windycanyon (04-30-2018)
Not around here, LOL. Not that many Labs competing in NJ, but those that do tend to do very well (as in National champion well). Really though, what we have a TON of are Border Collies. There are a few good Goldens, but the true top dogs around here are either Labs or Border Collies. I was told there are mostly Goldens up in New England, so I guess it varies by region. A few Mals and Tervs here, too but not that many ... almost no Aussies, and not as many Shelties as there used to be.
Annette
Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009
And remembering:
Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015
And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014
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windycanyon (04-30-2018)
Around here, it's by far the Goldens and the Border Collies at the very top, with the occasional Labrador. Then, sometimes a random Beardie, Aussie, Papillon or something. Just three hours away, I went to a trial where there was one Labrador in the Utility B class with a ton of Goldens and a few other random breeds, but out of the entire trial, I'm not sure I saw one Border Collie or Aussie! Funny how it varies by area.
In the NOC top qualifiers for the June 2018 championships it's 5 Lab qualifiers, 13 Border Collies and 23 Goldens. I know the Labs have been doing well at Westminster obedience. In my experience, Labs are more consistent and steady in their performance but the when the Goldens can keep it together, their precision is better than the Labs and so they can score higher. And, I'm not going to lie, the Goldens are flashy and exciting to watch. The Labs are like work horses, there to get the job done! I appreciate both.
I've been looking at both Goldens and Labs for my next pup. The number of CH/OTCH/MH/MACH Goldens out there really puts our Labs to shame. It's been painful finding a Lab breeder that breeds dogs to standard and has the higher level performance titles on the dogs that they produce. But, then the Goldens have the cancer and other health issues, and that's just scary!
We train with a number of Goldens, and I wouldn’t say that they are capable of higher precision. What I’ve noticed is they are more forgiving of handler mistakes than the Labs are. The Goldens tend to make more effort to figure out what you really want and do it, even if you might be giving mixed signals, while the Labs will take you at face value, so if you don’t cue it perfectly, they won’t do it perfectly - there is a tendency toward a bit of laziness if you don’t keep your criteria very tight. Much as I love my Labs, I do think the Goldens are a bit more eager to please, and they don’t mind repeated drills, but I find Labs more fun/challenging to work with. Of course there is a lot of variation with breeds as well.
Annette
Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009
And remembering:
Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015
And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014
Hidden Content
Labradorks (05-01-2018)
Congrats! That is awesome! Have fun in open, and let us know how the new command discrimination is going for people at trials. We are on an obed. break for the summer so I'm anxious to hear people's experience.
I am in a big/busy obedience area. Around here its goldens... and then more goldens. There are a few nice labradors but its rare to see more than a couple at a trial, especially in open/utility B.
Labradorks (05-01-2018)
I’m entered in Open B this weekend, so I will report back about the command discrimination! She’s doing fine with it in practice, but I don’t know what she will do when it unexpectedly shows up in the middle of her Open class, LOL. I suspect it will be easier with my young dogs who will have no idea that you can do Open without this.
Annette
Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009
And remembering:
Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015
And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014
Hidden Content
Labradorks (05-02-2018)
Thanks! It'll be interesting to see how that goes, for sure. Our position changes for open are solid, but I know not everyone feels the same. Our drop on recall though... Knowing I was getting his CD this Spring I held off so we're rusty and he was going through the anticipation stage. Super looking forward to doing more than heeling in the ring!
I was in TX for a couple of weeks working with some folks who are very, very well-known in the Field Sports. They had 2 goldens on the truck, littermates. We were working on a channel swim. Most of the dogs did well... it was a fairly wide channel, sort of for beginning concepts. Now, both Goldens had done it before. The little female did great. Her brother... OMG! Just insisted on running the bank. They don't use anything punitive... so they were trying to reteach and reteach it. What was frustrating was that the dog had been doing channel swims for a while. Something about that channel, on that day... he just wouldn't do it. There is a Golden on the pro's truck up here in Reno. Just absolutely stuck. He'll screw up something (things he's been doing, that he's been taught and practiced) and it goes all to Heck after that.
I was asking Bill Hillmann if that was normal Golden behavior. He said they can be really hard-headed. If he had to choose anything-but-a-lab, he said he'd go with the Chessie every time.
I don't care where you live, you will not see a lot of Goldens running the field sports at a high level. Some... but not a lot.
And no one would venture to guess why that would be. You'd think smart and biddable would carry over whether it was guns, ducks and water, or the obedience ring. But it doesn't.
Hidden Content
The WindyCanyon Girls (taken Summer 2018)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Northern Spy CDX RA JH OA OAJ CC (14.5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Ruby Pink BN CD RA CC (4.5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Kanzi BN CDX RE JH (5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon ItsOnlyMoneyHoneycrisp BN RN CC (16mos)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Pippin BN RI CC (2.5 yrs)IntCH WindyCanyon's Envy CDX RE JH CC (10.5 yrs)
IntCH HIT WindyCanyon's Kiku A Fuji Too CDX RE JH CC (10 yrs)
Hidden Content
The WindyCanyon Girls (taken Summer 2018)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Northern Spy CDX RA JH OA OAJ CC (14.5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Ruby Pink BN CD RA CC (4.5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Kanzi BN CDX RE JH (5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon ItsOnlyMoneyHoneycrisp BN RN CC (16mos)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Pippin BN RI CC (2.5 yrs)IntCH WindyCanyon's Envy CDX RE JH CC (10.5 yrs)
IntCH HIT WindyCanyon's Kiku A Fuji Too CDX RE JH CC (10 yrs)
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