American Field Futurity

[Tim Tufts]

I read with sorrow that the American Field Futurity, one of the premier breeders stakes for bird dogs, has been cancelled this year due to to lack of nomination of litters.
The futurity began in 1903 and was established to enable breeders to show the success of their programs in competition.
That announcement, along with the cancellation of several amateur trials this season, causes me great concern for the future of our sport not to mention the future of the availability of well bred upland game pointing dogs.

[Sharon]

Wow. Times are a- changin' Tim. Sad, but that's the way it is. Different generations than when we started with dogs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ

[terrym]

Hey Tim,
what do you feel is the problem? General lack of interest or lack of hunting oppurtunities?

[Tim Tufts]

There are a few issues.
First and foremost is the lack of habitat for upland game birds
Second is the lack of interest among the next generation. Seems that these days if it doesn't have horns then it isn't worth pursuing.

[that a boy]

I read with sorrow that the American Field Futurity, one of the premier breeders stakes for bird dogs, has been cancelled this year due to to lack of nomination of litters.
The futurity began in 1903 and was established to enable breeders to show the success of their programs in competition.
That announcement, along with the cancellation of several amateur trials this season, causes me great concern for the future of our sport not to mention the future of the availability of well bred upland game pointing dogs.

I'm a newbie to the sport and wish there were more participants from ontario.I driven to michigan on my own and would love to have some more canadian participants and or younger participants regardless were there from.
Looking at the photos of different field trail placements tells the story,older crowd.
Speaking to Spencer Ray who helps with the training ,there is encouragement.
Some of his clients recently are younger.
Here in ontario we certainly need the help,Michigan for example has large plots of land which caters to field trails.
Unfortunately the liberals are more concerned about ugly money loosing wind mills.

[yellow dog]

Very sad indeed. Like many dog sports it can easily become a lifestyle and not everyone is cut out for it. Other dog sports have increased by leaps and bounds such as flyball, agility, skijoring etc. I have seen this many years ago when i was heavily involved with dog sledding. The sport was dyeing out where i use to live in Eastern Ontario. A few of us mushers got together and started a local race and before you know it over a 15 year period two clubs started with well over 100 members involved with dog sledding, skijoring and bikejoring. Dog sports can be cyclical.

[terrym]

There are a few issues.
First and foremost is the lack of habitat for upland game birds
Second is the lack of interest among the next generation. Seems that these days if it doesn't have horns then it isn't worth pursuing.

I think the hunting media has a lot to do with "who" gets recruited into hunting. The tv shows very rarely include bird dogs. I was a serious big game hunter until I bought my Brittany. Now big game is secondary to me. I love the simplicity of a quick 2 hour hunt and walking up on my dog on a solid point just makes me grin.

[yellow dog]

I think the hunting media has a lot to do with "who" gets recruited into hunting. The tv shows very rarely include bird dogs. I was a serious big game hunter until I bought my Brittany. Now big game is secondary to me. I love the simplicity of a quick 2 hour hunt and walking up on my dog on a solid point just makes me grin.

This is the main reason I do not bother watching Canadian hunting shows because of the lack of bird dog work. I got really sick of seeing the same Preston Elk being hunted in the blah blah mountains of blah blah blah. Or the ego driven fishing/hunting shows laughing at all the fish they are catching because some sponsor suckers gave them a free trip. The only fishing show celebrity that i have some respect for is Bob Izumi. He and his brother came from from very humble beginnings and I know that for a fact.

[welsh]

Wow. Times are a- changin' Tim.

Yeesh. You win one Nobel Prize for Literature and the next thing you know, people are quoting you all over the place....

Second is the lack of interest among the next generation. Seems that these days if it doesn't have horns then it isn't worth pursuing.

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land / and don't criticize what you can't understand, etc.

By coincidence, I ran into a couple of guys from the OBDCA group up at Hullett last weekend and was chatting with them about this very problem. Look at any field trial group and you will see a lot of grey hair. There are not many young people in any given group ... it seems if you're in your 40s you count as a youngster.

I think upland hunting in general and field trials in particular face a real challenge here. Let's face it: owning and training dogs is expensive and time consuming, and running dogs in trials even more so. Tough on younger people who are trying to launch careers and start families. This is not to mention the single most significant demographic shift of the 20th century, the migration off the land and into cities, accompanied by steadily more mechanized farming ... it is even tougher when you have to find places you can use as training grounds and so on. And it doesn't help that the existing trial crowd, being generally older, isn't easy to track down on the internet. It's a tough thing to get into.

Here in ontario we certainly need the help,Michigan for example has large plots of land which caters to field trails.
Unfortunately the liberals are more concerned about ugly money loosing wind mills.

Our habitat problem in southern Ont contributes to the local decline and the lack of a small game strategy by MNRF doesn't help. But this is not new. I can recall almost 20 years ago talking about this with the then-Area Biologist for MNRF Aylmer District, who pointed out that not only small game hunting but also the tradition of blackbirding, etc., as a hunting apprenticeship was dying out. Instead, new hunters were leaping directly into turkey and deer hunting.

We don't have a small game strategy because not enough hunters demand one; not enough hunters demand one because they are happy hunting the more abundant species; they are hunting more abundant species because of the lack of a small game strategy. The snake eats its tail.

People are also hunting deer and turkey because this is what outdoor media promote. They hunt the species that are marketed heavily. Those species are marketed because there's money in it. Hunting is big business. And there's no big business interest in upland hunting, which at heart requires only a pair of boots, a shotgun, and a dog. Go to Bass Pro or Cabelas: a gazillion square feet of floor space devoted to camo, calls, etc; one little rack with upland vests on it. It's a market reality: outdoor media relies on sponsors and advertising, and so the hunt that gets promoted is the one with the money in it.

The only big expense in upland hunting (and it's a big one) is the dog, but this money goes to breeders and vets and dog food manufacturers -- a bunch of little guys. At a big box hunting store, you can't buy a spaniel whistle. You can't even order one -- it's not in their product file. The gun dog world is a niche business. The only corner of that business that the big box stores really pay attention to is the corner where the money is: the e-collar business.

Marketing has a lot to do with the decline in small game hunting, which in turn has a lot to do with the disappearance of small game from the landscape.

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by Sharon
Wow. Times are a- changin' Tim.



Yeesh. You win one Nobel Prize for Literature and the next thing you know, people are quoting you all over the place.... quote Welsh
...............


LOL I've loved his music since he was 20. Sharon

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I'm a newbie to the sport and wish there were more participants from ontario.I driven to michigan on my own and would love to have some more canadian participants and or younger participants regardless were there from.
Looking at the photos of different field trail placements tells the story -older crowd.
Speaking to Spencer Ray who helps with the training ,there is encouragement.
Some of his clients recently are younger.
Here in ontario we certainly need the help,Michigan for example has large plots of land which caters to field trails.
Unfortunately the liberals are more concerned about ugly money loosing wind mills." quote that a boy

Spencer has made a tremendous difference to the field dog circuit over the years. My hats off to him. (Of course he had a great trainer himself. ) quote Sharon