The Pointing Lab, Fact or Myth?
By Joe R. Lock
When I first heard of the pointing Lab, several years ago, I thought someone
was either making it up, or was terribly mistaken. I have been involved with
hunting dogs, including most of the pointing breeds, spaniels, retrievers,
beagles, foxhounds, and coonhounds, most of my life, and I had never heard of,
much less seen a pointing Lab. After reading several articles by well known
hunting dog writers about the pointing Lab, I was still in disbelief and agreed
with the fraternity of conservative dog men who chided, "A bird dog is either a
pointer or a flusher. All retrievers are flushers, case closed!"
That
fervent stance began to gradually subside after I met CKC registered Prince
Charles of Rocky Creek, known to all who love and admire him as Charley. This
big, high energy, yellow Labrador retriever has so far earned 66 points in two
CKC sanctioned hunt tests, on his way to a title in the Novice class of the
(would you believe it?) Pointing Lab Category!
When I bought Charley, I
was not looking for a pointing Lab. In fact, there are only a handful of
breeders in the United States who intentionally breed Labs that demonstrate the
pointing instinct. I wanted a Lab that would find, flush, and retrieve upland
birds, and that could also retrieve ducks and doves. I bought Charley when he
was 8 weeks old, and began socializing him with all the things of the world in
which he would come in contact. This included toys.
I noticed right away,
that as he approached one of his toys, he would pause and stare for several
seconds before pouncing on it. As he grew, this stare or "point" lasted longer
and longer. I thought this behavior to be strange indeed for a breed that is
supposed to boldly flush and not point. Just to further satisfy my curiosity
about this little anomaly, I thought I would try the old pointing dog trainer's
method of reinforcing the pointing instinct by tying a bird's wing on a string
on the end of a long stick and dangling it in front of the pup. Charley pointed
the wing!
I still thought this pointing thing would wear off when he
later got into real birds. Certainly when he saw real birds run and fly he would
try to jump in and catch them. When Charley was 4 months old, I took him to a
game preserve to introduce him to live quail. We planted a few birds and let him
have at it. He flushed the birds and never seemed to give a thought to pointing
them. We were happy and went on to complete the training. Incidentally, Charley
flushed and retrieved 10 straight quail that day!
About a month later, we
set forth on our second outing. He did a great job in hunting and seeking out
the birds. This time however, he was not anxious to jump in on them. The more
birds he found, the longer he would pause before going in on the bird. This
pause became a bonafide point. I became very perplexed. Though this pointing
behavior would be fine for hunting, it would cause him to score low or even fail
in a hunt test. A flushing dog is expected to find the bird and then go in and
boldly flush. As the season went on, Charley's pointing instinct grew so strong
that now he would hold a point until I flushed the bird, just like any of the
pointing breeds. I realized that, want him or not, I had a pointing
Lab.
How did this pointing Lab phenomenon come about? Any web search on
the internet can give you tons of information on the history of the Labrador
retriever. Most of it is in agreement that the breed started in Newfoundland and
was used by fishermen to help haul in nets and perform other various tasks. Labs
were quickly adopted by hunters to retrieve game and later were used to find
game as well. Some articles say that pointing dogs were occasionally crossed
with Labradors. These speculations were based on research and some common sense
type theories. It will probably never be known for sure as records of who begat
who were rarely kept. One probable theory that seems to have as much credibility
as any is that the pointing Lab can be traced back to the old Spanish pointer
and that this pointing gene resurfaces from time to time in present day dogs. By
now you know that I am not a geneticist and you are probably offended if you are
one. However, as simple as it may sound, if the pointing gene has been inherited
from the Spanish pointer, the whole concept of the pointing Lab is a little
easier for me to take.
But, do we need another pointing dog? The answer
is, why not? It is much more difficult to stifle an instinct than to nurture
one. If a Lab has the pointing instinct, then the trainer should help to develop
it. The CKC hunt test rules for retrievers and bird dogs have a category for
pointing Labs, and the rules set up for them are a little different than for
other pointing dogs. For example, the pointing Lab does not have to hold a long
point. The longer the better, but a minimum of 3 seconds for a Novice dog is all
that is required to pass the test.
The proponents of the pointing Lab
state that this dog is not a separate breed. It should be trained and handled
just like any other Lab. The only difference is that it points instead of
flushes. Charley is now 2 years old and his pointing ability is excellent. He
doesn't always lock up solid when he gets scent from a distance like an English
pointer may do, but when he points, get ready, the bird is right under his
nose.
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