In this episode we go over what it takes for your dog to pass a Master test. I am just returning from running the Master in Nevada so the test is fresh on my mind. At least pretty fresh as was pretty tired. Hope this gives some insight on how to run the Master and what level your dog needs to be trained to. Good training everyone!
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In this episode we go over what it takes for your dog to pass a Master test. I am just returning from running the Master in Nevada so the test is fresh on my mind. At least pretty fresh as was pretty tired. Hope this gives some insight on how to run the Master and what level your dog needs to be trained to. Good training everyone!
Follow us on Instagram:
@ thebirddogpodcast
@ utahbirddogtraining
@ fieldbredgoldenretrievers
Websites:
www.utahbirddogtraining.com
www.fieldbredgoldenretrievers.com
Email : thebirddogpodcast@gmail.com
DM: on instagram
Check out these awesome products and help us out at the same time:
Kuranda Dog Beds- best dog beds on the market.
https://kuranda.com/?partner=26722&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=KurandaPartnerProgram&utm_source=partners.kuranda.com
Reach out to us if you need a Garmin E- collar or Gunner dog kennel. We are partners with them and we can get you hooked up!
Hey everyone, welcome to the Bird Dog Podcast. My name is Tyce Erickson and I will be the host of your show today. Thanks for, taking the time to tune in and listen to the show. And, uh, hopefully it'll be worth it to you to listen in. And, uh, gain some information hopefully from the stuff that I'm about to share. So in the last two episodes, we've been talking about hunt tests, uh, and these hunt tests we're talking about in specific are through the AKC, the American Kennel Club. And, uh, in a couple episodes ago, we talked about the junior hunt test, what it takes to successfully run one of those tests, gave some examples of what what it looks like. And then in the previous episode, we, talked about the senior hunt test. Um, I am currently driving home from a hunt test and, uh, and recording this podcast. So things are fresh on my mind. I'll kind of walk you through this test that I just ran and kind of give you the details. So, uh, this test was down Nevada. Um, I, it's an early test for me. Uh, I, I'm up in Utah. So things are pretty cold and snowy. So sometimes I hit this test when, um, if I have enough dogs that are ready to roll for it. But lots of times I usually wait a couple of months when our water warms up, I get more water work in and I can run some of these young dogs in these different tests. But, uh, uh, in this test, um, I had a young dog. I only ran one dog in this test. Just kind of a uncommon for me. Usually I have at least, at least a handful. But this young dog, I put a senior on him last year and also his junior at the same time. And he's, we've been prepping him and running him and I felt like he was ready to run the master. Uh, he's a golden retriever. It's a personal dog. Actually mine, his name is boss. And, um, he's a really nice dog. Uh, I've been building him obviously since he's a puppy. And he's really coming together and starting to gain a stride and we got his first master pass today. So that felt good to put all that time and effort in on these animals and for them to prove themselves. Um, the tests had close to 60 dogs running and I think there was a pass of 29 today. So, um, just under half of them passed the test, but, uh, anyhow, um, Let's kind of talk about a master test. So, a master test, if I sound a little tired, it's because I kind of am. Sometimes these are long days, but uh, a master test is a two day test generally. It takes three, there's three series to it, so three parts that are required to get one master pass. So a junior and a senior, you can get one pass in a day and the master, it takes two days to get a pass. Um, again, to get a master title, you need five passes. If you have a senior title, if you skip junior and senior, which you can do, you're going to need six passes. Um, these passes, they can be accumulated from year to year. So you don't have to get, uh, all your passes within a certain timeframe. It can take. one, two, three years, um, whatever to get the passes. So they do bank, um, and, and so you don't have to redo your passes every, every couple of years or whatnot. So that's something to kind of be aware of. Um, I'd say typical pass rate of a dog of a test that has 60 dogs in it. You're going to be anywhere from, Oh, 20. down to, um, you know, 60 dogs anywhere from 20 to 30 is generally a typical pass rate, 30, 40%, sometimes half, but it just depends on how challenging the test is and obviously how well the dogs are doing. So that being said, um, kind of go through the setup on the test and kind of walk you through it. So in a master, again, I would recommend awesome. listening to the junior podcast when I talk about the junior hunt test and the senior hunt test and how they kind of build. But anyhow, if not, I'll just kind of walk you through it. So in a master hunt test, you're going to have holding blinds. Again, that the dogs will be behind as they walk up to the line. And once you get to the line, that's where the judges are going to be to judge your dog from, uh, you're going to want to take your dog from that last holding blind up to the line. And again, let them sit there, get their bearings. Kind of look around, see what's going on before you raise your hand to signal to the judge that you're ready for the birds to be thrown up until that point. You can talk to your dog as much as you want and get them all ready. Talk to him. Once you signal, you can't talk to your dog anymore until all the birds come out. Then the judge will release you with the, with the, you know, dog or your dog's number. At that point, you can then release your dog to pick them up. So, in a master, it is typically the marks or the retrieves are typically triples. So junior, it's single marks. Senior, it's double marks. And master, it's triple. So with a triple, you can do a lot more than a double, right? If you think about, you have two birds you can throw. You can kind of throw them towards each other. One you can throw away from. But when you start throwing a third bird in there, there's a lot more for that dog to remember. One can come in, one can go across, one can go back, and they can just be thrown at all sorts of different angles. They kind of wash away the dog's memory, and it's more challenging. The master is the master, so they expect better cooperation from the dog, um, things are extended out to longer distances. Uh, typically your marks are out, around, can go, can be out to 150 yards and your blind retrieves also. Um, there's just a lot of things you can test the dog. So let's just walk through today's test, er. This week's, this, the test over the last couple days. So yesterday the first series was a triple with a single blind. All right, so my wife just called me and I had to pick up that call, so I'll try to remember where I left off. Anyhow, but with the master, yeah, the marks can be thrown at all different angles. And, um, in the first series, or the first part of the master test, in this one was a triple with a single blind. And I gotta kinda think this through, um, cause they all kinda seem to blend together over a two day period. At least the first test. Um, I'm trying to remember exactly what it was, but it was a triple with a single blind. And so the birds went out around from left to right, they call it going around the horn. And, um, and then the blind retrieve, I'm trying to think what the blind retrieve was. I can't remember honestly, exactly where the blind on that one, what the blind was. But anyways, it was on the land and typically in a master or when you're picking up a triple retrieve You're going to go outside outside center That's usually the best way for dogs to pick it up and the best way they like to do that And so you're going to pick up the go bird, which is the last one down There was a live flyer. I think the first bird was a live flyer So Um, the first bird is live flyer and then the other two were already dead. And the live flyer was the first one out to the right. Then the second one went off. And then the, yep, I actually remember now. It's coming back to me. It's getting, it's getting a little late. But, uh, the live flyer is out to the right. Then there was this and the bird went right to left and it was shot out to an alfalfa field, um, probably 130 yards, 130, 150 yards out where it landed. And then they had another one that was on the edge of a sorghum field. And that one was thrown from left to right and that one hit kind of on the edge of the sorghum in the grass. And then there was a hidden blind that was in some bushes and that went from left to right and, and the bird and landed back in this, the sorghum. And, uh, yeah, dogs. was then sent to pick that one up and then I swung my dog and most of them we swung to the right picked up uh the the first bird the flyer my dog actually went out of order he decided he wanted the middle bird so he went out and picked that one and then I sent him uh for the flyer and he went out and got that one so it doesn't matter again the order But typically when you're training and picking them up, you're going to go, uh, outside, outside center, unless there are certain circumstances where it's beneficial to pick up maybe two that are close together and then get the other one. And if there's a, if there's a mark that you want to pick up with your dog, if you kind of take a little step towards it, say it's not outside, outside center, say it's left center. You want to go or right center. Um, take a little step towards that burden. And hopefully the dog will turn his memory and lock in on where you're wanting him to go or where that bird was. And then you can kind of encourage him on that and then send him. Now if your dog is, you're trying to get him to pick up a certain bird in a certain order, and he wants a different bird, and he's fighting, fighting you at the line. You know, don't fight him at the line. Just go at the one he thinks he's going to, he wants to go for it. Cause sometimes I've even tried that. I've tried pushing a dog on a certain one that I want him to go for and he lines up. But then when you send him, his brain kicks back in and he just drives for the one he wants originally. So most of the time, trust your dog. If he acts like he knows it, go with him. And hope and send him and hopefully have trust or faith that he's going to go out there and pick up your bird. So, um, so yeah, the first series was a triple. It wasn't a walk up. You just, you would just walk up from the line, sit your dog down at the, or walk your walk up from the blind. I'm sorry. Sit your dog at the line, run the triple. And then the blind retrieve is off to the left side. You had to run the dog, um, up over a road and across the road, angled entry or across the road and they had a bunch of goose decoys right there and kind of a keyhole that I talked about in a senior keyhole is kind of an opening. You're trying to get them through. Um, in the decoys, you had to send the dog through there across the road and get the bird and come back in. Then from there you went to the honor station, which is sitting there, um, by the working dogs. So once you run, you sit your dog there, you tell the dog to leave it or whatever command you want to do. And then the next working dog comes up to the line. The birds come out. As soon as all the birds hit the ground, that dog is sent to go get the bird. And at that point, the judge will typically release you, uh, from honor. And that has that other dogs on its way to go get the bird. If your dog doesn't interfere, you're totally okay. And you'll pass that first series now in the master. And I don't think I talked about this in the last podcast in the master, you have no controlled, you have no controlled brakes. So if you guys If you go up there and you tell your dog to sit, and the dog decides to go before the judge releases you, the dog is automatically out. So if you go up there and you tell your dog to sit, one bird comes out, two bird, midway, boom, your dog breaks, he's automatically gone. So, again, the master, they don't mess around, you gotta have more control on your dog. In a senior, you can have a controlled break. So if your dog breaks and you tell him, here, or come back to you. And the dog runs out there just a little ways and you can stop the dog and bring it back to heal. You can still run the dog and still play the game and still get a pass. In the master, if they break, they're automatically out. Also, if you go to run the blind retrieve and your dog no goes you, you line it up and you say, back, and the dog just, doesn't move, they're out. So the dog has to go and has to sit when you tell it to do that. So, and yeah, the first series, that was the first one. The second series today, um, was a water series and this one, I'll try to explain it and hopefully it comes through clear, but when you're getting ready, ready to run your dog, you'll go up to The last holding blind, just like normal. And as you bring your dog, it's, it's, you had a walk up, as you bring your dog out of the holding blind, the judge is going to signal when your dog hits a certain point with the dog at heel. Then a bird from out in the field was thrown from left to right. When you hit a certain point as you're walking your dog at heel, you can give one stop. I chose, I choose and train that way to give my dog just a verbal sit when the bird comes into the air. Um, a gunshot is also fired on that, on that dead bird that's thrown into the air. And then you had to call the dog off it. So you had to tell the dog basically, Hey, don't touch that. And then, To the right of you was this canal, kind of a river canal, and about 40 yards down on the opposite bank was a duck up under a tree, and you had to angle entry of the dog into the water. Swim it up the canal, pick the bird up under the tree and bring the dog back to you and obviously deliver it a hand and then from there you would turn and you cue the dog's memory and pick up that original bird that was thrown down that you told the dog to leave it alone. Um, so the dog just has to trust you that, Hey, if you say, don't touch that, he doesn't touch it. And then he'll let you go guide him to another bird that quote unquote air quotes here cripple that gets away. Thank God. So it does have, it does play a role in hunting, but it is harder on a dog because like, Oh, I want to go get that one. I know there's a bird there and they have to trust you, leave it. Then they got to swim for a while, come back and then remember where that bird was. So this is what exactly I had to do. Saw the bird, tell him to leave it, swim the dog up a channel, basically get the bird under the, under the tree, bring it back to you. And it was all swimming water. Cue the dog's memory to grab that bird. At that point, you'd pick up the gun again. And originally every time you do these hunt tests, you pick up a gun, a fake gun. When you come out of the holding blind, you know, and pointed at the birds, like they're getting shot. Well, You already did that on the first bird, so you pointed like you got shot, then you handed it to the judge, ran the blind. Then you got the gun again, and then they threw two more marks. So the other two marks, um, they had one that was further out in the field, it was a right to left mark. Um, not exactly in line with the previous mark we had to call the dog off, but it was, it was deeper. So the dog had to drive past the old fall where it had kind of picked up a bird, drive through some decoys, and go out there about 120 yards and pick up that bird. So that was the first bird that was thrown and then the second bird was thrown was that was kind of straight out to the left. The second bird was thrown from the right, that bird was going left to right, and that one you had the little river, the canal that you just run the blind retrieve. Then it went up onto a road and then there was another pond that was kind of down in. It was lower elevation and the bird came out from a hidden spot from the trees and the dogs kind of just caught the angle of the bird and landed out in some reeds on the edge of the pond. So you couldn't even see the bird when it was in the water. Anyhow, so then, then kind of backtrack, then see, grab the gun. The bird came out from in the front from right to left. Then the one came out from left to right in the pond. And. Then you were to send the dog to go pick up both those birds. Um, the tricky thing with this, it was about within 10 feet to 15 feet of where the dog had just run a blind retrieve. So the dog had to cross the river, go past where it had just picked up a bird, keep driving and go down and grab the bird and pick it up. So that was the second part. Oh, and I, I regressed. It wasn't over yet. After you picked up those marks, then you had to run another blind or That blind retrieve was to the right of the mark that was out in front of you in the field. So you had to send the dog, had to drive through some decoys, there was a bend in the road, dog could not stay on the road, had to get off the road and just stay, keep a true line and drive out there about a hundred yards and guide it and pick up the duck that they set out there after you had picked up all the marks. So, kind of, that's kind of how the. off on, do this, come back, do this, run these blinds. So that one was kind of, it was a triple mark with a double blind, but you had to call off a mark, run a blind and out of the order, out of order blind. And, um, and with a walk up. Um, I do, I didn't say in the first series there was a diversion shot. So when the dog came back from the middle bird, there was a diversion, uh, shot. So just a pop, um, in the air. So, at that point, if your dog passed the second series, then it went on to the third series. And at this point it took a long time. This was the second day and it was about one o'clock, one or one 30. And so we had only about four or five hours to finish up the remaining, uh, third series of the master test at this point. At this point, it was kind of a, it was another water series, but it was, uh, one of the marks was, uh, swimming water and the other two were running water. So, um, it was just a full triple with no blind retrieves, um, to kind of speed up time and also the dogs had to run a double blind, which is one of the requisites to pass a master is a double blind. Pick up a triple, um, they have to honor, they have to do a walk up, there has to be a diversion shot or a diversion bird. So the last one they just ran a triple, it was, um, a left to right around the horn, so the bird, one bird came out from right to left. back into a pond kind of behind some trees and hit the water with a splash. That was swimming water. Then the second bird came out from right to left. That one shot out close to one of the same areas that a previous mark was. And then the third mark was a left to right. And that was Right across the big pond and hit on the bank of the pond kind of in the brush and there in the grass. So, um, I take that back. I'm sorry it's getting late. It was in the opposite order of that. So it was right to left. So the first one came out on the opposite bank of the pond. Then it went around to the left. That one came out left to right, back in this little Cove. And then the last one went from right to left. The previous ones are both left to right. Last one went from right to left, back in the pond with the big splash. That was the go bird. You went ahead and sent the dog drove out there, um, ran down the on land for probably 30 yards and then, uh, 30, 40 yards and did additional 30 yards. the water to grab the duck. When the dog came back, uh, I tried to go, I did left, I did outside, outside center. So then I pivoted, um, and went for the first bird, sent the dog on that. He drove out there, picked up that bird. Then I came in, pivoted to the middle bird, sent him on that and he went out there and picked that up and came back. brought it, brought it to hand. So, um, some dogs I did see what the wind was a left to right wind. So some people would go left, right center. They sent the dog on the right bird and the dog as it was going would smell the middle bird because the wind was blowing across. Um, the pathway of the dog to the further, um, the first bird that was down, the memory bird. They'd smell it, then they'd, um, go over and pick that one up. And sometimes that happens, it can throw the dog's memory off. Cause they, they think, okay, I'm going for the far bird, all of a sudden they smell and they pick it up and then in their mind they think, oh, I just picked up that bird, I must not have thought that's where it was exactly. So that can be hard for the dog. So a lot of people with those. sending conditions actually did try to turn the dog and pick up that middle bird. And so that was out of the way and then send them for the longer bird at that point they wouldn't smell that previous bird that was in their pathway. So each test is different. Um, obviously setups, um, wind conditions make a huge difference. You can have wind conditions that help dogs, and you can have wind conditions that totally don't help dogs, or you can have no wind, which obviously doesn't do much help, uh, So it's just all kind of part of the game. Anyhow, after your dog picked up that third series of those triples, if they passed, then they got a ribbon. And luckily we were in the winning pool today and we got a ribbon. So, uh, really exciting, um, to do that. Now you can use a handle. Typically, your dog needs to pick up a clean triple and one of the series. Now it's not, it's judged. It isn't. This is judged as for a marking test, so if you pick up a clean triple and then let's say you use a handle because the dog's struggling on a mark in the second series, technically if you use the handle again in the third series. And it's all clean and not crazy. Your dog has a good chance of still passing, but of course you want to do the best you can. And so let's say your dog runs clean. The first series uses a handle in the second series and runs clean again in the third series, pretty high chance your dog is going to pass. Now, if you have to handle your dog in the first series, handle your dog in the second series, it doesn't pick up a triple. Sometimes in a third series, I've even seen him run a double. because of time. Maybe a double mark plus a double blind in a master. Um, at that point, your dog is not proven. It can pick up a triple, so it's generally not going to make it through. So if you have to use a handle in the first and the second series, Um, not always will they drop you, it kind of depends how clean the dog ran on other things. Uh, but ideally your dog hopefully can run, can pick up a triple, mark, or retrieves in the first or second series, and that's going to help you out a lot along the way. So, um, that's pretty much what I have for tonight on running, or today. It's, I'm, it's getting late for me as I'm driving home here, so bear with me as my thoughts struggle sometimes to come and go. But hopefully, uh, this kind of gives you an idea of what a master test is or looks like with the AKC for a retriever. And, uh, yeah, I encourage you guys to go out, watch a test. If you've not seen them, um, train your dog to get up to that senior master level. Uh, once you have a dog that runs blind retrieves, handles, has good memory, it's pretty hard to go back to having a dog that's not trained at least to a senior level. Uh, if you've never had one, uh, that can handle and run blind or trees just makes a waterfowl hunting a lot of fun. It makes it really enjoyable. So, uh, any other questions on how to run a test, uh, go watch tests, read the rule book and, um, and just. then go ahead and train your dog and see what it's capable of. If you, if you don't know, um, you know what that looks like. Again, I highly recommend going to a test, seeing dogs working and that can open up your mind on the capabilities of these amazing animals and the things they can do. Um, you know, things you can do to train your retriever. So pretty dang fun. Uh, if you have any other questions about hunt tests, go ahead. Shoot me an email or shoot me a DM on Instagram. Uh, if you have any other topics you want me to discuss or talk about, I'd be happy to mention, uh, to talk about those again, just send us an email or a direct message on Instagram at the Bird Dog Podcast or shoot us an email at the BirdDog podcast@gmail.com. Or if you want to, uh, mark it on our podcast, if you have a really cool product, uh, we'd be happy to check it out, listen, uh, use it, put it to the test, see if it's something we want to share with all you guys. So hope everyone's having a great spring. Hopefully everyone's Getting excited to do some water training with their dogs and you're putting in the time because You know, it's kind of crazy, but only about eight months out and we'll be waterfowl hunting again So it comes really fast. So take the time to get out Train your dog and that's gonna pay dividends in the future Hope everyone has a great day and we will see you in the next podcast