Some Thoughts on the WC/WCX

You will have to indulge me while I go into a little nostalgia about my first exposure to WC work.  I had a very nice Golden bitch that had a TD and was working on her OTCH.  I thought it might be fun to attain a WC title.  I knew nothing about field work.

I was able to get an invitation to a L.A. based Golden training group, and my husband and I went down there to expose Sprite to birds and water and to see just what was involved in getting a WC on a dog.  Sprite was over four years old.  The “leader” of the group was a rather chauvinistic male who I knew from obedience as he was attempting to obtain an OTCH on his bitch.   My husband is a neurosurgeon who has a sub-specialty in pain management and would not even fish as he felt sorry for the fish!    He agreed (reluctantly) to go out and throw the bird for the gunner who was shooting the flier.  The gunner missed a lot, so the “glorious leader” told my husband to break the wings of the pigeons before throwing them.  My husband said he could not needlessly inflict pain on a bird, but he would be willing to throw at the dead bird station.   We were preemptively disinvited from the group and later word got back to me that it was said I would never be able to get a WC on my dog.  As members of my family and previous teachers can attest, this is waving a red flag at me!

I immediately went to work to track down someone who would be willing to shoot some fliers for me and work with me and my dog.  I found someone in the Santa Ynez Valley who agreed to do this----later he said he needed the money or never would have taken me on with a Golden Retriever!   In addition, I was helping persons with tracking their dogs, so in exchange, I got them to throw for me.  Since guns couldn’t be used where I live, I put together two pieces of 2x4’s and had them clap these together to make a “shooting type” sound. I trained on the university playing fields.   I read every book I could on training retrievers and there were very few good ones at that time.  Tom Quinn’s book was the best.  There were none of the wonderful videos and DVDs around such as there are now.  Many times, I left Sprite on a sit-stay and walked out and threw for her myself.

To bring this nostalgia to an end, I went to Northern California to enter a WC and a WCX on the same day.  The “splendiferous leader” also was there running his dog.  I know this is a horrible character flaw, but I (inwardly) chortled with glee when Sprite passed both of them, and he didn’t!  Also, I (outwardly) cried with joy as I was so happy to have attained both a WC and a WCX on Sprite.  Sprite was the mother of my first AFC and was the grandmother of my FC/AFC Golden.   To add frosting to the cake, Sprite won her obedience classes to finish her OTCH beating out the forenamed foe! 

The reason for all of the above, other than the fact that it brings back fond memories, is to show that if you are determined, you can overcome many obstacles to obtain a WC/WCX on your Golden if your dog has a desire to retrieve.  I then ran innumerable WC/WCX tests as there were no AKC hunting tests when I went for that original WC.  Even when the hunting tests started, I ran the WC/WCX.  I used to enter our local WC/WCX tests to support the Clubs, and, in addition I chaired some for the local Golden Club.  Plus, they were a lot of fun.

Recently, I obtained the grounds for the NorCal Golden Retriever Club’s WC/WCX for their Regional Specialty, and went there to help work.  After it was over, I talked to the Chairman and gave her some suggestions for the future, and she felt I should write some of these down. The suggestions are based on the various tests I have run over the years, not just the NorCal WC/WCX.

First, it is extremely important to get very good, knowledgeable judges.  NorCal had judges who smiled at everyone, answered questions, and were very encouraging, especially to persons who were running it for the first time.  They were “for” the dogs!

I have seen judges in the past that set up tests which were impossibly hard, even though they were within the Rules and Regulations, but due to the configurations used were extremely difficult for even very well trained dogs.  It is important to have judges who understand the level of the dogs, who know the difficulty of certain gun placements, and who realize the effect terrain has on the dogs.  One WCX I ran had the guns set up in a pattern which is known as “three in line”.  Only two dogs passed, one was my Trieve who at that time was running successfully at Qualifying level and the other was a Golden running in All Age stakes.  The judges never understood why all the other dogs failed.

Next, you need good help in the field.  Having chaired quite a few of these, I know how difficult this can be.  It isn’t for lack of trying by the throwers, it is for lack of understanding of just what is required.

If the Club can, have a training day before hand and offer to work with the dogs/persons that are planning to run in the WC/WCX in exchange for teaching the throwers what is required.  Especially in the WC, many of these dogs are very green, and birds that go backwards over a thrower’s head, or are very short, or are thrown at the wrong time, can make all the difference in the world.  Show the throwers how to hold the birds to make the best throw, practice throwing---maybe even have a contest where the best throwers get a prize, etc.  During the WC/WCX, try to rotate the throwers in and out of the field so no one is stuck out there all day.  Let them know how very, very much you appreciate their doing this for the Club.

One of the most important requirements is to have good shooters for the flier station.  If your Club does not have many persons who would qualify for shooting the flier, call around to some of the local hunt test clubs and ask for suggestions.  There are many persons who are very good shots and enjoy helping out clubs by shooting at their events.  When I chaired some in the past, I called in my “I.O.U.s” from other persons who owed me for my working at their event.  At one WCX, many very good dogs broke due to the large number of no-birds on the flier.  I think one person had to sit through four with her dog!  Finally the dog broke.  Later, I ran into one of the WCX judges at a field trial and she said how badly she felt as they lost some very good dogs with lots of desire who just couldn’t manage to sit through so many no-birds.  She said this was the type of dog that you wanted to see do well.

How can Clubs help to have more of their members pass?  It is important to have as many training days as you can.  Have persons who are knowledgeable take turns being in charge of a training day, with the more advanced helping those who have less experience.

Try to shoot fliers so the dogs become used to them.  Work on being steady on line both through honoring and running.  There are different methods used to steady dogs, and these can be used.  While learning, the dog can sit with a bumper or bird in its mouth while honoring---this lessens the desire to break.  Remember if your dog does break, the first word out of your mouth should be “sit” as that is the command the dog ignored.  You can honor on leash, giving some slack, while your dog is learning it is not always his turn.  There are various drills you can work on to help instill the fact that when told to “sit” you (the dog) remain in that position until given another command.

Clubs can get a variety of upland game birds in order to expose the dogs to various scents, body weights, tastes so that at a WC/WCX the handler doesn’t suddenly realize her dog has never seen a particular bird and start to panic and the dog picks up on the handler’s concern.  This will help Club members who wish to participate in hunt tests also.

Possibly for a Club meeting, the program could be someone who has had a lot of experience and success in the field who would be willing to answer questions and give suggestions for those just beginning.  Another thought is for a Club to borrow a good training video and show it, including a question and answer period afterwards. 

What can you as a handler do to help increase your dog’s chances of passing?  I covered some suggestions in my article on the Junior portion of the hunting tests.  Read the rules, and work with your dog.  Before the National Specialty in California , one person told me that even though her dog did not like birds, she knew her Golden would pass the WC out of love for her!!!!   Well, sounded good, didn’t cut it.

The more experience in retrieving and the more training your dog has, the more your “luck” will increase.  This doesn’t mean that a dog with a lot of desire who is strongly motivated to retrieve, could not pass a WC with limited training.  I have had four month old pups that could have passed and who were used as test dogs.  But, I had been throwing bumpers for them since they were seven weeks old, worked on basic obedience such as returning to me once they picked up the bumper, and had exposed them to various terrain and to water.

What I have seen with many of the dogs that did not pass was due to lack of training, i.e., lack of basic obedience.  They would play with the bird, drop the bird, play keep away, not return, would not pick up the bird even though they had gone directly to it.  Many of these are problems that can be dealt with in the yard.  Work the dog on obedience.  Treat the retrieve the same as you would if you were sending your dog for a dumbbell in the obedience ring.  You do not want him to mouth the dumbbell, or to run around the ring before returning to you, or to stand there and look at you and not return, and this is the same for field work.  You can use a long line, if necessary, to establish good habit patterns of going out directly, picking up the bird, and returning with the bird.  Do not “coochy, coochy coo” your dog through this.  Be pleasant, be firm, but you are not helping either yourself or your dog by making it a request, it is a command.

When you are learning how to drive, you must follow the rules of the road and if you don’t, you pay a consequence for it and sometimes it can be a deadly consequence.  This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy driving.  If your dog does not come when called, he, too, can pay a very heavy penalty with the possibility of being hit by a car, getting lost, etc.  By enforcing obedience, it does not mean you don’t love your dog or that he will not love you.  In fact, if you truly love your dog, you will want him to “follow the rules of the road”.  His respect level for you will increase substantially, and your pleasure and your enjoyment in being with him will improve immensely.

Not to flog a dead horse,  but if you have read my previous articles, you will know I believe in a force fetch.  The more solid this is, the higher your chances of successfully obtaining a WC/WCX title.   If you have a dog that is force fetched, you have a tool to use so that the dog realizes when sent to fetch, it is not a choice but a command.  If you don’t wish to force fetch your dog, you must be willing to accept the consequences.  I have yet to see a dog that was properly force fetched not love its owner because of that!

When you come to the line with your dog, make sure your dog sees all the gun stations, and be sure he is focused on the one that is to be thrown first (the memory bird) before you call for the bird to be thrown.  Do not send your dog until he/she is focused on the mark.  You do not have to send the dog the exact moment the judge gives your number, make sure the dog is looking where you want it to go before saying his/her name.

The more practice you can get before running your first test, the more relaxed and confident you will be, and this attitude conveys itself to your dog.

One thing many persons do not understand is a recast.  A recast is when the dog does not go or only goes out a few feet and then returns to the handler.  This can be due to confusion, particularly the latter of going out a few feet.  Perhaps the handler said the wrong dog’s name, said the dog’s name too softly, or something happened to distract the dog just as it was being sent and the dog wasn’t sure whether or not it actually was sent.    If the judges feel it is due to confusion, they can allow the handler to resend the dog.  This does not mean that if the dog goes out in the field, sets up a hunt and returns to the handler that it was confused.  This is lack of perseverance.  Also, it is not confusion if the dog will not go after repeatedly being told to go.  Even if eventually after three or four attempts to send it, the dog reluctantly leaves the line, this is a refusal and should be judged as such.  If the judges allow a recast, if the dog does not go on the second attempt to send it, the dog should be disqualified.

Since a winger can be used in a WCX, (although this must be announced in the premium) if at all possible, you should expose your dog to seeing birds thrown from a winger.  If you can join a training group that has one, this would be the best.  Also, possibly encourage your Club to use one for a training day.  The person who is the “gun” at the winger station should make a throwing motion with their arm just before kicking the release mechanism.  Two big advantages of a winger is a consistent throw for everyone, and someone who has a weak arm can still be used as a thrower.

Don’t run a WC/WCX hoping you can pass.  Enter one knowing that you have a very strong probability of your dog passing.