April 1st - afternoon - sunny, cold & windy.....Daisy & Gunny 3 HRC bucket winger singles &
                        repeated as triple, 25-40 yards in short grass working on push/pull with "heel/here"
                        verbals & trying to get as little movement as possible with a 180º swing, used short
                        tab on a pinch collar, Kooly did the singles with all marks thrown requiring a pull
                        ("heel") & before he started picking up any marks in his triple...he ran a cold blind
                        Taffey, Daisy & Gunny - ran four Retriev-R-Trainer singles (green charge)
        April 2nd - weather issues ???
                 note: prepare Daisy & Gunny's entries for HRC tests April 25 & 26....take to seminar
                 note: clean out van
        April 3rd - Evan Graham's seminar = morning in the 30' s, partly cloudy, highs in the 40s, windy
                                note: sign-up 7 - 7:30 am & starts at 8:00 pm.....leave house at 6:15 am 
                        today was basics with a bit of early transition, Gunny ran the some BB blinds and
                        clearly was distracted by the gallery, not a whole lot of focus or momentum....know
                        what to work on........OB in and around a hunt test environment was excellent   
        April 4th - Evan Graham's seminar = morning in the 30' s, partly cloudy, high around 50°F, wind
                        Taffey didn't do anything except meet Evan at the end of the day, in 2003 Taffey was
                        at Evan's very first Smartwork seminar
                                                           Graham & WISILL HRC Seminar (Link)
                        Daisy was "selected" to run the Definitive Casting Drill 6 which is a delayed poison
                        bird flyer blind  I was glad to NOT know about using a flyer much before running it.
                        Since it is a training situation...........the dog is allowed to make a very serious
                        commitment to the flyer before stopping.....can't  stop the dog until the flyer is on
                        the ground.  This makes for a much more serious momentum issue than if you
                        stopped the dog early when the bird is in the air. However, the series of Definitive
                        Casting Drills leading up to the final "test" (so to  speak) of the taught concept make
                        the success of pulling a dog off the powerful flyer  suction more doable (in theory).
                        Wow! that was "edge of the cliff" exciting.
                                 Description: Daisy is fast......flyer hits the ground and she is at least 25 yards
                                 off the line to the blind when the sit whistle is blown. Her butt went down
                                 crisply...and that was cool. After a long wait...a non-verbal 45° literal cast was
                                 given. A silent, walking over probably would have been more effective (maybe
                                 not..never know). A quick 180° scallop back on line to the flyer had her 10 yards
                                 closer. I had the whistle in my mouth and a lung full because I knew exactly
                                 what was going to happen. She sat. Daisy blew the third cast and whistle.
                                 Another quick whistle with a nick and she sat...closer to the flyer..looking at me.
                                 I asked Evan (since this is training, NOT getting the flyer is the whole point of the
                                 drill and we're not trying to get a ribbon), "Can I whistle her in?" His comment
                                 was a slow, measured "By all means." Even in the heat of the moment, I kind of
                                 chuckled with that. I mean he wants this to work! To break her "mo", I brought
                                 her toward me a good twenty yards. She was not terribly thrilled with that
                                 process. She sat, stared and we waited awhile. I then gave an exaggerated
                                 angle back which she took. The rest was fairly routine even though she did try
                                 to take one angle back slightly in the direction of the flyer. After retrieving the
                                 blind, Daisy literally flew to the delayed poison flyer. Whew! that was fun!

(left click to enlarge)                                                                                 "delayed poison flyer blind"

note: Definitive Casting Drill 6 is designed to "check" the dog's skill level - casting away from extreme suction.....The dog is at point A when the flyer is launched from its point A. The dog is stopped at point B when the shot flyer lands at its respective point B.

                         Later, Saturday afternoon, Kooly spent a long time on the honor line watching. He
                         was not particularly thrilled with the expectations.  Too bad......so sad.    
         April 5th - mostly cloudy and cold
                         Day Off
         April 6th - 11:00 am with a wind chill of 23° - my daffodils are "screaming"    
                                 Day Off    dentist (human) 2:00 pm
         April 7th there are 17 training days left until Daisy & Gunny's hunt tests April 24 & 25
                       afternoon Gunny ran a solid session of Wagon Wheels (lining and casting)
                                note: did a good job, focused and energetic
                       Daisy did an extended session of the second tier orange bumper slots with
                       a Wagon Wheel lining drill
                                note: focused, fast off the line and needed to slow her down at the line
                                         to keep her energy under control = good session
                       Taffey, Kooly, Gunny & Daisy ran a 200 yard cold blind to the southeast through
                        the bean field and angling across two erosion strips
                               note: Taffey three whistles and fast, Kooly did it in five whistles with better
                                        "mo" than usual, Gunny was off the line with excellent "mo" & took
                                        a decent initial line for about 100 yards, got fairly "zig-zaggy" after
                                        that but sat on every whistle and improved to the blind (super effort
                                        for a young dog with years less experience than the other three)
                                        Daisy one whistled it and fast (the cast to the blind at about 100 yards
                                        was perfect....she is getting consistently good at running cold blinds
                               note: unthaw four ducks
        April 8th Frontline Plus on Taffey, Daisy & Gunny....Preventic collar on Kooly
                      Doctor at 10:00 pm, charge winger batteries & clean popper gun
                      late afternoon - Daisy, Kooly, Taffey & Gunny (in that order) did the Hide Steady Drill,
                      used three holding blinds, Avery Ruff Stand, Avery Ultra Low Dog Hide, a rubber
                      place mat, a round place board, remote winger and a fresh dead chukar
                               note: Daisy was first - started with the "off the van routine", the OB lesson on lead
                                        through the three holding blinds and off lead to the setup = Daisy is put
                                        in the Ultra Low Hide on "place", I step away about five yards and chukar
                                        is released from the winger, Daisy remains in hide and exits to "here/heel"
                                        after I walk over near the hide and she retrieves, afterwards she re-enters
                                        the hide and honors the next three dogs
                               note: Kooly is next and did all the same things Daisy did with the exceptions
                                        1) placed on a rubber mat closest to the winger and 2) did a cold honor
                                        on Taffey's run before making his own steady chukar retriever
                               note: Taffey does everything Daisy did except she is on a round place board
                               note: Gunny does everything Daisy did except he runs off the Avery Ruff Stand
                      after all four have run the first "go around", next a hand thrown chukar (much closer) is
                      used, each dog then honors three more times and makes a second retrieve, to finish
                      the drill each dog is put on lead and OB heeled back to the truck individually
                                note: this was Gunny's first time with all three of the other dogs 
                                note: only issues is "heel" from their "place" must be very clearly presented to
                                         the right dog, if I say "heel" too loud, they all come & if I say their name
                                         first, they are more than likely to take off on a retrieve, the standard is
                                         that the dog must come to me first from where ever they are placed and
                                         then be sent for the retrieve - "no launching pad" mind sets
                                note: one break by Daisy on Taffey's retrieve = stopped easily & one break by
                                         Gunny off the Ruff Stand on an honor, Kooly wanted to creep a couple
                                         times and the command "place" not only corrected him but was felt by
                                         the other three = "went well" & steadiness is becoming an understood
                                         expectation....even times of excitement, honoring beginning to be the
                                         "other" expectation, Taffey leans forward so far, I don't know how she
                                         keeps from falling on her face. The retired test dog title has some perks.          
        April 9th  early afternoon Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran the holding blind OB drill in front
                       of a 4 inline winger singles (stickmen & 3" Avery Flashers)
                                note: Taffey went first....as the test dog, one mark fell behind a shrub that was
                                         much closer (oops) - changed the set-up
                                note: Kooly broke down short after the third single - big hunt
                                note: Daisy did the same thing - bigger hunt and handled, shortened setup
                                note: Gunny ran the simplified setup and still came up a bit short on last
                                         single, but they are all getting better at going short to long
                       Daisy & Gunny ran 4 HRC bucket singles, duck call, popper gun with 3 real mallards
                       and 1 pheasant....afterwards Daisy & Taffey ran three cold blinds with mallards
                                note: marks were OK except Gunny blew 150 yards past #3
                                note: Daisy's blinds were extremely well done, head up and straight on the
                                         few casts that were required
                                note: Gunny's "mo" left a lot to be desired, wanted to hunt & not enthused,
                                          it appear the available scent pushed him into hunt mode from which
                                          he did not recover.......read = run more blinds in cover & shorter ones
                                                                        (left click to enlarge thumbnails)

"test dog setup"	"new setup"	"from the mound"	"Gunny's setup"
"Gunny's                           (from mound)	"holding blinds"	"singles 2 & 3"	"singles 1 & 4"
"line from mound"	"trailer close-up"	"training alone gear"	"from the mound"

    April 10th late morning at Macktown DTA, Daisy & Gunny ran six cold blinds in heavy cover with
                    terrain and cover changes, each was run from a different line (strong wind angled away)
                       note: Gunny ran first - good "mo", decent initial lines, ran straight, sat on whistles &
                                took the right casts, de-popped a few times, but not an issue - big difference
                                from yesterday & much better attitude, his blinds were around 80-100 yards  and
                                he was "up" during the whole session....NOT HUNTING!....did not waste any 
                                time lining him up, a look in the right direction and he was sent
                       note: Daisy was really sharp again, starting to consistently take the heel line-up
                                routine to mean "look" straight ahead, the minor "bugging" head thing has
                                cleared up as she is much easier to get a "lock" out of, runs hard & straight,
                                takes the few literal casts that come up with zero "auto casting"......very sharp
                                again - Wow! she's good right now. 
                       note: excellent session for both - feel much better after yesterday's "so-so" session
                                with Gunny.....young dog....very little experience....lots to learn
                    Taffey & Kooly = day off 
   April 11th evening trained at Macktown DTA....Gunny, Daisy, Kooly & Taffey each ran three
                   singles in heavy cover using 3" flagged Avery Flashers (103, 110 & 167 yards )
                        note: each dog marked well, big improvement for Gunny   
   April 12th Easter Sunday = mostly sunny skies. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. 
                   morning Taffey, Daisy, Gunny & Kooly ran four cold blinds (orange bumpers) at the
                   RockCut State Park DTA
                       note: all four did well with the strong cross wind & heavy cover.......Gunny was
                                much improved, Daisy did the best
                   evening Gunny ran 6 challenging cold blinds at the Macktown DTA in heavier cover
                   than the morning....good "mo" and carried his line well = solid session, his sit to
                   whistle is crisp, straight & attentive (zero auto-casting), literal casting is getting there
   April 13th  rain & cold = day off
   April 14 late afternoon - trained at Rockcut State Park DTA Taffey, Daisy, Gunny & Kooly ran an
                HRC double with a longer cold blind, holding blinds, duck call and cap gun report, the
                emphasis was on the routine to the line and then a minimum of motion at the line...all
                wore a pinch collar with a short tab (pinch collar came off when running the blind)
                        note: Taffey & Daisy needed pulling off the short memory bird, Kooly & Gunny
                                 looked to the second mark when the gun moved 
                        note: all marked well and ran nice blinds = good session
   April 15 late morning Gunny ran the white ring "wagon wheel" & finished with running a second
                tier of the orange bumper "wagon wheel", Daisy ran just the second tier orange bumpers
                        note: both did left and right side work
                Taffey & Kooly ran one double and four singles of Retriev-R-Trainer marks off the folded
                down Ruff stand........with the wind in our face, the marks were not all that long = exercise
                noon Gunny & Daisy ran a double Renegade lining drill at the Industrial DTA - four piles
                and around 20 casts each...Daisy got hung up taking the tight back casts because the other
                wider angle back piles were very visible......attrition didn't seem to work (coming in heat?)
                evening Daisy & Gunny trained at Rockcut State Park DTA with a group
                        note: Daisy ran a double and a single with a blind, nice blind & "antsy" at the line
                        note: Gunny ran three singles - marking excellent & tough blind just "kind of" OK
   April 16 noon trained at the Stoughton FT grounds....sunny, warm & wind out of the east....water
                temperature in the shallows of the swim-by pond was only 55º - decided to not do any
                Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny ran an ABC drill with stickmen and wingers (four marks)
                          note: Taffey was the test dog & some of the wingers weren't set up right
                          note: Kooly ran second and marked really well, except on the long up the middle
                                   he broke down short (small hunt)
                          note: Daisy did just about what Kooly did, the long middle mark was hard to see
                                   and they were not looking out that far to begin with
                          note: Gunny stepped on the three shorter marks, didn't see the long one the first
                                   time so I reset it, came up short   
                                   conclusion = winger not enough arc, poor background and no gunner noise
                                                                (left click to enlarge thumbnails)

ABC Drill

"The Chain Gang"

"three on the end"

                Daisy & Gunny ran five cold blinds with four mallards & one rooster 
                          note: Daisy kept "falling off the hill" and fading with the wind
                          note: Gunny kept wanting to go into the wind.....good scents = bad sense, but
                                   one good thing about Gunny is he looks like a natural "line running" dog              
                Daisy & Gunny did two HRC walkups (wingers, mallards & popper gun) 
                          note: dogs definitely were thirsty and heated up some with the 65º temperatures,
                                   they enjoyed an hour of being staked out, but were glad to get back in the
                                   shade of the box
                          note: afterwards Daisy & Taffey ran together with the ATV down to the swim-by
                                   pond - they got wet and cooled off, then it was Kooly & Gunny's turn
   April 17 morning trained at Macktown DTA group training - there early, Taffey, Kooly & Gunny
                ran four singles & Daisy ran seven (50-175 yards) Gunny & Daisy did two HRC walkup
                with the handler shooting a popper gun, afterwards Gunny & Daisy ran four singles off
                an HRC bucket using the popper gun with duck calling  
                          note: good over-all session with Gunny & Daisy getting solid at the HRC line
                late afternoon checked the temperature in the Square Pond & it was 62º, with the air
                "temp" at 71º, Gunny ran two "splash" winger singles with real mallards and the line
                was an HRC bucket plus a popper gun.....Daisy ran them as a double
                          note: both were super with the easy marks and their work at the line was sharp
                          note: pond water left a lot to be desired = "stinky" 
                          note: good day....got a lot of important "things" done with the next two days not
                                   so nice in the weather department
   April 18 morning - warm & dry.....trained at Macktown DTA - Taffey, Kooly, Gunny & Daisy ran
                four cold blinds to the north on the east side (orange bumpers)
                          note: everyone did well
                          note: Bulls win!    
                          note: rain showers at 3 pm    
   April 19 - rain & more rain = day off
   April 20 - morning sunny, wet and cold with wind - for a "change of pace", Gunny ran six
                  old pattern blinds (only one handle in all the 100 yards plus patterns)
                  late afternoon cloudy, cold, brief showers with wind...trained at the Square Pond DTA,
                  Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny did the Hide/Ruff Stand steadying drill with three holding
                  blinds, a winger, popper gun and duck call plus the full OB routine off the van, two
                  short singles...the first using the Avery Ruff Stand & the second using the Avery Ultra Low
                  dog hide.....Daisy & Gunny were excellent, Kooly had one mark picked up and rerun
                  after a little whine, Taffey was taken back to the last holding blind five times before she
                  stopped whining....afterwards Gunny & Daisy each did an HRC walkup with a popper gun
                            note: very productive session for all 
   April 21 - rained all day & let up around 5 pm evening - trained with group at Rock Cut State Park
                  DTA, Taffey & Kooly ran a blind waiting for the rest of the group, Gunny ran three singles
                  and did not mark two of them very well, one had a huge hunt with an ugly handle, Daisy
                  ran an HRC double with a blind, then a poison bird blind = just OK, Taffey ran a triple with
                  a blind (on the iron & did well)
                            note: charged deep cycle marine battery, found Endless Breeze fans & located
                                     aluminum mesh heat protection for hunt test weekend
                            note: cleaned garage some & need to  trim pear trees                           
   April 22 - morning - trained at Macktown DT - Daisy & Gunny ran five singles in terrific cover on the
                  east side, real gunner in the field, HRC popper gun from a bucket at the line, the full
                  "routine" off the van including four holding blinds to the line, back to the last holding
                  blind and back to the line after each single
                            note: both marked well and the line "routine" was excellent work
                  after the group training was finished.....Gunny ran three marks just like he would in the
                  HRC started........hand on collar
                            note: Gunny is a lot higher, more focused and runs faster when there is a real
                                     gunner in the field as opposed to a winger
                            note: Taffey & Kooly = day off
   April 23 - afternoon - four blinds at Macktown
                  early evening Gunny & Daisy water marks at the Square Pond 
   April 24 - morning group training at Rockcut State Park DTA - Daisy ran an HRC Seasoned land
                  series with ducks, real gunners in the field, duck calling, popper gun, HRC bucket,
                  two holding blinds. off lead to the line with a diversion on the cold blind up the middle
                            note: did well
                  Gunny ran the same double as singles as in an HRC Started test with the bucket, duck
                  calling and holding on to this collar, after picking up the singles, he ran the cold blind
                  up the middle (not for the test)
                            note: did well
                  Taffey & Kooly = day off                           
                  evening - clean and load van for the weekend
   April 25-6 hunt tests for Daisy & Gunny
                   Saturday - Daisy - was good to the line (much improved), at the line she was better,
                   but not good enough - first series not real sharp, but OK....second series picked her
                   up on the walk-up (wouldn't respond to "here/heel")
                   Sunday - Daisy good again in the blinds, a little looser going to the line and had a
                   controlled break on the first bird down.....picked her up and scratch second series
                   Saturday - Gunny did well on land and water, a little on the iron but responsive = pass
                   Sunday - Gunny ran water series first, a little more on the iron this morning, picked
                   up the first mark (long in cold water), second mark = flat out "no go", darted back
                   along the land, not sure if he saw it because the gun shot from behind made him
                   look away & it was not easy to see even when looking at it or the water was too cold
                   or if running from right at the shore threw him off (only once in the water since last
                   year didn't help) - lots of choices, but even so = no excuses
                           note: Not what I'd call a good weekend.....to put it mildly. Won't sink in for a
                                    few days....but it was discouraging. Definitely will not run any more back
                                    to back tests. Gunny needs water work...a lot. I kind of thought that might
                                    be an issue......only in the water once this spring......and still not sure
                                    whether he saw the mark or not Daisy was just being herself....way too high. 
                                    More pressure seemed to get Taffey under control.....but she is very tough.
                                    Daisy is way more sensitive.....more pressure ?.....not too comfortable with
                                    using that approach......but reducing anxiety has gained some ground, but
                                    nearly enough 
                           note: cold, wind and rain most of each day - dressed right, so no issues
                           note: Cub Win!.......Bulls Win!  
      April 27 day off for all
      April 28 morning - trained at the Square Pond checked out Gunny first, it's fairly cold so decided
                   to find out if it was cold water, didn't see the mark or "edge of the bank-itis" were issues,
                   started away from the bank with a bumper = right in, threw three more...........after the
                   fourth one he would head for the van....like that's enough, visited force to water = no
                   issues, went to the edge of the water didn't want to charge in but did with force, went
                   from the edge with good "mo" and put him up with the warm van (closed up in sunshine),
                   after training Daisy on two close-up, splash winger walkups with a popper gun which she
                   did perfectly I brought Gunny back out an sat him right at the edge of the water = no
                   issues on two more retrieves and good "mo" = mostly he didn't see the mark in the test
                   and the bank plus cold didn't help.......he will be fine once we get a lot more water work
                   late morning - drove to the Rockton Road DTA and ran Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny on
                   a set of four cold blinds with orange bumpers (90, 105, 165 & 134 yards)
                            note: Gunny did fine on three and lost it near the end of the 165 yard blind = finally
                                     "hacked" his way to it
                            note: Daisy was excellent
                            note: Taffey & Kooly did OK
                   evening - trained with a group at Rock Cut State Park DTA Daisy ran a double followed
                   by a single with a blind = good job, steady with someone else applying e-collar "nicks"
                   every time I said "sit", "heel" or "here" & there were not that many = did a nice job
                   Gunny ran three singles and didn't really do a very good job on any of them = did some
                   handling and with wingers this is just not going to work out = need gunners to keep
                   him in the area of the fall.......mostly blowing past and not having an organized search
                            note: he is consistently much more focused with a real gunner throwing and is
                                     having some problems with darker bumpers and Dokkens, not sure ? too
                                     much dependence on looking for the mark rather than seeing the spot of
                                     the fall, consistent marking sessions has been a problem - different wingers
                                     that throw very different arcs, stickmen vs. no stickmen, Retrieve-R-Trainers,
                                     stand alones and not enough real gunners 
                                                               (left click to enlarge thumbnails)

"Daisy's two walkups"	"walkup approach"	"walkup pod"
"four cold blinds"	"nesting goose"	"empty duck house"

      April 29 day off for all
      April 30 early evening - trained at the Square Pond grassy area, Gunny ran a big, two tier
                   wagon wheel casting drill with white bumpers close in and orange bumpers out,
                   only lined to the outer tier...once around left side & once around right side, Daisy
                   ran the second tier once with four left and four right side heeling
                              note: both did a very good job & Gunny's "mo" was much improved
                   drove to the Rockton Road DTA - Daisy & Gunny did a six or seven cast back to
                   remote line singles......Daisy out to 200 yards and Gunny out to 150 yards.....Taffey &
                   Kooly ran several shorter "leap dog" remote line marks
                   afterwards, Daisy picked up many, short marks as Gunny did an exciting
                   anti-breaking drill