San Jose Retriever Club qual

TGIF been waiting on this day to try my luck at the field trial, try my luck, geez sure wish I would of found a pile of that stuff somewhere today. Must of been all used up when we got moved down from the first spot of the day to the big 19. Ok enough of the pity party, lets, list the positive things.

Hoover got 3 days of kenneling at Lou's and 3 days of training, enough to find out he has a thing about not getting in the water, they call that being a cheat. Labrador adultery. Ok I get back on the positive wagon. He got some routine back into his life.
Today you learned more about really holding him to the sit and mark that spot, no NOT that spot but this spot. And don't you think you can fool me, I only want you to look at that spot. now do it.
He was over heated, and you didn't do anything about it before he ran, and then he ran out of steam.
He did an ok flyer mark had a bit of hunt within 10 yds of it on either side. He did a good, job on the easy memory bird. Ran at the gun and them put the angle in as he approached the gun, He didn't run to the gun and make a left 90. He showed he was thinking.

The next memory bird the long retired one, inthe bank of yellow mustard grass. There was the big mound in between that spot That Carl told Judy who told me stir em to the left of that or they will back side the gunners. Judy pulled Bella the best she thought and she still back sided the gun, So I pull him more, and I got more, more into the wrong direction. Way to Way, and h e took the line and established a hunt in nowhere near the mark and gave up, POPPED. I gave it the college try of waiting out the pop, Hoover wasn't interested. NOTE to self, Popping isn't as bad a thing in qual as it is in Master. only a minor fault. Next time, if there is one, do some feet shuffling, you know how well he takes casts with your legs try that before hitting the whistle.

I called him back in, he came tongue and sides heaving, Cal said he admired me trying to pull him as other dogs had back sided the guns, but perhaps you pulled to much. I didn't check back to see if the spine was aligned up. In fact I didn't do much besides the process Christy told me too. It was a mechanical form of dancing by the numbers, I didn't have any soul.

Talked to Dick Ellis, he said it takes to time to get soul. Dennis said he feeds on the adrendline rush this brings.
You teach and teach and when test day comes its anything goes, and see if you can survive. You need to forget the blue ribbon, or any ribbon. and just concentrate on the fundementals that got you here. Hoover forged on the matt, you felt like he was too wide, you gave him the here command and YOU didn't take steps back. Timing. comes with practice and respect. It wasn't there today.

Judges Cal Cadmus, Mike Moore
triple with go bird flyer up the middle and deep, right hand bird short, left hand bird medium with a retired gun.

land blind placed between the short bird and the flyer station.
double water blind, short land to a needle wide opening of tules into a channel up on land bird.
return long land run to water and a point, that you had to take, then over into a channel 20 yds to shore and bird

Water series:

Did I say it was raining, it was

LONG retired bird up the middle, Land, water land, water....long water, and then about 130 yds of land.
shore Left hand bird on land, small scallop piece of water better get in,
right hand bird behind some tules, guns sitting
and a flyer thrown just as you start to go for the far right bird, this flyer kind of makes it a flower pot, and its to the left to right. about 30 ft between the 2 gunner stations. All throws were square, flat/

first place JO Tripete, 2nd Dennis H Iceman 3 dog 14, 4th Judy & Bella, RJ Moon's Sister, 20, 7, 21 jams. 24 dogs started, and 11 were taken to the last series.