GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTERS AND HUNT TESTS-PART II: SENIOR HUNTER

Like the movie Groundhog Day, each new puppy we keep starts off the cycle of conformation shows and hunt tests once again in our household.  At the moment we have four generations of dogs, great grandma Viña, Grandma Jolie, mother Schöne, and son Ries, still a puppy.  All three of the older girls are currently at the Senior Hunter level, with Jolie two qualifying rounds (of the required five) away from Master Hunter status and Viña functioning at the Master Hunter level in the field, even though she resists honoring random brace mates in hunt tests.  Today’s post will again focus on Ries, who has already completed his Junior Hunter certification (at 7 months of age), and what the earning of the title of Senior Hunter will require.

What are the judges looking for?  Senior Hunter competition, like Junior Hunter is still about the dog’s instincts and motivation to hunt.  But now we add in the criteria of trainability and having the required skills to hunt with minimal guidance from the handler.  At Senior Hunter level the animals need enough training to understand what is expected of them, but finding a bird and pointing it should be instinctual in a well-bred pointing dog.  On top of these skills the judges are looking for the fundamental skills of the trained bird dog – steady to wing, and the honor.

SENIOR HUNTERS: A GRANDMOTHER-MOTHER-DAUGHTER THING

A few weeks ago Jolie and her daughter Schoene finished their senior hunter certification about two braces apart during a local AKC hunt test.  Grandma Vinia has had her Senior Hunter certification for several years, so we now have three generations of Senior Hunters to hunt pheasant, quail, and chukar with.  Vinia functions at the Master Hunter level, but refuses to honor any dog she doesn’t respect so only has a few legs on her MH degree and is now a spectator when the younger generations of the family compete in hunt tests.  Interestingly, Vinia has no difficulty honoring any of her family members (including all of the brothers and sisters of her pack mates) while hunting in the field so hunts at the MH level in real life as opposed to hunt tests.  A couple of months ago we were hunting five dogs at once---Vinia, Jolie, Schoene, Sarah (another granddaughter), and Tiger (a Jolie brother)---on a large field.  Somebody (either Jolie or Schoene) found a pheasant and pointed it.  Four other dogs stopped where they were and honored the point.  They’re trained to hold the point (and the honor) until someone human does something about the bird.  That’s a pretty spectacular sight!  It makes finding the bird pretty easy.