Storm blew off her handler when he tried to handle her to a mark at the test last Saturday, so early Sunday morning she was out working handling drills.
Three piles of bumpers were set in the field. First she was sent to the middle pile to retrieve a bumper. Next she was sent toward the middle pile, but handled to one of the piles to the side. She was also sent toward one of the side piles and handled to the pile on the other side.
This diagram illustrates how Storm ran this drill.
Some pictures:
This is kind of basic stuff, but at the test Storm was having issues taking casts at a distance in the field with all the other distractions out there. This drill is to reinforce the kinds of casts that might have helped her at the test if she had listened.
While she was running this drill, hubby noticed that she was turning the wrong direction when he cast her backward. Over time a dog understands that if the handler gives a back cast with his right arm, the dog should turn to their right and if with a left arm, the dog should turn to their left. Giving a “back” cast in a particular direction can help a dog in the field. Sometimes it can help them avoid a hazard or keep them off a point of land that you don’t want them on. The correct cast can make the difference between passing or failing a test and as I have said before, it is a leaning experience for both dog and handler. A lot of what we work on at our Saturday group training with the professional trainer is giving the correct cast for the situation.
Since Storm was having issues with turning the direction she was cast, she also worked a bit on that.
Some pictures to help explain:
I guess everyone needs a refresher now and again.
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Nothing wrong with a refresher and we sure hope it helps iron out the creases. Have a tremendous Thursday.
Best wishes Molly
Hi Y’all!
As we age we tend to get confused sometimes…or like my Human, Storm just doesn’t see as clearly any more. (Read into that what you will) BOL!
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Reinforcement/reminders are key in our training. We all get rusty after a while.
I wish I could watch you when you work with your dogs… it’s not easy to understand for a greenhorn, but I learnt some important things from you and your fabulous brown dawgs :o)
Oh yes everyone needs a refresher and my gang should have more of them. That’s one thing I don’t do much of. Great pictures and explaining them.
Reminders are a good thing! Keep up the great work!
Poor Storm…that’s a lot of retrieving – at least she got the easy one right 🙂
Storm, you work furry furry hard! You should get lots of extra treats! WOoooooowoooooooooo!
She seems to do so well with your training, do you think it’s all the distractions (dogs, people, noises, smells, etc) at the tests that throw her off?
It was the complexity of the test along with the placement of the shot flyer. Muddled her mind.
I love how you break down the drills. 🙂 thanks!
Love all the photos explaining each command. And yes, everyone needs a refresher sometimes. 🙂
Sometimes you just have to get back to the basics!
Getting back to basics is good for the reader still trying to figure out this stuff!! Haha…. OK, I get the cast is the signal with the arm. Is Storm trained to always look back to see what the person with the arm (is it always your husband?) is doing or does she only look back when he stops her with the whistle? Sorry for the stupid questions 😛
Storm is mostly handled by hubby, but sometimes by our trainer. I kind of explained blind running a bit more in today’s post. But short answer is that the dog should not stop or look back until stopped with the whistle.
OK! Thank you! 🙂
That’s okay, Storm. I get left and right mixed up too.