Tag Archives: Hunting

Follow-up Friday 4-5-13

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

I am pleased to once again co-host this week’s Follow-up Friday Blog Hop with Heart Like A Dog.  Thanks so much to Jodi at Heart Like A Dog for asking me!

It’s the the blog hop that lets you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.

Hosted By Heart Like A Dog

Hosted By Heart Like A Dog

Training With Freighter

Jodi asked:

If memory serves me, you started Thunder and Storm at older ages. Do you find Freighter is catching on faster than Thunder or Storm did? Or is working with an adult dog who already knows ‘the ways of the world’ easier?

You are right.  Thunder was not force fetched until he was about 14 months old.  After that he ran mostly single marks and earned his Junior Hunter title when he was 2 years old.

Thunder Junior Hunter Title 2008

Thunder Junior Hunter Title 2008

He did not start to learn handling until he was 4 years old but we really didn’t do the majority of this training until he was 5 years old.  The only time Thunder ever spent with a professional trainer was for his force fetch.  He was taught handling through a series of private lessons with our trainer who had a lot of patience teaching both Thunder and his handler the basics of handling.

Thunder 2013

Thunder 2013

Storm was not as old as Thunder when she learned handling.  She was 3.  Freighter started learning the basics right after he finished up force fetch last year.  He is still learning, but is far ahead of where Thunder and Storm were at his age.

Storm JH Pass 2009

Storm JH Pass 2009

All of our dogs have been hunting from a young age but it is definitely better to do this kind of training while the dogs are younger.  Thunder had several hunting seasons behind him and was pretty set in his ways.  We had a difficult time teaching him water blinds in particular.  Remember, the dog does not see the bird fall and the concept of following hand signals to a bird was a very difficult one for him to understand.  He had been used to finding his own birds thank-you-very-much!

Freighter

Freighter

This type of training builds on itself.  By that I mean that every time the dog runs marks or a blind, it learns something new and hopefully that experience can help the dog for the future.  Because we did not really know how to set up challenging training for Thunder, he missed out on a lot of testing/training experience.  Thank goodness he has hunting experience, but despite what anyone says, a hunt test is not at all like hunting.  Of course hunt test training does benefit the dog immensely when hunting season rolls around.

Storm 2012

Storm 2012

We saw the training mistakes we made with Thunder, and to a lesser extent Storm, and we wanted Freighter to learn things the correct way from the start.  This is the main reason we have sent him to a pro for his training.  If it all goes as planned, he will be running higher level tests at a younger age than Thunder or Storm.

Gizmo asked:

When our club held January tests we had a number of Northern trainers who brought groups of dogs down south to compete. does your trainer do this? Would you let your trainer take Freighter on the road for tests?

We are pretty lucky in Michigan because we have several hunt tests right in our state and there are also tests in Indiana and Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin. We don’t have to travel too far to find tests.  Our trainer is taking a truck full of Master level dogs to Indiana for a test next week.  There may come a time when Freighter will go on one of these trips too.  As far as going south, after this never-ending winter, we may all want to travel south next year.  :lol:

Wordless Wednesday-Why Am I Stuck In A Dog Box Next To A Yellow Dog?

I bet the Chessie people got my little joke.  :)

We did not have an extra crate to put Freighter in for training, so one of our pals offered his empty dog box.  The yellow dog is his dog Gunner.  Thank you Craig for the use of your box.

Bethany wanted to know:

Can we see the photos of the fun had once out of the box soon?

There are photos of Freighter here, and here are some of Gunner:

Gunner At The Line

Gunner At The Line

Gunner Whistle Sit

Gunner Whistle Sit

Gunner With A Bumper

Gunner With A Bumper

Another

Another

Good Boy!

Good Boy!

Gunner is running at the Master level.  He did a nice job on Saturday.   Good luck in your upcoming test!

This ‘N That Thursday

Lots of questions about Storm and her pups.  :)

Hopefully, we will get some pictures to share and be able to visit and take pictures.  Storm is expecting a lot of puppies based on the ultrasound.  Of course she had the ultrasound a while ago.  Sometimes the count seen on the ultrasound doesn’t always match up when the pups are born.  I don’t want to say the number so as not to jinx.  :)   Maybe after the pups are born.

Jessica asked:

Will you be involved with the puppies at all? Or does the breeder keep them (and Storm?) the whole time until they’re adopted?

Storm will be with her breeders the entire time and they will take care of the puppies and place them in their new homes.

Miss Mindy and her Mom asked:

Will the breeder call when she is in labor?

If it is in the middle of the night, maybe not.  :)   But yes, we expect we will be updated on how she is doing.

Storm Is Getting Bigger By The Minute!

Storm Is Getting Bigger By The Minute!

Jodi asked:

Those are some lovely photos, is that where some of your training takes place?

The place where we bought our training membership, Omega Farms,  is an actual farm.  They have a lot of different livestock there.  These pictures were taken around the Office and main buildings.  They have extensive training grounds.  Group training is over for this season, so we will be checking the training grounds out this weekend to do a little training with Thunder.  I hope to get pictures, although I will also have to throw the bumpers too.  :)

Training Pond

Omega Farms Pond 2011

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Have a nice weekend!

Follow-up Friday 3-8-13

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

We are joining Heart Like A Dog and co-host Donna and the Dogs for the Follow-up Friday blog hop.

It’s the the blog hop that lets you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.

Hosted By Heart Like A Dog

Hosted By Heart Like A Dog

I don’t have too much follow-up this week.

Oz the Terrier asked about the collar the dogs are wearing in training pictures.

That is an e-collar.  We train with e-collar and use it a lot when the dogs are off-lead.

If the dogs are training…

Storm Watching Marks

Storm Watching Marks

Or hunting…

Freighter With His First Pheasant

Freighter With His First Pheasant

Or playing…

Thunder In The Yard

Thunder In The Yard

…they are wearing an e-collar.

There are a lot of misconceptions about e-collar.  Used properly it is an effective training tool to reinforce an already learned behavior.  We have had great success using it for our field training and to reinforce a recall anytime our dogs are off lead.

There are different types of collars and the price usually depends on the range of the collar.  Ours will work from quite a distance away.  We have two collars that work off of one controller.  As you can see, one is blaze orange and one is black.  If we are out with all three dogs, Thunder usually doesn’t have to wear the collar because he is pretty good about sticking close, but he still wears it for training.

As for holding the collar, sometimes with a young dog you need to direct their head to look out onto the field so that they are looking in the right direction.  Eventually, they will do it on their own.  Some people add a tab which they can hold to control the dog’s head, but our collars are long, so it makes a good tab to hold.

Freighter Watching Marks

Freighter Watching Marks

This has been a fast week.  I am hoping for good weather so I can get some training pictures tomorrow.  The temperatures are finally above freezing so maybe the fields will be clear of ice and snow.

Have a nice weekend!

Thanks to Heart Like A Dog and Donna and the Dogs for co-hosting the hop.

Check out the other blogs in the hop here:


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Why We Train “Steady” And “Honor”

Posted in dog training, Hunt Test, Hunting by

A trained retriever needs two very important skills: to be steady and to honor another working dog.  These two skills are almost as important as a nice retrieve.  They are not only important for hunt tests, but they are also important skills for a hunting dog to master.

In yesterday’s post, I showed Freighter training “honor“.

Freighter Training Honor

Freighter Training Honor

“Honor” is where the dog waits in a specified area while marks are thrown for another dog.  The “honor” dog must not enter the field or interfere with the working dog.  It can be difficult for the honor dog to just sit and watch, but sit there he must.

A dog is considered “steady” when it can sit quietly at heel until its handler releases it to retrieve.

I took a few pictures of Saturday’s training with my old camera.  It was snowing quite hard, so I did not want to chance taking my new camera out in that weather.

Thunder Steady For Marks

Thunder Steady For Marks

Thunder Released To Retrieve

Thunder Released To Retrieve

Good Boy Thunder

Good Boy Thunder

Nice Retrieve

Nice Retrieve

Back At Heel

Back At Heel

Many elements that we train to use in hunt tests carry over to hunting.  Steadiness is one thing that we continuously train.  You don’t want your dog moving around in the duck blind scaring off the birds.  But more importantly, a steady dog is a safe dog.  You don’t want a dog to dash off to retrieve until all the birds are down and the hunters have finished shooting.  Of course any dog can break so you have to be vigilant and never assume that a dog is completely steady.

Freighter Coming To The Line

Freighter Coming To The Line

Freighter Steady For Marks

Freighter Steady For Marks

He Wants To Go But Has To Wait Until Released

He Wants To Go But Has To Wait Until Released

Released To Retrieve

Released To Retrieve

Good Boy Freighter

Good Boy Freighter

Back At Heel

Back At Heel

Honoring another working dog is also an important skill for a retriever.  You never know when you may be hunting with multiple dogs.  You want your dog to understand that there may be times when it is not sent to retrieve a fallen bird.   This skill is also important for hunt tests.  It is a terrible day when you get all the way through the test and then blow it because the dog breaks the honor.  We train honoring as often as we get the chance.

Storm Training Honor

Storm Training Honor Earlier This Year

What do you train most often?

Follow-up Friday 2-1-13

Posted in dog show, dog training, Follow-up Friday by

It is the first Friday in February and Jodi of Heart Like A Dog has asked me to co-host Follow-up Friday again.  FUF is always so much fun so I am glad to oblige.  Thanks Jodi of Heart Like A Dog for the opportunity!

Follow-up Friday is the the blog hop that:

Lets you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.

Hosted By Heart Like A Dog

Hosted By Heart Like A Dog

More great questions this week, so let’s go!

On Tuesday’s post What To Work On , Jodi commented:

But I’ve often wondered (when watching a show on TV) why the Judge chose one breed over another for Best In Show. Does preference come into play? For instance I’m sure I would more drawn to a lab than I would say to a Basset Hound (not that there’s anything wrong with Basset Hounds.)

The judges are supposed to be judging each dog against the standard for that dog and not against one another.  So for example, the Judge should be looking at the Lab and judging it against the Lab standard and the Basset Hound should be judged against the Basset Hound standard.  It is not an easy job.

Judge’s spend long days on their feet looking at dog after dog and have seconds to make a choice.  It can be a thankless job.  They do it for love of the sport and those of us who participate owe them a debt of gratitude because without them, there would be no shows.  When we pay our fee all we ask is that the judge look at our dog and be nice to puppies.  :)

Freighter Working It

Freighter Working It

But did you ever wonder how the commentators of some of the more high-profile shows know which dogs are in contention for “Best In Show” before the show even takes place?  Well that is where politics come into play.  Owners who aspire to the big prizes under take what is called “campaigning a dog”.  Campaigning involves hiring a professional handler, (although some handle their own dogs, but not often), and attending dogs shows every weekend.  If you can follow a judge or a couple of judges around that you know like your dog or your handler, all the better.  Most take out ads in the trade magazines showcasing their dogs.  Think of it as creating buzz about the dog.  It is very expensive!

To my mind the truly special dogs are those that can manage a Best In Show without all of the above.  It happens now and again.  Thunder’s grandfather Joshua was such a dog.

becomingcliche shared that she once got a helpful critique of her dog after the show.  That is great.  Most judges can be very helpful, especially if they are familiar with the breed.

Once we entered a show and the judge was an extremely petite lady.  She walked up to Thunder, who I think came up to her chest, and commented to his handler: “That dog should be hunting lions, not ducks”.  Needless to say, that did not go over so well with us.  I suppose she was making a joke, but we did not know here well enough to know for sure.  Thunder had a couple of hunting seasons under his belt by then and had at least one hunt test title.  If I remember right, he may have been one of the only dogs entered that day who actually went hunting.  Sometimes judges can’t see everything about a dog in the ring.

I Am A Duck Dog!

I Am A Duck Dog!

Nicole wanted to know if I ever thought about handling myself.  No, I am just your humble photographer/reporter/dog holder.  My husband likes handling the dogs and I like taking pictures, so it works.  I did put a CGC on Storm and that was enough stress for me.  :)

On Wednesday’s post, Hawk aka BrownDog wanted to know:

What do y’all do with the browndawgs when you have ice storms?

They usually hunker down safe and warm inside.  We have had a bit of ice this winter, but mostly cold temperatures, wind and snow.

When In Doubt Sniff

When In Doubt Sniff

On This ‘N That Thursday, Jane Parry asked:

I have tried to whistle sit Rudy and Rio without much success. Any tips? Or is it just more and more practise? I bet your dogs are very steady when you send them off? My 2 tend to do everything at 100 mph which makes it hard to get them to listen sometimes!!!

Sometimes when the dog blows off the whistle, we will use a voice command.  “SIT!!!” :)   You can poke around the web and look for drills.  Drills and practice are very important.

deborahrhodes thought I could post pictures of the other brown dawgs I took pictures of on Saturday.  People would think we got some new dogs and she could point people here.  :lol:   No problem!  Unfortunately, the sun was in a bad place and most of the pictures from that part of the day did not turn out great.  But I did get a couple.  :)

Grace

Grace

Gunner

Gunner

It was nice training with you Deb.  :)   Just be patient, it will come for Gunner.

Winter has returned here.  I am not sure how the weather will be this weekend.  It looks cold and snowy.  Oh and Storm has come into season…joy!

Have a nice weekend!

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