LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The dog handlers in the retriever trials of the ESPN Great Outdoor Games may not agree on much — except the winner of this event will have undeniable bragging rights to the best hunting dog in the world.

That's the way it's supposed to be. But in the dog world, getting together the best dogs in the world has never happened until this event. There have been field trial champions in the three major disciplines (UKC, AKC and NHRA), but none that have combined all those disciplines into one competition.

	“	It's like the All-Star Game, American League or National League. When it's over one group will be sticking their chests out, and one dog can realistically be called the best hunting retriever in the world. ”
		— Paul Breaux, developer of the GO Games' retriever format

"This is really the first field trial that has brought together all of the best things in those organizations," said Paul Breaux, the developer of the Great Outdoor Games' retriever format. "And it's brought together the top dogs from every discipline. Without a doubt, this is the most impressive group of retrievers ever assembled."

Those dogs include five AKC champions, six UKC champions and one NHRA champion.

"Last year we had mostly UKC dogs," Breaux said. "This year we've brought them all under one umbrella, and it's set up some interesting scenarios."

In the retriever dog world, those three training disciplines have decidedly different views on the best way to train and test a retriever.

"They run different tests, and require different things from their dogs," Breaux said. "So, there's always a debate on which one is best. You can bet that each organization will be watching to see which wins, and for the next year they will be riding the others.

"It's like the All-Star Game, American League or National League. When it's over one group will be sticking their chests out, and one dog can realistically be called the best hunting retriever in the world."

Capturing that title won't come easy. Breaux and the organizers of this hunt test have intentionally made it the most difficult field trial any of these dogs have ever encountered.

"We're asking a lot of these dogs, especially on the blind retrieves," Breaux said.

The dog will be judged on a variety of things. Including its ability to mark downed birds, stay on the mark during retrieves, how the dog utilizes its instinct and nose to find birds out of sight, how it works with hand signals and whistles from his handler, and its manners when it approaches the course.

The dog's first chance to trip up is when it and the handler approach the line, from which the handler will work the dog.

	“	When it's over, we'll find out which dog deserves to go to the next round, and eventually which dog deserves to be called the best in the world. ”
		— Paul Breaux

"At that point we want the dog to walk up to the line with good manners, that means walking at heel and not bounding all over the place," Breaux said. "We want it to appear as if it's ready to compete and ready to hunt."

The hunt starts with three dummy birds lofted into the air at locations around the course. A shotgun blast indicates to the dog that each bird has been shot. The dog is expected to mark the location of each of the downed birds, and is sent to retrieve the farthest bird from the line.

On the dog's return trip with the retrieved bird, another dummy bird is launched in front of him as a distraction. The dog is expected to mark that bird where it falls, but continue his trip with the initial bird.

"We're looking to see if it will switch," Breaux said. "Plus it adds to the difficulty by forcing the dog to mark another bird while there are still two in the field."

Back at the line, the handler sends the retriever to the remaining three birds. On each of those trips, the dog is judged on its ability to go straight to the bird, find it and retrieve it. All of which isn't easy in the rolling, rough terrain of the retriever course. The course includes several channels filled with water, with bogs and ponds.

"It's the type place you would actually hunt," Breaux said. "Nothing is manicured about this course, it's rough and rugged, just like the real hunting world."

The kicker to the test comes on the blind retrieve, where the dog follows its handler's signals to find a hidden bird approximately 185 yards away from the line.

"That's a very demanding trial, especially for most of these handlers," Breaux said. "It will be their first time in a televised event, and the pressure will be huge. There's no warm up, we just expect them to get after it.

"When it's over, we'll find out which dog deserves to go to the next round, and eventually which dog deserves to be called the best in the world."