Pat's Perspective – The Fifth Series

“Pat’s  Perspective”

It’s Thursday morning and day five of this year’s National.  We are in the 5th series.  The test is a land quad with two long retired guns.  The retired guns are converging and pretty much equal distance.  The right hand retired gun is about 275 yards and the left hand retired gun is closer to 300 yards.  If you refer to the diagram, this will make more sense.


There are a number of factors that make this test very challenging.  First of which is the close proximity of the two retired guns.  Mostly downwind with a occasional right to left bias, both are hen pheasants.  The right hand retired gun is thrown right up against an island of trees.  That island protects the downwind side of the bird.  The left hand retired bird is thrown angle back.  There is a lot of room to run around deep and behind both retired guns.  Another huge factor is the hen pheasant flyer that is shot third.  If you expend a lot of energy hunting the flyer,  there isn’t much gas left in the tank for the two retired guns.  The morning temps were in the low forties.  The afternoon temps are expected to rise into the seventies.  Conditioning is likely to play a big roll later on this afternoon.

A couple of the handlers that just completed the test have told me, that they sent for one of the retired guns and ended up picking up the other.  In both cases they were able to make sense out of what they did and get the other retired gun without having to handle.  I have always thought that it is almost more important for the dogs to know where they have been, than to know exactly where the other birds are.  If they are able to make sense of what they have done, you have a fighting chance on a very difficult test like this one.

We have only done one blind retrieve so far.  It is likely that three of the next five series will be blinds.  It will be interesting to see if these great marking dogs can switch gears and exhibit control necessary to run the upcoming blinds.

Stay tuned …

Pat Burns, Elite Retrievers

Pat's Perspective – Fourth Series

“Pat’s Perspective”

Here we are on Wednesday, the fourth day of this year’s National.  We are working on the 4th Series.  It is a land triple with a hen pheasant flyer.  I’m sure you have looked at the diagrams of this test and some of the videos.  I know this is the 4th series, however the 2nd set of National land marks are most typically the 5th.  So, I nickname the 2nd set of land marks as the “5th Series”.  Unlike some of the other “5th Series”, this is a triple and not a quad.  There aren’t a lot of decisions to be made in regards to order of pick up.  Most are first picking up the flyer, then the short simulated flyer and then the right hand retired.  Some of the dogs are having hunts on the last bird down flyer.  Just like you might expect with a hen pheasant flyer.  Most of the dogs aren’t having much trouble with the short bird.  The right hand bird is presenting the majority of the problems.  There are 2 hay bales deep and to the left of that bird that lures the dogs.  The wind has been a bit variable.  When the right hand bird is more down wind, the dogs have more trouble recovering.  Earlier in the test, the wind was more consistent and right to left.  When that was the case, the dogs that were left of the bird were getting some help.  As I sit in the tent I am hearing quite a bit of handling going on now.  Rob Erhardt just stopped by and said the work has really gone down hill.  Like so many early national tests, a change in conditions can drastically affect the work.  This appears to be one of those times.  Sometimes, when you run can play such a huge part in a national. 

Please stay tuned…

Bird's Eye View of the Third Series Blind

Photos provided by Pat Burns of Elite Retrievers – Thank you, Pat!

Pat's Perspective – Taking A Licking

Pat’s Perspective

We have just finished the second gun change and have run a total of 45 dogs on the second series.  The trial continues to be very challenging.  Of those 45 dogs, 12 have handled, 3 have double handled and 3 have picked up.  And after 40 handles yesterday, this trial is shaping up to be a real battle to the finish.

One of my favorite Nationals was in 1995.  In that National all of the finalists handled twice except for four.  And those four all handled once.  If you were still in trial,  you felt like you had a chance to win.  Danny Farmer ended up winning that National with a dog called “Timex”.  It was very exciting right to the bitter end.  This trial may turn out to be one of those “last man standing” trials. 

Similar to yesterday, the middle bird is presenting most of the problems.  If they are too loose, they are tempted to return to the flyer.  If they are up tight, they won’t go close enough to the flyer to get the middle bird cleanly.  Once again, balance is imperative.

They will not get all of the dogs run today.  So we will have to wait and see how this all plays out.  I can hardly stand the suspense. I promise to keep y’all posted.

Pat's Perspective – 1st Series

Pat’s Perspective

We are at the 2017 National Retriever Championship in Boston, Georgia.  We had a chilly start under overcast conditions most of the morning.  Around noon the sun came out and it has turned out to be a beautiful day.  The wind has pretty much stayed steady around 7 mph out of the northeast. 

We are looking at a land triple with a very challenging short hen pheasant.  This test would be termed an indented triple.  Often times when running over 100 dogs a short bird such as this gets easier as the day goes on.  That hasn’t been the case here.  The indented bird has held up all day.  I’m sure that has made the judges happy.  Another interesting fact is that the middle bird has been virtually impossible when retrieved last.  That is not surprising, but pretty much forces the handlers to execute secondary selection.  Another random observation is that there is a prominent hay bale in the distance that the dogs seem to be keying off of.  If they get drawn deep, the likelihood of recovering is slim. 

There is nothing more beautiful than a perfectly placed short bird that holds up for a full day.  There aren’t many things more challenging than placing a bird like this one.  Some of the birds that I have placed over the years that I thought were perfect turned out to be less than desired.  And some of the short birds that I thought were fairly innocent have turned out to be deadly. 

The judges are certainly in a position of strength with lots of material in their books.  If this test is any indication for the rest of the trial,  we are in for a lot of challenging tests in the upcoming week.  Stay tuned…….

First Series – From the Line

Thank you to Pat Burns, Elite Retrievers for his pictures of the test from the air (aerial) and from the line. Here's the first Series from the line …