A Fail That Felt Like Success

By: Julie Schmitt
AWSC, Inc. Member

Do we learn from our mistakes, sure.  But no one told me making mistakes could be so much fun.  Fun - that is, when you're a part of the best dog club out there.  Early this Spring, Art Heun and Eric Wahlstrom organized and put forth the first AKC Spaniel/AWSC hunt test of the year.  I knew my dog Maya was very green.  Not quite a year old - she has yet to flush a bird, retrieve a down bird, or swim with a bumper in mouth.  Neither of us were ready to go - but there is something about getting that first hunt test under your belt to understand the in’s and out of why you train.   So - with the temptation of seeing old friends again, well - it was easy to forget logic and just go.  

For me, the hunt test was all about exposure.  Maya was perfect with fetching and delivering bumpers and frozen birds to hand - sitting at heel, eyes focused, and waiting for the command of “drop”.  Perfect that is, when retrieving in the house and running the length of our hallway.  A far cry from being able to transfer this skill to the open field.  Add people, land, new smells, and gunfire overhead and well - anything could happen.  The starter pistol was about the only real gunfire she had been exposed to prior to winter.  Snow and ice were still on the ground, the hunt test was fast approaching, the time to train was quickly running out. Luckily - she had the opportunity to retrieve two shot  pigeons during some of our early spring training sessions.  She handled that well, so hopefully the dots were connecting.      

Hopes were high and expectations were low as we walked up to the line for our first shot at the AKC field trials.  The judges gave out their instructions, and upon their mark, I bent down and released Maya from my lead.  She took off straight away, and started to work the field.  Maya seemed  to know what she was looking for, with her nose to the ground and tail held high checking in with me ever so often.  Can’t say I recognized her getting birdy, but at one point she was spending more time in a certain area.   Suddenly -  a bird shot up and out making it’s escape when one of the gunners shot and dropped the bird.  

Now the big test - what would Maya do?  She ran without hesitation, grabbed the bird and turned to face me.  It was picture perfect.  I was thrilled to see her with bird in mouth,  but I think Maya was pretty excited too - for she wasn’t quite ready for the experience to end.  Not for a long shot.  She pranced around with that bird in her mouth as proud as a peacock. Circling me high and low, showing off her prize to all around.   I did every trick I could think of to get her to come back to me.  I was excited, I was stern, I tried walking away. Blowing the whistle had no effect.  I even faked taking out a treat from my pocket for an exchange -  nothing worked.  She was too excited and didn’t want to give it up. So we called it.   I had Maya sit as I  walked up to her and got the bird.  We were now done for that day, but overall  I was thrilled.  She did the hardest part without fail.  The rest I could work on. 

Next day - the birds were not flying.  Maya flushed the first one, ran after it, and caught it on her own.  She ran around a bit, but I eventually was able to convince her to come to me.  I had her sit as I made a lunge for her and the bird.  Success!  One bird down.  The second flush was much like the first - with Maya finding and catching it on her own.  Excitement was pretty high - as she bounded after the chuker, trapping it in the tall grass.  Again I had to work hard to get her to come back to me.  I was stern, coaxing, and played like I was going to walk away.  Somehow she came close enough for me to grab her and the bird which was quite alive and healthy.  

Unfortunately, an actual retrieve had not been witnessed, so the judges asked for one of the dead birds to be tossed with a shot overhead.  Maya was pumped with the sound of the gun, ran to the fallen bird and came to me almost without hesitation.  I could hear the crowd far behind yell “Grab The Bird”.  I got my hand on Maya as I gave the command to drop.  With bird in hand, I turned to the crowd with the prize held high. I was so excited and proud of Maya.  The thrill of the moment - sharing it with the crowd - was awesome. 

It  will be forever in my mind - caught by a picture, as I raised the bird to the group of well wishers, family, and fellow AWSC members.  It was a moment to remember.  The rest of the tests didn’t go quite as well.  Maya refused to go into the water for both the AKC and AWSC water retrieves, and she once again didn’t give up her prize during the AWSC  landmark, but all that was ok.  Both Maya and I had a blast.  Hanging out with friends, cheering people on, and watching the dogs do their stuff.  It was most definitely a great first experience, pass or fail.