Why is it ALWAYS the 6th blind?

[Lauri & The Gang]

I would think that if you REALLY wanted to show how a dog can search then you would have them mix up which blind the helper will be in during the trial.

Why is it always the 6th blind? Is it just to show that you can train your dog to run around 5 objects before they do the bark and hold?

[gagsd]

Many people do train with different blinds being "hot".... or even multiple blinds being "hot."

edited... I see you said in a trial. Hmmmm... maybe someone with more experience can say why.

[lhczth]

It is an obedience exercise that shows the dog's willingness to take direction from the handler despite knowing the bad guy is in the 6th blind. They are supposed to look in each blind as they go around so it is not just a matter of teaching the dog to run around an object.

[crackem]

because they have to graduate steps and keep it a standard somehow. Why would you get a ScH III if they put the helper in the 2nd blind, but your friend's dog had to run all 6 to find the helper?

It's just about standardization, and there has to be some requirements. It shows a dog can take direction, that's about it. it looks nice when it's there and looks like crap when it's not, but what happens after that is what most people remember anyway, and where most of the points are awarded or lost.

[Liesje]

I think it depends on the purpose of the exercise. Is is really about searching? Should it be treated like doing a building search with a police dog? I don't know. I see it the way Lisa described. The dog knows where the helper is and is demonstrating control. I also want to see the speed and enthusiasm from the dog running all 6 blinds. Even the dogs who slow down to check the blind can show awesome speed and enthusiasm. In training we put helpers in random spots (and often have 2-4 helpers out there) but like crackem is saying it's such a small part of the trial that most people aren't going to spend a lot of time on it as long as they have control.

Though we put people in random blinds we do all the real work at the 6 blind because it's just the best spot. That's where the gear is, where the people are standing, and in our case it's away from the busy road and exposed train track. Our 1, 3, 5 blinds are all about 50 feet from a set of train tracks and we get a dozen trains go by during training. Nobody wants to actually work a dog between those blinds and the track!

[bocron]

All dogs running the same number of blinds is the only way to make the test fair. I always thought it would be fun at the beginning of a trial to have the judge pick a number out of a hat, say 3 through 6, and then whatever number was drawn, then all had to run that number.
Sometimes it is so obvious the dog is going through the motions, you can usually tell the dogs that are trained "to the test" since they seem to be running the pattern and are trying to get to that last blind.

Annette

[hunterisgreat]

The knpv searches have more utility. Schutz is a sport afterall. If you're wanting to really work the dog then knpv is more appropriate in my opinion

[lhczth]

Something else the blind search does is shows the dog's ability to switch from obedience into aggression/fight when they hit blind 6.

[Smithie86]

Originally Posted by lhczth

Something else the blind search does is shows the dog's ability to switch from obedience into aggression/fight when they hit blind 6.

And the phrase that is also used is Obed. under distraction.

[Chris Wild]

Part is standardization. A certain number of blinds are required at each level and those are always the same. Otherwise Dog A who only had to run 3 blinds for his title and Dog B who ran 6, were not evaluated against the same standard and their titles should not be considered equivalent.

The biggest part though is that, as already mentioned, it isn't a search exercise. Scent work was already tested in one of the other phases. It is an obedience exercise under extreme distraction, to test if the dog is directable and willing to do as the handler asks even though he knows darned well where the helper is and himself would much rather just go straight there. And then after requiring the dog to suppress his drive and desire to satisfy it and instead perform the obedience of running blinds, it tests the dog's ability to then switch into drive immediately when he reaches the helper, despite having suppressed that drive up until that point.