-work now it is a reasonable timeline. Since you are trying to put in a solid foundation and, I understand, hope to have her do more than JH, I'd ensure you have that done before the test. Then you will at least have basic handling skills should something weird happen and you need to help her on a mark. 

Unless she is super solid, and you are cool as a cucumber at club training days, I'd also recommend doing one day for your first test. Maybe volunteer for the club on the other day--that will let you get to see the process from a different perspective. Try to help at SH even--that way you will see what you are working towards.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

be sure to train for gator decoys in the water 
Seriously, with the amount of training you have already done, you'll be just fine. Junior isn't all that hard. As long as she'll pick up the duck and come back, you will pass. The judges that we encountered were wonderful, if you tell them you're new to the sport they go out of their way to be sure you understand everything, and everyone sincerely wants you to succeed and pass. 
One thing that the judges warned us at 2 of the tests, you probably know this but just in case you don't (I saw 2 people fail because of this at 1 test) you CANNOT TOUCH YOUR DOG OR HER COLLAR when she comes back with the bird, UNTIL THE BIRD IS IN YOUR HAND!!!!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

should have asked, is this AKC or HRC/UKC?


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

It is AKC. I don't think we have much, if anything, of UKC out here. I know the other show stuff we don't, and I assume the same is true for UKC hunt test.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

sterregold said:


> Do you think you'll have time to get through swim-by before the test? Since you're doing t-work now it is a reasonable timeline. Since you are trying to put in a solid foundation and, I understand, hope to have her do more than JH, I'd ensure you have that done before the test. Then you will at least have basic handling skills should something weird happen and you need to help her on a mark.
> 
> Unless she is super solid, and you are cool as a cucumber at club training days, I'd also recommend doing one day for your first test. Maybe volunteer for the club on the other day--that will let you get to see the process from a different perspective. Try to help at SH even--that way you will see what you are working towards.


I was really hoping that we would make it through swim-by before the test but now I am not sure. Some days I wonder if we'll ever make it past single t  I am discovering that I have to watch myself because I am giving visual clues when I send her (i.e. whistle in mouth before sending) when I want to stop her and she's popping occasionally again.

And of course there is that heat cycle problem that will mean we will be out three weeks of doing water work. I am told you do not want to swim a bitch while she is open down there.


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

GoldenSail, no advice but how about *ATTA GIRL*.
From my perspective, as a gal new to field, you have come such a long way. Your posts encourge me to keep going outside. Heck what's rain here when you are working in snow! Holly


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

hollyk said:


> GoldenSail, no advice but how about *ATTA GIRL*.
> From my perspective, as a gal new to field, you have come such a long way. Your posts encourge me to keep going outside. Heck what's rain here when your working in snow! Holly


Aww thanks! Didn't realize ya'll were still reading my attempts  I have to admit we have pretty mild winters in the valley and while I have trained in the snow we don't have any now. We had quite a bit for a few weeks near the end of the year...


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Well, no field training day for me  BUT--that means we're going to be clear for the test in April


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