268 TRAINING THE HUNTING DOG 



best qualities, tends to a certain definite climax, 

 which brings certain dogs to the fore as the legiti- 

 mate winners. 



If the dogs* are overworked from heat to heat and 

 thereby the natural climax of the competition is de 

 stroyed, there follows a series of anti-climax circum- 

 stances which destroys all possibility of intelligent 

 decisions. Some of the field trials of the past have 

 not been free from such mistaken management on 

 the part of the judges. 



When all the dogs in a stake are run to a stand- 

 still, they are all then on the same level as to per- 

 formance and ability. An analogous case would be 

 if the judges trotted till they were all so completely 

 exhausted that they could not walk. If this procedure 

 were kept up heat after heat, it is readily apparent 

 that, from a racing standpoint, there would have 

 been a long departure past the true racing climax. 



When the true climax in a field trial is passed, the 

 whole competitive situation begins to change. The 

 judges may know which are the best dogs, but if 

 they have run them to a standstill, dogs of inferior 

 quality may apparently be making a better showing 

 at the finish, Lucky finds, made by poor dogs, will 



