"Honoring" or "backing" is required in many bird dog competitions, and it is always preferred when hunting with other dogs. (Photo courtesy of Tanner Smedley)
Have you ever hurried across a picked bean field, attempting to get to a dog on a beautiful point, with four pounds of mud stuck to each foot, arriving just in time to see your buddy’s dog bust past your dog’s point, busting the covey your dog worked hard to hold for you? Or, even worse, have you ever caught your own dog in the same act? In either case, “it ain’t good for public relations.”
We all agree, the ideal outcome should have been, upon seeing it’s brace mate on point, the approaching dog stopped and immediately held motionless in a pointing posture so as not to pressure either its brace mate or the birds he had pointed.