We head North, this morning, across the border to County Fermanagh to attend a 'mock field trial' organised by the Ballygowan wildfowling club.I have never had the opportunity to compete in this type of event before but know it will involve walk ups. A lot of steadiness and patience will be required on the part of Bertie.
This is a discipline, I think, that Chesapeakes struggle with. Originally bred as a single wildfowler's dog they were expected to find and collect all game shot by their owner. A lot of our breed still work within this area and are expert at what they do. Most of the dogs currently in the UK and Ireland are still only one or two generations removed from American breeding stock as such finding a dog 'designed' to work on a driven shoot on this side of the Atlantic is not always easy.
Fourteen dogs entered. Thirteen labs and one chesapeake. We were driven up hills and down lanes to the edge of a bog. The bog was about 200yds wide and stretched to infinity.. Ground underfoot was pock marked with bogholes and crevasses and areas that looked sound were bogholes covered with moss.It was going to be testing.
The dogs were to be split between the 2 judges. One took the even numbers and the other the odd numbers . The even numbered dogs walking up the right hand side and the remaining dogs taking the left hand side. We set off. It was run as a 2 dog line up on each side with each dog rotating out once they had their retrieve. This meant that every dog was guaranteed a minimum of 4 retrieves before a decision was made on run offs. It also meant that as the line was continually moving forward the dogs behind were obliged to follow. For me, this was an added bonus as it gave me more oppurtunities to stop and sit Bertie each time a shot was fired.
It became apparent to me very early on that I will have to concentrate on line manners over the coming weeks. Bertie is steady in line but is tending to pull ahead on a walk up and so when shot is fired he's taking a second longer to stop. On his first retrieve he took a perfect line to the fall acknowledged it and hunted on, I handled him onto it again and he blinked it. I was confused. This, I had not foreseen as he had been marking superbly in training. Second retrieve, exact same thing. Took a perfect line, acknowledged it and hunted on. Someone suggested he may be hunting snipe, of which there was a plentiful supply on the bog and as it was his first competition following on from the working season it was a possibility. So after the second failed retrieve I took a dummy and got Des to throw it a few times at varying distances. Then third retrieve, fourth retieve and fifth retrieve, which was a cross over ,were faultless.
We broke for lunch at 1pm where homemade soup and rolls were kindly provided by the club and much appreciated.
The afternoon was originally supposed to be confined to top dogs only but because so few dogs had entered everyone was to be given an oppurtunity on a blind retrieve. Thanks here has to be given to Mr Wayne Carlisle who had been on the bog at 6.30am and laid no less than 28 blinds at varying spots throughout the bog. They were laid in a similar pattern to the way birds would be found following a drive. The same format was used as in the morning's excercise with a 2 dog line up and rotating as the walk up progressed. Bertie followed a dog that had been called up and I made the fatal error of allowing him take the same line as the previous dog instead of over correcting. He got his retrieve but it was the wrong bird :) Lots to work on but also lots I was happy with.
I found the day really well run, a lovely atmosphere and the judges open and helpful with their advice and guidance.
March 5th.
Happy Birthday Chester!
Ten years young today and what a wonderful adventure you started for us when we collected you from Wales almost 10years ago.
Winnie has picked up something in her front paw. A massive hole where it has entered and despite bathing it with hibiscrub over the weekend it is not improving. I had hoped to avoid a trip to the vet at this stage of her pregnancy but now it looks inevitable.
Saw Paul, the vet, at 2pm. He lanced the pad and put her on 5 days of antibiotics.
Last ring craft class this evening and I took Gerlinde along to watch . I'm happy now with the improvement I've seen in Mossy over the last few weeks. The classes have been hugely beneficial. Structured in such a way that your dog stands for exam a minimum of 6 times in the hour. I feel more confident about how he'll behave on Friday.
March 6th
Took Gerlinde and her dogs to the beach this morning. Needed to get one more swim in with Mossy before we set off on Thursday. Being from Austria Gerlinde doesn't often get the chance to enjoy a beach and it was lovely to see her young bitch Lilu has no inhibitions crashing through waves. In the afternoon we took Bertie and Gerlinde's bitch, Bella, to the Hill of Tara to do some training. I was impressed with Bella's speed and handling ability and hope Bertie will get to that level in the next couple of years.
Did some mirror work with Mossy, brushed his teeth and trimmed his nails.
March 7th.
Happy Birthday Gerlinde!!
Last push to get everything ready for travelling tomorrow. I dropped Bertie to kennels and Bailey, Zoe and Lucky to my mum. With Winnie being as far on in her pregnancy as she is I didn't want any extra stress. She is staying home with Chester and my sister, Ann, is moving in.
A quick run to the shops to pick up last minute supplies for travelling and then spent the afternoon packing.
Of course all visitors to Ireland have to sample the obligitory pint of Guinness and Gerlinde was no exception. Before dinner we took her to The Snailbox pub, best draught Guinness in the area.
Tomorrow we travel, with hope but never expectation.
March 8th
Dawn was just creeping in when we left the house this morning. The ferry left Dublin port at 8.05am. we met up with friends Orlagh and Ruth, both Goldie Girls,and enjoyed a very smooth 4 hour crossing to Holyhead. We travel this road at least 4 times a year and by now have a tried and tested formula. Once clear of the port we drive for about 30 minutes to junction 17. We pull in to the car park and unload the dogs. When you climb over the sand dunes the most fantastic deserted beach stretches out before you. It's such a wonderful place to allow the dogs to run and stretch their legs after the ferry crossing.
March 9th
An early start once more as we pointed the car towards the NEC and Crufts.
This year I was at my most relaxed ever entering the competition. Mossy is still a very young dog by Open Dog standards so I would be happy if he remembered the lessons we'd worked on in the previous weeks and moved well. He has a real appetite for showing and nothing phases him in the ring. His biggest fault, so far, has been an over- abundance of enthusiasm something I plan to reign in this year. The Open Dog Class had a very strong line up with dogs travelling from all over the world.
He did everything I asked and more. He won his class and went on to win Best Dog and his 2nd CC beaten for BOB by a beautiful young bitch called Lila.
At 1.30pm we were standing in the Gamekeepers ring. This is a competition, separate to Crufts. Any dogs entered have to have a signed form from the Gamekeeper to say their dog works on the shoot.Out of a class of 28 dogs and bitches Mossy finished 4th!!
Yes, Crufts this year exceeded all my expectations. We returned home on Saturday 10th very, very tired but very,very happy.
Copyright Riverrunchesapeakes 2012
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