#AKC Field Trail Dogs

[elvenferretots]

Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough, then I realize it's maybe because I want to do just So Much.

Just this week, homework for Ten:

•cookie jar games and ecollar proofing in preparation for the AKC Open trial next week •side steps to clean up heeling/fronts per competition obedience class •polite leash walk on his typical decompression trail at least twice and off leash play in the fenced field next to the dog park in preparation for next behavioral session •introduce Birch odor for nosework

And for Valkyrie:

•search and bark with sit box for mondio •build more drive into heel and scent articles/little wood •cookie jar games and leashed heeling in preparation for AKC Novice trial next weekend •weave poles from all angles with toy reinforcement for agility class •introduce prong for mondio •set up dog/dog interactions to train through appropriate greetings

Not to mention that 2/7 of the days we'll be at a disc dog competition out of town.

[wyrddogs]

tell us about kermit's field championship

So to earn a Field Championship (FC) with AKC, the dog needs 35 points and a first place. Only the dogs in the first four places earn points, and the number of points depends on the entry.

For example, if 12 dogs are entered in the Open Dogs class, the first place dog earns 12 points. The second place dog earns 6 points (12/2). Third place earns 4 points (12/3), and fourth place earns 3 points (12/4).

The dogs are run in pairs called braces, and the draw order is random. The dogs are judged on their ability to follow a line (where the rabbit ran), how well they work with another dog, and how well they return to their handler when called. They are, in theory, dinged if they interfere with the other dog. They are also, in theory, dinged if they don't come when called.

Open Dogs are run together, and Open Bitches, and then Field Champions. A group of people called the gallery (generally the handlers of the dogs waiting their turn to run) walk around and beat bushes until a rabbit is put up. Then the judges call the first brace and the dogs are brought to the line and released to be judged.

Once every brace in the class has had a chance to run (called the "first series"), the top four dogs are called back for second series. They are already ranked from first to fourth, and they are run against each other in pairs to see if the ranking changes. A dog can either defend their current position, defeat another dog and move up, or be defeated and move down. When Kermit earned his first place, he fought his way up from fourth place to first place.

If no rabbits are found, the judges have the option to cast (also called free casting). This means that the brace is released and the dogs are judged on how well they search for game. It's pretty controversial in the field trial world. There are some clubs who will cancel a trial rather than cast. California clubs like to drastically overhunt their grounds without looking for new places to host, so Kermit has been cast at least once in every single trial he's been to. (This is also why a lot of clubs from other states look down on California field trials.)

Kermit is excellent at casting, since I take him out a lot and have him locate and flush his own rabbits. This is what he does every single week. So on the one hand, my dog performs well doing a thing that he has a lot of practice at, but on the other hand he is casting in an area with zero game and he is indicating to me (the handler who knows his body language) that there is zero game, and he is not being judged on his ability to trail an actual line. So it's not a "real" field trial.

So yeah, I have slightly mixed feelings about the title because he didn't earn it in a setting that the die-hards would consider legitimate. But I also know that he can perform in an actual, real-world, hunting setting, and that is more important to me than the artificial conditions of even a "real" field trial. He is proven on game in the way that matters to me, I just wanted the title to have "proof", so I could put the important letters in front of his name.

Also I did work really hard at preparing him, and he earned his field championship in just four weekends and was third place or higher each time. And it was on game he's not used to-- cottontails have a different scent and running pattern than the jackrabbits Kermit is more familiar with. So that is actually something to be very pleased about.

Thank you for asking!

[ownedbyaborzoi]

Sorry for the lack of updates. I had a dog show this past weekend and spent last week getting ready for it and then this week recovering from it. It was a good show though, my boy took BOS and OH BOB at the Turquoise Trail Borzoi Club specialty on Saturday under an esteemed breeder judge - beating a bunch of really nice dogs including one of the top dogs in the country for that win. Totally shocked me, I expected to be dumped all weekend 😂 He now just needs two points for his grand championship! Hopefully we’ll get those two points this fall and then it’s on to lure coursing and maybe some LGRA straight racing. Hoping he can get his field championship to become a dual champion - he certainly loves chasing that plastic bunny so fingers crossed! He is also my absolute heart and soul, the love of my life. My first borzoi, my first show dog, my first AKC champion, and I have had such a blast with him.

SBOS CH Avalon Perlova MHD She Loves Me JC TKI VHMA “Pierce”

Later this week I’ll try to get my queue refilled

[mcardery2k]

Skyview's EZ & Abby Back At Northern WV Beagle Club

[poop4u]

Meet Rampart — GMR Therapy Dog in Training

#Poop4U

The post Meet Rampart — GMR Therapy Dog in Training by Wendy Newell appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

Rampart is only a puppy, but he already knows he has a very important job in his future. He is one of the newest members of the Global Medical Response (GMR) Therapy Dog Team. The dogs and their handlers are trained to help emergency personnel who experience trauma while in the field or on 911 calls.

A group that started with just two pups has since grown to more than 20 and gone from a program at American Medical Response (AMR) to its parent company GMR, allowing it to reach out to more paramedics and EMTs.

Photo: Courtesy Michael Romo

An important job

Rampart’s handler, Michael Romo, operations manager for the San Bernardino AMR, has had family dogs but had never even gone to a dog-training class before. It wasn’t until he was deployed to Florida to help after Hurricane Michael in 2018 that he saw the importance of having a therapy dog available to the crews. After a week helping in an area completely devastated, the 200-plus paramedics and EMTs were showing signs of understandable fatigue. Morale, which was never high due to the work being done, was dipping even lower. “The dogs showed up at camp one day, and people lit up,” Michael remembers. When he got back to his office in Victorville, California, he looked into what it would take for his county to have access to its own therapy dog.

All employees in the Victorville office were polled to verify that they were OK with a dog in the facility and would be comfortable looking after him if Michael wasn’t available. Everyone was excited. Many had been following the GMR Therapy Dog Team on its Facebook page and knew about the program. Michael admits, “To be able to say that we were going to have that here in our operation was pretty exciting.”

Once the office and Michael’s home passed inspection, they needed to identify a breeder and trainer. GMR requires that the dogs in their program be hypoallergenic and be low shedding so that they can be in the office, on location, in public and loved up by personnel without leaving behind a trail of discarded fur. A Goldendoodle breeder had a dog who herself was a therapy dog. It seemed like the perfect fit. GMR purchased three dogs from her litter. These three boys would be trained to be working pups in California — one in San Diego County, one in Ventura County and a fluffy, light-brown love bug named Rampart would find his way to Michael. Training started almost right away. Rampart passed his puppy obedience class. His next test is coming soon and will prove his knowledge of the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy training. Two more months of training after that, and have access to its own therapy dog.

All employees in the Victorville office were polled to verify that they were OK with a dog in the facility and would be comfortable looking after him if Michael wasn’t available. Everyone was excited. Many had been following the GMR Therapy Dog Team on its Facebook page and knew about the program. Michael admits, “To be able to say that we were going to have that here in our operation was pretty exciting.”

Once the office and Michael’s home passed inspection, they needed to identify a breeder and trainer. GMR requires that the dogs in their program be hypoallergenic and be low shedding so that they can be in the office, on location, in public and loved up by personnel without leaving behind a trail of discarded fur. A Goldendoodle breeder had a dog who herself was a therapy dog. It seemed like the perfect fit. GMR purchased three dogs from her litter. These three boys would be trained to be working pups in California — one in San Diego County, Rampart will be tested for his Canine Good Citizen award. At that point, Rampart will start his training to get his final certification — that of a therapy dog.

Rampart isn’t the only one in class. Michael, his co-worker and secondary handler, and wife all attend classes with Rampart. “They don’t train the dog, they train the human,” Michael explains. Michael and Rampart’s secondary handler also must go through Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing (CISD). He explains it as peer-counseling class for paramedics and EMTs, and it is mandatory for all GMR therapy dog handlers. The CISD offers a number of layers of help to the emergency personnel. One of those layers is a therapy dog. There are also professional counselors available over the phone or in person, but some people may want to talk to someone who can relate to them peer to peer, and that is what the handlers need to learn to do.

Making people happy

GMR now has dogs and trained handlers in locations all over the United States. The dog and handler are flown to wherever they are needed. During the recent El Paso shooting, for example, a duo was sent to help. Soon that will be Rampart and Michael. Until then, every day Rampart puts on his vest and collar, which is a signal to him that it is time to work, gets his seatbelt put on and heads to the office with his dad.

Field responders come through the office, or Michael and Rampart will take a trip to a station.

“As I am pulling in, you hear the crews yelling ‘Rampart!’ They get so excited to see him.” Even without all his certifications and awards, Rampart is already performing an important part of his worker dog duties — making people happy. “When you walk in, people light up when they see a dog coming into the workplace.”

There is no doubt that Rampart realizes he is special and has an important job. He can be seen prancing through the hall like the rock star he is.

Michael is looking forward to getting to work with his new partner. He likes the fact that they are helping people. In what can be a stressful and sometimes thankless job, he thinks it makes a big difference for them to make people smile and make their day a little better.

“We are helping the people that are helping others in the community and that is a big positive for me.”

Photo: Courtesy Michael Romo

A Q&A With Michael Romo

Q: What is Rampart’s diet? A: Nature’s Logic and occasionally some vegetables (carrots, broccoli, green beans).

Q: What type of gear does Rampart use? A: Dog Gear travel bag, Amazon Basic Crate, Mighty Paw Safety Belt and Bolux Vest.

Q: Do you groom Rampart yourself or do you take him to someone to be groomed? A: Rampart is groomed about every four weeks at PetSmart, by a groomer who has Goldendoodles herself.

Q: Does Rampart have any nicknames? A: Not really, although we sometimes call him Buddy.

Q: If Rampart had a super power, what would it be and why? A: Making people laugh and smile, his natural puppy clumsiness and his love of being petted. He will come to people and plop his head on their lap, and once you start petting he will awkwardly flop onto his back to have his belly rubbed.

Q: What is the weirdest or funniest thing Rampart does? A: Pretty much every good nap during the day he will dream and “talk” in his sleep. He barks and makes noises as his paws flinch, and his mouth looks like he is nibbling or just licking the air. We say he is chasing balls in his sleep.

Learn more about the GMR Therapy Dog Team on Facebook.

The post Meet Rampart — GMR Therapy Dog in Training by Wendy Newell appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

Poop4U Blog via www.Poop4U.com Wendy Newell, Khareem Sudlow

[jefferyfraser]

Three Stakes of the American Kennel Club’s Dog Field Trailing Events

Jeffery S. Fraser serves as the owner of Tsaina Lodge in Valdez, Alaska, and has invested in numerous business ventures over the course of his career. Beyond his professional pursuits, Jeffery Fraser participates in bird dog field trialing events. Field trials are competitive events that test the skills of various types of bird and hunting dogs. Events hosted by the American Kennel Club (AKC) typically include three stakes or general categories based on the dog’s eligibility to compete. 1. Puppy stakes. Open to dogs between the ages of 6 and 15 months, the Puppy stakes category is designed for younger dogs and removes some components of adult trials. For example, Puppy stakes trials generally do not release birds or involve blank/starter pistols. Additionally, no hunting test equivalent exist for this category. 2. Derby stakes. Dogs between the ages of six months two years may participate in Derby stake trials. They must locate and point a game bird during the trail and the format resembles the requirements used for AKC Junior Hunter level hunting tests with some crucial differences. Trial referees do fire blank/starter pistols in Derby stakes. 3. Gun stakes. Unlike the previous categories, dogs cannot age out of the Gun stake category. Dogs six months and older can participate and the trial is intended for dogs who completed their training as a gun or bird dog. Dogs must demonstrate absolute steadiness, wait patiently for their handler to release them, and honor their bracemates. Unless otherwise stated, dogs do not need to retrieve the bird.

[mysteryshelf]

GUEST POST - Sue Owens Wright

Welcome to

THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by Breakthrough Promotions. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Guest Post from the Author

WRITING IN COLOR

by

Sue Owens Wright

  A reviewer once said about my books, “The author paints landscapes with her words.” As a writer who is also an artist, I take that as high praise, indeed. I’m an ardent nature lover who often paints landscapes en plein air when I’m not writing. When I’m writing a book, the setting of the novel is as important to me as the characters that inhabit it. That is certainly true for my Beanie and Cruiser Mystery Series, which takes place at scenic Lake Tahoe. To me, the only things worse than cardboard characters are colorless settings. You could never call Tahoe, known as “The Jewel of the Sierra,” colorless. The same is true of the scenic terrain of Cornwall, England, which is the backdrop for my standalone novel, “The Secret of Bramble Hill.”

Readers have referred to the settings of my novels as characters in and of themselves. They have certainly become that for me. Perhaps that is because I’ve spent so much time in the locales where my stories take place. My extensive travels in England provided a rich landscape for the book I set in the fictional village of Covington Haven, on the rugged coast of Cornwall. The main character, Tessa Field, is also an artist and paints watercolors of the countryside. During a trip in the early ‘90s, I stayed at an impressive and rather mysterious country estate that inspired the novel I would begin writing upon my return. “The Secret of Bramble Hill” was the first book I ever wrote, though not the first to be published. If ever an old English manor house were haunted, it would be this one, and so is the one in my book.

Like Native American Elsie “Beanie” MacBean, the main character in my Tahoe-based mysteries, I have visited the Lake of the Sky (or Da Ow, as Lake Tahoe is known to the Washoe Indians) since childhood. I’ve spent some of my happiest and most thrilling times there, and you’ll find many of those experiences woven into the books, including the firestorm I write about in “Ears for Murder,” due for release this fall from Black Opal Books. Cruiser and Calamity, the endearing canine characters in the series, were inspired by my own beloved basset hounds, all eight of them, and over the years we’ve had plenty of adventures on Tahoe trails that have found their way into my mystery series.

Writers spend a lot of time immersed in the black and white world of penning ink on a page or typing words on a computer screen. I like to think that I write in color because as I’m writing I’m “painting” beautiful and inspiring landscapes for my characters to live in.

  About the Author

  Sue Owens Wright is an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction. She is an eleven-time finalist for the Maxwell, awarded annually by the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) to the best writer on the subject of dogs. She has twice won the Maxwell Award and earned special recognition from the Humane Society of the United States for her writing. She writes the acclaimed Beanie and Cruiser Mystery Series, including Howling Bloody Murder, Sirius About Murder, Embarking On Murder and Braced For Murder, which is recommended on the American Kennel Club’s list of Best Dog Books.

  Her nonfiction books include What’s Your Dog’s IQ?, 150 Activities for Bored Dogs, and People’s Guide to Pets. She has been published in numerous magazines, including Dog Fancy, Mystery Scene, AKC GAZETTE, Fido Friendly, The Bark, and Animal Fair. Her work also appears in several anthologies, including PEN Oakland’s “Fightin’ Words,” along with Norman Mailer and other literary notables. Her newest novel is The Secret of Bramble Hill.

    Website URL: www.sueowenswright.com

Blog URL: http://dogearedbooks.blogspot.com/

Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/sue.o.wright

  The Secret of Bramble Hill buy link:

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Bramble-Hill-Owens-Wright/dp/1626945861/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485128293&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=the+secret+of+bramble+hill+weight

  GUEST POST – Sue Owens Wright was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf with Shannon Muir

[wyrddogs]

I’m sharing this because it is just. so funny. Here is my email to the VP:

Luckily I've been involved in the dogworld for over a decade, so my feelings weren't hurt. If I had been newer, being told not to come back to a show would have been devastating. That concerns me about how newer dachshund enthusiasts will treated if they don't get a dog bred to do well in the conformation ring. I did not enter the specialty intending to win; I know my dog does not fit what wins in the ring. I was there to support the club with my money and provide points for the Winner's Dog. 

And then I went onto AKC’s website, looked up field trials and hunt trials being held in Northern California, and copy-pasted the addresses from several clubs’ premiums into the email for her. And I told her where I got them from.

Here is the entirety of her response:

Thank you, I will forward this information on. The only concern is we do need a lot more room for hunting dachshunds on rabbits than basset. We also have more entries than they do. I will let you know.

1) No they don’t. Why in the world would a dachshund field trial require more room than a basset hound one. These dogs are not hunting. They are being judged on their ability to follow a scent trail. The judge should be using the space wisely and not wasting scent.

2) We’re just going to ignore everything I said about treating newbies poorly, huh.

Well dachshund club renewal fees are due, so I told them not to renew my membership and to remove me from the club roster. The treasurer emailed me back saying, “We’re so sorry to see you leave. [Shit-stirrer] is so hateful and poisonous.”

I responded (paraphrased) that I was leaving because no one I talked to was interested in hosting field trials in Northern California, and also the club president was an asshole to me at the 2021 specialty, telling me not to come back and to stick to sports. Which in turn made it difficult for me to attend meetings since they are held almost exclusively at confo shows.

So anyway, burned that bridge. XD  I have three field trials coming up that I’m taking Kermit to, so we’ll see if I just bombed my chances of finishing his FC in California.

[wyrddogs]

Kermit update

Had a long conversation with my friend so I’m putting some of it/my thoughts here for posterity. Under cut because it rambles.

So he is spurlaut, which is fantastic. We’ve been wondering for some time, because generally when he’s searching brush he’s silent (weird for such a vocal dog, I know XD). But there have now been three or four occasions where he has been basically on top of a rabbit, made that chirping bark, and then flushed it soon after. The scent has got to be Hot!

Spurlaut is heritable, so I’m glad he’s got it. He could pass that trait onto any offspring he produces.

He’s proven on rats, but not rabbits. With rats he clearly understands his job, and he’s extremely honest. If he indicates a bush or other obstacle, there are rats in there. If he doesn’t indicate, there aren’t any. He knows how to work rats, flush them, and kill them. He’s still pretty inexperienced but he gets better every time he goes out. I’m very happy with him.

With rabbits, he’s not quite there yet. With the rats, we put him with his terrier buddy and he learned from her. He doesn’t have a mentor for rabbits, so it’s not clicking. He’s flushed two rabbits himself, but he hasn’t made the connection between “we are out in the field” + “I should be looking in brush” + “I can find a trail myself” + “I will flush the rabbit”. It’s not his fault; he’s very young and inexperienced, and he doesn’t have any dogs with a similar hunting style to him to learn from. We’ve been taking his half-sister out with us and she is definitely learning from Kermit. It’s really fascinating to watch.

The plan is to try him on cottontails this year and see if that will help him make the connection, which he can then extend to jackrabbits.

Game is so scarce out here in California, it really makes things much harder. If we could find a field that was packed with rabbits, it would just be a matter of putting him down somewhere and letting him flush rabbits until he gets it. Unfortunately we go out multiple times a week, and might only see two or three rabbits in an entire month. That makes it really hard to train an inexperienced dog.

I hate traveling, but (huge sigh) I might have to suck it up and go east (like Virginia or Tennessee) and put him on rabbits there. They’ve got game galore. They even have planted fields. We don’t have those here.

He’s doing fantastic in nosework. I’ve almost got him up to four foot hides and need to work interiors a bit more, then I can finally enter him in NACSW Lv 1. I’ll enter him in AKC Novice once summer is over and we should bang that out real quick.

He’s coming along in agility. He’s getting over his fear of the dogwalk, which is our major obstacle right now. By the time he’s over that, he should be ready to compete. Everything else, he’s picking up quickly. He’s a little star on sequences and is great at reading my cues. He really enjoys agility.

Earthdog is on hold until it’s not so goddamn hot. This fall we can start training again.

His least favorite sport is definitely racing. He enjoys chasing the lure but it’s not his whole world. I think if I put him with a dog who really wanted it, he’d cede. Which is fine! He still has a lot of fun, and that’s what’s important. No dog is going to be perfect at everything, and he’s doing really well at everything else, so I don’t care. I’ll keep racing him because he likes it.

I think he’s a little on the slow to mature side. He’s almost two and a half and we’re still mostly working on foundations and juuuust dipping our toes into competition. Which is totally fine. He’s a fantastic dog, and the people who know what they are looking at, and whose opinions I respect, can see that in him. Even though he’s not as titled as a lot of dogs his age and younger, I still get a lot of nice comments from Dog People.

I think once he’s three or four and has more mileage on him, he’s really going to hit his stride. I’m excited to be his partner and can’t wait to see where we go together.