Doublefalls and wounded game

[Kerry Webster]

I don't know how many times I have heard handlers comment that they 'hate' doublefalls. I must say I have been amongst those making that remark, at times, and I don't believe it is because there are problems in doing the run, but because doublefalls require exact placing of the throws, which often, is not the case. How many times have there been d/falls where the dog is unable to see the bird, hear the fall, and even sometimes not hear the shot. I've seen it happen. For instance, when a dog is running out for the mark through splashy water, there is no hope of hearing the fall of a bird, and sometimes not even a shot, and, if the throw is placed in the incorrect position (ie. behind the dogs peripheral vision), then we create a blind, but, if that is the case this blind is not often visible from the f.p. and not within control.
Now we have boundaries for proximity of marks to each other, how then would the following apply.
A mark is thrown to fall in running water, but out of sight of the handler and dog. The dog is sent to retrieve, whereupon a d/fall mark is thrown to also fall in the running water, upstream from the first mark. By the time the dog reaches the point of fall for the first mark, the d/fall mark is making its way down to that area. Meanwhile the first mark has probably floated downstream as well. Which bird does the dog pickup ? He has gone to the fall of the mark & lo and behold a bird is floating down to him. Now to me, this is not how the concept of a doublefall was envisaged.
Keeping the distance between marks at 20m or more can initially be achieved, but if a bird is floating downstream then it could actually become 'marks in line' or as I described above, with a wrong pickup the result.

Wounded game retrieves are one of my favourites, but, I do believe they must be one of the most difficult to setup properly. I have seen game stewards inadvertently laying cross tracks whilst picking up, or placing out game. I have seen wounded birds without a line attached landing across a 15 m area, causing confusion for dogs. Having done tracking with my dog, I am more aware than many of how scent can be laid, and how stewards in attempting to carry out the laying of scent, can actually lay several tracks in their coming and going. This doesn't happen all the time of course, but I have witnessed it at one trial, and it utterly confused the dogs.

I am pointing this out so that handlers, especially new ones, can be observant and aware of the difficulties they might encounter in these two retrieves. Being a judge, and getting everything perfect is not always easy, but we owe it to our dogs and our hard work in training to have everything as near to ideal as we can.

Kerry