Pat's Perspective

A Synopsis of what Series 10 The Land Quad could bring about:

Pat's Perspective

I feel like we are at the Kentucky Derby and we are watching the race in the final turn.  There are a handful of dogs locked up leading into the home stretch.  The excitement is intense.  Instead of taking 2 minutes it spans 8 days.

The rumor is that we are going to see a water quad.  I am familiar with the pond.  It is a large natural piece of water.  It has a lot of cover in it.  I am hearing they will have one of the marks thrown out of a boat.  You gotta love going "Old School".  A boat bird can be one of the most challenging retrieves.  When placed well,  the dogs will have to display lots of perseverance.  I am like a kid on Christmas Morning.

This has been one of the best run nationals I have ever witnessed.  The time has been managed magnificently.  By being so efficient, they will be able to test these remaining dogs thoroughly on the water.  A 20 minute water quad will separate the men from the boys.  I can't wait!

Pat Burns

Pat's Perspective - 7th Series Water Triple

It’s great to see a stick pond.  The 7th series site is a beautiful natural piece of water.  The kind of ponds I started with.  When you have cover in the water you can bet interesting things are going to happen.

The first bird shot is a long retired gun across 2 pieces of water and driven out of the water.  The line to that bird is tight behind the back of the short flyer guns.  The right hand retired gun is thrown across a narrow channel and out of the test.  The right hand bird is thrown against the grain and is somewhat contrary in nature.  A dog that is relaxed enough to slice a skinny piece of water and stay on land for a bit is doing better on this mark.  It probably sets the dog up for a cheat on the long retired gun.  The long retired bird is all about discipline.  It requires you to go tight behind the short flyer and hold a line across 2 pieces of water then angle out and up the hill.  It is likely that quite a bit of drag back will build up on the land between the ponds making it more challenging to go the distance.  They tell me the long bird is 250 yds.  However, if feels a lot longer than that.  Dogs that slide to the right on the reentry are up for a long hunt.  The test is well conceived and appears to be getting lots of answers.  The leader board is getting smaller.

This test will carry over until tomorrow.  Gwen, Tina and Tera will keep you updated on all the dog’s progress.

Pat's Perspective -- Red Zone (6th Series Land Blind)

The photo I have shown below focuses on the end of the 6th series land blind at this years National Amateur Championship.  The trouble area is highlighted.  I like to call this the Red Zone.  It is an area of extreme danger. Let me tell you all of the factors that make this Red Zone super challenging. 

First of all you are going right through the fall area of the previous days flyer pheasant.  The line to the blind is very close to the island of trees and 20-30 yds deep of them.  The blind planter and holding blind are left and behind that island.  In order to be downwind of the blind you had to be in a very small corridor.  If you misjudged the depth and gave your dog a come in whistle too soon, many of them took that as permission to hunt and get out of control.  These handlers really had to be on their game to execute good Red Zone handling. 

Red Zone is one of my passions in coaching handlers.  I guess I got it from Rex!

Pat's Perspective of the 5th Series

Pat’s Perspective

Phase II of the 2016 National Amateur Retriever Championship has officially begun.  The 5th series land quad marks the beginning of phase II.   This is where the National turns into “The National.”

Hen flyer pheasant memory birds are the norm.  And a tough fall can be a deal breaker.  Some of my most vivid memories at Nationals have been 5th series land marks.  It is not uncommon to walk up and look at one of these quads with 2 flyers and utter “Oh My God ...”

Today’s test challenged handlers to think outside the box in regards to order of picking up the birds. Some handlers insisted on getting the short retired gun before the long flyer.  And others chose to go with the dog’s preference and get the flyer first.  Each way presented its own consequences.  The dogs that retrieved the short retired 2nd tended to push off that line and set up a hunt behind the long flyer. When that happened their hunts took them very close to the longer retired gun.  Others that took the flyer prior to the short retired were at risk of lining by the short left bird.  All in all, the handlers were forced to read their dogs and be willing to go to plan B.   

What you will see develop is, the dogs that are really on their game, will start to rise to the top.  The marking setups will get more challenging and you will witness some incredible dog work.

Take it from someone who has been there ... When a great dog gets in the zone, it will take your breath away.  

So stay tuned for an exciting 2nd half of the 2016 National Amateur!

Pat's Perspective

Pat Burns interviews former 2013 NARC Winner Andy Kahn. Andy had qualified 3 dogs for this event and just finished running his last dog on Day 2 of Series 3.

Pat's Perspective

Here we have Pat Burns - Elite Retrievers , John Russell - Roseland, & Ryan Brasseaux give commentary about the factors and challenges of Series 3:

a continued discussion about Series 3 Water Triple

Pat's Perspective

The first set of water marks in a national is an animal all to itself.  In pre-national training the week prior you have been emphasizing discipline around the water. By discipline, I mean most retrieves in a weekend field trial require a dog to have a greater commitment to stay in the water.

In contrast, the first set of water marks in a national must be relatively short in time which requires short swims.  These marks tend to be very skinny and tight to the shore.

 This test like many of its kind, being too concerned can backfire.  A balanced and a relaxed state of mind is the key.  This test has taken a turn for the worse.  The dogs are having a lot of trouble on both memory birds.  Many dogs are nervous about going in tight to the flyer on the middle bird.  When they set up a hunt behind the gun they get deep and many don’t recover.   The left can be missed on the waterside if they are being too careful.  Both birds are complicated when the dogs mind is conflicted.  Balance is the key here.  

And after this test, I know I am thinking “now we have got to get our dogs ready to do a waterblind.”  This may require a change in attitude.

Pat's Perspective

The 3rd series water marks in a national are very interesting tests.  Time management takes a high priority.  You have to run 100 dogs.  So the swims can’t be significant.  With that being said, this test requires a balanced dog.  They can’t be too tight or too loose.  It is one of the most difficult tests to prepare for.  This test is a good example of that.  It is always a mixed bag.   This test uses 2 ducks and 1 pheasant.  It can be very difficult to scent a pheasant after retrieving a duck.  The middle bird is a pheasant and thrown very flat in the hip pocket of the duck flyer.  Both of these birds have a tempting hill deep of them that lures the dogs to climb and hunt deep.  The left hand retired gun is thrown hard angle back.  The perfect line slices the corner of two ponds.  A dog that is too watery can miss the mark on the outside.  A dog that is too cheaty is likely to end up behind where the gunners were and hunt left and out of sight.  Let’s see how this works out.