us judges

[Jack Lynch]

On numerous occasions I have observed and competed in events where a dog has been required to run a difficult blind.When the dog has strayed off line and been stopped and turned to await his next command, he has been unable to see his handler because of the position of the sun. Therefore, the dog, whilst looking into the sun, may not move or may take a wrong direction.This may appear that the dog is being disobedient.The situation usually goes unnoticed because judges and handlers invariably wear dark glasses and hats to shade their eyes,unfortunately our dogs can not enjoy such luxuries.I realise that this this situation could occur '' whilst out shooting'' but I feel that'' us judges ''should endeavour to to set up our tests so that the dog is able to see his handler, otherwise we are not seeing the real picture.We should also consider what the dog sees when his handler is backrgounded by multicoloured vehicles, we usually forbid white jackets but tend to overlook vehicles. Regards to all Jack.

[Diane McCann]

Good points Jack, so much for you to think about.

I hope you don't offend yourself by your reference to "us judges"

Diane

[paul young]

just a suggestion from a foreign judge... front-light the handler whenever possible. this will go a long way towards helping the dog to do it's job under favorable conditions.-paul

[Wayne Parkinson]

The judges also need to take the height of competitors into consideration.

It's no good a judge 6'2'' tall setting up a run where he can just see the
dog and then expect handlers 5' or 5'6'' tall to handle the dog on an even basis with taller people.
Putting handlers in ditches or behind a blind to handle the dog is not the best way to test control.

Everyone should be given the same opportunity to handle their dog.

Wayne P.

[Jason Ferris]

Wayne,

I agree with your point about the height of the handler, but too often people get caught up with this without considering the height of the dog! As one of the tallest competitors (for those of you who don't know me I'm 6'4" tall) with one of the shortest dogs, I quite often get accused of an advantage when in fact my dog can see significantly less of the fall of the bird than others. Of course this is only relevant on marks.

Cheers, Jason.

[Peter Betteridge]

Good point Wayne! Please dont put us down any holes or behind any obstacles and expect to see good dogwork.
I think all judges should be mindful that this is a TEAM sport and I have yet to see anyone out hunting put themselves in a position where they can't help their dog on purpose.
Paul, our judges cannot always backlight a run as we mix our marks and blinds together and we tend to stress the importance of good clear marks.However on double blinds ,your point is well taken.
I think Jack's post highlights the need for our judges to take into consideration a huge spectrum of factors when picking runs.We all make mistakes but i know that most competitors are deeply appreciative of a judge that has taken the time and effort to consider as many factors as possible regardless of whether the run really"works" or not

[Kerry Webster]

Wayne,

Seeing you and I are just about eye to eye, I heartily agree with you on the problem of being a short handler. Frustrates me no end ! I even considered taking a milk crate with me to the firing point once. No rules say that you can't.

Regardless of the height of the dog, and I have medium sized and a "big" one, if I am in a hole, neither of them can see me. I have tried tippy toe, but that raises me a maximum of two inches, I have tried a leap in the air, but that is hard on slippery or rocky surfaces, so most times I have to trust my dog, and hope like hell that it took the right line.

You know what also annoys me, is a blind retrieve where you have a bush/tree directly in front of you covering the line to the game. I ended up sitting on the ground for this type of retrieve once trying to give commands. That was a pretty unrealistic run, as in normal circumstances the shooter would have walked a few feet to the side to enable him/her to see the dog and area of the game.

Kerry

[Julie Cramond]

First of all I respect all our judges. They do a thankless job.

But it seems to me the main problem, is our judges guide.

BTW, if my dogs do a particular run well, I think the test was wonderful. LOL.

We need to get over the Australian way of taking it on the chin. From time to time I can see significant problems dog to dog due to the the conditions. We cannot change the weather, or wind changes or even sometimes light conditions etc, but we can change where the bird is supposed to fall. Pigeons sink - why not endeavour to have the bird land past the water.