# Some good dogs here



## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

I've never seen or heard of this before but then again I don't live in the US. 
Some good dogs here. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEBkoR-w5Xc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NH-Yi_TLdc&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Never heard of this and now I will hunt down some of the shows to watch it. it's in season 3 already. 

Thanks for posting.


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## veifera (Apr 25, 2012)

Wow! Very cool. I wonder what cable channel would carry similar programming


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Don't try their methods at home. The dogs release much too early for a safe hunt. I wonder how many dogs get peppered by shot during these competitions.

Steady to wing and shot for a reason!

RBD


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

I actually just watched it and really enjoyed it!! Good to know RBD. As a novice, just maybe getting into this hunting thing for Oso, it's good to know what isn't correct.


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## veifera (Apr 25, 2012)

RBD, I'm a bit unsure how to understand your comment. 

I thought the activity in these YouTube videos wasn't a real hunt, more like a bird dog sport that looks like one - timed bird search point and retrieve, with points being deducted for mistakes. It seems like an adrenaline-rush type of competition to me. And it's also timed. 

I have never been to a field trial but always thought that FTs are a sport that evolved from and imitates hunting but isn't really. So FT dogs need to have more speed and to run big, which puts them outside of the shooting range for a foot hunter. Hence, the horseback version.

So, in a way, FT and this particular sport are derivatives from actual hunting and became competitive events in their own right. Or so I thought until I read your comment. So I think I'm not understanding something here. 

Can you explain what the differences are?


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

veifera,
I'll do my best. The adrenaline-rush competiton you watch is timed. You have to be fast!!!! You want the dog at the bird when it hits the ground so it can be brought back to the hunters and go forward to the next bird. Point, flush, shoot, retrieve. Quick quick quick. Looks fun.

Field trial. Dog goes on point and holds. The dog may go on point 1/2 mile up ahead on a bird and waits! Hunter flushes bird, gunners (different than handler) shoot the bird. The dog has to wait until the dog is sent by the handler AFTER the bird is shot. Steady to wing and shot is what it is called.

If the dog takes off early, it is pulled from a field trial as disqualified. Field trials have very specific rules. It is a competition judged under known standards.

Mistakes are not deducted as much as disqualifications and the dog is dismissed from any chance of placement. First, second, third and forth are all the placements no matter the number of dogs entered. The placements are given to the best dogs that "got around clean." You can have field trials where no dogs get around clean and no placements are given. First and second can be withheld if the judges feel no dog performed to the standard expected for the level of competition entered.

Some field trials are horseback but many are walking field trials.

Go to one one day in your area. There will be many dog people there that will show you the ropes.

Hope that helps.

RBD


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Different venues with different rules but yes RBD is right, it can be a safety issue with a dog that is only steady to flush. Low shots can always be a safety problem. A dog that's steady till sent can break early.
I will say people that do those type of competitions are excellent marksmen on wing shots. They pattern their shot guns and use the same shells and choke all the time in these events. Their dogs are probably in less danger of bring shot than the average hunting dog. 
Would I take most of those shots? No. but I do know people that can and do.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

While interesting to watch "Speed hunting", I cringed at some of the low gunfire over the dogs. I can crack the eye of a crow from 100 metres, using a .22 with bare sights. But I would not have taken a lot of the shots that those guys took over their dogs. I am sure those guys are well experienced, but it looks a little too risky for my liking.

Great to see the dogs working, but even myself being untrained in bird hunting, noticed several fatal flaws in the dogs. Bumping birds, picking up birds before flushing, missing a retrieve just to name a few. I see it as a way to ruin a good bird dog. But I suppose those guys are experienced enough to manage it and perhaps only shoot those comps. They may well have another dog for actual hunting.


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