Hunting season is over. Freighter finished his show Championship. Now it is time to get him back into hunt test training. He has only done sporadic training since September so where to start?
Stretching Freighter Out
We decided stretching Freighter out was a good way to start. We had him run some long single marks, (a mark is where the dog watches the bumper or bird fall). I posted about Thunder and Storm running some single marks, here. We moved Freighter back from where Thunder and Storm started so he had to look a long way down the road to watch them fall.
In these pictures, Freighter appears closer to the camera than he is. I not only zoomed in, but also cropped the image so he would not be a tiny spec.
I used a black and white bumper and tossed it in an angle back from me on the road. I know the bumper was difficult for Freighter to see not only due to the distance, but also because I was throwing it against a dark (trees) and a white (snow-covered road) background. The object was to encourage Freighter to get back into the habit of looking out a long distance for a fall. When hunting, the birds do not far that far out, but for hunt tests they do (a topic for another day). It is also great exercise when you repeat it.
Just like Grandpa Thunder, Freighter went off road.
Unlike Grandpa Thunder, Freighter realized his mistake and got back on track to find the bumper.
We repeated this several times and I changed to an all white bumper which made it a bit more difficult because it was landing on the white road.
Except for the first retrieve, Freighter did great marking and retrieving all of the bumpers.
There was not enough room to throw double or triple marks so we stuck to long singles. It was a good way for Freighter to get back into a training frame of mind and to get some good exercise at the same time.
The Groundhog says an early Spring so Freighter will be getting out for more training as weather and daylight allow.
Wow, that does look like lots of fun to do. What a good dog you are Freighter. It is so great that you do so much with your dogs. And we know the dogs like all the activity.
Wow Freighter you even found the white bumper in the snow!!! Well done, you are sure a PRO… :o)
Excellent way to start getting his mind back into it. Our bumpers are orange, but I’m mostly using those for water retrieves for Delilah, as infrequent as that is. 🙂
It seems like you had a good balance of getting him back in slowly, but still challenging him and getting him some great exercise as well. Good job, Freighter!
I love your posts with lots of images of the dogs in action and being conditioned or trained. Freighter is looking good! 🙂
Your action shots are amazing!
Stretching those legs must of felt good. I give you guys a lot of credit getting out there and doing something. We still are in the house doing nothing.
I think we should call the first run practice or warming up, so an error would be allowed.
Who would ever guess that stretching could be so much fun? 🙂
Great job, Freighter!
That is definitely a perfect combination of exercise & training!! The running pics of Freighter are awesome!
Seems to be happiest at a good gallop! Freighter’s enthusiasm comes right through the lens. We have been walking the Chessies along the tow-path, they meet others and scouting nature! Really the best exercise for the Senior Girl, if it is really cold they have spiffy plaid coats, it can be very windy along the Maumee..