What's this business about Non-Slip Retrieving?

This article was written by Jeff Patrick and he has given me  his kind permission to publish it here.
You can visit his web page at Retrieving Down Under.

Most people have seen a sheep-dog trial and have marvelled at the way the dogs
use their herding instincts and respond to their handlers instructions. Similarly,
those people who own a gundog (Labrador, Golden, Wei, GSP, Springer, etc.)
wish to test their dogs’ retrieving instincts and to display how well they respond to
commands in the field.

Rule 1 in the Rules for the Conduct of Non-Slip Retrieving Trials for Gundogs
(1994) states:
"A Non-Slip Retrieving Trial is an event at which competitions for the working of
registered Gundogs are conducted, both on land and in or through water, to
determine their relative merits in the field under conditions which emulate as
closely as possible those which would be found whilst shooting, but at the same
time bring the work of each dog within an ambit of equality where assessment
may be fairly made."

Admittedly today's trials have seemingly little to do with hunting. There is no live
game for a start. In real shooting conditions most retrieves are done from within
shotgun range, but in a retrieving test the object to be retrieved may be anything
up to 150 meters away.

(Before I describe what is involved I should point out that Retrieving Trials in
Australia have evolved in a different manner to those in other countries. Most of
the material you will find on the Web comes from USA so be very cautious in
applying that material to Australia.)

There are various levels of Stakes (events within a Non-Slip Retrieving Trial).
The main ones, from lowest to highest are Novice, Restricted, and All-Age. A
Novice Stake usually consists of three runs, each being a Single Mark Retrieve.
In one of the runs the dog must swim. To take you through some of the
mechanics of a trial, let me describe a typical run.

When his number has been called the handler brings his dog on lead out of the
hide (an out-of-the-way place where all competing dogs have been staked) and
moves to the control point. Here he removes the lead AND slip collar, hands
them to the gun steward, and receives in turn a shotgun and two blanks (or
inserts). Gun safety is paramount in a trial even though no live ammunition is used,
as blanks can still be very dangerous at close range. When he receives a nod
from the judge, he heels his dog to another set of pegs at least 10 metres away
called the firing point. He sits his dog by his side, closes the gun, and waits for the
judge to signal to the game steward, who operates a thrower hidden behind a
bush, say, out in the field. The released object flies in a clearly seen arc to fall
some 70 metres away (in a Novice Stake it could be any distance up to 100
metres). After firing at the object at the apex of the flight the handler will
demonstrate to the judge that his dog is steady and under control by waiting a few
seconds before sending the dog. On the way out the dog will encounter one or
more obstacles. In this case soon after the start there are several dense clumps of
grass which cause the dog to swerve off line. Can he maintain his sense of
direction? Two-thirds of the way out the dog encounters a small stream. Will he
be put off and hunt the near side, or will he forge through it and reach the area of
fall? He hunts the area, finds the object, and brings it back to deliver it to the
handler who remains at the firing point at all times. The handler then heels the dog
back to the control point, and exchanges the gun and retrieved article for the lead.
Judging has taken place from the moment the slip collar was removed to the time
it was replaced.

The judge awards marks in several different areas. Ten points are allotted for
steadiness, obedience and walking to heel, ten points for style, eagerness and
action, and a further thirty-five points for the actual retrieve.
In higher Stakes (Restricted and All-Age) many different types of retrieves are
tested besides the single mark. One of these is the Blind Find Retrieve where the
dog is to retrieve an article he has not seen placed.

The blind retrieve is the one that inexperienced dogs (and handlers) find difficult.
To quote a couple of sections from the rule book:
"A Blind Find Retrieve shall be a retrieve where a dog is in such a position that
the flight or fall of the game cannot be seen. The judge may direct the dog to be
placed behind a hide in close proximity to the firing point......It should be possible,
at least in theory, for a dog to find a well-planned Blind Retrieve on the initial line
from his handler. The test should be so planned that the dog should be in sight at
least until directed into the area of the fall, as a Blind Retrieve is a test of control
and a dog that is out of sight for a considerable period cannot be said to be under
control."

Therefore to do a blind retrieve properly the dog must be able to do an
out-of-sight stay while the handler fires the gun, must run out in the correct
direction (take a line), respond to whistle or voice commands to stop, go left,
right , back or come forward, and finally to hunt an area when commanded by the
handler.

Another basic concept is the Double Mark. A double mark is much the same as
the single mark of the Novice except now there are two items of game to retrieve.
The dog must remember two areas of fall and retrieve them one at a time in the
order the judge specifies.

The judge has many possibilities when setting up a run. He can ask for as many as
three items of game to be retrieved in one run of a Restricted or All-Age Stake
(usually two in Restricted). Therefore he could incorporate a double mark and a
blind into the same run, or he could let another bird go up as the dog returns with
the first bird (Two-Bird Retrieve) or as he is going out for the first (Double Fall).
There may be an article which a dog encounters but he is not to retrieve. As you
learn more about retrieving, you will find out about walk-ups, wounded game
retrieves, double-rise retrieves, triple marks, etc. Don't let this scare you, as in
Novice Stakes you only have to be able to do the single mark. Work first on the
single mark and general obedience, and as you and your dog improve you can
ask experienced people to help you with the rest.

Wish to find out how to go about training your dog for Retrieving? Contact your
state canine authority for the names of clubs who run retrieving trials and the
telephone numbers of their secretaries. If you get no joy there (not all people are
interested in retrieving), get back to me, and I will try to find the name of
somebody who lives near you.
Happy trialling!
 
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