Following the Scent: Bird Dogs, Their Handlers, and Field Trialing
Author Christopher Eckhoff takes you through a two-year stint campaigning his bird dogs in field trials throughout the country. His love of the sport and his dogs quickly becomes evident as he takes special pleasure in sharing his many experiences. 187 pgs.
A 187-page book for all those who enjoy field trials by Christopher Eckhoff. Christopher thoroughly examines various elements with field trialing that are common for all breeds of bird dog performance events whether they are pointers, flushers, or retrievers. Christopher explains in his own words about his adventures and journey with his own dogs, describing his best moments, as well as how poor runs can happen, and how you can learn from them. Christopher proves that he's in the business of training and breeding bird dogs and he's very good at it.
| Chapters | Page # |
|---|---|
| Setting the Scene | 1 |
| You Can't Tell the Players Without a Program | 9 |
| The Fox Creek Classic | 13 |
| The Golden Triangle | 23 |
| Interleague Play | 27 |
| Judging The Dogs | 31 |
| Ethical Bird Dog Handling | 41 |
| The Nationals | 45 |
| Some Final Thoughts On Judging | 53 |
| It's a Rainout | 59 |
| The Perfect Run | 65 |
| Home Turf | 75 |
| No Good Deed Goes Unpunished | 81 |
| Double Duty | 89 |
| A Perspective On Field Trialing | 97 |
| Decisions and Problems | 103 |
| Follies in Field Trials | 107 |
| It's Not All About Winning, Really! | 121 |
| The Regional Championship | 127 |
| Judging The National Endurance 2002 | 135 |
| Fun in The Sun | 143 |
| The New Season Begins | 147 |
| Turmoil in My Program | 151 |
| Turmoil, The Story Continues | 157 |
| Bozeman Bound | 163 |
| Beautiful Billings, Montana | 171 |
| A Region on the Ropes | 175 |
| The Last Hurrah | 181 |
| About the Author | 187 |
A Little about Christopher Eckhoff
Christopher Eckhoff has been published in Gun Dog and Pointing Dog Journal magazines among numerous other publications. The author has been a bird dog trainer for over 30 years, the most recent 24 years professionally as his only profession. He is the owner/operator of Upland Kennel which is located in easter Montana. Christopher has been heavily involved in bird dog field trials since 1979. He earned field championships with four of his own dogs and currently runs dogs in the AKC Master Hunt Test program.
