British Retriever Field Trials Today

By Robert Milner – 10 August 2000  

The greatest difference today between American and British retriever field trials is in    the way tests are determined. In America the judges think up the test and engineer it    with bird throwers and gunners. In England the dogs are evaluated on an actual shoot. The test is determined  by where the bird falls when shot.

You might expect that it would be very difficult to arrange to hold the trials on a regular day’s shooting, but it is not.  A high value is put on well mannered efficient retrievers in England because the good dogs make an measurable impact on the economics of shooting. In England birds and shooting constitute a cash crop for landowners. A typical shoot commands a price commensurate with the average size of the bag of birds shot. That shoot would have eight guns each paying for that day’s shooting. The price might typically range from $150 per gun up to $7,000 or $8,000 per day per gun. The difference in price is driven by the average bag of the shoot. The low end might be 60 to 70 birds for the eight guns. The high end might be up to 1000 birds for the eight guns. At the conclusion of the days shooting the landowner gives each gun a pair of birds. The landowner sells the rest of the birds for 4 pounds a pair, or about $3.00 per bird.

Major M.F. Turner-Cooke, a notable British field trailer and shooting enthusiast puts it this way:  

The average price paid for a days shooting is dependent on the number of birds shot. The number of birds to be shot is agreed before hand with the guns or syndicate captain or owner. The average price is approximately 25 pounds per bird plus VAT(value added tax) at 17.5%. Sometimes the VAT is not added. Taking and average day of say 250 birds shot, the cost to each gun (normally eight guns shooting) would be 781 pounds per gun or 6,250 pounds for the 8 guns collectively.

Grouse are more expensive, i.e. approximately 80 pound per bird. Therefore a 250 bird day would cost 20,000 pounds which comes out to 2,500 per gun. In addition a gun would tip the gamekeeper 20 pounds for every 100 birds shot, therefore the gamekeeper receives 400 pounds for a day of 250 birds.

When you apply an exchange rate of $1.60 per pound, you can see that shooting in England is expensive. A good retriever more than earns his keep.

The landowner has plenty of costs in these birds in the form of raising the birds and providing predator control as they mature. He makes more money by maximizing the number of birds shot and recovered. Thus good retrievers that maximize his bag also maximize his profit.

The calm well mannered dog doesn’t frighten off birds with consequent reduction in the days bag. Secondly, the efficient retriever collects all the downed birds, including the wounded ones that would otherwise run off and die. Thus the calm well trained, game-finding retriever adds direct value to shooting in England. Landowners are aware of this and are aware of the valuable contribution that field trials make to breeding selection to keep producing high quality retrievers. English field trial clubs have little trouble getting invitations from landowners to hold their field trials.

This relationship between economics and good dogs is also what has kept the British retriever field trial gene pool so high in the qualities sought after in good gun dogs. An ill mannered, out-of-control dog can divert a lot of birds before they reach the guns. That maverick dog can flush a lot of birds out of range. He can drastically reduce the bag of a days shooting and thus reduce the landowners income. Shooters with an out-of-control dog are not allowed to return to that shoot.  

A British Field Trial           

Lets visit a British field trial. Today’s trial is being held at Newton Hall an estate of approximately 5,000 acres. They normally bag around 300 birds on a days shooting. We arrive at around 8:00 am as the contestants and gallery are gathering. There are 24 dogs competing in this trial as it will last two days. The other alternative is a one-day trial in which case, only 12 dogs would be competing. The dogs running here today have been chosen by lottery. Dog owners sent in applications a number of weeks before the trial. Several weeks prior to the trial a drawing was held and the luck 24 dogs were drawn by lot.

The three judges call together the handlers and give them a brief description of how the two day trial is planned to unfold. They will first walk up the peripheral fields of the estate to herd the birds toward the central coverts from which tomorrow the birds will be driven over stationed guns.

The estate keeper who is in charge of game for the estate gives instructions to the gallery of spectators. The gallery will be following along as the trial moves across the fields. The keeper instructs the gallery to stay close to the marshal who is carrying a large red flag.  

Walked Up Pheasants

The dogs are then called to the line for the first walk up. It will commence next to the parking area at the beginning of field of sugar beets. The line forms up line abreast across the field. The line is composed mainly of beaters spaced a few feet apart to kick up any close lying pheasants. Interspersed with the beaters are the guns, judges and dogs. Today there are three judges. Some trials are run with four judges. Each judge will judge two dogs at a time, so as the line proceeds across the field there are 6 dogs interspersed among beaters, judges  and guns. The dogs are expected to walk quietly at heel without any noisy badgering from the handler. When a pheasant is shot the line halts, and a judge sends a dog for it. The other dogs are expected to remain quietly in line. As the pheasants are walked up in the beets, some interesting points can be observed.

Dog number 3 on the left end of the line is sent for a retrieve of a bird that has been shot by a gun on the right end of the line. The retrieve is about 60 yards and the bird appears to be a “runner” or wounded bird. Number 3 goes readily to the area of the fall and hunts vigorously. As he hunts, he flushes several fresh birds which he ignores. He knows he’s after a dead or wounded bird, not the freshly flushed ones springing from under his feet. A dog which pursues a freshly flushed bird while on a retrieve, would be dropped from competition.

An Eye Wipe

Dog number 5 gets a very difficult retrieve. A pheasant flushed on the left side of the line cuts left for the adjoining field which is a thick stand of young pine trees. Bordering the pine plantation is a five foot stone wall. The pheasant is downed 20 yards past the stone wall, back in the pines. Number 5 is sent. He didn’t happen to see the bird fall, so his handler gives him two hand signals to put him across the wall in the right place. Then he’s across the wall in the pines on his own. He is not seen for several minutes. Then he reappears without the bird, so his handler directs him back into the pines. He disappears for a few more minutes. The judges decide he’s had enough time and ask the handler to call him in.

After dog number 5 returns empty mouthed, the judge asks number 6 to try this retrieve. Number 6’s handler directs him over the stone wall into the pines where he disappears for a few minutes. He reappears with the pheasant in his mouth. Dog number 6 has succeeded where number 5 failed. Number 6 has “wiped the eye” of number 5. Number 6 will be scored higher because of it. Dog number 5 is dropped from the trial.

If both dogs had failed to find the bird, then the judges would walk out and thoroughly search the area of the fall. If the judges found the bird then both dogs would be deemed as having failed. If the judges had not found the bird then only dog number 5 would be deemed a failure under the supposition that number 5 should have had a fresh scent to follow.

Four fields are covered by walking up during the first day. In addition to pheasants, some rabbits and hares are shot. The dogs are required to retrieve this ground game with the same degree of  proficiently as required for retrieving pheasants.

At the end of the day, the dogs have tended to sort themselves out. Every dog has had at least four retrieves.  Several dogs get difficult runners during the day. Those that are successful are given extra credit for succeeding on a difficult test.

 By various faults 12 of the dogs have been eliminated. Two left to retrieve without being sent. This is a cardinal sin and is termed breaking or “running in.” 

Six failed to find their birds on retrieves. Two were dropped for being totally out of control while their handlers attempted to direct them to falls. Two are dropped for generally poor work.  

 

Driven Pheasants

 The second day of the field trial starts with a pheasant drive. The birds have been herded up into a large wood on a hilltop, from which they will be driven. The guns are stationed at points where the birds will fly over as they are driven from the woods by the beaters. The dogs are stationed in three pairs, each pair under the scrutiny of a judge. Each pair is placed where the dogs have a good view of the guns.

As the drive begins. The clacking of beaters sticks against tree trunks can be heard in the distance. As the beaters move slowly through the woods, pheasants begin taking flight and sailing over the guns. They come every few minutes at first, dribbling out of the woods in ones and twos. The guns shoot intermittently,  knocking down birds to be collected after the drive. As the beaters bunch the pheasants up at the edge of the woods, the birds start sailing over the guns in waves. Very quickly the action becomes fast and furious. The guns are shooting as fast as they can reload. Pheasants are falling everywhere. One bird hits the ground and bounces into the shoulder of one of the competing dogs. The dog sits still and eyes the pheasant with great lust. Around a hundred birds have been shot by the guns within a fifteen minute time period. This is a supreme test of calmness and steadiness in the competing dogs. Birds have fallen all around them in an almost continuous salvo of shooting. Any dog that can sit still through such extreme temptation is a calm-natured and exceedingly well trained dog.

A horn blows signaling the end of the drive. It is now time for the dogs to retrieve the 100 plus birds that have been shot. Some of the retrieves are easy; some are very difficult. The guns are stationed in a pasture at the bottom of the hill from which the birds have been ejecting. Dead birds are lying all about in plain sight on the short grass of the pasture. Twenty yards to the left of the left most gun, across a 4 foot stone wall is a thick area of brush, vines and scrub. The judges have marked down 2 runners in this thicket.

The judges instruct dog number 8 to try for one of the runners in the thicket to the left. The handler sends his dog. Number 8 goes straight for a dead bird lying 15 yards out and slightly to the right, easily visible in the short grass of the pasture. His handler stops him with a whistle and gives him a hand signal away from the dead bird. Dog eight ignores it and runs on to retrieve the dead bird. Number eight will be dropped for failing to retrieve the indicated bird.

The judges next call on dog number 10. Heading toward another visible dead  bird, number 10 is stopped by his handler who gives him a hand signal toward the runner in the thicket. Number 10 takes the direction, and springs across the stone wall into the thicket. Several minutes later he reappears with a bird. Number 10 gets extra credit for succeeding on a difficult retrieve.

The judges give the dogs three retrieves each on the birds shot during this drive. They have the dogs pick up the runners first, and then ask them to collect the birds that have fallen in difficult cover and conditions. The birds lying  about in the pasture in plain sight are picked up by people.

At the conclusion of this morning’s drive there are 9 dogs remaining. One has run in or broken. Two, including number 8, have retrieved a bird other than the one indicated by the judge.

The judges announce a break for lunch with a resumption of the trial at 1:00 pm. The last test will be on ducks.

Flighted Ducks

 The last test of the trial takes place on a lake of about 20 acres. The lake lies in a depression ringed by gentle hillside and the shore is lined with a belt of cattails 20 feet wide. 100 yards out is an island of about ¼ acre covered with thick brush. The ducks will be flushed off other lakes of the estate, and those that head for our present lake will be the quarry. The eight guns are stationed at places where past history has shown the ducks are likely to fly. The nine remaining dogs are stationed in a line 10 yards back from the bank on a hillside where they have a good vantage point to mark the falls. The dogs sit in line about 6 feet apart, each with his handler standing beside him.

Ducks begin flying over the guns in intermittent groups of two and three. The guns are good and knock down seven or eight ducks in 10 minutes. Then the ducks start coming more thickly. In the last 15 minutes of the flight 30 more ducks are downed.

The judges have marked down 5 cripples in the cat tails along the shoreline and two cripples have swum to the brushy island. The judges ask dog number 5 to get one of the cripples off the island.

Number 5 bails into the water and heads for a dead duck floating 30 yards off to the right. The handler stops him with a whistle and redirects him toward the island. Number five refuses and continues for the floating dead duck, which he retrieves. He will be eliminated for failing to retrieve the bird he was instructed to retrieve.

Number 15 is next sent for the duck on the island. 15 must be handled three times away from floating dead ducks, but he obeys and makes it to the island where he disappears into the brush. A few minutes later he reappears and, duck in mouth, he returns to his handler. 

Number 17 is sent next for the remaining crippled duck on the island. He heads straight for the island and makes a flawless retrieve.

Number 21 is sent for a cripple in the cattails 50 yards down the shore line to the right. The handler sends him down the bank 50 yards and then stops him and directs him into the cattails. 21 reappears a few minutes later on the water side of the cattails, swimming toward a floating dead duck. The handler directs him back into the cattails. He reappears a few minutes later hunting up the hillside away from the water. The judges ask the handler to call 21 in.

Next the judges send number 10 for that same cripple in the cattails to the right. His handler sends number 10 down the bank fifty yards and then stops him and directs him into the cattails. 3 minutes later he emerges from the cover with the duck in his mouth. He has “wiped the eye” of number 21, who is eliminated.

In like manner the rest of the ducks are picked up. The judges save the dead one for last. Each dog gets four retrieves on this test, which concludes the field trial. It is interesting to note that nearly all the dogs take the driest route to the bird. They all run the bank when possible. This is expected in British field trials where success on the test is determined by collecting the bird, not by the route the dog travels to the bird.

Number 10 is declared the winner as he has performed flawlessly on several exceptionally difficult retrieves of runners, and he has two “eye-wipes” to his credit.

Summary

 In British retriever field trials the test is determined by where the bird falls. With the large numbers of birds shot, British field trials are remarkable tests of steadiness and obedience and control.

 The British Kennel Club rule book classifies performance faults as the following:

Eliminating faults      

Major faults              

 British field trials don’t distinguish between marks and blinds. If the dog happened to see the bird fall, then it is a mark. If he didn’t see it fall then it is a blind retrieve. Either way the dog is expected to collect the bird expeditiously with minimum fuss and noise from the handler. Popping is fine, handling is not penalized as long as the bird is efficiently collected. The object is to collect every bird shot, and to minimize frightening off fresh game, so that the guns get a chance at the most birds. Obviously obedience and control are very strenuously tested and these qualities are absolutely essential for a dog to remain in the running in a British field trial.

In like manner, game finding initiative is thoroughly evaluated and very heavily weighted in judging a field trial dog.

  Effect on Breeding Selection  

With the great demands placed on field trial dogs for steadiness and the strenuous  requirement for finding the bird, selective breeding in the British field trial gene pool tends to produce dogs that are exceptionally calm and tractable while having enormous amounts of game finding initiative. Thus British field trial breeding has a high probability of producing not only good field trial dogs but also superior hunting dogs. But this is only logical since the trial competitions occur in exactly the same conditions as the shooting dog encounters.  

No Electric Collars and No Force Fetch Training

 A testament to the success of the British field trial as a driver of a superior selective breeding program lies in the scarcity of electric collars in the hands of British trainers. You nearly never encounter an electric collar in British retriever field trial community.

That breeding selection process is further validated by the fact that force fetch training is seldom encountered in England. Though there is a mandate that field trial dogs deliver softly to hand, there has not been a spread of the practice of force fetch training. The deliver-softly-to-hand behavior is accomplished mainly with selective breeding.