# A couple photos from our first SH pass



## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Barb, I have a question. Since I don't hunt or do sports with Finn, does this type of water make you nervous? It appears there are sharp pieces of wood poking out of the pond. I would be concerned about my dog getting impaled or otherwise hurt on these obstacles? Yes, your dog does have a lot of heart, not to mention looks and brains


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

We have a few ponds we train in that look similar - you just start to relax and think your dog is safe and whap! you hear a darned beaver tail slapping the water.

It is very green there already 

Tito - you look wonderful (as always!)


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Yes, I was concerned about his safety but less so because the water was deep enough for the dogs to swim, so the logs were actually floating, so they moved when the dogs went over them. It would be more of a concern if the logs were solid on the ground.
I hope to never run in a pond like that again.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Tito had never seen anything like this!! Several people were quite surprised that they did something like this so early in the season when most of the dogs haven't been in water since fall, or only a couple of times, Tito included.
Yes, it's very green. We've had to cut our grass several times already. Very early in the year for us.




Sunrise said:


> We have a few ponds we train in that look similar - you just start to relax and think your dog is safe and whap! you hear a darned beaver tail slapping the water.
> 
> It is very green there already
> 
> Tito - you look wonderful (as always!)


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Well, first off, that is a super cool photo. Second, wow! That is a wicked pond!!!


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## MelMcGarry (May 2, 2010)

Wow, that does look rather challenging.


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## my4goldens (Jan 21, 2009)

all I can is Yikes !!! That is pretty wicked looking. And congrats, Tito on a job well done !


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Way to go, Tito!!!! And yeah, that is a scary stick pond!!!!


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Finn's Fan said:


> Barb, I have a question. Since I don't hunt or do sports with Finn, does this type of water make you nervous? It appears there are sharp pieces of wood poking out of the pond. I would be concerned about my dog getting impaled or otherwise hurt on these obstacles? Yes, your dog does have a lot of heart, not to mention looks and brains


Talk to the right people and you will hear about serious accidents in ponds like that.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Interestingly, the dogs weren't nearly as freaked out by it as the handlers were. Eight dogs made it to the water series, 7 of them passed.



Pointgold said:


> Way to go, Tito!!!! And yeah, that is a scary stick pond!!!!


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Wow -- you weren't kidding about the logs!
We don't have anything like that down here. The best we have is at Wayne's where he BUILT a floating log and you better believe I put my dogs over it every chance we get (and like you observed -- I was way more freaked out over it than my dogs are -- they didn't care).
I would have a hard time putting a senior dog into that. Granted it was a short blind but so easy to get a dog disoriented on casts with that junk in the water, can't you just set up a water blind and see if the dogs get in, stop and cast? Oh well, sounds like they set up a hard test but judged it leniently, if 7 out of 8 passed. Those are the best kinda tests  Thanks for sending the pics!


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

First off, I have been out of the loop... CONGRATS!!!!!! That is awesome that Tito got his first SH pass. WOOO HOOO!!!!

That pond is SUPER scary! Yikes!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I was concerned because Tito does a flying leap water entry, but at this pond (you can't tell in the photos) the grassy stuff around the pond is actually shoulder deep in water to the dogs, so no flying leap was possible. That made for slow going, but safer entries.


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## KathyG (Nov 21, 2011)

Yuck! That is ugly looking. I be more concerned about safety. And being that the logs were floating, they certainly could have cleaned it up if they wanted to. Only Indiana has ponds like this. I can't think of another test site in this area with that much stuff in the water. Hopefully you don't see that picture again anytime soon.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Way to go Tito! That water does look hairy. We have nothing like that here...really that would require trees by our ponds which we don't have (except maybe the city). Lots of desert and sagebrush, little water...


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

BTW guys, Kathy's golden, Stix, passed that test as well 



KathyG said:


> Yuck! That is ugly looking. I be more concerned about safety. And being that the logs were floating, they certainly could have cleaned it up if they wanted to. Only Indiana has ponds like this. I can't think of another test site in this area with that much stuff in the water. Hopefully you don't see that picture again anytime soon.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

We have LOTS of ponds like that--as a result we look for stick ponds to train in. In some areas there is no other water available other than nautral stick ponds. Even Junior dogs can expect to do marks in ponds like that, especially in the Eastern end of Ontario. Breeze's first CKC SH pass came in a stick+lilypad pond where the go bird was *70 yards* through that kind of crap. The key is that the judges set up in a way that discourages flying entries which is where the injuries come in stick ponds. Also note that in stick ponds those logs are often quite soft as they have been floating in the water so long. But I have still heard of high flyers injuriing themselves--makes me glad my dogs have more careful entries.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Well I also missed the news - CONGRATS on your first SH pass!!!
And that is quite impressive for a blind, really nice job!!!
We have a number of ponds similar to that where we train regularly and we readily take advantage of them. My dogs are not generally careful water enterers but when we use these ponds there instincts seem to tell them "EASY". I personally know of more dogs getting injured running an agility course then at field training/tests.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

oh Hank, methinks you need to update Oriana's titles on her photo in your siggy!


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Done Barb!


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## Tamarackgoldens (Mar 10, 2010)

Wish we had ponds like that here to train on. The Master stick pond was really ugly too. If there weren't logs, there were lilly pads. Its Rookie's worst nightmare, and wish I could expose him to it more often. I actually went off the property and found some nasty stick ponds after the test to do a little training. I heard the junior dogs ran in that pond the next day.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

They told me that they had a clear patch for the junior dogs. I wonder if they cleared it somehow? It was pretty ugly.
I was driving today and saw a pond just like that....first thing that crossed my mind was, "wonder if we can train there????"




Tamarackgoldens said:


> Wish we had ponds like that here to train on. The Master stick pond was really ugly too. If there weren't logs, there were lilly pads. Its Rookie's worst nightmare, and wish I could expose him to it more often. I actually went off the property and found some nasty stick ponds after the test to do a little training. I heard the junior dogs ran in that pond the next day.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

hotel4dogs said:


> They told me that they had a clear patch for the junior dogs. I wonder if they cleared it somehow? It was pretty ugly.
> I was driving today and saw a pond just like that....first thing that crossed my mind was, "wonder if we can train there????"



Funny how our sight seeing focus changes once we start playing in the field. :bowl:


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Fishie and Slater don't have any problem with "Stuff" in the water like that, although big lily ponds is as bad as it gets down here. First time Harvin saw big lily pads was hysterical, he wove his way around them en route to the bird. He never figured out that if you just swim at them they will move


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Going up over logs is a whole different ballgame, Anney. It's physically exhausting for the dogs, especially in icy cold water. It takes a huge amount of perseverance and courage to go back in for that second mark after having to navigate that for the first one, and by the time they got to the blind, you couldn't help being incredibly impressed with each one of them. The dogs were really struggling, and I could see why "hard working condition" is an absolute necessity (and why short legs wouldn't be a good thing, but that's another whole issue!).
On the other hand, we don't have venomous snakes nor alligators here!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Short legs? Barb, the visual is hysterical so could you tell more ??


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Ah Sharon, there's been a lot of discussion lately that the conformation dogs are being bred with legs that are too short, especially the front legs, and how improper that is for hunting dogs.
Having watched these dogs trying to scramble up over the logs, it really hit home that they do need proper length of leg, especially front legs, to be able to do it! Picture a basset hound type dog trying to go over 15 or so BIG logs in a stick pond, with a duck in its mouth!!


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

Congrats on your SH pass! How many passes do you need to have?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Thanks!
If you do not have a junior hunter title, you need 5 senior passes for the senior hunter title. If you already have a junior hunter title, you need 4 passes instead. I believe it's the only AKC event where you don't have to pass the lower levels first; you can enter at any level.



Rainheart said:


> Congrats on your SH pass! How many passes do you need to have?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

just another aside comment, when I first started this I thought it was TERRIBLE that the dogs can't wear flat collars with ID on them during tests. After all, they're pretty far from you, what if they take off or get lost?
Well, this set of tests sure made a believer out of me that collars would be a major risk! They could get caught on anything out there, and I really wouldn't want to have to jump into that icy pond and swim out there to rescue him.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

hotel4dogs said:


> Thanks!
> If you do not have a junior hunter title, you need 5 senior passes for the senior hunter title. If you already have a junior hunter title, you need 4 passes instead. I believe it's the only AKC event where you don't have to pass the lower levels first; you can enter at any level.



Thanks for the info! I think now that I have a year off I am going to try to get Beamer's JH title. Do you think that is doable within a year for someone who has never done any kind of trials with their dog?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!
See if there's a club anywhere near you that does field. If you post on here and let everyone know where you are, someone may have suggestions. Finding people to train with will help for sure. Work on his obedience, and be sure he has the opportunity to see real birds, not just bumpers.
I have found the field people to be wonderful! Helpful, caring, and supportive. Much more so than in any other AKC event I have entered, and we've done a pile of different ones!




Rainheart said:


> Thanks for the info! I think now that I have a year off I am going to try to get Beamer's JH title. Do you think that is doable within a year for someone who has never done any kind of trials with their dog?


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Congratulations to the wonder dog, Tito, and to you too!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Thanks - that makes sense. I was kind of picturing basset hounds holding ducks spinning the logs while trying to get up and over them..



hotel4dogs said:


> Ah Sharon, there's been a lot of discussion lately that the conformation dogs are being bred with legs that are too short, especially the front legs, and how improper that is for hunting dogs.
> Having watched these dogs trying to scramble up over the logs, it really hit home that they do need proper length of leg, especially front legs, to be able to do it! Picture a basset hound type dog trying to go over 15 or so BIG logs in a stick pond, with a duck in its mouth!!


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

hotel4dogs said:


> ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!
> See if there's a club anywhere near you that does field. If you post on here and let everyone know where you are, someone may have suggestions. Finding people to train with will help for sure. Work on his obedience, and be sure he has the opportunity to see real birds, not just bumpers.
> I have found the field people to be wonderful! Helpful, caring, and supportive. Much more so than in any other AKC event I have entered, and we've done a pile of different ones!


Thanks so much. I will start looking into the clubs once I am home after graduation. We are working on obedience in our Rally class (and we will probably continue doing Rally work, too). Since I've never done anything like this, I just need to find some people near here to get in contact with.


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## Tatnall (May 20, 2008)

Congratulations!

Stick ponds like that are common around here. My RC is using some new grounds for its HT and it is all stick ponds. We had a club work day where we all wadered up and went through and cut off anything sharp. I used to hunt a lot in beaver ponds and always preferred a more careful water entry myself.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Rainheart said:


> Thanks so much. I will start looking into the clubs once I am home after graduation. We are working on obedience in our Rally class (and we will probably continue doing Rally work, too). Since I've never done anything like this, I just need to find some people near here to get in contact with.


What part of NC are you in? Some of the folks on here may be able to point you in the right direction to finding a hunt test club to hook up with. Some breed clubs are good about running field days, but others are more focused on conformation and such.

For day training, John and Any Dahl are in NC, and there are lots of good clubs over the border in Virginia.
Here is the GRCA field contact list GRCA-FIELD


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> just another aside comment, when I first started this I thought it was TERRIBLE that the dogs can't wear flat collars with ID on them during tests. After all, they're pretty far from you, what if they take off or get lost?
> Well, this set of tests sure made a believer out of me that collars would be a major risk! They could get caught on anything out there, and I really wouldn't want to have to jump into that icy pond and swim out there to rescue him.


Agreed. In CKC hunt and WC tests the dogs run without collars at ALL levels, including WC and JH. So I was surprised when I ran my first AKC JH a few years back and read it in the rule book. We just use slip leads!


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## Radarsdad (Apr 18, 2011)

Congratulations Barb!!!
I would love to have a few days training in that pond. It is YOUR job not to put your dog in danger. Check it out first before you run them.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

The other owner-handler and I talked seriously about scratching our dogs when we saw the pond, because both dogs have aggressive water entries. But when we saw the area around the pond, which was shoulder deep (to the dogs) water in the grass, there was no way an aggressive entry would have been possible. When the test dog ran it, and hit the water expecting dry land, and pretty much did a sommersault (as did Tito), we knew the water entry was going to be S-L-O-W and cautious.
But yes, I did seriously consider pulling him.




Radarsdad said:


> Congratulations Barb!!!
> I would love to have a few days training in that pond. It is YOUR job not to put your dog in danger. Check it out first before you run them.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

My friend carefully scrutinizes ponds before letting the dogs in even though we don't have water like that here. Someone she trained with before moving here had a golden that impaled itself on a stick from an aggressive water entry. Scary!


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## AlanK (Jun 28, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> My dog has a lot of heart.


 I love this statement ....


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

And it could be said about Tuff Dog many, many times over.



AlanK said:


> I love this statement ....


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## Radarsdad (Apr 18, 2011)

I don't encourage big air entries but I encourage hitting the water hard. I want momentum and an attitude that the water is a good place to be. I do understand and really like dock diving and it is a joy to watch and the pups love it. But in the conditions we run big air is not really an asset. But is hard to not love a Golden launching and tucked and ready to hit the water and go.


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## mapman (May 22, 2011)

Here in SE Texas, this water could be full of water moccasins and alligators.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I probably mentioned this before, but Dan said he wants to put a video of Tito's water entries on the hunt club's website. He wants to video one of Tito's in-out-in entries, because he does the big air not once but twice. Dan says people will sit up and take notice of a golden doing a double entry with both entries equally aggressive! (And of course, hopefully think Dan trained him to do that, LOLOLOL, which is fine with me.


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