08.10.2007

Wake up at 4 am on Sunday morning. Drive a round-trip of 500 km (310 miles). End result: Luka qualified in the field!

General appearance: An enthusiastic dog, that performs the water- and ground retrieves effortlessly. Performs well on the ground trail and shows the typical characteristics of a retriever in all tasks.

For our non-Finnish readers, the Finnish test to qualify for the field consists of three stages: first two marked retrieves from the water, the first one is thrown from the shore (about 5 metres) and the second from a boat after a shot (about 20 metres); then one marked retrieve on the ground after a shot (with the gun moving out of the area before the retrieve can begin), followed by three to six blind retrieves (typically four) from up to 50 metres of distance; finally the dog has to follow a ground trail of a rabbit that makes a J-shape of 80 metres.