The Hunting Fool

Riding easily behind far-ranging dogs in a mellow Alabama quail meadow, the mixed gallery of millionaires in fancy dress and farmers in ripped dungarees seemed remarkably lenient. No one winced when a dog, quivering at the smell of quail, froze into a sloppy point or broke before his handler's signal.

Such textbook faults would have been fatal at the National Field Trial Championships for bird dogs, a test that encourages professional handlers and emphasizes flawless technique.* The annual National Shooting Dog Championship is different--a competition among dogs that earn their keep by hunting, not performing. So spectators and judges alike look first to see how a dog performs the basic job of finding birds before worrying about his style and etiquette. Because it sticks to this practical approach and limits dog handlers to amateurs, the eight-year-old championship has become the nation's best test of a hunting dog in the field. "What we look for." said L. B. ('Bud") Maytag, 68, the retired, silver-haired washing-machine king and perennial host for the event, "is just a plain shooting dog with his Sunday clothes on."

Last week a record field, 69 spruced-up dogs from 16 states, came down to Maytag's 13,000-acre plantation near Union Springs. Ala. to sniff for the championship. Running in pairs, the dogs were judged on bird-finding skill, response to their handlers, and on two points that the experts agree are born instincts: pointing and ranging widely over the field. Many of the top dogs are able and willing to stay on point up to two hours and cover 15 miles during a 90-min. hunt.

In the siege of heavy rain and a scent-bedeviling east wind, many dogs got confused, but one liver-and-white pointer bitch felt right at home on Maytag's acres. Bouncing eagerly through the sedge grass. Just Rite Roz flushed her first covey 15 minutes after her handler, Druggist Bill Swift of Selma, Ala., let her go. Swift's whistled commands moved Roz through the course as though she were on a long leash--a series of short blasts sent her roaming, a long blast brought her back. Coolly, she ignored the occasional roar of a shotgun fired to test her poise. Going into a perfect point, taut and quivering, she deftly pinned down eight coveys. Once she pointed at an empty spot still warm with the scent of quail. But when Swift released her, she sprinted ahead for 150 yds. and tracked down the frightened birds with a fine point.

When Roz finished the grueling 90 min. in a romp, the judges had no choice but to give her the title. "We've got a real champion this year," said Magnate Maytag, who was delighted with the way Roz had cleaned up his course. "She doesn't have to apologize to anyone." Said Owner Jim Waugh. who got his champion sight unseen in a trade: "She's a hunting fool."

*Staged at Grand Junction, Tenn. last week and won by Wayriel's Allegheny Sport, a pointer owned by R. W. Wiggins and the Rev. J. A. Bays of Knoxville, Tenn.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.