Spaniel taking lines?

[chrisjd2]

I saw a post a couple months ago where someone sent their dog on a blind and the spaniel ran straight on the line given and the judge criticised him that the spaniel was taking lines like a lab would. How else should a spaniel be sent out for a retrieve? It surely shouldn't be sent out in a hunting like pattern to find wounded game, what's the difference between lab retrieving training and that of spaniel training?

[lee-kinsman]

I had exactly the same criticism when at a training meet last summer. My then 10month ESS bitch took a straight 100yd line out to a blind retrieve and eye wiped several dogs, labs and spaniels. The trainer then said, "so your training your spaniel to be a lab then are you!" I can't tell you how hard a bit my tongue but to such people there is often nothing to be said.

A retrieve is a retrieve and in my opinion the most direct route to it is the best. However when an authorities nose is put out often they will comment nonsense to make themselves feel better.

I have resolved that I will train my dogs to be as good as they and I can be and as long as they aren't disgracing the sport and serving the gun efficiently and with class I'll not seek too prove anything because as the old addage says, "the proof is in the pudding."

[jeffD]

I wish I could send my cocker 100yards in a straight line on a blind, I can only get 30 yards or so then she does exactly what these judges / trainers want and starts hunting and it can take a while to get her where I want her, if she was on a unseen runner more chance of not collecting the bird,
I have to agree a retrieve is a retrieve so I will keep training and hoping for that 100 yard straight line.

[vicky payne]

The aim is to get the wounded bird back to hand as efficiently as possible. That's it!

[Rascal]

A spaniel “taking lines” to my understanding is when it lines out on foot scent or game scent instead of hunting its ground properly.

Spaniels going straight out on a seen or a blind retrieve is something different surely?

Rascal

[Mydogismental]

I was at a trial a while back when a chap sent his spaniel for a retrieve, he didn't send it straight out but he sent it to the left, then up, the right to where the rabbit was. The judges where impressed with this as it didn't disturb any rabbits further up the line. Made perfect sense to me.

[chrisjd2]

Yes taking lines is nose to the ground on wounded game etc, I should of worded it straight lines with nose up I guess this way you could direct the dog down wind and then direct her left or right into the wind to the blind to make it easier

[Naj]

I was at a trial a while back when a chap sent his spaniel for a retrieve, he didn't send it straight out but he sent it to the left, then up, the right to where the rabbit was. The judges where impressed with this as it didn't disturb any rabbits further up the line. Made perfect sense to me.

If the spaniel had flushed the rabbit then 'handling' the dog out to the retrieve would have been totally wrong. The dog should 'line out' to the rabbit in this scenario, & this is generally the most efficient way of handling such a retrieve.

It sounds like there is a bit of the working test v trials mix-up in the ops example. Unless its changed drastically, a 50 yard blind retrieve used to be considered a reasonable distance to send a spaniel in a field trial. I agree that it is nonsense for a judge to claim that any dog shouldn't go out cleanly on a blind & couldn't imagine why one would. Perhaps the judge in question was simply commenting on the fact that the spaniels in question were being trained to do retriever style distances. Perhaps his own spaniels wouldn't have handled out cleanly over those distances.

Naj