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The Started Hunting Retriever Test
is for young or inexperienced hunting retrievers. The Started Hunting
Retriever might not have had the experience of a season of hunting,
or limited exposure to hunting and/or training. A Started Hunting
Retriever should be able to do a simple dove or waterfowl hunt and
retrieve game from land and water.
The dog doesn't need to be steady
and may be gently restrained by leash or collar at the line and should
be brought to and from the line on leash. Retrieves will
be only marks and only singles. The singles may be back to back, i.e.
one single is retrieved, then another single is given from the same
point of origin with the bird in a different direction. The
dog should have been introduced to gunfire before entering a Started
test. But, you may ask that the gun step a way just a bit.
There will be a shot at the top
of the arc when the bird is thrown, and there will be either a duck
call or attention getting shot from where the bird is thrown.
The dog is not required to deliver
to hand, but close to the point of origin. The judge will tell
you how close is required. In a licensed hunt, all birds will be dead,
unless there is a shot flyer, which is not used in Started.
Normally there will be 4 singles, two each on land and water.
Typically there are two series
of back‑to‑back singles. Maximum distance for marks is
75 yards for land retrieves and 60 yards for water retrieves.
Dog can be cast twice from the line. Dogs are not expected to
take hand signals, but handling on a mark is acceptable (In even seasoned
and finished stakes, a clean handle is preferable to an extended hunt
if the dog is in trouble.) A dog may be recast from the line
for a bird, though what occurred before the recast is still considered
in the judging.
Started
Test Rules
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