I just wanted to wish everyone who will be taking the tests tomorrow Good Luck.:D

Stay calm and you'll be fine! 

Debbie & Koda

Finley was deemed not ready & on his performance I am not surprised.

I'm so sorry to hear that Michelle, at least it wasn't because of Koda   I'm sure he's not far off though - Did you put Baxter through his paces on grade 1?

Oh Michelle, so sorry to hear that!!!

(Debbie, I think Baxter did Grade 1 back in May?)

Ness you're right - Sorry Michelle, I'm useless and an idiot 'cause I was there when Baxter passed his grade 1!! 

Put it down to me have senile moment, and being overstressed worrying about work and wondering if Koda is pregnant  and trying to study all at the same time - I've too much going on at the moment!!

I'm really sorry that Finley wasn't ready but he is still young and I know that he will because I know how determind you are and just how much work you put into your dogs.

Don't be disheartened it will suddenly just all come together.

Did you put Baxter through his paces in Grade 2?

Michelle, your were not the only one, McGee and I, (I'm sure that it is just me really) got a not ready. I was a good day all said and done. I already back to training, starting at the being and following the gundog grade one drills, which I had timelessly gone though for the last year.

I'm sure that Finley will come round and make you proud. :).

Well done to thoses that have passed.

See you at the next club day, I don't know what to do with my Wednesday evening now.

Regards,

Ian + McGee

Just wanted to say a big 'Congratulations!' to all those who passed on Saturday, and an equally big 'Commiserations' to those who need to go again.

I was very pleased that Chester passed, especially as he's not yet a year old, but I don't think I'm going to pursue further Gundog Club gradings for a couple of reasons, but might be interested in Ali's own ones when they are introduced.

Firstly, as I discussed with Ian on the day, unless you train with one or two helpers it's very difficult to emulate the type of retrieve that is done in the test because there's nobody available to wave and drop the dummy whilst training and you shouldn't really need to shout and jump around to get your dog to return to you and not the person that the dog saw lose his 'precious object', which wouldn't go down very well in the field! 

I've taught Chester to retrieve a dummy thrown by me whilst I'm static or moving, either when he's watching or not, and to do directional retrieves, and to go back and pick up a dropped dummy, but I don't see how I can train him to pick up a dummy dropped by someone else and return it to me when I can't practice that particular form of retrieve whilst training.  Hence I'm not confident that I could get him to do so for Grade 2, and I'm also not sure of the value of practicing such a retrieve when it doesn't happen that way in the field.

Secondly, I watched all of the tests taking place and was really quite surprised at some of the results. There were dogs that committed a number of quite major sins (on a tight lead for most of the heel walk, creeping over halfway back to the line whilst in the stay position, overrunning the handler when returning the dummy, going off in the wrong direction whilst returning the dummy  (and accordingly getting another go at doing it - surely they should have been marked on their original performance?), or indeed a combination of the above, and yet they all managed to achieve the grade, many with a merit or better.   My objective in training Chester is so that we can work together effectively and safely in the field, which I'm confident we'll achieve, and my objective in going for a grading was to show others that we have achieved a certain standard so that we might work a shoot or two, but I'm no longer confident that achieving these gradings means that a dog is sufficiently well trained to perform in the field whilst remaining safe and not becoming a hindrance to, or endangering, others. 

Hence, I'll keep on with the training and believe that the WBGC is a fantastic asset in that respect, but will need to be majorly convinced that there is value in pursuing further GDC gradings.

I know this probably sounds like 'sour grapes' but it isn't because my boy and I achieved what we set out to achieve - it's just that I'm not sure that there's any real benefit in going for gradings (which are really quite expensive as well) unless you can be confident that they stand for something, and I'm not.

Regards to all

Steve and Chester

PS All say 'Happy Birthday Ches!' - he's 1 tomorrow! 

Congratulations to all those who passed, it was a good day and keep working to those that were not quite ready.

Steve, when you get your score sheet you will understand the scoring.  The walking to heel is made up of four aspects making a score of 10, of which loose lead accounts for 2 of those.  So if all the rest was fine accept for a tight lead, then you would only drop 2 points, still being able to achieve a distinction or merit.

Same goes for the retrieving which is made up of 4 aspects making a total of 20 points and in grade one the dog doesn't have to deliver to hand, so if all the dog did wrong was run past with the retrienve, but crossed the start line, he would only loose points on the delivery.

The reason entrants and dogs are able to "have another go" is that it is important to end the task on a good note, this doesn't mean that they are marked on the second go!

I will be running my own tests next year and the costs will be a lot less than the current ones.

I think the benefit is more for the handler to test the work they have actually put in and achieve a mark at the end of it.  It also focusing individuals minds on what they have to train for.

It's a shame that you feel that way Steve as I think they are a great way for gauging how you and your dog,as a team, are working.  I guess it is down to the individual's perception of them.  I hope that the club will still offer the Gundog Club tests at least once a year in addition to their own tests as I would like to continue trying to get further ahead with GDC gradings.

I would use the WBGC tests to ensure that my dog and I were ready to take the GDC test.  I think it is great that the examiner allows you to have a second go at something you've had a problem so you end a very postive note.

As Ali has said when you receive your examination sheet back you can see where you've lost marks and it enables you to see on what you need to work harder at. 

I am in the same boat as you with having no-one else to throw dummies for me and I had the problem you mentioned, however if you have trained the dog to retrieve the dummy correctly it shouldb't matter if you or someone else threw it the dog should retrieve it anyway,  therefore if your dog won't retrieve when someone else throws the dummy then you have missed something in your basic retrieve training and you need to go back and retrain (just like I have had to do  and I reinforce this by training the basic retrieve on a regular basis).  The other thing is to mention at club or on the forum that you are looking for a training partner and normally someone will be willing to lend a hand - they did for me.

Anyway many congratulations to you and Chester for passing your grade 1 and a very happy birthday to Chester:D.

Congratulations to everyone who passed on Saturday and commiserations to those who didn't.

Allan will still be running the graded tests via The Gundog Club, so I will ensure he lets us know when one is going ahead.

Hi everyone,

after reading all your comments on the graded tests,i felt i had to reply.Firstly i would like to say well done to everybody,regardless of how well you did.

Knowing how sick i felt with nerves,i think we all coped very well,and Michelle,you were a star. 

I again made the classic mistake of training Bailey to retrieve on my own throwing the dummy myself,but when i thought about it,if he was in the field retrieving birds,nobody would throw them,because they would fall out of the sky.

So having a training partner gets the dog used to retrieving as close as possible to that situation.I agree it is difficult to get a regular training partner and to work the training around our busy lives,but at the end of the day i treat all of this as fun and it's not a competition in my view.

I was pleased Bailey got a merit and i think he deserved it and look forward to receive his rosette and certificate.

Again well done everyone,and see you on the next training day.

Regards

Steve & Bailey

I agree Steve, everyone who took the tests pass or fail should be so very proud of themselves and their dogs.  Don't forget you all take the best dog home with you in the end!

I'm looking forward to the new tests Ali (even if I do get so nervous that I could be sick LOL!)