Bloodhound Trials
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A friend once told me a funny story about the time when she reluctantly agreed to help out as the quarry. Her husband was an avid trials man and he was delighted that his wife had agreed to help with training. On the day in question my friend set off across the countryside along the line that she understood the hounds were to take and then she waited for them to find her.....and she waited...and waited....and waited. Eventually she got fed up and found her way back to the start line. She had scrambled across muddy countryside and through thickets of brambles. She had climbed a gate and fought her way through a dense wood and naturally she wasn't very happy that not a single hound had found her. She was even less happy when she was told that she'd gone the wrong way and had been waiting in the wrong place for over an hour. The hounds had tried to follow her scent but the handlers had assumed that they were going the wrong way and had forced them go the way the line should have taken. "They should have trusted the dogs," she wailed. She was quite right. The hounds knew what they were doing and if the handlers had trusted them they would have found their quarry, albeit in the wrong place.
Nevertheless, bloodhound trials are an interesting way of spending time with dogs and if you know someone who loves the breed and takes part in trials they may well appreciate a helping hand. It's a wonderful way of being involved in the dog world, especially if you aren't in a position to have your own dog.
Bloodhound trials are held under Kennel Club rules and no dog may hunt off the lead until it has passed a test. The trials vary in their level of difficulty from Novice, where the Line is 1 mile long and is laid half an hour before the dog works, through to Senior (3 miles long, 2 hours cold). There are also championship trials. |
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