This story is my personal view. I have hunted and attended trials with my Labradors from 1992 and have been an active member of the local retriever club and the Finnish Retriever Organization.
Retriever Trials and Hunting in FINLANDRetriever Breeds in Finland
Retrievers are relatively new breeds in Finland. Their popularity has greatly increased during the past four decades. Today Golden Retriever and Labrador Retriever are among the most popular breeds. The registrations of retriever breeds in the Finnish Kennel Club are reaching 4000 each year. Most retrievers are acquired as pets or showing only. However training for shooting and trials has become quite popular.
Traditional Hunting Combined with Kennel Activity
In the past, hunting was a necessity and much a one man’s affair with the Finnish Spitz as company in the vast forestland. The main task of the dog was to locate the prey by the scent and keep it within the reach of the hunter by a special way of barking. Special skill of the hunter was and still is to sneak close enough to shoot. Even today the Finnish Spitz is a one-man’s dogs developing a strong bond with its owner only.
A newer tradition is the Finnish Hound that was developed from European hounds for high speed chasing of the forest hare. This hare has a habit of running in large successive loops which gives the hunter a possibility of placing the shot.
A selected group of German Pointer and Setter enthusiast have a long history, too.
Organized kennel activity and breeding of excellent hunting dogs started early, even dating back to the necessity of good dog. All serious dog owners are members in the Finnish Kennel Club that consists of national breed organizations and regional centres. The Kennel Club controls all official kennel activity. Well organized trials and shows are a serious hobby of many of the almost 150,000 members.
Introduction of Retrievers
Training of the traditional dogs is totally different from what is required with the retriever. In the beginning the training methods used were those learned with German Pointers and utility dogs. The Finnish Retriever Club (later the Finnish Retriever Organization) had a major role in importing the training methods that bring the desired result.
We don’t have many managed shoots for pheasants or other game. The retriever however proved to be an excellent help for the wildfowler. It was also noted that retrievers are social dogs that serve well as all family pets even in the town house, where most of us nowadays live.
Retrievers are very well suited for the urban occasional hunter. He mostly goes after different fowl or forest birds. Many use the retriever for flushing of birds in the shotgun range like spaniels. The forest doesn’t often give a large bag. Most popular quarry would be a mallard, widgeon, teal, goldeneye, dove, black grouse, capercaillie, grouse or hare.
Retrievers have a very important role today in tracking elk or deer having been wounded in traffic accidents or hunting.
Retriever Organisations
The Finnish Retriever Organisation “FRO” has a history of nearly 50 years. Today Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Flat Coated Retrievers and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers have their own national breed organisations. Training and trial activity is still concentrated mainly within the FRO. It consists of regional clubs covering the whole nation and breed clubs for the smaller in number breeds i.e. Curly Coated Retriever and Chesapeake Bay Retriever. FRO and the other four retriever breed organisations have each permanent representation in the Kennel Club.
Training and Working
The first rules for the trials had features from the utility dog obedience disciplines. Quite soon however, with the help of our foreign friends mainly in Sweden, trials and special training methods for retriever dogs were introduced.
Emphasis is on wildfowling. We like to see that the few ducks that are dropped are found. They may lay in water, on land or in quite large area of different terrain the exact location uncertain. Wounded ones should be retrieved quickly. Working larger dog groups is seldom necessary.
What is a good retriever for us? Game finding ability is most important. It must be able to hunt by swimming. Most of us respect initiative and independence in marking and hunting. Ability to handle the dog close to the retrieve makes working effective.
In training we believe that the hunting instincts must be given a proper chance to develop. Obedience means that the dog is willing to work in cooperation with the handler. The use of electric collar is forbidden in all dog training. We don’t like forced retrieve methods because we suspect negative impacts on breeding if this spreads. We like to see a spontaneous retrieve developed because in this manner the dog has the best chance to use its own initiative in situations where the handler cannot help. We don’t want to give our dogs to others for training.
Finnish retrievers have recently done well in international competitions. The basis for the work has been done by the regional clubs of FRO. Of course this has also required excellent dogs and a lot of effort from their owners.
Trials System
Our type of trials are run with cold game only. This is why we have trials from May to October. The game comprises mostly seagulls, crows and rabbits. Some ducks, pheasants and doves are also seen. The trials are not competitions but all dogs receive a quality judgement, also in writing. The trial system has four stages:
“Propensity test” with Cold Game
The purpose of the test is to measure the dog’s inherited aptitude for working. This first stage must be passed to attend the novice class trials. The test is also required for the show champion title in addition to the three certificates. It is open to all registered retrievers at least 9 months old. The test is judged passed or failed.
The test comprises three parts. First the judge gathers the handlers with the dogs on leash and tells how the test is performed. In the same time social behaviour of the dogs is judged.
For the second section the dogs and handlers are called one by one. First the dog must retrieve a couple of seagulls from water. A shotgun is fired with the second retrieve thrown from a visible boat. The minimum swimming distance is 20m. Next the dog is taken to a free search or hunting task. Five crows are spread in and the area extending over 50m in advance. The sixth crow is thrown as a ”hidden mark” and the shotgun is fired again. The dog must hunt and show initiative with successive retrieves until the judge is satisfied
The third part of the test is a tracking exercise. This is made, to those dogs that have passed the test this far, by dragging a rabbit about 80m in the forest. The handler assists the dog to the starting point of the trail but the dog must find the rabbit without help.
The following properties are judged and the dog must pass in each: Social behaviour, willingness to swim, hunting, spontaneous retrieve, mouth, returning the retrieve, reaction to gunfire, self-confidence and initiative and cooperation with the handler. The dog must pass all these but everything is made as easy as possible. The test should not require much training.
Finnish B-Trials, the Nordic Trial Type with Cold Game
Dogs need to be trained. Leash is not used and steadiness to gunfire is required, they must retrieve to hand and work with the whistle. Trials are held in wildfowling terrain. The exercises are the same for all dogs. There are three classes, “novice”, “open” and “winner”. Prizes according the quality of working are “0”, “3”, “2” and “1” (first). With a first prize from the novice class the dog may attend an open class trial. With two first prizes from the open class the dog may attend a winner class trial. For the champion title three first prizes from the winner class are required. The champions must also pass a special hunting test with warm game. If the dog has been awarded in a field trial this test is not necessary.
Novice class trials are held in quite easy terrain. The retrieving distances are not long. The exercises comprise an easy double mark or two singles, an easy blind retrieve on land or in water and a free search exercise where 5-6 unseen birds are on land and in water. The terrain must not be difficult and water area must be such that it is quite easy to swim. If the dog performs worth the first prize, it shall be taken to a final rabbit trail abt. 200m long. The dog must work independently and find the trail from a distance of some 10m.
Open class trials are held in more demanding terrain. There is a double mark. Blind retrieves may be on land or in water. They are designed so that the dog must be handled to the retrieve. Free search is in more demanding terrain with 4-5 retrieves on land and in water.
Winner class trials are demanding. The dogs normally work in pairs. They may have to remember three marks. Search is made demanding by terrain and distances. The blind retrieves are demanding and distractions may occur. Cold game may be replaced with dummies. Notable is that the dog must work in successive exercises up to an hour.
In novice and open class there may be up to 15 dogs for each judge per day, in winner class 12. Almost every weekend in the season there are 1 to 3 trials somewhere in Finland with 15 to 90 dogs attending in each. Training and trials have become an important – to some almost addictive - hobby.
The cold game trials in Sweden and Norway are of the similar type in their own style.
"A-Trials" and Working Tests
"A-Trials" are warm game field trials run according to the international rules. There are increasing possibilities to these. This is due to the cooperation with the owners of the few shoots and those of the top dogs. They spend a lot of time picking up with the paid hunts.
“C-Trials”, newly introduced working tests are becoming increasingly popular because they are much easier to arrange than the other trial types. Dummies are used. Rules are imported from Europe.
Photo from the 2010 FINNISH RETRIEVER CHAMPIONSHIP: