Counter Surfers Unlimited
Labsr4U Pawsitive Advice
Games Labs Love to Play
by former LABSR4U Member, Dave Shannon
In part, the first paragraph in the
AKC breed standard for Labrador Retrievers describes the Labrador as a
dog bred primarily as a working gun dog with the structure, substance
and soundness to be able withstand the rigors of an upland hunt as well
as being a patient and enthusiastic waterfowl retriever. Fortunately
Labradors don’t have be able to read the standard to understand their
job description – that of a working gun dog. It’s as natural as
breathing and during duck season, there is no other breed in the world
as welcome in the duck blind as the willing, eager and courageous
Labrador. On opening day for pheasants you’re more than likely to see
more hunters with Labs enthusiastically working through arsh cover and
heavy brush than all the other sporting breeds combined. There are few
(people or dogs) that love their jobs more than a working Labrador
Retriever.
For the avid hunter and his or her enthusiastic and hard working four
legged hunting partner the season is too short, but not to worry, for
there is wonderful activity and cure for unemployed Labradors. Retriever
hunt tests and field tests are a sure way to keep your Lab employed,
happy and in shape during the off season. For both the hunter and
non-hunter alike, training for and participating in retriever field
tests is a fun activity and if you have a Labrador, you have the right
breed to be successful. Open to all retriever breeds plus Irish Water
Spaniels and Standard Poodles, Labrador Retrievers totally dominate the
sport. At a typical hunt test of say 50 entries at any level the
breakdown by breed might have three or four Golden Retrievers, a
Chesapeake Bay Retriever or two, an occasional Flat Coat Retriever and
the rest Labradors. Far less common entries at hunt tests are Curly
Coated Retrievers, Irish Water Spaniels and Standard Poodles. There are
numerous field events available to Labs, from very basic to very
challenging and the following is a brief overview description of each.
The WC or Working Certificate. The Working Certificate is awarded
by the Labrador Retriever Club and WC tests are held by local breed
clubs under the guidelines of the LRC. AWC test consists of a single
retrieve on land, 50 yards or greater of a shot game bird usually in no
more than light cover and back to back single retrieves in water also of
shot or freshly killed game birds (usually ducks). The dog does not have
to be steady at the line, which means light restraint may be used to
hold the dog until released by the judge to make his retrieve after the
bird has fallen. Nor is the dog required to deliver the bird to hand.
The local breed clubs may also offer WCI (Intermediate) and WCX
(Excellent) tests along with the WC. Since there are no guidelines given
or certificates awarded by the LRC for these additional certificate
tests, the requirements may vary from club to club. In general a
WCI may consist of back to back single land retrieves and the same on
water, require delivery to hand, but not steadiness at the line. A WCX
will usually consist of a double retrieve on land (two birds thrown
before the dog is released) and on water either a double retrieve or
back to back singles. For the WCX, the dog should be required to be
steady at the line, meaning no restraint by the handler and he is not
allowed to go until released by the judge and should deliver to hand.
WC, WCI and WCX certificates are awarded with one successfully completed
test."
Beyond Working Certificates are Retriever Hunt Tests and there are three
sanctioning bodies in the United States, AKC, NAHRA (North American
Hunting Retriever Association) and the UKC under their HRC (Hunting
Retriever Club) banner which sanction hunt tests. In all three
organizations’ hunt tests there are three levels at which the dogs can
participate and in each the dogs are run non-competitively, meaning the
dogs are judged against a written standard for each level and not
against other dogs. The following brief overviews are for the three
levels of AKC hunt tests, and with only a few exceptions the training
and performance requirements are similar for all three organizations. A
couple differences are that neither NAHRA nor HRC require delivery to
hand in their entry level tests and NAHRA includes trailing and upland
quartering in their two advanced levels of testing.
JH or Junior Hunter Title. The JH is an AKC title awarded to retrievers
that have successfully completed four Junior Hunter tests and is the
entry or beginner level of the AKC hunt test program. In all AKC
retriever hunt tests the dogs are required to deliver to hand, but only
in the JH test are handlers allowed to use light restraint to keep the
dogs steady at the line. Testing for basic marking skill, which is the
ability of a dog to watch a bird fall, mark it’s location and make the
retrieve, a Junior hunt test consists of four single retrieves of game
birds (usually ducks), two of which are on land and two water retrieves.
The tests are normally broken down into two series, a land and water
series, each of which should represent simulated hunting scenarios. Per
the AKC guidelines, the retrieves should not exceed 100 yards and this
applies to all three levels of testing."
SH or Senior Hunter Title. The next level beyond an AKC Junior Hunter is
the Senior Hunter. Unlike many other AKC dog performance events, dogs
running in hunt tests are not required to have completed the previous
title to compete in the next. For a dog to earn a Senior Hunter title,
he must successfully complete five Senior Hunter tests or four tests if
he has earned a JH title. Many consider the step from Junior to Senior
the steepest of all three levels. Similar to JH tests, the Senior test
is typically two series (land and water) of simulated hunting scenarios,
but the Senior dog must heel to the line off lead and also be steady on
line. Instead of single retrieves, the dog’s memory is further tested
with double retrieves in each series. Additionally the dog is required
to make one each land blind and water blind retrieves, testing
trainability and handling skills. A blind retrieve is one in which the
dog is sent to retrieve a bird that he has neither seen fall nor knows
the location of. To run a blind the dog is sent by his handler on
a line in the direction of the blind and while attempting to closely
hold that line, the dog is directed to the bird using whistle and hand
signals by the handler. Another requirement is that the Senior dog must
be steady while he honors the work of another dog that is running the
series. "
MH or Master
Hunter Title. At the upper end of the AKC hunt test program, the Master
Hunter should represent a finished and polished working retriever. To
earn a Master Hunter title, a dog must complete six Master tests or five
if the dog has earned a Senior Hunter title. A Master hunter test
typically takes two days to run and consists of three series, which are
land, water and a combination land – water series. In each series the
dog must make multiple retrieves and they can be doubles, triples, quads
or even a combination such as a double – double where a double is thrown
and after the first bird is retrieved the dog sits at heel and another
double is thrown. Minimum requirements call for three blind retrieves,
two of which must be combined in the same series as a double blind and
it is not unusual for there to be blind retrieves in all three series.
As in the Senior test, the Master dog must also honor a working dog. But
unlike the Senior test where a dog is allowed one controlled break (the
dog leaves before being sent and is quickly brought under control by the
handler), a dog in a Master test is never permitted to break."
Those that have done it already know and those that haven’t may find
that training your Labrador and participating in field events may be
about as much fun as you and your dog can have together. For those
interested in getting started, probably the best way is to locate and
join a nearby Retriever Club or if you have friends that already
participate in the sport, contact them. A complete list of Retriever
Clubs for AKC, HRC and NAHRA can be found on the Internet at
<a href="http://www.working-retriever.com/"> www.working-retriever.com</a>
and for more in depth information about requirements and rules for hunt
tests, the AKC, NAHRA and HRC all have Internet web sites. The web
addresses for all three organizations can also be found at the Working
Retriever web page. Have fun with your Labrador and happy training.
Dave Shannon is an LRC Member from Ohio. He’s done all his own training
with his dogs, and amongst his four dogs, they have 90 hunt test passes,
including his boy TJ (Diamond Deacon's Tj Sunshine MH CD WCX CGC CC),
who has 18 Master Hunter Passes
Beans (Bigsky Autumn Shade of Edward MH CD WCX CGC CC) had his Master
Hunter Title before two years of age, and has 17 master Hunter Passes.
Both TJ and Beans have qualified twice for the Master National.
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