Feb. '08 Water Blind #1

This water blind was chosen for its many factors requiring the dogs to think from the beginning through the entire blind. Further, the ending of the blind requires that the handler be equally sharp to make sure the dog is not lost behind the far point or that he does not cheat the small cove at the end resulting in a skewed line at the end.

This blind is difficult at the start due to three factors:

1) The initial line is on a sharply angled downhill slope that leads to early water entries if the dog is not comfortable in such situations (they may get in fat if not held on-line early)

2) There are at least three more prominent "pictures" for the dogs to see other than the small slot picture they are being asked to run.

3) The wind is blowing strongly to the right causing the dogs to want to get in early and stay wide right if they do not fight the wind factor.

The middle of the blind is difficult due to the lily pads and trees enroute.

The last two sections of the blind are a pronounced point in running water and a small cove that requires proper traversing in order to stay on line.

Dogs that took a very true initial line had a strong blind up to the point. Some dogs had difficulty getting off the point mainly due to the running water and the close proximity to the land behind the point.

The small cove threw off several dogs but they recovered nicely...some dogs were drawn even further in to the bigger body of water (which in itself could pose a problem for very watery dogs).

This type of blind is a good handling type blind that requires a dog to be comfortable being micro-managed somewhat. Therefore, these type blinds should not be run everyday for many dogs since their confidence could become dampered due to the very tight lines.

[ Go Back ]