Test 3 is a Water Triple with both a Land and Water Blind with a Diversion Shot. The mat sits at the base of the levy facing a beautiful piece of water. In front of the mat, is long peninsula creating a cove on each side of the line. The banks surrounding the pond are on a steep angle up. The bank to the right of the mat has a group of three large pine trees halfway up the hill. Gunners for the first and second bird are located behind these trees creating a "Mom & Pop." Bird number one calls then launches a huge throw to the right landing up the hill behind a clump of willows at 75 yards from the line.
The second gun station calls and then launches to the left going high but landing close to the pine trees landing 82 yards from the line. The dog and handler then turn left in response to a duck call. This duck is launched from behind a grove of willows on the left shore, crosses the cove and lands on the boggy peninsula 43 yards in front of the mat. On the dog's return from this retrieve, a diversion shot is fires.
The Water Blind is located on the left shore between a group of tall pines and a small lone pine. The bird is 100 yards from the line and approximately two feet out of the water on the bank. The line to this bird is down the right side of the peninsula, off the tip into running water and crossing a narrow neck of water. Staying right of a small point on the left shore, the dog exits the pond between the group of pines and the small pine tree.
The Land Blind sends the dog to the right shore cutting a small piece of the cove, then angling up the side of the hill to the bird planted at 90 yards from the line. This test is taking between 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 minutes per dog.
The wind is proving to be in the handler's favor. Dogs going for the right-hand bird number one are climbing the hill and getting deep. They are catching scent from the bird and coming back down to pick it up.
We arrived today in the late morning to beautiful skies and 62 degrees. The breeze continued to be in the 5-10 mph range with gusts up to 15 from the same direction as yesterday. While most dogs we watched had good marks, there continued to be more of a problem on the right-hand bird #2. The dogs that missed this mark were being caught in the drag back and scent around the land blind area. The wind continued to be in the handler's favor for both birds #1 and #2. The water blind for this test has proven to be the most difficult portion. The dogs want to either get in too early or dock too early. Handlers are having to be on their toes to keep the correct line to this blind.
