Reply With QuoteI would be interested in it but I seem to have so many other fish to fry right now. I thought it was something you had to begin when they were puppies. No?
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I have been working M on two sided heeling and sends. She is starting to get the idea. Today we were doing a drill on the water and I needed to send her from my right as she had to get into the water close to the shore and swim parallel. She actually did it with no problem. My older dog is two sided and has really bought into the whole thing. She rarely hooks a gun if I send her from the correct side. I hope that M will buy into it as well.
I don't use it for hunt tests as I am right handed so handling the gun the dog needs to be on the left. A friend with 2 dogs always runs one from his left and one from his right. He says that is the way he does it in the hunting blind.
I just wonder if any others are doing it.
I would be interested in it but I seem to have so many other fish to fry right now. I thought it was something you had to begin when they were puppies. No?
Hailey heels from the left, but I am starting her on heeling/sending from the right as I have started to see the advantage in some situations. Mostly for us on triples.
Question regarding hunt tests - my dog heels from the left bc that is traditional and what I'm comfortable with. However, I am left handed. So when I have to start handling a gun in a test, other than it potentially being more difficult, is there any "penalty" for handling my dog from the left side as well?
Or I can shoot right handed, it's not as natural, but I have done it with success and could adapt if necessary...
In a hunt test you can run your dog from whatever side you want. My sister shoots left handed so we bought a left handed pump for her to use. She found it awkward putting the safety off and on on the right handed guns. You are allowed to take your own shot gun to the HRC tests. You need to hand it to the marshall to check out before the tests starts and they take it to the line for you. I have a 20 gauge pink camo pump that I use as I now find the 12 gauges too heavy. It also fits me perfectly where the club guns were often too long in the stock. It caused quite a sensation at the first hunt I took it to.
In AKC Hunt Tests, they use a "Quaker gun". This is usually an antique, plugged long gun, or (more commonly) a wooden cut out shaped like a shot gun. So the handler does not actually shoot anything. The rule book just refers to "shouldering" the gun and cautions that the handler cannot use the gun to point out the birds to the dog prior to their going off. Like Anna said, you can run your dog from whatever side you want with no penalty whatsoever.
I wish I would have trained my dog to heal from both sides, and may this winter. I can see a definite advantage on Cheaty water marks and blinds. I shoot left handed also,and heal my dog on the right, so when the cheaty bank is on the right, it makes my pup want to cheat the bank. I like everyone else worked on sending a bit fat, and swimby, which helped tons, but 2 sided handling would take that worry out of the equation somewhat I think.
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