We were surprised when we got to training last weekend and there was a thick blanket of wet sloppy snow. Our trainer said it had arrived overnight. It was so sloppy that we had to be careful where we parked because we did not want to get stuck. We pretty much kept to the parking lot and Darrin set up three piles of black and white bumpers for some handling drills. First the dogs were sent to each pile so they would know where they were. The dogs were handled as necessary.
Next their handlers worked on sending them to one pile and changing their minds and handing them to another pile. This is a really good way to work on the dog’s handling and the communication between dog and handler. The object of this drill is to change the dog’s mind from where it wants to go to where the handler wants the dog to go.
In this diagram you can see how a handler might work this drill. It doesn’t really matter in what order the bumpers are picked up.
This drill should have been a piece of cake for Thunder and Storm. They have done this drill a million times over. Maybe they got wind that they didn’t get a placement in the Working Stiffs category of the Mango Minster contest or maybe it was the snow, but they definitely did not want to work.
Storm was up first and after a no-go, she walked out to the bumpers. She had several more no-go’s, slow sits and cast refusals. She looked like she had never done this drill before.
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Thunder was up next and he did not do any better, although he seemed to pick up speed as the day wore on.
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The second time through the drill the trainer took over working with Storm. He knows what she is capable of and so he reinforced that if she is told to fetch, she needs to move quickly to fetch. With just the change in handlers, Storm did much better. I guess she knows that she can not mess around with Darrin, (which is why he will be handling her for Masters). It was nice to see her attitude improve.
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I took a bit of video of Darrin working with Storm. You can see how easily he lines her up. Remember the object of this drill was to send the dogs to one pile and then try to change their minds and send them to another. What is kind of cool about this video is the last cast Darrin gives Storm is a left angle back and she starts to go the wrong direction, catches herself and then goes the correct way. You could almost see her thinking it through. I guess watching the dogs learn and think is the reason I am hooked on this training and testing.
To help explain what I mean by a left angle back, here is a diagram of the casts we normally use so that you can see the difference between them. I am showing the lefts, but they would be the same, just opposite on the right.
By the end of the day you can see how sloppy the ground became–but at least the dog’s work improved. 🙂
Even in sloppy snow, they did great! Love the pics!
I’m so impressed every time I watch one of your videos. You’re right about actually seeing Storm’s mind working on her commands. For someone (me) who can’t even get their little Havachon to obey the “come” command, those whistle stops and route reversals are a thing of beauty. 🙂
Great pics and diagrams. It’s amazing how intelligent Thunder and Storm are that they actually think about what they are doing. Sounds like Storm was just being a girl at the beginning…moody! LOL! Or maybe they just have more fun working the muddier it gets! LOL!
I am always impressed with how they work. MOM says I should be so well trained in such tings. I said OK MOM next time you take me out hunting I will show you what I can do. Since she gave up hunting a few years back I don’t think that will be anytime soon.
Blessings,
Goose
Interesting! While i knew there’s training for hunting/retrieving dogs, I had no clue what it really entailed.
Thanks for sharing.
I love seeing how they train, seeing Storm stop and sit w/the whistle & think abt. What the handler is telling her to do. She definitely worked much better w/the second handler 🙂
Okay so I really should send this blog to Chris to read as this is all stuff he will eventually work on to some degree with Wyatt. I have no idea why I am ending up training his dog after the FF stage. It was to be his job, as it is his dog. At this point we are needing to work on the remote sit again so we can begin to teach wyatt directionals.
Side note, did you ever have your young dogs try and pick up more than one bumper at once from the piles? Wyatt has done this several times if we are not quick enough with an “aaahg” if he goes for a second. I think it is funny but is not what he is supposed to do.
I am glad you continue to share training posts, def. learn a lot from them.
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
PS I left the Versatile Blogger award on my blog for you 🙂
Thanks for the award. 🙂 I have to warn you though, I am sooo behind on awards. I am trying to catch up, but it will be a bit. 🙂
Wow! We were looking at the patterns thinking how complex! They are very, very smart and this is impressive! Great post!
Your friends,
The Collies and Chuck 🙂
I was thinking, maybe they were just tired out from a little puppy. 🙂
Really neat! I’ve read about the casting command, but hadn’t seen it in action.
That’s some impressive dog work. Keep the videos coming!
That second one looks really complicated. Here is a question for when you get around to one of your “answer the questions” posts – Why do you use bumpers of two different colors (black and white) instead of just one color. You probably explained a while ago but I must have missed it.
That snow looks pretty yucky to be sitting in.
You lot are pawsitively amazing when you train, the snow does look cold though!
Slobbers
This is really cool- thank you for sharing. It always amazes me how smart Thunder and Storm are– that second diagram has me totally confused 🙂 🙂 The photos are great and we loved watching the video with Storm!