Recent content by Nimrod

Tests are just that, tests. The UKC Upland focuses on “steady” to wing & shot and nothing else, hardly the definition of a useful upland dog. The AKC Spaniel tests ( which also allow retrievers) require The dog to hunt the wind intelligently and to find, flush and retrieve birds. Judging is...

Carry a clip wing pigeon in your vest and throw it into cover when she punches out. Draw her in downwind so she finds it in close. This helps convince her the birds are near you. (never let her see you do this) You can also learn to shoot longer birds with practice at a trap range, 40+ yards...

Orvis Extremely lightweight & completely waterproof.

One aspect of the "institutional knowledge" I mentioned is in planting birds. While a Higgins box is better than a launcher basket, the handler still knows where the bird is. In a spaniel event, the bird is planted on a course somewhere within about 30 yds of a flag line & the dog is expected...

I can offer plenty of criticism of the AKC Spaniel tests as well if you’d like. ;) Frankly, they are judged very inconsistently allowing many dogs to acquire titles that according to the rule book should not. Nevertheless, I stand by my opinion that the Spaniel community is where the...

I’m quite familiar with the HRC Upland Tests, even gunned the upland series at a Grand once. They are a ludicrous farce w/ rules apparently written by duck hunters who read an article from Field & Stream once. They don’t judge the dog’s ability to find birds (a rather important skill in my...

Most retriever groups train to the standards of Retriever hunt tests. These tests are great for evaluating duck hunting dogs but don’t have anything to do with upland hunting. Dogs trained in this manner tend to rely on their eyes to mark birds and soon learn that their nose will get them in...

My son got a Lab from TT Kennels. I've spent a lot of time w/ the dog both in the house & in the field. He's the only "British Lab" I've worked with personally but he's really a remarkable dog. Incredibly mellow & obedient in the house but hunts pheasants like they owe him money! Weighs 65...

Build a fence. Do not use the ecollar for this. You are about to make a big mistake.

It was this dog that opened my eyes to the realization that for the me at least, there is such a thing a "good enough" retriever. The difference between a dog that can pick up all the ducks on his own & one that takes a few whistles to get some of them is insignificant. On the other hand, even...

I am embarrassed that I wrote this much. Once the memories started coming, I didn't want them to stop. Damn these allergies. Make it hard to see. His name was Rook. I put him down 3 yrs ago at the age of 12. He was the finest "all around" dog I've owned in 35 yrs. I trained him early on...

If you're asking me about my avatar that's a field-bred Golden retriever & a Springer Spaniel.

You don't have to convince me how good retrievers can be as pheasant dogs. I've spent more days afield w/ Labs than any other breed. My earlier warning against asking a hunt test trainer about training a pheasant dog is because most will tell you to wait until he's finished w/ advanced...

I ran AKC & UKC retriever tests as recently as 3 yrs ago. I used Lardy's TRT program & I titled 4 dogs in retriever tests. I have also trained 3 Springers & one Cocker of my own for field trials. I would "respectfully suggest" that you may not have a complete understanding of the nature of...