Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Could Your Dog Compete in a Springer Spaniel Field Trial?

Springer Spaniel field trialling is outdoors
competition for working springers, English or
Welsh.

The purpose of these competitions is to test the
working abilities of the dog, for which, after
all, he was bred. Provided the pedigree is good,
then conformation is less of an issue and it is
performance that counts.

However, the show dog line of English Springers
can be tested in their working abilities too, and
achieve a Show Dog Working Certificate. Note the
words 'Show Dog'. This is a much less demanding
test of a dog's working abilities than is a full
Field Trial.

There are also Working Tests - these are year
round events as only dummy game is used and
therefore suitable areas for testing
([&quote;]ground[&quote;]) is much easier to
find. To compete, a springer will need to be
comfortable with gunshots (though as there is no
live game, only blank acrtridges are used), and
have a good nose and retrieval skills.

Training a springer for Field Trials is highly
specialized. Many owners will either buy a
ready-trained dog (if they are seriously going to
use it for real gundog work) or have it trained
for them.

If this is the route you plan to take with your
dog, then even the initial obedience training is
specialized.

Field trial competitions differ from country to
country. For example, in Australia rabbits are
the main game and the ground is less varied,
whilst in England it is game birds, and the dogs
will be tested working strips in several types of
covert - crops, marsh heathland and so on. In the
US, the springers run more widely and the
'spring' to flush game is more prevalent - this
not usually done in England.

The springer are scored on several aspects - for
example missing game is an elimination fault in
the UK, but not in Australia where the dogs are
worked in zig zag patterns and not strips. The
game density in the UK is much higher than in
Australia, so the dogs have easier work in the UK.

The springers work in pairs, one flushing and one
retrieving, with rotation. The springers in a
pair can become competitive, and close control of
the dogs is essential when one flushes and the
other retrieves close by. Each dog should usually
get two retrieves in a competition.

The other aspect is that the handler has to be a
good shot, so that the dogs get their retrieves.
If not, man and dogs go nowhere in the
competition.

On mainland Europe, the field trails may also
have some show-line dogs running, as well as the
pure field-trial springers. Depending on country,
some of these field trials can be quite informal,
and lack the rigor you may find in the US or UK.

That was a brief summary is what springer spaniel
field trials are about. There are many
competitions organised every year, and if you
want to know more, then just do a search on the
web, find one near you, and go along on the day
to observe.

Of course, you can do many of these tests
informally, as springers just love to retrieve.
You don't need to use a gun!

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This article was penned by a long time springer
enthusiast. Springer spaniel field trials are a
great way of putting your springer spaniel
training ability to the test (see =>
http://www.springerspanieladvice.com/training-an-e
nglish-springer-spaniel/ ) but there are many
other ways to have fun with him and lots more to
find out about this breed at =>
http://www.springerspanieladvice.com

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