Test Results

Well, it went alright, I guess.

Omar and I arrived at the hunting club Saturday morning at 6:20am. After getting Omar out of the truck to stretch his legs and makes his bladder gladder. Then it was into the clubhouse to check in, meet the judges, and get the day started. After some instructions from the judges we headed to the field for the search portion of the test.

We were running 5th out of 10 dogs. At 7:00am there was a lot of dew on the grass and the temperature was comfortable. But by the time we ran, it was after 9:00. The dew was gone and the temp was steadily climbing. However, we got lucky. Just a couple of minutes before we started our run, clouds rolled in. Heavy clouds. I considered rolling up my truck windows before we started. And the temperature dropped a couple of degrees. After dumping a bunch of water on Omar to cool him down and giving him a good drink of water, we were off for our 20 minutes search. About 8 minutes into the search, Omar bumped a quail, it flushed with no point. DAMNIT. We continued on the search around the corner and Omar found the same quail that he flushed a minute earlier. But this time, he locked onto a beautiful point. I moved in to flush the bird. Awesome. We continued on. Omar had 2 more good points, and we made it through the field portion in good shape. At the end of the search, the judges told me to leash my dog and head back to the gallery. I call Omar, and he is not interested in coming to me, but in continuing to hunt. While I like his desire and enthusiasm, I am pissed because this will probably ding the cooperation score. More waiting while the last 5 dogs run.

The next portion is the tracking. Again, we run 5th. When it is our turn, we head across the field to the blind to wait while the judges release the pheasant to run. They bring us out of the blind and begin their explanation. "There's the feather pile, and when we set him down, the bird jumped over there," as the judges point to a milkweed about 10 feet away. I ask if I can lead my dog to where the bird landed and they responded, "I would." So I did. Showed Omar the feathers and lead him to the milkweed, and released him. He started out good for about 15 feet, then got off track and went into a search, first to the left, then way the hell out to the right. Disappeared over a hill. Comes back over the hill. Stops to crap. Starts searching again, and BAM!!! slams on point. Judges tell me go get my dog and head back. I'm thinking were screwed. But then, a glimmer of hope. When the guy taking birds from the crate out to the judges came back from taking the 7th bird out, he comes over and tells me the judges are recalling Omar to run a second track after the 10th dog has ran. Not because of anything negative, but they needed to do more evaluation. SWEET!!! I'll take the second chance. After the 10th dog ran, Omar and I go out to run our second track. As I come up the judges explain the situatition. After they discussed my run, they figured out that Omar had crossed into the track for the dog that had run before me and that was the pheasant he had pointed, so they wanted to get into an area with less scent and run another track. So I bring Omar up to the second feather pile, get him interested, and release him He tracked for probably 20 feet, then lost the line and began a more compressed search than before, and then locked on point again. "Go get your dog." I'm thinking, well, he tracked, but not very far. If I get a 2, I'll be pleased.

The final portion of the test is the water. I went into this with no worries. My turn comes, I head to the water's edge, pick up a bumper, get Omar excited and throw. Without hesitation, he moves into the water and grabs the dummy. Second throw, same result. Should be a 4 no problem.

The physical exam was fine, all teeth, no extras, good bite. coat fine, testes intact.

AND WE ARE DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Except for the waiting for scores.

Finally, they judges step up to begin announcements. After the formalities, they begin reading scores.

They get to Omar. Eyes: OK Bite/Teeth: OK Testes: OK Coat: Medium Dense Medium Harsh
Temperment: NORMAL Not Gun Shy

Scoring:
Use of Nose: 4
Search: 4
Water: 4
Pointing: 4
Tracking: 3
Desire to Work: 4
Cooperation: 4


For a total of 110 and a PRIZE 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just about fell over. The only point I dropped all day was on the track. Max score in the Natural Ability test is 112. This is a PHENOMINAL score. All the hours and days of work paid off. Omar lived up to his potential and made a great impression.


Now, all he needs is his x-rays for PennHip hip dysplasia check, and he is ready to get laid.