Jacks of All Tradâ‚ŹS, Masters of None by Tom Keer, Photos by Angela Keer Until recently, we were a world filled with single-purposeitems. Each magnificent item was a masterpieceof talent and design. These items performed one specific task, and they performed it well and without exception.What made for their uniquenesswas not that they were of excellent quality and made to last, but that they were designedunder the conceptof "form-follows-function." In other words, they had a focused and singular purpose. An awl is a single-purposetool. An awl makes holes. The sharp tip puncturesand makes a small clean cut, and you can run the taperedshaft farther in to make a bigger hole. An awl could be used for other things like a marlinspike to remove tight knots in a line or as an ice pick. But chances are you'd dull the point and render the awl ineffective. A meat tenderizer is a single-purposeitem, and you could use it as a hammer. But would you? And isn't a framing hammer different from a finish hammer, which is different from a jackhammer? It's the samewith dogs. Bird dogs were bred for specific purposes.One sort was bred for running game, another for retrieving shot game, a third for pointing the location of game, a fourth for startling the game to take flight. Over the centuries,dogs were bred and bred and bred again so as to develop a particular set of characteristics(call it a skill set). To require a bird dog to be versatile is the modern equivalent of asking it to be a multi-tasker. If you cotton to that theory, then welcome to the era of dogs that can be categorized asjacks of all trades,mastersof none. In his 1946 classic,Eastern Upland Shooting,Charles C. Nonis had it right. As Norris correctly states,"Bloodlines are perhapsthe most important thing to go upon in the selection of a puppy." Bloodlines from a field trial and hunting-blood mom and pop provide invaluable genetics that you can build your training on. There is no replacementfor a birdyas-hell dog. Expose your dog to as many different hunting situations as possible,and you won't need to do any genetic engineering.What you'll get is a dog that focuseson his primary tasks and, when required, is able to perform the secondary and tertiary tasks as well. Time is on the side of the single-purposehunting stock. Those bloodlines are centuriesold, and field trial stock is over a century old: The firstAmerican field trial ran near Memphis,Tenn.,on Oct. 8,1874. If you're going to delve deeperinto the single purpose vs. versatile dog argument,then look at the exfremes.Would you demand a German shorthairedpointer that was bred for upland conditions to jump into 30-degreewater?Would you ask a Chessieto run and gun in either a quail field or the grousewoods? Do the thin skin, small paws, long legs and lean weight make the shorthair excel as a water dog? Do the thick skin, webbed feet and heavy weight make the Next Chessieexcel in locating Southernquail? They can get it done, page... granted,but why ask them to?
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THE UPLAND ALMANAC
VersatileSuccess Ys.OTP Syndrome Story and Photos by Nancy Anisfield There'snothing more depressingthan knowing you hit that huge ruffed grousebut your darn dog can't find it any more quickly than he'd find a golf tee in a field of gopherholes.You realizeyou didn't kill it outright and it probablyran into that thicket,but ol'Blue (registered name:"Sir Bluebloodof ClassicoElegantia")is spendingmore time with his nosein the air hoping the paparazziarenearbythan he is thinking aboutputting that noseto the ground and trackingyour bird. Actually, thereis somethingmore depressing:the sight of you later realizingyou that evening,sippingyour fourth tumbler of condolences, shouldhave gottena dog that not only could find birds but also could actuallyhelp you put them in your game bag. Sureenough,you didn't listen that day on the windlessprairie when your buddy'spointerjust ran and ran, snoutto the wind, nevereven consideringthat sharpiescould be scentedin the grass.And rememberwhen you did connecton that prairie chicken,droppingit into an irrigation pond?The water surewas cold with your bootsoff and brushpantsrolled up to the knees. Successfulbird hunting can be brokendown into threephases: finding the game,handlingthe gamefor a viable shootingopportunity and retrieving the game. For food or sport, it doesn't take long to figure out that the task can be made much easier - not to mention more pleasurable- when a savvy canineis broughtto the task.We all know this, right? Yet somehunterspersistin using dogs that can fulfill only one- or two-thirdsof the huntingtriad. They purchase"single purpose," aka "one trick pony" (OTP) dogs that might be trained to work all three phasesbut really have beenbred for just one or two. The logic in owning a "versatile"breedcannotbe denied.In Europeway back when, only the wealthy landownerheld the hunting privileges.He carriedmagnificentcustom-engraved shotguns,owned cellars filled with the finest sherry and employed a hunt staff led by a bow-leggedgnome in tweedswhosekindly, wrinkled face disguiseda mind maniacallydedicatedto outwitting partridge(or at leaststrangling them wheneverhe could get his gnarledthumbsaroundtheir necks). Theselords and baronskept extensivekennelshousingspecializeddogs, each dog bred and trained for specific tasksrequired within each type of hunt.Thus, a pointerfor pointing,a hound for tracking,a retrieverfor retrieving,etc. With the IndustrialRevolutioncame a changein classstructure, improving the standardof living for many who'd previouslybeen excludedfrom the hunt.Thesepredominantlymiddle-classfolks couldn't afford kennelsfull of dogs,nor did they have the time or space to train them. Hence,the versatiledog was conceived,well, actually, developedafter many conceptions(if you want to get technicalabout it). Next The versatiledog is one that will handle a variety page"' of game, both feather and fur, before and after the shot. Blending existingbreeds,dedicatedhunterscreatedthesenew
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At one time, the l6-gaugewas toutedas the one-stopshopper's perfect shotgunfor game birds. You could shoot everything from dove to duck with one shotgun.In the correspondingsportof fly fishing,the 7-weightfly rod enabledanglersto handleeverythingfrom a bluegill to an Atlantic salmon.At that time the stationwagon,a blend of a car and a truck, grew in popularity and probably carried thesesportsmenwith their 16-gaugesand a 7-weight rods into the fields and streams.Yet their choiceof a dog remainedintact; a pointerwas usedfor pointing and a retrieverfor retrieving. Why? They were bred for proper, single-focus performance. The Leathermantool. A Blackberryor iPhone.SUVs. The list of modern-daymulti-purposegadgetsis staggeringlylong and is a far cry from single-purpose items.And while the world migratestoward that multi-purpose/watered-down condition,why drag bird dogs into the mix? Bear in mind that Fido comes from the Latin forldelity, and that's no way to treatman'sbestfriend. Has our modernculturecreateda monster?Is multi-taskingthe way of the world? Are versatiledogs simply multi-taskers,bred to do it all? And in the processof doing it all , aren't they watereddown, veritable jacks of all trades,mastersof none?Methinks so. I think of my gun cabinet.If I filled eachof its l0 slots with a shotgunperfectlysuitedto my quarry and hunting conditions,l would grin from ear-to-ear. There would be no jury-rigging choke tubes,no jockeying aroundwith ballistic combinationsand certainlyno swearing when I miss a bird becauseI hit a tree with a barrelthat was too long. [f I could pull out a shotgunthat was perfectlysuitedto my needs,I would be a happy man indeed.The sameholds true for dogs. Get a whole string,I tell you, with a pup perfectlysuitedfor the conditionat hand. Then make a film about it. I've got the perfecttitle for you: A Dog for Every Season. *,,s1
breeds- dogs with a keen nose,intensepoints,blood-trackingcapability, a cooperativetemperament,a strongdesireto retrieveon land or water, stamina,a durablecoat and trainingbidability.Pudelpointers, German shorthairedpointers(DK), German wirehairedpointers(DD), vizslas, Brittanys,Weimaraners,Munsterlanders,Spinoni, wirehairedpointing griffons and otherswere later brought to North America, establishing reputationsequal to - and arguablysuperiorto - the OTP dogs. OTP advocatessay dogs bred for a variety of stronghunting traits won't developeachof thosetraits as well as the dog whosebreeding focuseson just one trait. That argumenthas no rational basis.To say geneticscan only concentrateon one trait at a time is like sayinga husbandand wife, both tall, will likely havetall childrenbut thosechildren can't have other strongpositive characteristics- curly brown hair or musicaltalent- in common. Not only are the geneticmakeupsof versatilebreedscarefully monitored,but their chosenattributesare reinforcedgenerationafter generation. Settingasidea nostalgiclust for tradition, thereis no reasonto hunt with a dog that has beenbred for eonsto stick its nosein the air and run at hypersonicspeedsor to trot along with silky withers tickling the breeze if it can't also track a roosterpheasantdown a deepravine or bring in a chukar that landedin a rushing streambed.Similarly, why have a keen retrieverthat can only let you know a bird is nearby windmilling its tail so hard all the foliage in a two-acreparcel is flattened,minutesafter the bird has alreadyflown into the next county,of course. Our hunting seasonsare short; time is precious.I want a dog that will do it all, one that is geneticallyprogrammedto put instinct and intelligence into all phasesof the task.We'll hunt upland and waterfowl with equal confidence.And aboveall, we'll be able to work togetherthroughoutthe entirehunt ... true huntingcompanionr.asl
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THE UPLANDALMANAC