Time to answer some questions. 🙂
Snoopy from Snoopysdogblog asked about the lead we had on Freighter in this picture and specifically the handle.
That is just a 12 or 15 foot flat black nylon lead with a looped handle, like this. We picked this for Freighter’s check cord, (actually Storm used it and maybe even Thunder), because it is light weight and if you have to hold it, it won’t hurt your hand. Some people use a rope and eventually Freighter may use that too, but for right now, this one works for him.
thatjenk of Back Alley Soapbox asked whether we solidify the retrieve on land before moving to water. Right now the retrieve is all about fun for Freighter whether it is on land or water. So as long as he will go in the water willingly, we threw the bumpers there. However, as training progresses, particularly when a dog starts to learn handling, you work mostly on land and then move to water after land is solid. Generally, if the dog has problems at a test, it is on the water portion, (at least for our dogs).
Basset Momma asked whether Freighter’s coat would always be as wavy and curly. We hope so. Right now it is puppy fur, but he is losing it and getting a more adult coat, so we shall see. But generally Chessies should have a wavy coat. Thunder’s might not look as wavy, but his is still correct, (just a different style). Thunder’s coat dries super fast and we hope Freighter will end up with a coat that dries as quickly.
Anna had a couple of questions. First she wanted to know about the collar we used for Freighter’s Invisible Fence collar.
That is the collar that came with the Invisible Fence system. It is actually Thunder’s collar (or rather the one he used as a puppy). Thunder knows our boundaries and has great recall so he doesn’t need it (or use it much) anymore. Freighter got a hand-me-down.
Anna also asked whether I had heard about a new class offered called “Gun Dog” or “Hunting Dog” class. For retrievers both “Hunting” dog class and “Field Trial” dog class have been offered for some time. Since Thunder earned his championship, if we enter him in a show, we enter him in Hunting dog class. But it is a non-regular class and not offered at every show. If the dog/bitch wins the class, it moves on to Best of Breed. Perhaps it is new for pointers? If so, that is very cool.
Jodi of jodistone–Life with Sampson and Delilah….The 411 asked if dogs get stressed at dog shows. Yes, some do. Storm is not a fan of shows which take place in big expo centers. She is overwhelmed with the noise. However, she does fine at out-door shows and is tolerant of those held in fair ground buildings with big openings at each end. As a result, if she is entered in a show, we try to stick to those held outside. Thunder has no problem and as you can see in the above picture, sometimes he gets too excited!
I always laugh at this picture of Storm from a show because it sums up her feelings. 🙂
Boondocks of Boondocks & The Love Shack Pack asked if there are treats at a show. Yep…lots! Although once when Thunder was just starting to show there was a judge that banned treats from the ring. Handlers use treats to help keep the dogs focused and still while the judge is going over them, or to help the dog show expression. Luckily, Thunder did fine without the treats and got his fair share outside of the ring.
My Brown Newfies wanted to know if those were dog runs she spied in one of the pictures. Yep. We can’t have real fences so we put in runs for the dogs. They are fully enclosed, top and bottom. We also have houses in them so the dogs can spend time outside in the winter or summer (the houses are insulated). We put up and take down sun/wind screens depending on the season. They love hanging out in them and prefer it to being crated.
Finally many commented on the new look of the blog. Thanks for all of the positive comments. Truth be told, the reason I keep changing themes is because as I use them, there always seems to be something that starts to bug me over time. The last theme I liked, but I had to put spacers in between pictures or they would run together and when I inserted links, I had to give them a color or they just blended in with the type. It just took too much time, which I don’t have. Hey WordPress theme designers, ask me what I’d like to see in a theme. 😆
Hope I answered all of the questions. Have a great weekend!
My PBGV is intimidated by the noise at indoor shows, or maybe she is just lazy. She behaves as though she hasn’t the energy to hold herself up, so her topline sags like a clothesline. I think we’d have more success if I could convince the judge to hold a peanut butter sandwich after the down-and-back.
Great Q & A! I sure do hope Freighter keeps that curly coat, it’s so beautiful! It’s nice that they have their posh kennels so they can spend time outdoors no matter what the season. I’m sure they do enjoy that much more than being crated! Have a great weekend!
Thank you for the information, I understand Storm’s reluctance to be in an enclosed area with lots of people, it stresses me out too! I worry about the stress on my dogs which is one reason I haven’t pushed Delilah to do agility or fly ball ‘professionally.’ I do wonder sometimes how she would do with the field testing you do, but like you I have limited time and I haven’t done any research into clubs that offer it.
Thanks for the shout out, I hope you have an enjoyable weekend.
Jodi, Storm absolutely thrives in the hunt test environment, training and testing. That is why we have pursued that venue with her.
Great post – I really love the kennels (as I am getting ready to do similar). Thanks for all you write, it is such a nice view into your world of brown dawgs – DogDaz
Interesting that the hunting class has been offered for you for a while now. Do you know how points work with it? If they go straight to breed, do they ever get any of the points for like Winners Dog etc? Or would they have to take the breed to get points.
This may be a new thing for pointers as you said, I am not sure. I do know that i noticed it before my breeder which was a first lol.
Are you all planning to make another kennel? Or just rotate?
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
I believe if they take Breed or Best of Opposite, they would take the points for dogs/bitches defeated. I think most people would not try this method though. Even though Storm has her SH, she is still entered in the regular class because she is still working on her Ch.
We haven’t decided whether to build another kennel, but are leaning toward just rotating them.
Your answers lead me to ask still another question: do those invisible fences really work? I mean, I know that sounds silly since you use them, obviously they do. But I hear of dogs getting out of their invisible fencing, so what are the tips for using them correctly?
Hi Linda! Your new look is wonderful and all the photos so great! Have wonderful weekend! x Teje & Nero
Great answers! A lot of them were questions that hadn’t occurred to me, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t want to know ^^
Love that picture of thunder – he’s just skipping through the showing 🙂
Freighter’s coat is just beautiful! Sure do like your new blog design and header. Hugs and nose kisses
Great questions and answers! We like learning about how other dogs train and live:)
Bella and DiDi
Great question and answer post! Freighter’s coat is so curly! We love it. 🙂 A wonderful group of Chessies you have and we find each of your posts so informative. Keep up the great work !
Your friends,
the collies and chuck:)
Wow – that sure was a lot of follow up – thanks so much for answering our questions 🙂 It was really interesting to see all the other answers too 🙂
Yeah, I think most themes on WP have their little quirks 🙂
Have a fun weekend guys,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
Great questions and great answers! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Woofs & hugs, <3
~Bailey (Yep, I'm a girl!)
Hey browndawgs! Great Q & A, especially since we’ve been so out of the loop lately– this was a great way to catch up! We look forward to seeing more Freighter training posts 🙂 We have so loved watching him as a teeny pup grow into a mini Storm/Thunder who is learning how to train like the big guys!! The photo of Storm is beautiful– the water pics are so cool 🙂
Have a great weekend, guys!
Thank you for answering the question about the kennels! As we consider expanding our pack I have been thinking about installing runs and yours are very similar as to what I pictured in my head.
I really like how wide these ones are and the platform, what of material did you use on the bottom?
Thanks for the different views too!
We had a fence company build these. They did chain link fencing top, bottom and sides. The fencing on the bottom has smaller mesh than the top and sides. Then we put pea gravel over the fencing on the bottom. Some people put concrete instead of fencing/pea gravel, but we decided against that for a bunch of reasons. The gray decking is called kennel deck and is supposed to be chew proof. It could be used on top of the fencing instead of pea gravel (but might be pricey). My husband mounted the kennel decking to skids. It comes as just decking. Each kennel run has dimensions of 5 feet high, by 10 feet long, by 5 wide (I think it is 5, can’t remember now :)).
Storm really has a way of showing you guys how she feels! I love that picture. A dog can show so much with body language, really sometimes more than the humans. Perhaps because we don’t have speak… buttttt also a bark DOES say a lot.
Thanks for answering my question!
We’re really excited to see how Alma does in the water when everything’s finally melted, since we’re not sure if she’s much of a swimmer, and it’s definitely nice to distract them with retrieving while getting them used to the water. It was never a problem for Moses, but his attention span always maxed out after about a dozen retrieves. Though, on land, Alma’s retrieving is pretty non-existent, so we’ll need to work on that, too – maybe in preparation, which is where the question originated.
Thanks for the great Q&A.
I really enjoyed the question and answers, everything is obviously so different from the training, showing and testing down with Newfounlands and water rescue. I really enjoy reading each of your three and their strengths and training. Chessies require so much inner control to follow and perform the training and testing tasks.