# Tests from this weekend



## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I judged for Long Point RTC this weekend. Did a MH on Saturday and a SH on Sunday. 

On Saturday, 6 dogs of our 21 starters got a qualifying score. We started with a land triple and honour (yellow lines--marks went down left to right) where we lost 4 dogs, and then did our quarter to flush where one dog broke and was dropped (red lines show the quartering area). My co-judge used to run a game farm, so she also appreciates a good upland dog and we had the ground well scented and they really had to work. After lunch, we did the land blind (orange line) with a diversion bird (purple line)over by the pond. Our water test was challenging and was where most of the dogs failed. The marks were thrown from right to left (blue lines). There were a lot of weeds in the pond that the dogs has to push through, and many dogs started on ideal lines to the birds but looked for easier routes or got drawn to decoys or stumps in the water and then struggled to recover the birds on the far shore. The blind was hot--only one dog picked it up instead of the mark to the right of it. But a lot of the dogs who did not pass ended up on the far shore hunting in the reeds with massive hunts. One of our qualifiers earned his Grand Master Hunter, handled by a woman I have gotten to know because of running hunt tests--so that was pretty cool!

Our Senior test was a straightforward, fair test. We had 9 dogs and seven qualified. We started with the land double and blind which was run through a big bowl in the field, requiring the dogs to drive up the hill after going down. After that they dogs quartered. They really had to work and many of them got keener and keener as we worked as we gave them a big area with lots of birds. The two that failed put themselves out on the water test. One was picked up by his handler before the water blind as he had dropped his last water mark bird and was refusing to come to heel and deliver to hand. The other would not go on the memory bird on water. Three of our qualifiers earned their SH title, so they were happy handlers!


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

MH test image.
Land marks were thrown l-r and were 65, 100, and 48. Land blind was 100. Water marks ( thrown r-l) were 80, 85, and 26, and the water blind was 91.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

SH land image
Marks were 55 on the left, and 58 on the right but the dogs had to run down a big bowl and then drive up the far side. Blind was almost 60.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

SH Water image
Marks were 70 on the right (memory bird) and 55 on the left and the blind was also 55. The green in the pond is those small lily pads so they had to show some perseverance on the memory bird.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Thank you for taking the time to post this. Do you have any photos taken from land outward? I'd love to see what kind of cover you have.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

The fields were hayfield that had been cut a couple of weeks ago so the cover was not very high for the land series, which is one of the reasons we had more meat in our water series. The area where the quarter to flush for Master was had taller, varied cover with tall weeds, cattails etc.

I took these with my iPad and marked them up. It was a very wet, rainy, misty day so they look a bit blurry!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

thanks Shelly, I always enjoy your posts and diagrams so much!


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

Thanks for posting these. How long were the marks and blinds? Estimates are fine


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I will add comments with each image, Marie...


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

sterregold said:


> I will add comments with each image, Marie...


Thanks Shelly!!! The descriptions are awesome, as are the pictures from the line.


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## MillionsofPeaches (Oct 30, 2012)

really loved those diagrams. it helps me out a lot!


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