Archive from Daisy's Journal April 16 -
May 31, 2007
April 16 (morning) wagon wheel segment
drill - two white bumpers with a longer orange pile up
the middle (run orange pile first then add white bumpers = start wide and then
narrower)
Industrial DTA - grassy area
note: grass was a bit too high & she couldn't see the white bumpers, but she did
a nice job lining up on the bumpers & pile ("fired hard" on everything)
(late morning) start the Definitive Casting Drills - step #1 - Square Pond
grassy area)
note: ran to the side pile on one cast first two stops & had to kind of hack her
there on the last two (not all that unusual) = after four stops and casts to
the "side" pile the memory mark was a bit hazy, but she picked it up,
pretty good for the first day
(late afternoon) trained at BT's - OB first, holding
blinds, ran two sets of 4 remote winger
singles, primer reports, hen pheasants - "4 down the
levee" & "4 up the cover check downs)
note: Kooly and Daisy stepped on all the "4 down the "levee", but had two big
hunts
on the "check downs" (need more work on this concept - two singles at
a time)
(left click on thumbnails)
![]() "4 down the levee" |
"4 up the cover - check downs" |
April 17 (late morning) train with Ann W. at BT's, OB
off the van, used van for a holding blind,
set-up four remote wingers were in matted cover with 18 Avery Full Body & Shell
decoys
("real motion stakes") - focus on no motion at the line, the winger "runner"
shot a primer
pistol off to the side (hen pheasants)
note: Daisy got taken back to the van once, then did two solid sits at the line
note: Kooly got taken off the line for a motion and whining, he was good then
afterwards, ran two cold blinds through the decoys (ducks)
note: breeze changed and was quartering in so that the first blind pile supplied
scent the the next longer blind - Daisy and Kooly got taken in by this and
were not very responsive on whistles (need to work on this)
(afternoon) at the Square Pond DTA ran a remote winger double with mallards, the
go
bird was very "cheaty" and Daisy and Kooly tried to cheat - whistle sit and cast
into the
water, Daisy did not cheat on the way back, Kooly tried to cheat on the way back
(ducks)
note: repeat set-up in about two weeks, mean while do "cheaty" tune-up drills
followed with a session of walking baseball to dry off & warm up
Interceptor (all three)
(left click on thumbnails)
![]() "In Your Face" pheasants (no motion at the line drill) |
![]() "Cheaty" Mallard Double (short go bird) |
![]() Finally - Wood Ducks in the Square Pond |
April 18 (late morning) since we had an appointment to
pick-up Kooly's allergy series (shots),
Stoughton's field trial grounds were close by, ran two sets of "cheaty" remote
winger
marks using white bumpers, all three ponds were totally out of their banks so we
got
a very different look, the second mark was made more difficult by moving the
line over
and making it more "cheaty" (use the "big" swim-by pond)
note: Daisy cheated the easy first one and then did fine on the more difficult
second
one, in her second set it was a bit easier with no point in the middle = no
cheating, Daisy was kept at about 150 yards with a 100 yard entry
note: Kooly cheated big time on the second one (first series) and the easy first
one
in the second set, nailed the difficult second one on the second set, his marks
were
were run from about 175 yards with a longer entry than Daisy's
Daisy and Kooly ran a session of walking baseball after each set to dry
off & warm up
(left click on thumbnails)
left "cheats" (from the field) |
left " cheats" (from the mound) |
right "cheats" (from the field) |
![]() right "cheaties" (from the mound) |
![]() remote wingers |
(afternoon) repeated step one in the Definitive Casting Drills with Daisy
(Square Pond DTA)
note: almost perfect this second time, no confusion, full out "go" - only issue
was
two casts on the last stop to get her to the pile before picking up the mark,
very sharp (repeat tomorrow)
(evening) drove to Soggy Acres to train with Badger State HRC = area in southern
WI with
a lot of very nice water, Daisy and Kooly ran an over the point cold blind
(literally very cold)
note: with a floating Dixie Cup 10 yards off the line near the end = it was
interesting
Daisy was all business and didn't mind the cold water at all
note: the big thing was to get Daisy out and into a crowd, she was oblivious of
everyone
when she was watching another dog run the blind, sat there like a statue staring
at the action = very intense, as soon as the dog was finished, she went right
back
to looking for attention & acting like a puppy - very worth while evening for
her
note: Kooly on the other hand was not thrilled with the cold water - at all
April 19 (morning) trained at BT's with Ann W. and set-up two
Y-drills the second was much harder
than the first because of a change in cover and visibility
note: Kooly and Daisy did fairly well with the first Y-drill and Kooly did much
better
on the second one than anyone else, Daisy ended up with some winger problems
and we quit for the session
(left click on thumbnails)
![]() Y marking drill |
![]() tune-up drill |
![]() Definitive Casting Drill #1 |
(late afternoon) Daisy trained at the Square Pond DTA - ran a water
tune-up drill, then turned
around and ran the two west side bean field pattern blinds to dry off, moved to
the "grassy
area and finished off with a repeat of the first Definitive Casting drill
note: the tune-up had a great diversion - an angry Goose trying to keep Daisy
away
from his "lady" sitting on a nest at the other end of the pond, the tune-up went
OK considering the goose pest - Daisy wanted to take him on
note : the two pattern blinds went fine after overcoming her suction to the
goose - she
still want to take him on
note: the definitive casting drill was a tough one today, the final mark was
clearly
visible from the line and had to blow the whistle 10 yards sooner to give her
time to stop - SHE WAS FLYING! casts to the pile were not carried far, and
we just avoided picking up the mark before the last cast because she was so
close to it (may need to give her more than 20 yards between the markers),
this was a good example of dealing with a "high roller" = when drills are
exciting!
repeat
this until she takes a single cast at each of the four stops
note: Daisy has obviously become a training "junky"
April 20 (morning) trained at BT's - ran two sets of three
singles ala Y-drills with a real gunner and
then ran four cold blinds down the levee from the east, trained with Anne W. and
there
was plenty of time for each dog to rest between "goes"
note: Daisy continues to improve going to the line and sitting very focused for
marks,
her marking was very good today and no mouthing (this is really getting better)
still not getting a real good straight ahead look on blinds (need more lining
drills)
note: Kooly marked really well and ran some nice blinds
afterwards drove to the south side pine trees to run the "big" 374 yard pattern
blind, neither
Daisy or Kooly have run this since the first week in January (four months ago)
note: Daisy had a slight banana to the right and then a slight one to the left -
but she
didn't need a single whistle, Kooly lined it as straight as an arrow
(evening) Daisy was introduced to a "split" lining drill at the Square Pond DTA
April 21 trained heavy seven straight days - Daisy and the rest of
us took the day off
note: beautiful day to train..........but a rest will have more value
April 22 (morning) trained at the Sand Pond Lake - Daisy (only) =
carried in a remote winger and ran
three "big" water singles (125, 196 & 210) used black & white bumper with flags
(30 mph winds
out of the south & very warm), water part of blinds were 75, 110, 136 yds =
long water entries
(left click on thumbnails)
125 yard single |
![]() 196 yard single |
![]() 210 yard single |
![]() Daisy 196 yards |
![]() Daisy 210 yards Sand Ponds |
![]() "mallard double" Square Pond |
(afternoon) swung by the house and picked up Kooly so both could run a simple
mallard
double at the square pond (remote winger with primer report and stickmen)
(evening) repeated Daisy on the Definitive
Casting Drill #1 & ran Kooly on the "split" lining drill
April 23 (morning) picked up six mallards early &
weatherman was wrong - trained at Gallagher's FT
grounds, shot four flyers for Daisy and one for Kooly, then ran a set of doubles
for each
ran two long singles with Daisy and she nailed those
note: Daisy did really well on the flyers, tried to cheat once
note: Kooly was "howling" when Daisy got the first one, had to put a bark collar
on him,
did fine on flyer and picked up the double with a hunt on the go bird (squared
the
water entry and it pulled him off line)
note: Daisy picked up the "go bird" no problems & completely missed the memory
bird,
put on an ugly hunt (one thing wrong with wingers = no one out there to help)
(evening) trained at Whitewater = entry in journal will be just "no training is
better than bad
training" = bumpers after mallards in the morning started it off on a "down hill
slide"
![]()
April 24 (morning) 2 trained at the land Square Pond DTA in the bean
field across erosion strips,
remote wingers, primer reports, stickmen and hen pheasants
(evening trained at the Square pond - ran a mallard duck double, but
delayed picking up
the memory duck by running a land single with a hen pheasant off to the right -
thanks Dan
note: Kooly had the day off, the allergy desensitization shots seemed to have
affected
his attitude, so I'm going to move slower with him for a few weeks
note: Daisy pinned the land doubles in the morning (good focus was what we were
looking for = got that, the (early evening) Daisy had to wait longer for the
memory
bird = first with the "go bird" swim and then the land single, when sent for the
memory see wasn't quite clear for the first two strides and then it clicked in
(good day of training)
April 25 (morning) trained at the Square Pond - three remote, hidden
winger singles, holding blind,
duck call at the line HRC style (bucket) using the cap gun "shots/pointer" at
the line, hold on
to collar and release (hen pheasants)
(evening) rained out
note:
Daisy thought this was fun and easy
Kooly ran it as a triple and focused on no whining (some improvement, but need
to do this
more with him = zero is the goal, if it takes all summer)
April 26 (morning - taxi-driver and errand mode = rained all morning
(evening) wet ground and sporadic drizzle - using radar & trained at the Square
Pond grassy
area and did the "split" lining drilling = good exercise, dogs like it, focus on
heeling - both
sides, delivery, switching sides afterwards and setting up in a good body
position (looking
straight ahead repetition)
April 27 (morning) trained water at Cherry Valley with pro Brian Moyse
and group = ran two tough
down the shore and over a high peninsula (which made for two water entries)
note: Daisy started to go long on the first on (gunner "hey hey" took care of
that), took a
very good line to the last one after going "sideways" to the end of the
peninsula,
for some reason was dropping the birds on delivery = stiff corrections
note: not sure Kooly even saw the short one, went as sent and started long =
handled,
long one he ran a beautiful line right to the mark
afterwards, both ran a blind starting over a mound = which neither did well,
Daisy was
"zig-zagging" all the way down the shore - not pretty & Kooly had the momentum
of a slug
note: Daisy was giving good effort, but that initial mound confused her
note: Kooly has been very quirky since we started the allergy desensitization
shots,
not consistent = looks good at times and then not
(evening) trained just Daisy at the Square Pond did a water walkout pile drill,
75 yard water
entry with a 125 yard parallel to the shore swim (three orange bumpers)
note: Daisy was straight and honest (out and back)
note: in the picture is the big male goose acting to "decoy" away (or fight
with) Daisy
if she threatened his nesting mate's nest the on opposite side of the pond, swam
out, made a log of noise and stayed in between Daisy and the eggs
(left click on thumbnail)
parallel swim pile drill |
9:00 pm
DARN!
Daisy is in heat. This explains quite a bit of the erratic "stuff" lately.
![]()
April 28-9 Daisy was supposed to run Wisill/Fox Valley HRC = easy weekend
for Daisy & Kooly
note: did not pass the bitch check = two good "things" - got an $ 80 refund and
know she won't be in heat when we go to the Stuttgart "Trainin' in the
Timber" seminar
(didn't
do anything either day)
April 30 trained at the Rockton Road DTA - set-up two sets of delayed
triples (as before) one north &
the second farther south
note: Kooly marked fairly well except for the first go bird
note: Daisy marked the singles well, had a tight hunt on the first go bird, but
was
not very clear about the memory bird (second set better than the first) the heat
cycle has her pretty confused
May 1 trained at Rock Cut State Park DTA - area mowed and looked
very good, set up a delayed
triple
(as before) throw double pick up go bird, run single off the the right and then
pick up
the
memory bird = had remote wingers for the go bird & a gunner threw the memory &
then
walked to through the single (used Dokkens & a primer pistol)
note: Kooly did well on this and was quiet at the line
note: Daisy seems to be getting her wits back after the initial "rush" of her
first heat
afterwards ran four singles down the east edge of the grounds = Kooly went short
to long &
Daisy
went long to short (walking gunner in white coat)
note: Kooly went "inside out" to pick up each mark
note: Daisy flared right on each of the four marks (not sure whether it was the
wind,
hill or suction to the previous singles which cause this for her - now that I
think of it, suction on Kooly's "routes" were doing the same thing in
reverse
May 2 trained in the front yard off the new "Kwick Platform"
- easy day
note: Taffey's ultrasound found at least one Dusty pup (time will tell if more)
(left click on thumbnails)
Daisy on the Kwick Platform "eyeing a bumper" |
![]() Platform Retrieve |
May 3 day off
May 4 (evening) trained at the Square Pond DTA -
Daisy ran the Definitive Casting Drill
note: almost good enough to start the next step (repeat in different area)
note: Kooly took the last shot of the "first phase" of his allergy
desensitization series &
had the day off
note: Daisy's heat cycle has progressed to a very light pink, almost clear
discharge with
less volume
May 5 (morning) Kooly had a short yard work session of OB to speed up his slow
sit (used stick &
and no e-collar) drove to
the Industrial Park DTA and ran Daisy on the Definitive Casting Drill
Step #1 (different
area - same drill), then drove to the Rockton Road DTA and ran seven remote
line Dokken singles
(primer shots - 125 yards out to - 250 yards with the first four on the
east
side and checked "back
down" on the west side with the last three
note: Daisy did fine with the Definitive Casting Drill even though it was a new
area,
her lines were straight, high head and driving (lots of zip with two very small
hunts)
note: Kooly was sharp & nailed everything, but his "zip" wasn't nearly as good
as Daisy's,
even though she had run the casting drill a half hour earlier & he hadn't
note: vet mentioned something about the Loratadin antihistamine (need to look
that up,
low incidence of fatigue which seems to be something Kooly is demonstrating -
just
been acting more laid back.....at times) after finishing the series of
desensitization |
shot might take him off the Loratadin (Claritin) for a week or two to see if
there is
and change
(evening)
Daisy ran step #2
of the Definitive Casting Drill in a different area of the Square
Pond DTA - pile to
the left
note: did this "poorman" tonight -she is really smart about the little
variations, fogs on
marks, sits smartly, takes the cast away from the second mark with no questions
&
then "fogs" to pick it up later - neat drill and teaches patience (she is
learning the
mark will always be there when it is time, no need to repeat step #2 as #3 will
not be much different for her (do Sunday night after field trial)
note: heat cycle negative effects seem less now, she is much calmer & more
focused
note: Daisy will stay home tomorrow - working at the field trial and her being
there is not
a good idea
May 6 worked the Madison Retriever Club's field trial (Daisy stays home), ran
Definitive Casting Drill
#3 in the evening - Daisy at
the Square Pond DTA (different area), drove to the Rockton Road
DTA and ran a "poorman"
delayed triple - Daisy picked up the second a third birds, but had
trouble finding the
memory bird (still in heat), drove to the Rock River Park in Roscoe and ran
two pattern blinds (just
barely enough light)
May 7 ran all three dogs on the two bumper lining drill - yard work focusing on
lining, "noing" off &
delivery on both sides
note: all three were sharp and had fun
May 8 since Lick needed some continuing blood workups (age is getting the best
of her) the vet's is
close to the Stoughton
field trial grounds and gas prices so high - trained Daisy and Kooly = ran
two tough water singles on the technical pond
(stickmen, mallards, remote wingers with 209
primer reports and both
at about 180 yds from different lines)
note: Daisy marked each well, long swims and did not cheat the shore
note: Kooly lined the one on the left, but got thrown off course on the way to
the water by
something in the lunging water that "grabbed him" before the entry, needed to be
handled back to the correct line (ok after that)
moved to the bigger
pond and ran a meaty "down the shore" double = memory bird long entry &
another hefty swim while the "go
bird" was very "cheaty" (175 & 100 yds)
note: Daisy was as straight as an arrow - excellent double with good memory
(heat cycle
issues are over - whew!.....maybe?)
note: Kooly nailed each mark, but he took a huge banana swim right to the memory bird
note: this was a "feel good" training day, ponds way out of their
banks for a much different
look & a lot of lunging water leading up to the normal pond shorelines, both
dogs were
relaxed and ready, the grass was greened up and lush, sunny with a good breeze
that
kept the "nasty" little Stoughton black gnats at bay, just a gorgeous afternoon
(left click on thumbnails)
![]() first single (telephoto lens) |
Daisy + first duck |
second single (telephoto lens) |
![]() "two down the shore" |
![]() Kooly |
May 9 (morning) trained at BT's with Ann W. - ran line manners drills with cold
honoring, HRC popper
shooting, duck
calls and mallard out of "in your face" remote wingers we picked up the first
duck
making in a cold
honor for each dog. then each of us turned and threw a Dokken off to the side,
put
those two up and
did the next two, brought the first two out and then alternated which dog would
pick up a duck,
holding blinds, handling the shotgun, back to the truck or off line for
corrections, all
the "line stuff"
that can cause problems at a test were worked on, the dogs got better when this
WAS THE FOCUS,
finished with each dog getting a mark off a remote platform with the handler
in the holding
blind
note: this was the first time in a training session where Kooly's noise issues
came up = good
corrections and message understood, still a ways to go
note: Daisy was "amped" more than usual and corrections were elevated to get
across the
point
note: at normal excitement levels a two/nick on the collar is sufficient, a
three/nick would
get a "yelp", today a four/nick only got a "OK, I felt that.....big deal!" look.
Interesting
comments came up afterwards. In a regular training session the focus is on marks
and blinds.
Behavior is reduced to being a nuisance. That's not good. As today's lengthy
session
progressed
marking was of little significance and line behaviors became EVERYTHING. After
awhile both
of us seemed to relax and were more effective. All four dogs changed for the
better.
They were not
perfect, but noticeably different and a corner has been turned. We're
doing this
again as a
routine so that it becomes a mind set in all training sessions.
May 10 trained at BT's with Brian (pro) and group - ran "chair" marking drill
(stickmen and chair stations)
four ducks
and two extra stations, slight angle giving marks from 100 to 160 yards
note: Kooly pinned a couple and got the other two quickly (deep alfalfa = tough
running),
still some whining at the line = corrections on first bird & kept the ducks in
his
mouth on the next three until sent (that kept him quiet), I might stick a bumper
in his
mouth to begin with = saw that a few years ago and just remembered it
note: Daisy is still in heat as Grady broke loose from his tie-out and came to
the line for
some action, I told Daisy to "kennel up" and she barreled to the van and flew
into her
open crate, Grady figured his "chance was over" & we started over, Daisy pinned
one
mark, had two small hunts and ran around quite a bit on the last one
after the
chair drill, the next set-up was a double - double, one double was "down the
path" with
the long bird
the memory, the second double had the gunners almost in line with the go bird
long
left and
memory bird short right
note: Kooly was again "noisy" got another correction which was effective = these
two double
he did fine with
note: Daisy had a short hunt with the first go bird and had some trouble (at
first) recalling
that there was a second bird (but worked with her and it came back), second
double
she had a huge hunt (it was hot, too) finally figured out it was a long throw,
but she was
right on task with the memory bird (thought this would not happen given the long
hunt,
what she did with the memory on the first double and the heat of the morning (no
pun
intended)
(evening)
trained at the Square Pond - "in your face" splashing mallards from
wingers on the
north side of
the pond, Kooly was first - any motion of whining resulted in corrections and
taken
off the line,
put a bumper in Kooly's mouth to start with, all four wingers were unloaded for
Kooly
and he "got
nothing" (back to the van) and Daisy came out and picked up all four ducks,
wingers
reloaded &
Kooly back to the line, got three this time = didn't move and whined on one,
then
Daisy came
out an did a nice job on two = no motion and focused
note: will do this twice a week
May 11 Kooly got the day off, Daisy only trained in the evening - ran
Definitive Casting Drill #4 with a long
angle back,
these are started with the first mark being a "remote line poorman", then on the
2nd
Daisy waits
until I walk back to the line
note: ran the first one by identifying the pile (orange bumpers) = ran the
casting part of the
drill three times - only two whistles on the 80 yard angle back cast and
"fogged" fast
on all the marks (nice job & repeat in the morning)
drove to the
Rockton Road DTA and introduced a stickmen slot drill = two stickmen three yards
apart with an
identified pile of orange bumpers 20 yard beyond the slot, backed up in a ladder
technique out
to about 100 yards, Daisy only tried to flare once and was stopped and cast
through,
she was doing
it so well, I was afraid there wasn't going to be any teaching of "No, that's
not
right." This
drill will be lifted to somewhere else and lengthened. A jump will be
added and
transitioned
to logs, short cover strips and natural slots.
May 12 (morning) repeated Definitive Casting Drill #4 (same place) Taffey spent
the morning running a few
blinds to
finish off the remainder of the piles and "helped" set up and take down "stuff"
note: Daisy did it well with a lot of style this morning
note: ran it cold with Kooly - hasn't seen this for about two years - sharp
(left click on thumbnail)
Definitive Casting Drill #4 |
ran the
164 yard pattern blind at Roscoe River Park through
a 3 yard Stickmen slot (identified
first), moved
back and ran, then put the jump in (both know this) - ran it again, moved back
full
distance and
finished (Daisy and Kooly)
note: again Kooly wanted to cheat, but adjusted quickly with attrition
note: Daisy was solid with only on "no-no" attrition after she got over the fact
that the
"camo" cover was still saturated with chukar scent (used it to cover the bird
cage),
the "wall of scent" stopped her in her tracks a couple of times, but after step
4 when
we moved out to the full distance she could not drive over the jump, had to move
up and deal with that a couple of times, her last run was fast (she started a
banana to
the right and corrected back over the jump (she was feeling quite a bit of
pressure
from this drill = still in heat didn't help)
(left click on thumbnails)
![]() identify pile |
![]() move back |
![]() farther |
![]() beyond jump |
![]() full 164 yards |
drive
to BT's DTA work
on the "up and over a mound" & through a slot (took "weed whacker",
cut grass and
clear off mound) first sit dog on each side of mound and call over, then
identify the
pile = run
moving back in increments (stickmen slot 30 yards form mound & pike at 60 yards
in front
and end up
running from 30 yards behind the mound)
note: Kooly wanted to cheat more coming back, cheated first time going out -
adjusted
quickly with no issues (good job)
note: Daisy was determined to cheat and started to bug with a couple of "no
goes", it took a
a few higher collar corrections and her whole attitude changed (decide to quit
slacking) = "OK, I got the
message........was just testing you. HA!" Her last two were
perfect and fast.
(left click on thumbnail)
mound/slot drill |
(evening) train at
Rockton Road DTA - ran remote winger double/double same set ups & it did
go well, winger
#1's new wire release ended up too long and the cover was too high
note: Kooly did much better than Daisy because he takes a good initial line on a
mark,
carries it and is taller, Daisy is still a bit spotting so her heat cycle is not
over by
any means, this was one of those training sessions that would have been better
is we'd missed it
May 13 (morning) ran Daisy on Definitive Casting Drill #5 & ran a Water Casting
Drill
note: Daisy too a single cast to get the blind and nailed the mark on the "DCD5"
drill
(sharp)
note: identified the pile (orange bumpers) on opposite bank & Daisy took two
whistles to
head into the pond & memory wasn't enough to fire hard but she kind of knew and
then picked up speed (very good for a new presentation, poison birds will
be easy)
(left click on thumbnail)
|
Definitive Casting Drill #5 |
Water Casting Drill |
![]() driving to pile (over into water cast) |
![]() return on mark |
designed and made
PVC supports for the two 6'x12' ProSelect Solar Canopy screens on van
May 14 (afternoon) day off, picked up ATV winger basket from welder
May 15-16 Taffey's second ultrasound confirmed there is only one pup......due
June 2nd, took two days
off as we are
down to one vehicle for a few days, painted and mounted the new ATV basket
Finally, the
“basket” is finished, mounted and loaded. I bought a sheet of expanded metal,
gave the
design to a welder and he built it. The welder has a great name......Rusty. His
friend
sheared the
metal and formed the box. Then he welded it together and added brackets.
Rusty said he
could mount it on the ATV, but it would cost quite a bit more. I think he wanted
me to do it
because there were several outboard props on his bench begging to be repaired.
I work cheap. After
painting and mounting it to the ATV, the decision to do this myself was the
right one.
Can you say…….several hours? It is 33" wide x 24" high and 16" back, and four
Kwick
Wingers fit
with plenty of "wiggle" room. The top edges of the basket are covered with
mitered,
split and
zip-tied black heavy duty washing machine hose sections.
(left click on thumbnails)
![]() Kwick Mini-My-Winger ATV Basket |
![]() |
May 17 (evening)
training van back from garage, trained at the Square Pond DTA grassy area, Daisy
ran
Definitive Casting Drill #5A and Kooly ran two easy cold blinds, Taffey helped
set-up &
picked
up extra bumpers afterwards
note: Daisy was sharp on this, sat 15 yards before the mark, took a hard angle
back cast
to the pile, but sucked back at the close visible bumper, quick whistle and took
a
perfect, long cast to the pile, after delivery = "fogged" to the mark (repeat
#5A one
more time, some where else, and this step is finished)
note: Kooly was straight as an arrow on the first cold blind typical "mo",
second was must
faster and a fun bumper was a good ending
May 18 (morning) trained at Rockcut State Park DTA with Anne W. - ran a
"schooled" double and picked
up a cold
blind in between the "go and memory" Dokkens (remote wingers on the memory,
primer report
& stickmen), real gunner at the short go bird which was inline with the memory
(had to run
through the old fall)
note: Daisy missed the "schooled" mark on the wrong wind side and had an ugly
hunt,
when the double was thrown, she had some trouble at the line looking past the
short
gunner station (motion), picked up the go bird OK, but wouldn't work with me in
lining up for the cold blind = I waited her out and got her to calm down, cold
blind
four whistled (falling off the side hill) not bad, memory bird not much "mo" off
the line
but the picture came back and she got the mark (first time set-up with blind &
double
not bad), after the heat cycle, it is apparent line manners have taken a hit
note: Kooly focused well and marked even better, two whistled the blind and had
no
problems with the memory bird = nice job
note: Taffey helped pick everything up
(evening) yard work - mow the lawn
May 19 (afternoon) trained at the Square Pond - four "in your face" remote
winger marks (two
mallards & two Dokkens) used HRC bucket style and a cap gun with a long barrel
any
motion or noise back to the truck - the other dog comes out of the van & picks
up
note: Kooly was too animated and whining = took off the line after each mark &
he
didn't pick up any = back to van & Daisy picked up Kooly's marks
Kooly came out again after Daisy's turn, did some OB including an extended
down & he made no noise this time.......so he got his marks
note: Daisy was solid and did a good job on her "in your face" marks
(left click on thumbnails)
![]() "In Your Face" mallards & Dokkens |
![]() Daisy's mallard |
was going to run the shore
water pattern (125 yard swim), but the wind was in the wrong
direction so each ran it as a "kind of" cold blind in reverse
note: Daisy was having trouble with water getting in her ears, many whistles
Kooly was better, but the problem was that this blind was placed about 10 yards
away from an old pattern blind from last year (he remembered it)
(late afternoon) Daisy did the water variation of the Definitive Casting
Drill #5
note: took four whistles to get her off the mark and to the pile = she did it -
this was a
difficult drill = pretty good
(left click on thumbnail)
water variation Definitive Casting Drill #5 |
May 20 (morning) train at Hook Lake, WI with hunt test training group, got
there early IT WAS COLD!
ran a
lining drill = across the road, past an angle log, over a log and between two
stickmen
note: had some issues 1) wanted to go over first log which threw her off course
= moved
up, then after jumping the second log she wanted to go outside the two stickmen,
put her up (Kooly ran) brought her back out and she ran two in a row correctly
note: Kooly insisted on flaring the log, I persisted to tell him "no" and
switched to flaring
the stickmen with couple of "no's" and insisting Kooly ran two straight
correctly
![]() "no-no" drill |
![]() poison bird blind |
after
rowing out to the bog & planting a blind, rest of the group arrived & the set-up
= a the
cold
blind ran as either a poison bird, delayed poison bird or a cold blind with a
diversion
(orange
bumpers on the blind and a remote Zinger Winger thrown black & white Dokken,
two
holding blinds and a popper gun
note: Kooly ran it as a poison bird = did nice job
note: Daisy ran it as a delayed poison bird to fit in with the "test" of her
Definitive Casting
Drills = she wanted the poison Dokken "real bad" a few whistles even though is
was
very close and the mind set established in the drills kicked in = nice job
group
then drove to the Stoughton field trial grounds (ten minutes away) and set-up a
delayed
triple
(which is actually two singles and a delayed memory plus two blinds off to the
right
note: Kooly was too animated the line, whining and one bark = back to the van,
after
Daisy ran he was brought out with a Dokken in his mouth = ran it OK, marking not
all that great
note: since Kooly was "so not paying attention to me" decide to see just how "amped"
he
was = normally a 3 momentary on the collar make him yelp and get "slinky", but a
4 continuous when the shot were going off and ducks falling hardly phased him,
which means he is going have to start paying attention to me = the question is
"How
do I become continuously "visible" at the line?
note: Daisy was OK at the line and didn't mark all the well (big hunt on the go
bird = just
missed it) memory bird she left not all that sure, started to switch and with
gunner's
"Hey!" came back and picked it up, ran blinds OK (had trouble blowing through a
strip of cover
Interceptor & Frontline Plus
May 21 (noon) Dr. appointment (morning) - afterwards ran each at BT's used
the Retriever-R-Trainer
and
made Kooly watch all of Daisy's marks without a
bark collar on
note: Daisy took excellent initial lines on all the marks down off the steep
levee, then she'd
loose the line and end up hunting (on the earlier marks) as the marks progressed
she
began to hold a better line and carry it to the area of the fall, put her up
after about
8-9 short singles (50 - 100 yards), brought her out again (after Kooly) and ran
5 more
noticeable improvement focus and attacking the area of the fall
note: Kooly's intensity and focus on the exact spot of a mark is not much of an
issue if he
is not too animated or being corrected for whining, so his work was more
directed
at "noise" = there was improvement and demanded from an awareness that "I
was there!" used heeling stick & no e-collar corrections
note: both dogs were hot when finished but not in any stress
May 22 (noon)) ran Retrieve-R-Trainer marks off the northwest mound at
BT's
note: Daisy ran six different singles - took a break - ran two singles & double
her marking has made a huge turn around in two days, the concept of the area
area of the fall has returned & she is really focusing
note: today Kooly has finally become aware that whining is a issue, after making
him
sit and watch Daisy's run, he came out ready to "whine" = took him off the line
five times with stick-quiet-sticks, stick-sit-sticks and
stick-down-stick, ask him to
pay attention to me and finally he quit whining - five straight singles and
verbal
reminders seemed to register, came out after Daisy's second go and did fine
until I tried to call swing him to the go bird off a short memory = he barked =
off
the line with the same corrections and into the van, picked up memory bird and
ran it again = no noise and aware of me yet focused on he marks = big change
note: trained at noon for the warmer temperatures - Stuttgart is going to be hot
(evening) split lining drill & three long cold water blinds at the Square Pond
(just Daisy)
The new training adjustment technique is working. I've not been thrilled with
Daisy's marking or
Kooly's noise at the line. Two areas need to be dealt with on Daisy 1) mostly
focus and 2) some
control issues. Kooly's problem revolves
mostly around responsiveness.
The reason for using the Retriever-R-Trainer is that it will help Daisy to
focus, and it will cause Kooly
to get so "amped" this will create the whining and barking issues. As his
responsiveness "goes in the
tank", I can deal with it by making him more aware using specific, well timed
corrections. The
proper repetition will build new expectations (in theory).
I decided to take everything out of the field. The only thing will be the
bouncing canvass or foam
bumpers. The wide variety of of grass and terrain changes in the levee area at
BT's provides ample opportunities to "spot" or get a "good picture" of the fall
area for Daisy. Not only that, but the "moving bumpers" provide a larger
"scented area of the fall" than any other presentation. She was more
consistent the second day and shows steady improvement. Kooly's behavior was
predictable and
contained by the plan.
This is working with both dogs.
May 23 (noon) ran 4 R-R-T land singles and two doubles at BT's at noon
because I knew the
weather
in Stuttgart was going to be very warm
note: Daisy did fine and picked up four blinds on marks Kooly didn't get
note: Kooly got put back in the truck on four singles for whining especially on
a reel heel (heavy stick corrections)
May 24 (early morning) quick training session to take the edge off the
dogs for the long trip & get
them
"emptied out" (left for
Arkansas at 9:00 am)
note: ran Daisy on the split lining drill
note: ran Kooly on the walking baseball drill
(late
evening) arrived Stutrgart Best Western Motel - 668 miles & 10 hours 50 minutes
May 25 Daisy attends the Avery “Trainin’ in the
Timber” Seminar in Stuttgart, AK
met at
Mack's Prairie Wings at non and drove to Avery's Lodge which was about 15 miles
out
(with some mighty dusty roads along the way) after intros went off with Rody
Best who
was the
pro trainer for the transition group - ran a land set-up and a water set-up to
see
where
all the dogs were at (marking, OB, attitude, skill levels) to have a better idea
of what
to work
on Saturday and Sunday
note: Daisy did about as expected and gave a good read to Rody Best (the pro
working
with the transition dogs)
finished the evening off with a great meal, followed by a lot of great
socializing, I was ready
for a
good night's sleep and got it.
May 26 up early for a great breakfast and training day = lots of drills
with one on one (more to follow)
1) in
line breaking drill with five dogs and a rotation, 2) circle breaking drill with
five dogs,
3) over
the brush pile lining drill, 4) push/pull work using three (similar to our split
lining drill)
and
used ATB's, 5) turned around and used three piles for a "lining the
head and spine"
drill
and 6) did a BB blind drill to work on getting off the line, square sits and
literal casting
work =
during all this work we worked on the mechanics and improving the dog's control
with
emphasis on timing, finding the proper type and level of corrections while
paying attention to
consistency and concerns for motivation
keys = timing, consistency and motivation
note: These integrate right into the five keys from the Kentucky seminar =
responsiveness,
retrieving, "birdiness", focus and control
had
lunch at Mack's Prairie Wings and then went back out to run some more setups 1)
inline
singles
alternating sides and increasing in length and 2) long single up the middle with
a wide
double
afterwards and a cold blind up the middle (to the left) was a real indicator of
how far
we had
come and what we needed to work on
note: given how warm it was the dogs hung in there and gave a good effort
then
each of the transition group drew numbers to run one of Rody Best's SRS dogs on
a
triple
with a cold blind = this was fun
note: the meal, shower and bedtime were a welcome relief to the long day we put
in
note: Daisy and Kooly could not have been any better travelers on this trip -
easy and
very cooperative
May 27 up early with a good breakfast and a morning of watching all the
dogs from each group
participate on a set-up which was a triple and blind for advanced, single/double/blind
for
transition and
three singles for the young dogs, finished off with pros running a dog with
setup
changed to add more difficulty (got to watch
Dusty run)
Great Weekend!
May 28 day off - mow back lawn
May 29 Taffey x-ray shows one pup = due June 2nd, worked on Daisy's
hold of the Avery ATB
May 30 hot morning, finished mowing yard, trained in the evening at
BT's down the middle of the
dry pond - ran a four remote winger inline drill - short to long (cover was a
bit taller than
I
wanted) = both dogs did fairly well with tight hunts on the ones they missed
Reflections and Internet Posts - Avery Trainin' in the
Timber seminar
| The
seminar was a perfect fit. As everyone is well aware of, Avery Outdoors has made a wonderful contribution to meeting the demands of hunters and trainers for better equipment, and Mack’s Prairie Wings is doing a great job of supplying it. Avery and Mack’s generous gesture to provide a free opportunity to learn more about retriever training could not have come at a better time for Daisy and “Kwicklabs”. The trip to Stuttgart is difficult to describe in words. It would be best to just say “it was pretty darn significant to me personally”. The people and atmosphere were truly inspiring. Thanks! I’d have to day the anticipation for the trip was only exceeded by my anxiety to get the most out of it. Pro trainer Rody Best worked with our transition group, and his initial intentions were to focus on timing and consistency as it relates to a dog’s control (paraphrased). If you could have seen my thoughts on hearing that, I’d have to say it would reveal a mental picture of a Tiger Woods’ hand pump. Now I’ve been searching for quite some time for the "mythical" meaning of solid OB and know what sit, heel, here look like when it is done right. However, my dogs and I have never quite figured out exactly where that is. The frustrating part is knowing what it looks like and almost never……well you probably get the picture. Friends see my dogs and are amazed…....hunt test judges have (on more than one occasion) held a slightly different opinion. To be concise…..Rody delivered. The key components were how to determine the proper level of a correction and that it must be given in less than two seconds of an infraction (or it is pretty much ineffective). The frustration has been in seeing what’s going wrong and not being able to react properly with consistency. I’ve always believed that help in training comes best when a teacher (like Rody) can see the problem (s) in the context of the working trainer/dog. What happened in this three day seminar was Rody watched, gave advice and showed us techniques which were designed to the specifics of each team (dog and handler). We are talking about total immersion in training. I was a sponge and enjoyed every minute of each day. Although, I have to admit Saturday afternoon……sitting there in the chair in a shady spot I did doze off for a moment (and got caught). On a side note……..the ticks were a “consistent and interesting” distraction. As everyone knows these dogs can do some amazing things if they are focused and under control. The hard part is learning to place equal value on the “focused and control” aspect of training. Toward the second half of the seminar, I found myself almost ignoring whether my dog looked good “out there” and was mostly focusing on what she was doing near me. I think I’ve finally made the transition to accepting the fact that everything “out there” will get better when we are “looking good” at the line. I had the opportunity to run one of Rody’s dog.....Jazz. I asked if there was anything I should know about her. His comment was, “She is high drive.” At the line, she was obviously fine tuned and a lot of fun. I guess at the time that "high drive" comment meant something entirely different than what she showed me. She was high drive only after I released her. That’s what I want from my dogs. It was a good lesson to experience what I’m looking for. Dang, I almost forgot.......the food was......terrific! Let me say, Jazz is the best dog on Rody's truck…..no question about it. Each handler in transition drew for one of Rody’s dogs to run a triple with a cold blind. In the pile for the cold blind, there was a single orange bumper with a ribbon. That bumper was worth $20 to the handler whose dog brought it back. Jazz and I ran first………..she is a one mighty fine dog! To finish, thanks again to Avery Outdoors and Mack's Prairie Wings, David Carrington, Christian Curtis, Avery’s Pro Staffers and the Team Waterdog Trainers – Scott Greer (young dogs), Rody Best (transition) and Dan Heard (advanced). This was all good!
|
May 31 (morning) train at BT's
with Anne W. - ran the four winger inline long to short off the mound at
BT's = Daisy
and Kooly had big hunts on the long mark (too much tall cover off the bottom of
the mound
first time out) the last three marks were better (run next time in short cover)
note: ran a cold blind and both Daisy and Kooly took a single, long angle back
first cast to the
blind = very nice!