Update On Thunder

Thanks so much for all of the kind words about Thunder.  His neuter surgery went well.  It was late in the day so the vet kept him over night.  I was relieved that they kept him so they could keep an eye on him all night.

Thunder also had x-rays taken of his teeth as well as a cleaning and polish.  All of his teeth are in good shape with the exception of one of his canines which somehow was pushed up into his gum.  The vet was worried it was pushed into his sinus but x-ray showed it was not which is good news.  There was also not as large a pocket around the gum as the vet expected to see; however, she is questioning whether there is a small crack at the tip of the root.  If there is no crack, it may be that Thunder would outlive that tooth ever causing him an issue so we could just keep an eye on it.

Just to be sure, the vet is going to consult with a veterinary dentist.  Due to the tooth being so close to the sinus, we may need the specialist to remove it if that is what we decide to do.  However, for right now, it is fine just as it is.

Hubby will be going off to train this weekend with Freighter, but I will make sure Thunder has a nice quiet weekend to recoup.

Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Thunder

Answers

We received some great questions about our training so I figured I would answer them here instead of just replying in comments.

On Blind Out In A Field Jan K asked: “That sounds SOOOO difficult! It kind of surprises me that orange is more difficult to see than black, if I was understanding that correctly?”

A black stake is easier to see sticking up in a field than an orange stake. The orange falls away, whereas the black stands out.  Even with bumpers the orange is supposed to be harder to see because it blends into the background and it is a color most dogs cannot see clearly.  Black can be hard to see if it is against a dark background.  It really depends on the contrast in color and as I said, orange tends to blend more rather than stand out.

On Working On Angle Entry Water Blinds our easyweimaraner asked: “would it count in a test if a dogs runs around the pond to get the bumper? or is it a fail? do you have a second try or will the judge stop the test after a fail and you are out?”

It really depends on which level a dog is testing at.  In a Senior level test, the judges may overlook a dog running around.  They would normally try not to set up a water blind that offers a dog the opportunity to run around.  They usually set it up so that the dog is going straight across for a blind retrieve rather than at an angle.  Angle entries and cutting the corner of a pond are higher level skills.  At the same time, if the Judge has set up a water blind, they are going to want to see the dog get wet so the dog will need to get into the water at some point.

For a Master level test, the dog should not run around the corner of the pond.  It would be a fail and you do not get a second chance.  Most judges will allow the dog to finish the blind, but if it is too bad, they may say to stop, or sometimes the handler will pick up their dog and try another test day.

kkoira commented: “Koira would have a hard time with this. She always likes to take the easiest path. While she will go straight in after a toy, she will swim to the nearest shore and return on land whenever possible.”

Technically the dogs are not judged on the return, only on the way to the blind or mark.  However, we work to present as pretty a picture as possible beginning to end, so in training we usually try to get the dog to take a straight path while returning even if that means getting back into the pond to do it.  On the whole, we do not want to encourage any running around.  At a test, it would be handler’s option whether to require that return.

It is like any training, it just takes a lot of practice.  We start small and over time teach the dog how we want them to return.

Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Freighter Returning With A Water Blind

That is it for our update and answers.

Have a nice weekend!

19 thoughts on “Update And Answers”

  1. Thunder I’m so glad that everything went well. Have a great weekend and we sure cross our paws again when you have the tooth-appointment. Thanks for answering the questions :o) I like it to learn more about hunting tests (we will not do one, I just failed at my game license… seems neither Easy nor me are made for hunting )

  2. Very good news. No surgery for tooth might be a huge relief. Have a quiet, recoup weekend!

  4. Glad to hear that everything went well with Thunder’s neuter and there is no urgent need to have the tooth removed.

    In previous posts you’ve mentioned how you keep an eye on the interaction between Thunder and Freighter because they were both un-altered. Do you see that changing now that Thunder has been neutered?

    Have a great (and quiet) weekend.

  6. Glad Thunder is doing well and we hope that tooth can just stay where it’s at.

  7. So glad Thunder had a good day. Loved hearing the answers to the questions. Hope the tooth will be all right without surgery. Have a great week end.

  8. So happy to see that Thunder did well, and I hope the whole tooth thing remains a non-issue for years and years and years to come. Enjoy the quiet weekend!

  9. Thunder! Dude!! Glad your surgery went well, and don’t worry, your voice won’t be higher. Just letting you know.

    -Otto

  10. I didn’t get to comment yesterday, but I was thinking of you and Thunder, and I’m so glad to hear it all went well. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that he doesn’t need that dental surgery.
    Thanks for answering our question! We have both orange and black balls for the dogs, I’ll have to observe sometime and see if the orange one is more difficult for them to find. 🙂

  11. I missed the whole thing and had to go back to catch up. Sorry! So glad that Thunder’s surgery went well and hope recovery is without any hiccups. Paws and fingers crossed that there will be no dental surgery for him in the future!

  13. I’m just now getting around to reading blog posts – it’s been a busy week for me of studying, chauffeuring Ducky to/from daycare, and taking Shadow for her re-check. And in the middle of it all, life happens.

    Glad Thunder came through his surgery so well, and that the tooth can probably wait and be watched for a while!

  14. Thanks for the update and for answering questions. I’m so fascinated with your dogs and the training you do with them; they seem to very much enjoy it. I have a question. Do you stop the training or do you allow the dogs to determine when they’ve had enough? I’m having trouble figuring out if I should stop my dogs or not. Three of our dogs are very good at self regulating, but Scout will go and go. Even when it’s obvious that he’s tired, he’ll still go.

    1. No we watch them. Chessies will retrieve until they drop and we don’t want that. Usually when we are upland hunting, we swap them out every 30-45 minutes depending on how hard they have to hunt. When we are training, they run set-ups and we limit how many times. They need the physical activity, but we also want them to learn so we try not to over do so they can think about what they have just done. We want our senior dogs to stay in shape for hunting season, but we also do not want injuries so we do not push them. Thunder and Storm do not train as hard as Freighter. They get fewer and shorter training set-ups. Of course right now both Thunder and Storm are on limited activity. I think I will walk them around the block later….I am sure they will wonder what is up with that boring walk…lol.

  16. I’m glad to hear that Thunder’s neuter surgery went well. Hope that his tooth won’t start bothering him.

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