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by Chris Robinson
With parts of the American Kennel Club’s hunt test program
having been in existence for more than twenty years and other testing
programs in place even longer, the time has come to ask whether
or not these programs are having any influence on the various sporting
breeds. Of particular interest is whether it has done anything
to narrow the gap between “show” and “field” types
in the badly split breeds and what impact it may be having on breeding
decisions for all sporting breeds.
The cautious answer to the question posed in the headline, based
on the number of dogs in different breeds that have both a conformation
championship and a hunt test title, is “Maybe.” There
is empirical evidence that suggests a hunt test title is becoming
more of a factor in breeding decisions but how important or even
if it is a factor at all varies by breed. It is an increasingly
important consideration for breeders with some breeds that have
not badly split into “show” and “field” types.
The type of field title—AKC, CKC, UKC, American Field, NAVHDA—seems
to be less important than that the dog has established its credentials
in the field. But for the badly split breeds, there is much less
evidence that proof of the dog’s field ability or for that
matter, proof that it meets the breed standard, has had any impact
at all on breeding decisions particularly for those “specialist”—strictly
show or strictly field— breeders within a breed and in some
cases, dual-titled dogs are outright boycotted by the breeding “specialists” out
of fear that introducing field abilities will create a lesser show
dog or introducing some proper conformation will create offspring
that are lesser performers in the field.
The most numerous of the sporting breeds are also some of the breeds
where the hunt tests appear to have had the least impact. Since
the beginning of the retriever hunt test program in 1985, 43 Labradors
have earned both a conformation championship and a master hunter
title. Four others are champions in Canada and have an MH. The
last Labrador dual champion, DC AFC Hiwood Shadow, finished his
DC in 1984.
“Out of all the hundreds of Labrador breeders in the U.S.,” said
Fran Smith DVM, a long-time Labrador breeder, “There are
only about 20 of us who breed dogs that are competitive in both
the show ring and the field. If every one of those breeders bred
two litters per year, and most do not and each of those litters
had eight pups, and that is a high estimate, that is still less
than 500 Labrador pups each year that are bred for both the show
ring and the field. When you consider that there are about 130,000
Labradors registered with the AKC every year, the number of dogs
bred each year that have the potential to be dual-titled dogs is
simply too small to have any significant impact on the breed.”
The situation is only slightly better with Golden Retrievers. The
last Golden Retriever dual champion, DC AFC Tigathoe's Funky Farquar
CD TD OS FDHF, finished his dual championship in 1979. In the last
ten years, there have been 24 Goldens that were champions that
also had a master hunter title. However from 2000 to 2006, the
breed also produced 2,389 Ch/SH dogs so that is a positive for
the breed, according to Jeanne von Barby, who has owned two of
the 24 Ch/MH Goldens and one that is a Ch/SH. She said, “For
many years I have lamented the fact that the conformation-only
breeders have ignored dogs and bitches that have an advanced hunt
test title and a championship when they make their breeding decisions.
Only a handful of us continue to breed dogs capable of pursuing
both a conformation championship and hunt test titles. When outside
bitches do come to our dual-titled stud dogs, they are usually
bitches that have performance titles or pedigrees. One of my dogs,
Ch. Elysian Sky Hi Dubl Exposure UDT MH WCS OS sired many litters
but his mates were primarily performance bitches. The top conformation
bitches are normally bred to the top conformation dogs. Even though
Expo easily finished his championship and was a structurally beautiful
dog, his MH seemed to be a deterrent to show breeders rather than
an incentive. But, currently there is a Show Dog Hall of Fame Golden
that has his MH and he has been used a great deal with show bitches
so it’s not always the case that an MH is a deterrent. However,
this dog was heavily advertised and was with a top professional
handler for a long time so that is likely a factor in creating
a demand for him as a stud. Perhaps he will have more of an impact
on the breed than Expo did but again, with about 60,000 Goldens
being registered each year, we also face the problem that the numbers
of dual-titled dogs are simply not big enough to have any major
impact on the breed.”
Among some of the breeds considered to be a “lost cause” by
field people and hunters as far as hunting ability in show dogs
is concerned, the hunt tests appear to have been a godsend.
“There are days when I think that success in the hunt tests
is the only thing keeping American Cockers out of the toy group,” said
Venée Gardner who owns several Cockers that are champions
and have hunt test titles. “But, we have done a number of
instinct tests in conjunction with our national specialty and these
have demonstrated that the show-bred Cockers still have field ability
and instinct which is encouraging. I think this is causing more
Cocker people to realize that this breed has a long and proud heritage
in the field and that this is something that needs to be preserved
which is positive. However, so far at least, this has not had any
influence on breeding decisions that I have seen as most of the
dual-titled dogs have been bred to dogs from performance lines.
Breeders of hunt test or agility dogs want to breed Cockers to
the standard but they also want to make sure the offspring have
proven working ability and titles behind them because the titles
prove training ability and biddability so in that way you could
say the hunt tests are having an effect on the breed.”
“I have said that biggest gift the AKC gave to sporting dog
breeders was the hunt test program,” said Karolynne McAteer,
whose dog, FC/AFC Runnymeade Karrycourt Rocky ROM JH sired the
19th and latest Irish Setter dual champion DC Mythodical Runnymeade
Rip out of a bitch from show lines. “Irish Setter breeders
are taking advantage of this program and we see quite a few running
in hunt tests right up to the master level. Many of the Irish Setter
specialty clubs hold at least one hunt test a year and the Irish
Setter Club of America holds a hunt test at the national specialty
which brings the ‘field’ and ‘show’ sides
of the breed together. The frequency of show stock being bred to
field stock is also increasing. The hunting tests will be the savior
of this and many other breeds by proving show dogs in the field.
It is hoped that success in the field will cause show breeders
to chose a stud not just for his good looks but also for his ability
to add the function of the breed to their pedigree.”
Not unexpectedly, the hunt tests have had the greatest effect with
breeds where there is no great difference between “show” and “field” lines
and a significant number of breeders are dedicated to the principle
that dogs from their lines should both look like the standard and
perform the work the breed was developed to do. This has been particularly
true for the less numerous retriever breeds who have difficulty
competing in retriever field trials. This is not due to any lack
of ability on the part of these breeds but rather it is because
retriever field trials are dominated by the Labrador Retriever
and Labrador people. This means that most people involved in the
rule-making for these events are Labrador breeders and owners and
they have devised rules for field trials which showcase the strengths
of the Labrador breed and in some cases, penalize the finest attributes
of the other retriever breeds, the Golden “nose” for
example. The “flash and dash” of the field trial Lab
is not usually the strength of Golden Retrievers, Chesapeake Bay
Retrievers, Flat-Coated Retrievers, Curly Coated Retrievers or
Irish Water Spaniels. In addition, retriever field trials are the
only sporting dog trials where all breeds must compete against
each other to earn their field championship which means Goldens,
Chesapeakes, Flat-Coats and Curly Coats must compete against the
Labradors on the Labs’ home field and most times, with Lab
people as judges. As a consequence, the hunt test program has been
warmly embraced by Flat-Coat, Curly Coat and Irish Water Spaniel
owners.
Surprisingly hunt tests have also had a major impact and garnered
a lot of participation from the only retriever breed that still
produces dual champions—the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Joanne
Silver, a member of the board of directors for the American Chesapeake
Club and whose own kennel now sports four generations of Ch/HT
Chesapeakes said, “We have a lot of participation in hunt
tests by people who have Chessies. In addition, we have been most
fortunate in that a large number of Chesapeake breeders are determined
that the breed not split into ‘show’ and ‘field’ types.
As a result, breeders who are primarily interested in show dogs
have never been reluctant to breed to good-looking field dogs.
There are also a number of Chesapeake breeders who will not do
a breeding unless the sire or the dam, and preferably both, of
the litter are champions with hunt test titles. What this means
is that we are now seeing multi-generations of Chesapeakes that
are Ch/HT dogs just as we’ve also seen multiple generations
of dual champions. We don’t have a whole lot of Ch/MH dogs
as a dozen reached this height in the last three years along with
66 senior hunters that are also champions but these dogs along
with our dual champions have had and continue to have a great deal
of impact on the breed.”
However, some of the pointing breeds have a large number of dual
champions and with these breeds, the effects from hunt tests have
been minimal. This is because long before the hunt tests appeared,
breeders of these breeds were committed to maintaining the dual
nature of their dogs and toward that end, produced a number of
dogs that went on to become dual champions. No sporting dog breeders
have been more successful at producing dual champions than the
Brittany breeders.
“Brittany people are more into dual champion titles than
champions with hunt test titles to prove the duality of the breed,” said
Mary Jo Trimble, the corresponding secretary of the American Brittany
Club. “However, having said that and on a more positive note,
the benefit of the hunt tests to our breed has been to allow the
show people to get an introduction to field work in a non-threatening
environment where they are surrounded by friendly, helpful people.
It also lets them do something to demonstrate basic field ability
in their dogs. With the hunt tests, no horses, trailers, etc are
required. Many of the people who start in hunt tests eventually
decide to try field trials often beginning with the walking stakes
and then progressing to horseback trials, hour stakes and finally
championships. But, as far as any impact on breeding decisions
is concerned, we have a large number of dual champions and field
champions in the breed and it seems as though people who are interested
in preserving the dual concept look to these dogs first when it
comes to choosing a stud dog.”
While there is a shortage of solid, take-it-to-court-and-win evidence
that hunt tests are preserving field abilities in conformation
dogs, it is hard to discount that at least with some breeds, the
tests have definitely proven beneficial for people wanting to prove
that their show dogs can do what they were bred to do. For several
of the sporting breeds, the tests have made a significant impact
with many champions also having hunt test titles. For all the sporting
breeds, this is a trend that must be viewed as positive and must
be encouraged at every opportunity.
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