SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR SETTING MARKS AND BLINDS
Judging, like handling, is an art, not a science. But, any art has certain general principles which individuals disregard at their own risk. I believe that there are certain general principles which field trial judges disregard at their own risk. Some of those general principles are as follows
Set marks downwind, blinds crosswind
Set your marks so that the dogs can see them:
a) Set your marks so that the dogs can see both the guns and the birds as they fall
b) Set your marks so that the dogs run - generally - north/south (and the sun is not in their eyes)
c) Set your marks so that you can see the dogs as they hunt in the area of the fall (AOF) and as they pick up the bird
Call for the birds slowly enough to allow the dogs ample opportunity to view each bird
Retire guns as close to the gun station as possible to eliminate the impact of bird boy trails
On either marks or blinds, wherever possible, make sure that the dogs must traverse obstacles (cover, side hills, logs, water) at a slight angle, rather than a severe one.
Set your marks behind, not before obstacles (cover, hills, logs, water)
Where possible, give the dogs a choice between an easy route (meadow, road, etc.) that leads away from the mark and a tough route (heavy cover, water, etc.) that leads away from the mark. Give the dogs room to get lost.
Make every bird count. Place your flyer where it is difficult to retrieve and not a giveaway bird whose only purpose is to give the other guns in the field time to retire or to entice the dogs to break.
When you get to your assigned field, look for good singles. You can then combine your singles to create doubles, triples, and quads.
Make the corridor of your blind wide enough to allow a handler two whistles during critical portions of the blind.
If the dog must be out of sight during a blind, make sure that it is not more than a few seconds and that you allow the handlers an opportunity to correct the line if the dog pops up off line.
Dang it Shih, I want a good picture of Buffy with her ribbons. All I see is how to set up marks and blinds. She’s been doing good. Brag on her!
Howard - 24 10 05 - 16:28