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October Hunt and Field Training

3K views 47 replies 10 participants last post by  K9-Design 
#1 ·
Cannot believe it is October already. Seems just like yesterday that is as a cold February Valentine day when we went to pick up Belle.
Yesterday we went to the club training. Have not been there since February; it was nice to see the nice guys and gals there.
Rose is in heat, Darcy just finished, Belle is yet to come in heat.
Rose did the first double, did a small blind (it would have helped if I knew where the blind actually was - someone put an orange ribbon at the blinds which was Gone with the Wind by the time I got there). Second double she messed up on her memory bird and we finished with another kiddie blind.

Darcy was not in good form yesterday. She seemed overly sensitive. So I put her in a sit, went and took the duck to the blind and then circled back into a heel and sent her for it.

Belle messed up the first two doubles. The memory bird on the first double fell right at the blind. The go to was a flier. At first I thought the group leader acting as a judge will call it a no bird. He did not. Told the worker in the station to have another bird ready in hand. Would have been nice if the second bird was thrown as the dog looked at the BB and not when the dog was hunting in the opposite direction.

At the end there were couple birds left so Belle had two extra fliers and we did some longer marks with those birds.

After a couple other gaffes, lesson of the day: we should have a Bird Boy seminar.
 
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#3 ·
At national we had a good time. I finished my JH judge apprenticeship and got to use Lucy as the pickup dog on water for that test. I was a gunner for the WC, we finished our WC. Ran Lucy as the test dog for the derby first series, then got to marshal the derby first series. Got another RA leg. Titled in Novice A and finished our CD. Ran Lucy around the ring for gundog sweeps, but didn't place like last year. Had a great time and look forward to doing it again.

Back to regular training with my friends. The tollers have been amazing. A woman with 3 of them is going Amish (no FF, no hold, no e-collar). One of her dog's did pile work just fine. She hasn't taught them to whistle sit yet, but I think they'll pick it up. But those tollers just don't have a golden sweetness personality. They are all work and no interest in other humans than their own. The show labs of course showed us they have plenty of drive and enthusiasm, you just want to shave all their fat off. The woman with 5 show labs is considering breeding her GCh to a field lab she really likes. Her show lab friends are all in a tizzy over her decision...

Miss Lucy is right on track. She was happy and bouncy and was great on her pile drills. I'm really looking forward to next spring when we can see what we have learned over the winter. Just need to keep up the enthusiasm. Will continue to work towards our CDX and SH.

I've been reading Mitch White's transitional manual. Thanks Anney for that suggestion. I highly suggest it for anyone interested in going from JH to SH. Lots of things to think about, much of it not necessary for field trials, but absolutely necessary for hunt tests. I'm thinking of forming a second training group of just people wanting to move from JH to SH.
 
#5 ·
Thanks! I will pass along to the other Alaskans looking to warm up in April and head south to get ready for June hunt tests!
 
#6 ·
Had a short training day today but it was a good one. Took Rose to do a double and a blind. She did nice on the double and then I hear my mentor behind screaming triple and the order. I turn around and say, is it OK if I do the blind first? Then notice he has no dog at the line. He said sure, but do the triple first. So we added a third mark across a swampy area as the go to bird with the double memory bird as second and the double go to bird as third. Nicely done! Since I got there late I decided to run the other girls on the marks and then do the blinds alone. Darcy had a bit of a trouble on the double so did not proceed with the triple. Belle did the double nicely and then the swampy mark as a single.
Then I took the mule and set up three blinds with birds. I got lazy and did not take the stakes along. Two past the AOF of the marks and one in between. The first blind was too long for Rose. Had to shorten and re-do. The second was across the swamp. She almost wanted to hunt the AOF but she listen to the sit whistle and took a nice angle right back to the bird. The third in the middle was nice and clean.
Rose helped me take the bird back to the blind in the middle and ran Darcy on it. Darcy decided that she was in a flushing test and started quartering. So we shortened the distance and re-do.
All in all it was a good day and we all came back home happy and confident for the next time.
 
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#7 ·
I'm trying to use the information from Connie Cleveland about Lucy being a thoughtful dog. The idea is to not do repetitive drills. Break it up. Keep your dog from getting bored. Use high value treat rewards. So yesterday I did pile work 5 times, 5 walk out blinds, 5 retrieves, then back to the beginning. She seemed to be happier and absorb things better. I don't know maybe I'm imaging things.

Looking for a puppy now that Reilly is gone. 3 dogs in my house is the magic number. Any thoughts? Would like a dog for hunt tests, obedience, and maybe run around the show ring. Easy to train, gets along with other dogs, and doesn't mind going to work every day and hanging around the office. Need plenty of energy, not a couch potato. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
 
#8 ·
Zaniri Goldens in BC
 
#9 · (Edited)
#10 ·
I met him at the junior hunt test I was apprenticing. He's a really nice guy with a good attitude. He has pretty dogs and they looked like they were having fun!
 
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#11 ·
Molly had a fun time doing upland work last week. We planted some pheasants and just let her have at them. I let her out of the car and she was just lazily sniffing around at the grass until I told her to "go find it". You can hear her nose turn on and she was going back and forth and it made me laugh because she had NO idea what she was supposed to be looking for but immediately went from "off" to "on" and was so focused. Silly. We never ended up shooting over her since she caught them all. My trainer promised me the pheasants would taste good so he took the breasts out and told me to take them home. Tastes like chicken except more mild and more dry but in general the thought of trying new meats makes me a little nauseous so my BF got to bring pheasant for lunch for a few days.

We went out yesterday and ran two marks in the water. One was really cheat-y with a long entry. She is usually not a cheater but she has her moments and even I was unsure about this one. But, she did great and entered exactly where she was supposed to. I did whisper "water" before I released her.. not sure if she would have cheated otherwise. We did a short lining drill afterwards and she got to swim laps and splash bubbles while I picked up. She was so happy.
 
#12 ·
Vivian,
You now have the upland bug! Sign her up for spaniel tests. She'll do great for you! I'd run her in senior. Plus it's just fun and a break from retriever stuff.

Last night Lucy and I did walk out blinds. Walked out with Lucy off leash, set an orange cone and pile of bumpers. Told her "dead bird". Walked away and sent her from various points around the park. It was pouring rain, but she didn't care. We had fun. I'd run her to the cone a few times, then did a couple of retrieves, then back to the blind. Towards the end I would throw a bumper to the side as she was returning as a distraction. Then I would send her to the distraction bumper. She was very happy and bouncy. Only had to handle a couple of times. The photo below is our litter neighborhood park. It has a nice high hill, brush and trees, and lots of mowed area. Nice variety of terrain. Distances are 50 to 75 yards, none very far.

Lucy got spayed this morning. No more heat cycles getting in the way of tests or trials.
 

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#14 ·
just working a ton with Proof. Its been getting harder and harder. I keep reminding myself he isn't even ten months yet. For awhile I kept trying to build proof's confidence to swim to the end of a pond when he couldn't see the gun. So he was running a 200 to 250 yard mark with maybe a 100 yard swim in that with the pond being a pit at the bottom of slopes. Proof would get down to the entry bank and when there was cover and he wouldn't look up or see the gun he would stop and not get in, unsure of where to swim. Otherwise he'd have no problem doing the mark if he could see the gun clearly. Second thing he did was let himself fall to the wind while swimming. So if the current was strong and pushing him away from the mark he didn't fight against it, getting out behind the gun. Now, I've got both of those fixed only to discover that once he gets across the pond he will get out at the perfect angle but square the hills and backside the gun or switch if he sees the short bird first. So now I have to work on him holding his angled lines once he hits land.

This just started last week and I've been working hard on cheating singles and long angle entries and exits on hills slopes. Its been rough to train.

I keep reminding myself that this too shall pass and that every obstacle that he's come across he has learned quickly, usually within in two to three weeks, sometimes in a matter of days, depends on the complexity but after disappointing training sessions its easy to forget that logic.

Last night we worked on a 232 long mark and a 150 yard short mark with a couple entries and exits mixed in and starting on a mound at the top of a hill. Running down that hill, across a tech pond, over a dike, back in, swim a short channel and out angled up a steep hill. a mess once he hit land on the gun side. The long bird he took a great line until he got close to the last water exit then saw the short gun. Worked on that and got him to the long bird. Short gun was awful! He wanted to square everything! So shortened it down to baby steps and finally got him taking the right line.

I guess, this winter will tell me what he's made of. We just might not be ready for derby before he is two. So many concepts to learn for both of us. If I knew what I was doing I know Proof would be moving faster...
 
#15 ·
If it was easy, anybody could do it with any dog.
But it's not easy, not everybody can do it and not every dog can do it.
Proof is now training to be a competitive field trial dog ... the complexities will mount ... yet, as you have done in the past, you will figure out how to teach Proof how to deal with those complexities ... and he will learn to do so.
Proof and you are a great team!
I am soooooo looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Proof.

FTGoldens
 
#18 ·
I'm pretty sure I'm training it effectively. I start out running the mark. I shorten the mark down to the point where Proof has issues. Then after showing him the line he needs to take I extend the distance and see if he understood.

From what I've been told, this concept is a very difficult one and one that will be continually taught and reinforced throughout the dog's lifetime.

I feel a lot better knowing this!
 
#17 ·
Things go nice in the yard but break down in the field. Thor's delivery of the bumper is sloppy in the field. Why? Other dogs? Many people? Excitement of being in the field?

We got to the field earlier than the others. We worked on delivery, singles and doubles. His delivery is much improved. We then threw some singles into heavy cover. He is learning, he did well.
 
#21 ·
Thanks Holly I look forward to meeting and watching you too!!!!


Katniss passed her first seasoned test today. It was more of a test for me as the gun is a whole new world. Decided to run proof in started at the last minute as he was giving me stink eye. Made him sit steady at the line which was great as I could give him verbal sits the whole test. Nice way to reinforce sit at a test environment and get in some cheating commands on the way back from water. Boy those short marks amp him up but he did great!!
 
#23 ·
So Kat rocked her two seasoned tests, she did even better today because I was much more confident with the gun. I'm proud of myself with that gun!

But the cool thing was Matt. I didn't care at all about the started tests, they are like puppy marks for proof. So I made sure that he was steady instead of being held and if he did anything wrong he got fully corrected.

BUT since I could care less I told matt do you want to run him? Matt's been itching to run a dog, he even wants another Proof for himself now. So he said sure and he ran him in Matt's very first hunt test! He loved it!!! He said running Proof was like driving a Ferrari!!He said it was amazing to see him shaking and freaking out wanting to get to the line but the minute he sat down he just goes into serious mode and doesn't move an inch. He said it was so fun. I told him yes, why do you think I love it so much!!!
So happy for Matt!! And glad he understands the feeling I get now!
 
#25 ·
BUT since I could care less I told matt do you want to run him? Matt's been itching to run a dog, he even wants another Proof for himself now. So he said sure and he ran him in Matt's very first hunt test! He loved it!!! He said running Proof was like driving a Ferrari!!He said it was amazing to see him shaking and freaking out wanting to get to the line but the minute he sat down he just goes into serious mode and doesn't move an inch. He said it was so fun. I told him yes, why do you think I love it so much!!!
So happy for Matt!! And glad he understands the feeling I get now!
BRILLIANT MOVE, SIMPLY BRILLIANT!!!

You will soon be buying training stuff "for Matt"! ;)
Again, brilliant!
 
#26 ·
It was a good move! I'm supposed to be running Proof as test dog at a Junior test and marshall in a few weeks but I wanted to run katniss in a different test a couple hours away. Well.....Matt said he would do it. I know he doesn't want to marshall but I think the idea of running proof again is a good trade off! Lol!! So he'll run him both days and I told him this time there will be a live flyer so....be ready!
 
#28 ·
Shorter days mean we will soon move our training to lunch time. Dark at 6:30 pm now. Soon it will be 3:30 in the afternoon and dark. Too soon. In the meantime lots of drills and keeping it fun. Lucy has really changed a lot recently. Almost like she has matured mentally. She's got a great attitude to get her bumpers and do drills. I've been waiting for this for so long. She has hated drills like nothing else in the world. Now she's happy and smiling and please let me get another bumper. Thursday evenings are training group nights. We'll be moving those to Saturday in a week. Lots of puppies in the group right now. So we've broken up into 2 groups, older dogs getting ready to run senior and younger dogs trying to figure out how to retrieve and bring the bumpers back correctly. My skeet league has been interesting. It's a lot like shooting pool, all about the angles. I much prefer the variety of shooting 5 stand. Skeet is a little boring in a way. More social though than 5 stand. I'm improving and really want to be a good shot every time. Now I'm planning on my next shotgun (just don't tell DH).
 
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#30 ·
One month ago, after watching Thor run, Guy, my mentor asked "Are you going to run this dog in Derby?". I said "What do you think about him?" and he replied that he likes the way he runs. So I said "OK, I would like to give it a shot".

Fast forward to today. We are training a little differently than we did for hunting/hunt tests. White jackets, stickmen, no duckcalls, pointing out the guns, cueing with "Mark", and 200+ yard retrieves. And the advice to not hunt him. This is the exact opposite of what we have been doing for hunt testers. Our goal is different.

Today we did the 200+ yard singles. We then did some real doubles. And to my surprise, Thor is a gentleman off lead, heeling adequately and steady at the line. I'm happy.
 
#35 ·
I've dedicated my neighborhood park to walk out blinds. Run 2 blinds, then a hand thrown retrieve. Run a blind, then a double retrieve. It's not the biggest park, but it's very quiet and has a variety of vegetation and a nice hill. Now with the days getting super short, we'll have to switch our training to lunchtime.

My skeet shooting league is going ok. I'm pretty sure skeet was invented by someone who plays a lot of pool. It's all about the angles. I'm not so sure it will apply much to hunting. I much prefer 5 stand for really practicing hitting ducks in the air.

Anyone out there hunting this fall yet? I'm negligent in that area this year.
 
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