It’s always nice to get out with friends for a little training. Sunday our club had a training day. We were a small group but we had a good time.
I wasn’t able to get pictures of all of the dogs, but I did manage to get a few:
Storm will be running a test this weekend, but Freighter will not. We have decided to hold him out until next season in order to really get his obedience solid. He is doing well at training, but a couple of weeks is probably not enough to count on him keeping it together when he sees a duck.
It is too bad, because he can do the work. His marking is very good and his blind work is coming along too. His blind work could be cleaner. It is good enough for Senior, but needs cleaning up for Masters and holding him out of tests will give time to clean that up too.
On Sunday he ran the following set-up as a water double, Mark #1 and Mark #2. Then he turned and ran Mark #3 as a single with the senior blind which was next to Mark #3. He did not run the master blind.
Freighter did a very nice job on the water double. As I said, his marking is very nice.
After Freighter ran the water double, he turned to run the single which was falling in deeper cover and he ran the land blind (Senior Blind). This was a good set-up for him to run because he has had issues at tests pulling off the mark to run the blind. Sometimes he wants to go back to the mark rather than take casts to the blind. He had a bit of trouble with the blind but got it in the end. Hopefully one day it will dawn on him that the quickest way to the birds is to follow his handler’s direction.
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Have you ever done a blog post that explains the differences between things like marks and blinds? I have been loving reading about the training, since this is a sport that is totally new to me and very different from anything I compete in with my dogs. Some of the vocab though is still tripping me up.
The marks and blinds is something I haven’t really figured out either!! But I think it’s more me being a poor student hoho 😛
I have explained them along the way, but you are right hunt tests have a lot of lingo. I have been meaning to put together a glossary, but just haven’t made time for it. 🙂 For now marks are birds (or bumpers) that the dog see fall. We say they “mark” the fall. Blinds are those that they do not see because they are placed in the field. For a “blind” retrieve they are directed to the bird (or bumper) by arm signals.
A glossary would be fun to read through! Thank you for your fun posts! We really enjoy reading about your training and hunting with your pups!
Glad it was a small group and you could do more work. We have our paws crossed for Storm this weekend. We so hope Freighter improves through out the rest of the Summer and can participate when the hunting season starts. Have a tremendous Thursday.
Best wishes Molly
Hi Y’all!
Freighter do you at least get to go to the tests and watch? Now talk about distractions! Maybe you aren’t up to “just watchin'” yet.
I’ll have paws crossed for you to “ace” your tests Storm.
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
I think we are going to bring him. He will get to sit in the back of truck. 🙂 It is our club’s test so we will be working.
Remember, I live with Bailie, so I understand some of what you go through with Freighter. Bailie can be perfect one day and living hell the next with just about everything in dog life. We just found out I will be in my first nose work competition. Usually I would train another 6 months, but I’m doing so well, the instructor suggested I give it a whirl. Bailie on the other paw is real good too, but she is so easily distracted, she will need to keep practicing…just like Freighter! Looks like some fun training with others. Friends make everything more fun!
Good good luck storm I know you can do it! We have a hunt test two and for the next four weeks. Beautiful photos of freighter working. Always love your diagrams. Have a wonderful weekend and bring home that ribbon.
Good luck on your tests. Our season is winding down. Just one more test next weekend here in MI. Storm is not running good enough to travel with her and we are having trouble getting into those tests anyway.
Good luck to Storm this weekend!
Holding Freighter back until you can get him more obedience work seems like a smart decision to me. He’ll need to be reliable on his commands. Just curious: how old is Freighter? Is his youthful enthusiasm getting the better of him? Or is he just one of those dogs who need constant reinforcement of the “rules”?
Storm looks like she’s rarin’ to go! Good luck with her test! And yes, it’s always more fun to train with like-minded friends.
Freighter is two. But he is one of those dogs who needs constant reinforcement of the rules and also he needs to not loose his mind when he sees ducks…lol.
Ah, he’s a little younger than Ducky then — her half-year birthday was yesterday — so I understand completely.
I wish you a fabulous weekend, paws are crossed for Storm. Will Freighter stay at home or can he come with you, even when he will not run in a test?
We will probably bring him. If they need a pickup or setup dog and don’t have one, he will be handy. But probably he will sit in the truck. 🙂
Maybe he can participate on the test that way :o) Paws are crossed for the weekend :o)
Good luck to Storm, hope she does great. Bet you have to give them a bath after that retrieve through the green water…
That pond is very clean. What you see is duckweed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemnoideae
You know I come here for the photos, right? It’s my guilty pleasure. 😉
I will have my paws crossed for Storm even though I know she will do well. It sounds like Freighter is getting better and better…practice makes perfect so maybe it is good to hold him off for a bit. The photos of course, are terrific. I love the photos of them working…hunting.
Happy Thursday!
Oz
Good luck this weekend!
Nothing happier than a working dog at work! Great pictures.
Good luck, Storm – although you probably don’t need it! (Glad I read the other comments – I wondered what that green stuff was in the water too!)
They are really good looking dogs! It’s so nice to see dogs doing what they were bred to do!
Good luck storm!! I’ve always though it would be fun to use dogs and bird hunt!
Good luck this weekend!
You are very wise to give him time to grow up and become more solid before trying tests again. I admire your patience, and I bet it really pays off!
I would love to watch your dogs perform in person. It is just fascinating to me.
I can’t wait to see how Storm does. Perhaps the time off will allow him to mature a bit more, which will help him in the long run.
I still say he’s going to be an awesome dog when he ‘grows up.’ 😀
Good luck Storm, you can do it. Life is so much better with dog friends.
That’s too bad about Freighter, but I’m sure he will get there by next season, and he has a lot of years ahead of him. I’m not sure how long you’ve been at this….have you ever had a dog that just wasn’t good at it at all?
I enjoyed seeing the photos of the other retrievers as well!