Is it too late?

[JayBird02]

Question for the Field Trial guys, I have a 4 year old male Brittany that comes from FT lines. I've always just hunted him on wild birds (chukar and huns) and never really wanted to get into the whole AKC field trial thing. Lately I've been thinking about running him in some field trials but I'm afraid I might be too late. He's a big runner in my opinion, I've had him lock up on coveys 550-650 yards out and hold the birds until I flush them. Is a 550-650 yard dog a big enough runner or would I be wasting my time? Any advice would be great.

[wildweeds]

He's got to be broke. As in stand still thru the flush,firing of the gun and not move until you collar him off. He's got to handle and be run through the course. And he has to look good running and pointing. Not to late if all the criteria is met, probably got 4 years left of pizzaz. A 650 yard cast is big,but if they dog normally is 100 and has outbursts every once in a while it's not really a big runner. How far does the dog normally hang out there at? I walked a course at scatter creek because they have a path the gallery rides on,the action is off the path and much of it you can't see. I really had to kick it in gear to keep up and jogged,ran my dog had one find and then was off to the races,he had 3 finds,I saw 1 and 3 as he was collared off,I saw that one from 200 yards away. The pace is considerably faster than hunting.

[JayBird02]

Thank you for the feed back. He's a pretty steady dog but I know I have work to do. We've ran a couple of AKC hunt test and the judges have always told me I should look at doing horse back trials with him. He is always out 450-600 yards, he checks in when he wants a drink but for the most part he's always out in front and ranging well. Last week he pointed and held a covey of Huns 554 yards out and I was able to drop a bird over him. His sire is a FC AFC and I believe his grand sire on the top side is in bird dog hall o fame.

[jetjockey]

Who's he out of?  Like Wild said, a cast here or there isn't a "big running" dog.  Then again, dogs don't necessarily have to be huge running dogs to compete.  It's more about the pattern and the way they run anyways, not just how big they run.  Gun Dogs tend to stay much closer than All Age dogs, and a true 500+ yard cast is a pretty good cast for a gun dog. However, off horse those 500-600 yard casts quickly become 200-300 yard casts because your moving much faster than off foot.  At 4 years old, you could easily have 5-6 years of trailing left with the dog.  The dog that just won the Purina AA dog of the year award is 9yrs old, and shows no signs of slowing down.  In the Brit world, it seems that 10yrs old is when the dogs start to fall off fast.

[JayBird02]

Thanks for the response Jet Jockey. Jim House is the breeder, he's out of FC AFC Browns BBJ x Jalos Red Neck Girl. I guess I'll just have to sign up for one in the spring and see how he does.

[jetjockey]

Of you could go watch one first, and see what's expected.  That way you don't waste any money on entree fees.  I will tell you this, it's addicting!!  It's a HUGE rush when your dog goes to the front, heads over a hill, and you don't know if you will see him again in judgement,  just to top the hill, and watch it go over the next hill right where it should be, 500-600 yards to the front.  It's fun to watch the Gun Dogs run, but the AA dogs are always on the verge of of out of control and really keep your heart racing.  It takes a while to get used to not seing your dog, and to be honest, I'm not sure you ever really do.  Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[JayBird02]

Maybe I'll check one out this spring. As far as never seeing my dog I feel like I do a lot of that right now. If it wasn't for the Garmin I'd never find him. What are some good trials on the West Coast? I think the closest one to me is run in Ritzville in the spring.

[AspenBud]

Don't overlook these guys.

http://www.nw-nstra.org/

[jetjockey]

Maybe I'll check one out this spring. As far as never seeing my dog I feel like I do a lot of that right now. If it wasn't for the Garmin I'd never find him. What are some good trials on the West Coast? I think the closest one to me is run in Ritzville in the spring.

It's different off horse, but I understand what your saying.  The ABC has a PHENOMINAL website that lists all of the ABC trials and premiums.

http://clubs.akc.org/brit/Calendar/2016Spring.htm