Flight B's second test is a Land/Water Walk-up Triple with a Live Flyer and a Land Blind. This test is located in the same valley as Test 1 on the Bob Sparks Treasure State Retriever Club property. In Test 2, the judges single for the walk-up gunner to shoot and throw their bird just as the dog and handler are arriving at the mat. This gun is located to the handler's right throwing the walk-up bird from right to left, landing at the edge of dead bushes landing 47 yards from the line. The second bird is the flyer with a flyer gun station located in a heavy thicket in front of the line. The flyer is launched on a hard angle back from right to left landing in an open area 94 yards from the line. The third bird is the go-bird. This bird is on the handler's left with guns behind a well brushed up blind. The drake is thrown flat from right to left landing in an open field 85 yards from the line.
As
the dog is returning from their last bird, the judges ask the blind
planter to plant the blind. The line to the blind is down the left side
of the field, passing right of two small bushes under the arc of the go
bird staying left of a row of shrubs, then on to a small pine that is
located 116 yards from the line. The breeze is light, crossing the test
from left to right. The sun is out and the temperature is 64 degrees
under a partly cloudy sky. The terrain has grass under a shallow layer
of water on both the walk-up and flyer. The dogs are only on dry ground
for the go-bird and blind. This test averages between three and six
minutes depending on the work.
On day 2 of Flight B, the wind has picked up and seems to be hitting the handler's right shoulder. Both the left go-bird and the blind are more downwind, while the flyer and short right bird are cross-wind marks. The sloppy ground is really limiting both smell and visibility. The snow melt due to the sudden warm weather has a small stream draining into this field. This run-off makes the conditions sloppier by the day. When the flier and short right bird land, they are almost sucked into the muck. The wind is also carrying some of the noise from Flight A due to the close proximity of the two tests on the Bob Sparks Retriever Training Grounds. We have seen a few dogs turn their heads in response to the sound from Flight A.
The work today seems to mirror the work that we saw late yesterday afternoon. Overall, most dogs seem to be completing the test with a few handles and a double handle being the exception.
On day 2 of Flight B, the wind has picked up and seems to be hitting the handler's right shoulder. Both the left go-bird and the blind are more downwind, while the flyer and short right bird are cross-wind marks. The sloppy ground is really limiting both smell and visibility. The snow melt due to the sudden warm weather has a small stream draining into this field. This run-off makes the conditions sloppier by the day. When the flier and short right bird land, they are almost sucked into the muck. The wind is also carrying some of the noise from Flight A due to the close proximity of the two tests on the Bob Sparks Retriever Training Grounds. We have seen a few dogs turn their heads in response to the sound from Flight A.
The work today seems to mirror the work that we saw late yesterday afternoon. Overall, most dogs seem to be completing the test with a few handles and a double handle being the exception.
