Monthly Archives: August 2012

Follow-up Friday

Posted in dog training, Follow-up Friday, Hunt Test, Puppies by

Today we are joining Jodi Stone at Heart Like A Dog for Follow-up Friday and to answer some questions left in comments.

But first–I suspect that some of the comments that I am leaving on other WordPress blogs are going into spam, (Murphydogs several that I left you went poof).  Also, I have found quite a few comments left here went into spam.  Anybody else seeing this?  I am trying to remember to check each day so be patient if your comment vanishes.

Back to the Follow-up…

Jodi wanted to know when we will know if Storm is expecting.

No sign yet.  She looks as slim as ever.  I guess in about a month or so she should be looking less so if she is pregnant.  :)

Storm Training From Early August

Jen at My Brown Newfies asked whether Freighter will compete in conformation.

We think so.  Right now he is way too squirmy to put in a show ring and forget about him holding still to show the judge his bite.

Freighter–No I Won’t Stand Still

Jen also wanted to know when we are working a test if it makes a difference if the dogs sense we are there.

Yes it can.  One time when Thunder was a young dog running a JH test, both my husband and I had been working in the field.  My husband left his gun case in the field and Thunder first followed his nose to where the case was left and then to where I had been.  He never got the bird.

Thunder Watching Marks

In the last Master test Storm was being run by the pro.  My husband was throwing marks and she spied him.  She went to check him out before she picked up the bird.  Just a run by.  We try not to be in the field when they are running although sometimes you cannot avoid it.

bumpyroadtobubba wanted to know whether I have had any new visitors to my blog as a result of my shameless blog promotion bumper sticker, (my words not hers :) ).

The trailer has been in the garage all week so no new readers yet.  :)

Freighter Checking Out Decoys

Murphydogs wanted to know whether the trailer is heated/air-conditioned.

No heat or air conditioning but it does have a fantastic fan.  The fan is great because we turn it on when we have the breezeways closed while driving down the road and it helps keep the crates cool.  If we can’t find shade at tests, we still put a pop-up tent over to keep the sun off it.

Making Shade At A Hunt Test

Freighter will be making his hunt test debut this weekend.  It will be a bit hectic since we are working, but it is time for him to start getting some experience.  I’ll let you know how he does.

Have a nice weekend!

This ‘N That Thursday

Posted in Hunt Test, Hunting, This 'N That Thursday by

More randomness.  :)

The search for the bumper sticker for my shameless blog promotion has ended.  Last week Misty Shores Chesapeakes recommended this place.  Thank you Misty Shores.  They have some very cool stickers and other cool things, but did not have exactly what I was looking for.  Finally I stumbled upon this place.  They offer all kinds of stickers that you can personalize.  The prices are fair, you can buy just one personalized sticker, and they offer free shipping.

I bought two stickers which are already on the trailer.  I had limited space to take this picture which is why it is a bit dark and crooked.  :)

Click To View Larger

The sticker to the left was my husband’s idea.  After last week’s test while we were driving home on the freeway and through construction, this guy pulled up beside us and asked if it was a camper, (pointing to the trailer).  I was taken by surprise and said “no”.  Then he pulled back up and asked, “what is it?”.  Maybe the sticker will discourage freeway conversations. ;)

Over on Jodi Stone’s new blog Heart Like A Dog, I recommended a product that we always have on hand should our dogs suffer an injury.  We have used EMT Gel on bug bites, pad injuries, hot spots, cuts, you name it.  It is a great product and seems to soothe itching and discourage licking.  The gel dries hard and helps to protect the wound.  It is a must have in our first aid kit.  With cooler weather and more active dogs, I though I would also mention it here too.

I saw on Facebook that in January 2013 the AKC is changing the Canine Good Citizenship designation from an award to a title.  A title is nice because it will appear in the dog’s title record with the AKC and can be listed on a pedigree.  There will be a procedure to change the award to a title for dogs who have earned their CGC since 2001.  Some information here.

Finally, Finn asked if I minded questions.  Absolutely not!  I really appreciate them.  Thank you!  Sometimes when I am writing hunt test posts, I am not sure how much detail is too much detail.  If you ever have questions, please ask.  :)   Speaking of questions, I have again been lax replying to comments and there are some questions I did not get back to, so tomorrow…Follow-Up Friday.

Big Dog Test

Posted in dog training, Hunt Test by

First, in yesterday’s post I wrote that Thunder had to go back and start the test over due to a “no bird”.  I should have explained the term more clearly.  A “no bird” occurs when there is a problem with the bird being launched (no bird) so that the dog is unable to mark it.  It can happen with either the dead bird or the shot flyer station.  The people working the test are only human and sometimes mistakes occur.  The judges have the sole discretion whether to call a “no bird” and usually they take into account the level of the test and whether the dog had a chance to see the fall.  In Thunder’s case, the gunners missed the bird and it got away so there was no bird for him to retrieve.  The dog is usually sent back in line 3 dogs before the dog comes back to watch the marks again.  This allows the dog time to compose itself.  The dog must be steady and once it has seen the test, that can be difficult.  Also once the dog sees a particular bird launched, it may become fixed on that bird and miss the rest of the marks.

A Master test consists of three series.  This particular test it took a long time to run the first series.  The second series did not start until almost 3pm.  The second series was a triple, a land blind, a water blind and an honor.

Second Series

This triple was quite challenging.  The first mark was to the right and up on the side of a hill.  The dogs had to swim through a bit of water to get to the mark.  Since it was the first mark down, the dogs had to remember the tricky location of that bird while they watched the other two marks fall.  The middle bird was straight ahead and the bird to the left was on the edge of a corn field.

Finn asked whether the same person shoots for each dog.  The way the AKC hunt tests are set up, there are people in each station out in the field, (which I indicated in red on the drawing).  They call a duck call, launch the bird, and fire a shot to get the dog’s attention.  There can be one or more people in each station.  Throughout the test you may have people changing out within each station because they may need a break, or to run their dog.  The handler who is running the dog does not actually shoot at anything.  It is a non firing gun and simulated shooting, (the handler just aims the gun).  HRC tests are different from AKC tests because the handler actually fires a blank load at the birds and there is no duck call or shot in the field to cue the dog to look for a mark.  The dog must follow the swing of the gun.

Back to the test this past weekend.  Thunder did not get to run the test until early Sunday morning.  He was the third dog to run that morning and the third dog in a row to be knocked out.  The bird to the right messed with his mind.  He was great on mark #3 and absolutely pinned it.  He lined up with the bird to the right (mark #1), went out that direction, but curved around and picked up the middle bird (mark #2).  His handler sent him again to the right hand bird and first he spied the flag for the blind and went to it.  There was no bird there so he hunted further up on the hill, but could not find the bird.  He never winded it and just watching him, I could tell that mark was just beyond his experience.  Those types of marks, where he has to swim and exit the water, are still very hard for him.  We train them, and he is improving, but depending how they are set, they can really mess with his mind.  He was out of the test at that point and did not get to run the blinds.

Some pictures of his work:

Mark #3

Coming Back

Checking The Other Mark Locations

Over Here Thunder

It has been a bit frustrating running these Master tests considering that Thunder breezed through Senior.  Since Thunder was out so early in the morning, we went to watch a bit of the Senior test and cheer on some of our pals.  Looking at the Senior test, we could really see how far Thunder has come.  That Senior test might have proved a challenge for Thunder last year, but those marks are no comparison to the difficult ones he has been running in Masters.

He is entered in a test this weekend, but we are working the test so we are not sure how he will do.

Tricky Test

Posted in dog training, Hunt Test by

The Master test this past weekend was pretty tricky.  Saturday was hotter than blazes with temperatures in the 90′s, bright sun and high humidity.  There were 44 dogs running in our flight so the first series took a long time to run.  Thunder was far down in the running order and did not run the first series until the full heat of the day.

The first series was a walk up to a land triple–2 dead birds and a shot flyer.

First Series

The triple was a bit tricky because the walk up bird was 38 yards to the left.  New AKC rules have shortened the distance to that mark and there is no duck call.  The dog must walk at heel in the direction of where the bird will come out and then the handler either says “sit” or blows a whistle to sit the dog while the bird is in the air.  It can be difficult for a dog to stay steady for a bird launched this close to them while they are moving.  Once the first bird is down, the handler must turn his body and hopefully the dog, to see the middle bird which was a shot flyer.  This bird was quite a way out in the field, down a hill.  The dogs had to break through some heavy cover of sorghum and sunflowers to get to it.  A few dogs broke on this bird.  Once the middle bird was down, the handler had to turn all the way to his right so the dog would see the third bird which was on top of the hill.  The gunner station was below the hill and not really visible to the dog.  Dogs had a lot of trouble marking that third bird.  Some went out to that bird, but then switched to get that middle bird (mark #2) when they could not come up with mark #3.

Thunder got a bit of a bad break on this series because he got a “no bird” on the shot flyer when the gunners missed it.  He had to go back three dogs and do the walk up and watch the marks again.  No birds are really tough for Thunder and tend to get him over excited and scramble his brain.  I think he would have had a good shot at picking up this triple clean but with so much going on, he needed to be handled to that middle bird (#2).  He did an excellent job picking up the first bird he was sent to retrieve (mark #3).  He pinned it and did not need to hunt that one at all.  But he hunted a lot for that middle bird (#2 shot flyer) and eventually his handler put him on the bird.  When he brought the bird back, it was in poor condition.  The gunners had really shot it.  I guess they wanted to make sure it was dead, but Thunder is not used to retrieving something that resembles road kill.  Mark #1 was close so no problem for Thunder.

Some pictures of the first series:

Getting Ready For The Walk-Up

At Heel

Mark #1

Watching Mark #1

Mark #2 Shot Flyer

Going To Mark #3

He Has Mark #3

Bringing Back Mark #2

Thunder did a good job on a tricky test and was through to the 2nd series.  More on that tomorrow.