The first part of the blind retrieve is "lining," that is, sending the dog toward the downed bird. Here, the author lines a dog in a bare-ground drill.

What Is It?
A working definition: A blind retrieve is a retrieve in which the handler directs his dog, by means of voice, whistle, and arm signals, to a downed bird that the dog didn't mark.

After you've watched a few handlers in action, you'll probably feel that the definition should include something about accompanying body-English, some conscious, some not, some helpful to the dog, some not. For now, let's keep it simple.

To direct his dog to an unmarked fall, the handler must first send him in the right direction, which necessitates said handler knowing about where the bird fell. He normally sends the dog from the heel position, sitting beside him, after "aiming" him along a line toward the bird. Not surprisingly, therefore, retrieverites call this initial sending of the dog "lining." If the dog carries that initial line all the way to the bird, without further assistance from the handler, he is said to have "lined the blind," which is a big plus in field trials and hunting tests as well as very satisfying in hunting situations.

Normally, however, the dog doesn't carry his initial line all the way to the bird. Various hazards (terrain, cover, wind and so forth) will induce him to veer off somewhere along the way. When this happens, the handler must stop and redirect his dog. Most retrieverites train their dogs to stop when they hear a single, sharp whistle blast (Tweeet), called the "Sit-whistle." In addition to stopping, the dog should turn to face the handler, sit down, and look at the handler, so he can redirect the dog with an appropriate "cast."

In long-gone days, handlers got by nicely with just four basic casts: Over (straight left or right); Back (straight back); and Come-in (straight toward the handler). For each of these, the handler gave an arm signal plus a voice or whistle command. With those four basic casts, you can still put your pooch onto any bird you might shoot. But over the years field trialers, to gain a competitive advantage here and there, have added so many variations to these four basic casts that they sometimes perform like ballet dancers at the line.

As you can see, the blind retrieve has three parts: lining, in which you send your dog from your side toward the downed bird; stopping, in which you stop your straying dog at a distance; and casting, in which you redirect him. Taken together, these three parts are called "handling." When lining, stopping, and casting your dog, you are said to "handle" him to a blind retrieve (or missed mark). Of course, in a more general sense, the word "handle" also means everything you do while working your dog. Retriever-speak can be confusing for beginners.

One final and extremely important point about the blind retrieve: Unlike marking, it is not natural. No dog of any breed has any hereditary inclination to line, stop, and cast. If you want your retriever to do blind retrieves, you must drill each of these three parts into your dog, first separately and then in combination.