We got out to do some training yesterday.  It was a perfect day with cool temperatures and a bit of wind.  The area we were thinking of using was already taken so we had to pick a different one.  Since we had the van, we did not want to venture too far down the farm roads and chance getting stuck.  We picked an area right up front which had some nice shade, but really high cover.  We did not mind because we have been trying to challenge the dogs in cover.

We wanted to work on triples with Thunder and Storm, but the cover was waist-high and we were using bumpers rather than ducks, so we decided just to run them on doubles.  In that cover, they were going to have to really work to come up with the bumpers as it was.  Thunder did a bit better on this double than Storm did.  I think it is because he has had more experience and is much taller.  It was easier for him to get his bearings.  He had a big hunt but stayed in it and eventually came up with the bumpers.

Thunder Hunting The Cover
Thunder Hunting The Cover
Found It
Found It
Heading Back
Heading Back

Storm struggled with this.  She is a bit out of practice and a bit out of condition.  The last time she hunted in this kind of cover was back in November when we took Storm and Freighter pheasant hunting.  She hunted and hunted and tried to use her nose but was having trouble catching the scent.  Eventually I gave her a bit of help by faking a throw and that helped her find the area and the bumpers.

Storm Off To Find The Bumper
Storm Off To Find The Bumper
You Can Barely See Storm
You Can Barely See Storm
Good Job!
Good Job!

Next up was Freighter.  He ran the double as back to back singles.  This was a really good opportunity to see what he would do with bumpers in really high cover.  We used a winger to throw the first mark.  He put on a big hunt, but stayed with it and eventually found the bumper.  The second one was hand thrown.  He hunted and hunted and hunted.  Wouldn’t you know it, I threw it in the highest clump of cover which was well over my waist, (oops!).  I had to help him a bit because he was getting heated up trying to find that bumper.  He found it though.  Thank goodness because there was no way I would have found it.

We repeated the second mark for him.  This time I did not plan to help him.  He put on a big hunt.  At one point, he started heading towards the first mark, but he stopped.  I could almost see him saying to himself, “No this is not right”.  He turned right around, hunted a bit more, and came up with the bumper.  It is kind of neat when you see the wheels turning.

Freighter Hunting
Freighter Hunting
Found It
Found It
Good Boy
Headed Back
Nice Job
Nice Job

The dogs got pretty warm hunting in all that cover so we moved to water.  More on that tomorrow.

Thanks to  Alfie’s Blog, Snoopy’s Dog Blog and My Brown Newfies for hosting the Monday Mischief blog hop.

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22 thoughts on “Monday Mischief–Searching”

  1. Oh yeah…moving to the water sounds like much more fun! I’m sure Storm will get back into it soon, just needs some time to recover from the whole mom thing.

  2. Oh my gosh that is some long cover there. What fun. Can’t wait to see the water part tomorrow. Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

  3. Oh I love running through the tall stuff. But of course I am not trying to find bumpers.
    Blessings,
    Goose

  5. I get tired just reading this! The weather just doesn’t seem to be cooperating this summer, its either too hot or too rainy!

  6. I imagine not doing something for 7 months can take a bit of readjustment time, but the more she does it I bet she remembers quickly. I did not realize how much taller Thunder was in comparison to Storm. You are right, you can barely see her in those photos.

    I’m with Jen, our weather has sucked so far.

  7. Love reading these posts and the work you do with your pack. They are such good hunters – I can’t even get my guys to retrieve. Look forward to the water tomorrow.

  8. I was thinking they were probably getting tired in the heat! Can’t wait to see the water training.

  9. HI Y’all!

    It’s so hot here now that we don’t do much but walk and wade along the shore.

    The other morning there was a breeze and no humidity (72 F) before daylight, so my Human played fetch with me. This morning when we got up it was humid and 75 F degrees. It was 82F by 8:30AM. Not a good day for any kind of training.

    Y’all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

  11. That is some tall cover, just like what I have in my pasture! It takes a great dog to be able to mark birds down in that stuff and get them. Have a great Monday!

  13. That’s some very heavy cover…Must take a lot of focus and a good nose to find those bumpers…In cover like that are you using any scent on the bumpers to help the dogs?

  14. Wow! Thunder and Storm are awfully good at their job! I don’t think I could find my own tail in all the tall grass 🙂

  15. Omigoodness. I should be half as good at my job as your dogs are at theirs!

  16. Wow – impressive! Especially in that high cover! Rita would be like “You go get it! Let’s just head to the water!” Fun mischief!

  17. Where are the other two dogs while the one is searching for the bumper? I notice I never see any random dogs running in the background in your pictures! 🙂

  18. Hey Guys,

    It looks like a game of hide and seek in all of that! I don’t think my Mum would let me run in that because of my coat, does it not get stuck in your fur cos it’s nice and short?

    Have fun,

    Your pal Snoopy 🙂

  19. It sure doesn’t take them long to get out of practice, especially at an advanced level. Do you attach wings to your bumpers for training?

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