July 1st -  (morning) Gunny established his second pattern blind (longer) at the Industrial DTA (part
                               of a KRD later) and did it with eight bumpers after identifying the pile = good job
                               drove to BT's hay field - Daisy & Kooly ran six cold blinds with pheasants
                                                                                (left click on thumbnail)  

                               Brian drove in with a truck load of dogs, so Gunny & Daisy ran four mallard singles with
                               real gunners.....plus holding blind, Kooly did four cold honors and was put up for the day,
                               went to the swim-by pond = Gunny did two mini-swim-bys (left & right).....then did two full
                               swim-bys (left & right) = good job
                               (evening) Gunny & Taffey each did a session of walking baseball
                                          note: Gunny did white bumpers......just "overs" and "backs".....didn't miss a cast
                                                   and is really good with this drill
                                          note: Taffey did orange bumpers......missed several straight backs.....takes an
                                                   angle and this is a definite maintenance "thing" with her
               Interceptor (all) - ordered 6 month supply of Interceptor for 4 dogs & new Preventic collars for Kooly
               July 2nd - (morning) trained at the Rockton Sport Complex - five "inline" singles 50- 250 yards (range
                                finder) real BB using 3" Avery Flagged Flashers in short grass
                                Taffey & Kooly lines were like lasers on every mark and fast
                                Daisy flared around the corner of an ag-lime baseball diamond, but was fine on the rest
                                Gunny carried every mark, ran over to the BB after the retrieve on the first three....did
                                a great job of "getting out there"
                                          note: 74º, 14 mph wind out of the south, sunny & 65% humidity, dogs back to the
                                                   cool house in about 1½ hours                                     
                                (evening) Gunny - ran wagon wheel (8 bumpers), ran both pattern blinds with birds &
                                did two "swim-bys" (right & left) & finished with a couple little "cheaty" bumpers on the
                                edge of the pond = got in the water when stopped on the cheats    
                                          note: not very good at treading water
                                          note: had some issues with the Industrial pattern blind (mower working in the
                                                   ditch.....not sure what) came back later and he did it well.....knowing it
                                                   was a pheasant probably made the difference
                                          note: not too thrilled with the wagon wheel.....the routine was sloppy because
                                                   1) he knows what to do and 2) he tries to leave on "dead bird" and not
                                                   wait for "back" = more "reps" and probably first thing in the morning
                                                   when he is fresher might be better
                                          note: did a brief review of FTP
               July 3rd  - (late morning) trained at the Rockton Sport Complex - ran an X-Box marking drill (1 more
                                mark than a Y-drill), Greg threw orange bumpers for the three older dogs and 2" flagged
                                Avery Flashers for Gunny
                                Taffey did her usual "paying the penalty" for not focusing and had a huge, long hunt on
                                the second check down mark, it takes awhile for her "run & hunt" mode to succumb to
                                figuring out where a mark actually is (when we haven't done this drill for awhile)
                                          note: this drill sure goes a lot faster when I don't have to do it with wingers (alone)
                                Kooly pinned all four marks like a laser & fast
                                Daisy did almost as well as Kooly (which is a big improvement)
                                Gunny did a decent job on all four marks except he went over for an extended visit
                                with the BB on the first two
                                dropped the older dogs off at the house.....Gunny ran two "swim-bys" and worked both
                                square corners of the pond with the concept of "not-cheating" (did well for the first time)
                                             Gunny's Swim-By (Link)
                                (evening) Gunny - did an "intro" to the Zig-Zag lining drill using seven 3" Avery Flashers,
                                he needs work in locking on targets when lining, he seems to know where to go, but the
                                "look" is not there yet except when marking, saw a hint of it when he realized real birds
                                were at the end of his recently introduced pattern blinds
                                           note: he is very good about lining up and leaving straight, he does not lock
                                                    intently on the visible bumper, but he gets the right one every time,
                                                    repetition on leaving straight, picking up the right bumper, coming
                                                    back to the correct heeling position and delivering on command is
                                                    becoming a solid habit........Gunny is maturing and beginning to take
                                                    new things in stride quickly
                                           note: the drill went very well with Gunny understanding the team effort, he
                                                    understands how to work, specifically it was kept up beat and fun, yet
                                                    precision was expected.......this is the way it is all the time and he is
                                                    getting the message
                                           note: Gunny seems to have a much better balance about training at this stage
                                                    than Taffey, Daisy or Kooly did......which is looking good
                                           note: putting off any upland until the end of August = want good long, straight
                                                    lines with no hunting on his marking & cold blinds first
                                           note: no hunt tests for him until next year
               July 4th - (late morning) "roaded" Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny (together) with the ATV an easy
                              three in miles in and around a recently cut hay field, 73º, slight breeze, humidity 50%
                              and partly sunny, used a weed eater to trim a training mound and clear access to the
                              Johnny House (need to move it)
                                           note: Gunny likes to run out front like Daisy  
                                           note: Daisy has accepted Gunny into the group.....mostly because he never did 
                                                    back down from any of her "tests"
                                           note: they are "sawing logs" pretty good in the living room four hours later                 
               July 5th - (morning) Taffey, Daisy & Kooly ran the old 450 yard pattern blind (pheasants) at BT's &
                              each did a 175 yard cold blind (pheasants) off the northwest mound (trimmed yesterday)
                                                                              (left click on thumbnails) 

                               Gunny - ran both of his pattern blinds with pheasants, did two remote winger/stickmen
                               doubles with pheasants at the Square Pond "grassy" area
                                            note: a little hunt on the first double and pinned the second double  
                                            note: much more excited about the use of birds on pattern blinds
                                            note: wandered off line on the shortest pattern blind & needed a cast.... he
                                                     "banana'd" the longer blind.....showed some improvement 
                               (evening) Gunny - repeated his two pattern blinds (with pheasants)
                                            note: looking out more intently on "dead bird", ran hard and straight on each
                                                     pattern blind.......lined both.........big improvement from this morning
               July 6th -  (morning) trained at BT's - fresh hay had been raked so took advantage of the "terrain",
                               set-up four "check down" singles two for each side of heeling (165, 130, 95 & 60 yards
                               downwind) used holding blind, remote wingers & stickmen, primer report, 3" flagged
                               Avery Flashers on the 2 longest marks, 2" flagged Avery Flashers for the 2 short singles
                                            note: ran Taffey first as the test dog, the plan was to use 2" Flashers for marks,
                                                     with the first one at 165 yards the background "didn't work" according to
                                                     Taffey....so I switched to 3" Flashers on the longest two singles
                               Taffey was right on the money with all four marks with great lines angling across the
                               raked hay (no squaring) and the larger Flashers were much easier to see
                               Kooly moved on the line so he had to run two anti-RSG blinds before the first 2 singles,
                               still marked them very quickly (small circle hunts on the first two with good lines), last
                               two he stepped on
                               Daisy ran the anti-RSG blind before any marks were launched, great lines angling
                               across the raked hay for the two long marks, over ran the third single after missing it
                               by about a foot & then had a long hunt, stepped right on the last one
                               Gunny ran last, the two long wingers didn't work, so he ran the two short ones first,
                               blew way past the 90 yard single by about 100 yards, but was persistent & finally figured
                               it out, stepped right on the 60 yard mark with a great line across the raked hay lines,
                               after fixing the two long remote wingers......Gunny "flat out" stepped on both long
                               marks....going almost straight through and over the long, angled raked hay lines   
                                             note: the 250 yard inline stretching work has paid off because 160 yards with
                                                      terrain seemed "easy" for him 
                                             note: it was 82º and humid when we finished, dogs were OK.....I wasn't,
                                                      even with the ATV.....it was a long session    
                                                                              (left click on thumbnails) 

               July 7th -  (noon) rain this morning Gunny ran his 2 pattern blinds with pheasants & finished
                                with a short session of walking baseball = too hot and humid to accomplish much
                                more than working on non-verbal "overs" 
                                              note: 155 yard was lined, 110 yard had him "sucked" to the right
                                                       by something he  saw = one whistle and cast directly to the pheasant
                                Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny were run on a steadying drill from the shade at the
                                Square Pond "grassy" area, Daisy was the only one wearing an e-collar and all
                                were off leash
                                              note: shot the cap gun, used a duck call and I picked up most of the
                                                       bumpers....Daisy didn't get any and Gunny was a very surprisingly
                                                       steady and calm, waited until I asked him and the drill went well
                                              note: just too hot to do anything the rest of the day
               July 8th - van in for repair in the morning -  dogs off for the day
                              van to a different mechanic in the late afternoon    
               July 9th - no van this morning - all four dogs are staring at me as if to ask "OK...What's up?"
               July 10th- Gunny ran his 155 yard pattern blind at the Industrial DTA & then used 8 bumpers in a
                              pile establish a 2nd pattern blind at an angle of about 40º to the left = worked that out
                              with some casting away from the line to the other pattern
                              drove to the Square Pond "grassy" area and set up a remote winger for a diversion on
                              Gunny's pattern blind and a poison KRD for the three older dogs
                              Gunny ran his diversion mark first and needed one cast on the pattern blind = good job
                                             note: the Four Phase Drill will be run soon, after seeing him run this.......it
                                                      should go well....without many issues 
                                                                              (left click on thumbnails)

                              Taffey, Kooly & Daisy ran their easy poison KRD without any issues = nice work
                                               note: this was a straight forward, under control, simple review
                                               note: Kooly was suddenly demonstrating a rather large loop on his whistle
                                                        sits, need to address this immediately if it continues
                                                                             (left click on thumbnail)    

                              Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny did an extended remote whoa drill with a cap gun firing,
                              a bumper thrown (which I picked up), time out to take photos & lots of walking around
                                               note: kind of very boring........which is good!  
                                               note: all did a good job with this, it's been a long time since we have done
                                                        anything with upland work
                                               note: the next 3-4 four months upland and retriever "stuff" will be done
                                                        on a regular basis..........with balance
                                               note: checked on upland bird possibilities, need to move Johnny House, 
                                                        do upland "stuff" at least three times a week
                                               note: Iowa APLA tests in September & October 
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails)

                             Gunny finished off a busy morning with a 2 pile (four bumpers each) water push/pull
                             lining drill with a special focus on treading water, developing the "locking" routine and
                             exiting water........"heel" to the correct side (right or left), "sit", deliver the bumper on
                             "drop" and finish with the "shake" command......he is doing it with consistency
                                          note: water treading improving & responses to the whistle are getting better
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails)

              July 11th -  trained after the morning thunder shower at the Industrial DTA - set-up a tight, cold
                                KRD for the older dogs with the middle (and last blind) "under the arc"
                                Taffey ran it straight up = mark, right blind, left blind and middle blind (under the arc)
                                 Kooly ran it as a poison bird = right blind, poison bird mark, left blind and last
                                 blind.....middle under the arc, Wow! he was sharp
                                            note: on the few whistles he did = got in some corrections for the loopy "thing"
                                                     that just cropped up yesterday
                                 Daisy ran the poison bird mode like Kooly, except she was so hyped she started "dart"
                                 auto-casting on the first blind and it took until the third blind to get it under control 
                                 moved the winger over and pointed it away from the line of Gunny's long pattern blind
                                 Gunny ran the diversion mark, picked up the 160 yard pattern blind (pheasant), move up
                                 to remove the winger/stickmen station from the picture and ran the other pattern blind
                                 (the one established yesterday) = good job....with the exception of a few ignored whistles 
                                             note: need to set up some drills to review sit on the whistle - this is mostly
                                                      because he is so excited about the pheasants at the end of his patterns,
                                                      "birdiness" is getting too high and creating an out of balance issue
                                                      with responsiveness and control - go with it for awhile & let the drive
                                                      deepen
                                             note: steadiness on marks continues to improve, the "herky-jerky" is
                                                      disappearing, verbal "sit" with tapping stick corrections appears to
                                                      be the most effective = using drills with other dogs, tennis shoes,
                                                      e-collar, short tab and stick in varying amounts keeps him thinking
                                                      about it
                                              note: routine leading to the hand down on blinds before "back" is improving
                             (near dusk) Gunny ran his two pattern blinds at the Industrial DTA (pheasants), he lined the
                             longest one "on fire", the shorter one was established out to about 75 yards and it needed
                             further developing, however, had an idea that since he knew the last 75 yards adding on
                             the other 60 yards might prove useful to work on his whistle sits and handling, it has been
                             kind of "hacky" to get him out to the 75 yard "more to go" position and there is no question
                             the other pattern blind is producing suction.........but that's all good, when he gets out
                             there far enough the light goes on and Gunny runs straight to it, the second time we did
                             this he showed some definite improvement and more confidence in paying attention to me,
                             the effect is not unlike a pop-up blind........this will accomplish a lot
                                              note: whistle sits were much better tonight, mostly because he wasn't real
                                                       sure about where the blind was......at first he was looking for
                                                       something to see......then it turned into "show me the way"       
            July 12th - (morning) 2" of rain last night - trained in two "grassy" areas
                             Gunny did a quick two bumper push/pull lining drill at the Square Pond DTA
                             Gunny ran his two pattern blinds at the Industrial DTA with pheasants, the plan was to use
                             the second blind for some whistle sit work and casting
                                              note: he lined both of them (155 & 140 yards)
                             went back to the Square Pond "grassy" area and set up the Hide Steady Chain Gang Drill,
                             every step of the drill was followed plus adding a cap gun and duck cal (with a goose call)
                                                                               (left click on thumbnails)

                            Taffey went first and did a solid job with no issues 
                                              note: Kooly got some corrections for noise on the "gang", today was better
                                                       because he didn't bark once 
                            Gunny went second & did not use the "hide" = he was very steady with long times between
                            the thrown Dokkens with calling to heel from his steady position & over five seconds with a
                            hand held down for the last cue before releasing
                                              note: Kooly got more corrections for noise on the "gang", upped the "ante"
                            Kooly went next and was went back to the "chain gang" without picking anything up, he
                            would not stop the occasional whining, after Daisy ran her turn......Kooly came back out
                            and went through the entire process a second time = very good this time with several
                            re-heels and backward heeling "tests"
                            Daisy went last and did a great job of controlling her excitement = excellent on the
                            releases to retrieve with ZERO busy feet
                            drove to the Rockton Sport Complex and Gunny ran two cold blinds (60 yards - pheasants)
                                              note: the first blind started with a poor initial line, but he really "fired" when
                                                       I said "back", let him roll for a bit then "hacked" him to the 1st pheasant,
                                                       he lined the second one      .....very fast off the line  
                                              note: these were his first two pure cold blinds 
                                              note: Gunny needs a full week of lining drills (alternate Wagon Wheels with
                                                       Zig-Zags) plus three days of walking baseball
                                              note: no more cold blinds for awhile = way ahead of the game = don't push
                            (evening) Gunny ran a session of eight bumper Wagon Wheel (left and right side) with
                            focus of locking on the correct line and using push/pull, no and good cues to accomplish
                            it, after awhile it started to click and he was very good about telling me how much fun he
                            is having = very good session, afterwards he did 3 very solid, steady "poorman" singles
                                              note: I like him!

                    analysis for Gunny - lining drills, pattern blinds and a lot of marking drills (land & water)
                                                    work slowly, work on precise routines at the line including clean "drops"
                                                    2 weeks - start the Four Phase Drills
                                                    work on de-cheating drills in the water, corners of cover, side hills,
                                                    angel entries and exits
                                                           note: two-three week themes with similar marks toward the end
                                                           note: need to closely monitor his pattern blind phase, he is so sharp
                                                                    on pattern blinds in such a short time = I don't want him to get
                                                                    to deeply into the habit of needing to know where he is going
                                                          note: He has already shown his memory is exceptional so I don't
                                                                   want to make it a crutch on blinds.
                                                          note: Make sure to not ask him for great initial lines on his early
                                                                   cold blind work. Right now he wants to go...so let him.  
                                                          note: start BB blinds                       
           July 13th - (morning) most of the day off for the trainer    
                            (evening) Gunny - did 7 bumper Zig-Zag drill twice (left & right side) - Square Pond DTA
                                               note: same focus and he is getting better at all the expectations
                            Taffey, Kooly & Daisy - three dog, off lead honoring, remote drop drill
                                               note: they have this down without any problems, the reason for doing it was
                                                        to exercise control at a distance & reinforce the command up close,
                                                        the expectation is 1) I take a hold of the bird/bumper, 2) the dog drops
                                                        it so that it physically falls out of their mouth and 3) their head
                                                        and/or mouth do not follow the bird/bumper
                                               note: they are getting very good at honoring another dog's work
                            Gunny ran his two pattern blinds at the Industrial DTA - lined the first and one whistled
                            the second - he fires off the line on "back", the first whistle sit is not real quick
           July 14th - (morning) train at BT's (checked Sunday night to see how dry the road in was - It's good.)  
                            setup "four down the shore" with remote wingers, stickmen, primer reports, 3" flagged
                            Avery Flashers......gunner at each winger for the two pups (duck call and help if needed),
                            after running six dogs on the marks.....the four older dogs ran four cold blinds across the
                            lines to the marks using mallards
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails)

                            Taffey was test dog on the marks and blinds - smacked all the marks and ran some
                            very nice lines to the blinds (concern for height of weeds was removed by the levee
                            giving a much needed elevation, once past the little on the first blind the dogs want
                            to turn right
                            Kooly was very straight on all the marks and had a slight hunt on the last one, his
                            were not as sharp as usual. the high grass did not allow him to pick a target to run at
                            so he did some meandering and on the third blind there were some series of wrong
                            casts which resulted in an indirect pressure = good cast afterwards 
                            Daisy nailed the first three singles and did not see the last one (turned her head at the
                            wrong time (poor focus), reloaded winger and she was OK on that one, the first blind
                            immediately went south when she went through the head high wall of weeds entering
                            the water.......she went into total hunt mode with all the high grass, bounced off terrain
                            and cover changes - wild........slowed down casting without much effect except then she
                            started to pop and when cast go at half speed which for her is still fast, not much better
                            on the third blind, got an indirect pressure which did "wake her up" and then she
                            began to pout and give little effort, she was in the water on the 4th blind when I decided
                            "enough is enough"....turned the transmitter down to 1.5 and gave an indirect
                            pressure nick on sit (treading water), now it was clear what her attitude had become
                            because she vocalized on the 1.5, so she got a back/continuous/back = that did it,
                            she fogged straight for some time, whistle sat her cast back/continuous/back and she
                            to the blind.......analysis - wide open long blinds do not provide the cover to bring on
                            her hunt mode.......need to get her to run straight in heavier cover without hunting
                            Gunny saw every mark, fired off the line and got to each mark........his lines weren't all
                            that great because of the "wall of cover" in the water, still ran over to say HI to the
                            gunner on the last two marks, got back in the water on the third, but started to cheat
                            down the levee on the last one, whistle sat him and "by golly" he took the cast back
                            down the steep levee and got back in the water   
                                               note: these marks were on the very fringe of his experience, Anne was
                                                        watching closely as he "got out there" and from his body language
                                                        he was "thinking on the move"
                                               note: this is the first time in the few years I've trained here that there was
                                                        any water let alone this large amount of swimming water
                                               note: arrived at 8:15 am & got back home at 2:30 pm...long day & worth it
                            (dusk) Gunny ran a five bumper lining drill with an intro to bumpers through a slot, ran
                                       his two pattern blinds (with pheasants) at the Industrial DTA - fired hard, ran fast
                                       and lined them both           
               July 15 (early morning) trained at BT's hay field - setup five stickmen in an arc 50 yards from the
                           line and put cold blind orange bumpers "up the slots" at 125 yards with one wide on the
                           left - mostly setup to work on Daisy's hunt mode and lining issues from yesterday
                                                note: rows of raked hay angle on the last four blinds
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails)

                           Taffey ran first - wanted to scallop to the woods on the first one and had a tendency to
                           resist taking angle backs on a few other casts - basically pretty good at the line
                           Kooly took good initial lines, but not too crazy about just bumpers - got the job done
                           Daisy would not look out and lock - mostly subtle avoidance, so I decided to not mess
                           with her at the line and just send her.......attitude improved and once out there she was
                           better, casts not great but she wasn't dragging around and pouting, did pop twice, hint of
                           trying to lock on the last blinds was there, some head down hunting but the hay field is
                           short with not a whole lot of exciting scent
                                               note: last two days have been out of character for Daisy
                                                        three possibilities 1) the cold blinds from yesterday with the high walls
                                                        of cover intimidated her causing a switch to hunt mode because she
                                                        couldn't "run to a horizon", when corrected she pouted and got worse,
                                                        and/or 2)"roading" the short distance to the line with the ATV was a lazy,
                                                        lousy mistake (free running mode precipitated and aggravated by the
                                                        corrections) or 3) she will soon be in heat (not regular....so don't know)
                                               note: took her to the Square Pond DTA and tried to run an eight bumper
                                                        (orange) wagon wheel - failed to do that, gave up = no locking, head
                                                        down hunting immediately and basically "ditzy", soooooo....placed two
                                                        piles of orange bumpers 60 yards out in front of two trees 30º apart
                                                        while she watched from a remote sit, this was a simple push/pull drill
                                                        with two identified piles...........she got that.........was locking good
                                                        and lining without hunting.......pretty simple and clear cut......going to
                                                        lighten up on her for a week or so and see if she comes in heat, 'cause
                                                        she's not normally like this
                            Gunny ran his first cold blind drill with the bumpers at 125 yards
                            took all the stickmen down leaving the Avery "orange tipped" motion stakes out there,
                            placed five 3" Avery Flashers as cold blinds for Gunny at each of the five positions the
                            older dogs ran to, this is his first "fan blind" setup = the routine is to line him up toward
                            the middle and "kick him off" = which ever way he goes.....let him roll until he is near
                            one of the blinds.......then handle him the rest of the way to that one
                                                note: this works with a pup that fires with no questions when you ask
                                                note: first go he got some suction from the hay baler and wagons on the far
                                                         left.....after he was out about 70 yards, he took five casts to blind #5
                                                         (which was good because there would be no gaps in the remaining four)
                                                note: second "back" had him heading directly at cold blind #3 and he lined
                                                         it with good momentum........the cover is such that when he gets about
                                                         five yards from a bumper......it becomes visible
                                                note: quit after that & picked up the rest (good start) 
                             Gunny ran four "poorman' water singles in the Square Pond after Daisy's lining drill
                                                note: remote sit as the bumper is tossed, return to the line and send
                                                note: two singles were "splash" near the far shore and the other two were
                                                         thrown beyond the shore cover on the far side = did good! 
                                                note: Gunny was steady
           July 16th - (morning) Gunny - ran the two pattern blinds first at the Industrial DTA (pheasants)
                                                note: he lined both - not sure there is anything more to be gained by running
                                                         them again - maybe establish a 3 with more factors some where else
                                                note: should have been in the field two hours earlier
                             it was very warm already - drove to BT's hay field, "shot" two Retriev-R-Trainers for each
                             of the three older dogs, let them sit together and the dog that moved the least would
                             get to retrieve = they all crept some and it was not a very good idea, moved them all on
                             top of a "pointy" mound for their second marks and this defined where they were to "sit"
                             and remain...................much better....................Taffey, Kooly & Daisy had two retrieves,
                             "drove to the levee" for some pond work, shoot a couple of easy R-R-Trainer H2O marks,
                             Daisy & Gunny (first time for him).....Monday the water was deeper with a lot of water
                             at swimming depth....it has dropped some
                                                 note: Daisy flew off the lever and had no trouble finding the small, foam
                                                          bumpers in the tall grass on the other side of the water 
                                                 note: Gunny was moved to the mound and had no problem picking up the
                                                          very fast foam bumper, he had two marks (went too long on the 2nd
                                                          one, almost as if yesterday's longest mark was still in his memory)
                             really too hot to train, but the time required to do these marks is brief........and the dogs
                             were back in the van quickly, the air conditioning was kept running and each dog had
                             very little reaction to the heat.......the "launcher" provided mostly exercise & something
                             a little different for all (especially Gunny)
              July 17th (early morning) Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny trained at BT's hay field - setup a remote
                             winger/stickmen Y Drill 
                             Taffey had a big hunt on the first mark & stepped on the last two
                             Kooly stepped on all three
                             Daisy went into hunt mode when her nose caught the scent from the short old fall mark
                             number three and went into a huge, ugly hunt on the first mark, sorted it out finally and
                             stepped on the last two
                             Gunny stepped on the first mark, blew past the second by about a 100 yards and finally
                             figured out where it was after a long hunt, stepped on the last mark 
                                                                            (left click on thumbnail)

                             Gunny ran a 90º wide concept double in the south east corner of the hay field, used
                             remote wingers, stickmen and 2" flagged Avery Flashers
                                          note: wanted to go on the "memory bird", settled him down to swing and look
                                                   at the "go bird"........he was fine after that (marked both)
                                                                            (left click on thumbnails)

                                               note: dropped the three older dogs off at the house
                             Gunny ran his two pattern blinds at the Industrial DTA (pheasants)
                                               note: lined both of them
                                                                              (left click on thumbnail)

                             Gunny did a water lining drill - parallel to shore at the Swim-by Pond DTA
                                               note: ran several bumpers and worked on staying in the water and straight
                                                                              (left click on thumbnails)

                              Finished by 9:30 am and it was getting HOT!
                              Frontline Plus on Taffey, Daisy & Gunny with a new Preventic collar on Kooly 
                   July 18th - (early morning) trained at BT's similar to July 15th slot blinds drill except angled,
                                      five cold blinds up the angled slots going from 90 - 150 yards, removed the stickmen
                                      and Gunny ran the "fan" cold blind drill - no water (Frontline Plus yesterday)
                                      Taffey went first and scalloped some on the first two, a little "zig-zaggy" on the rest
                                      Kooly was not into it much, ran fair lines, but he knew they were bumpers
                                                    note: Kooly needs birds
                                      Daisy was scalloping worse than Taffey on all five blinds
                                                    note: the three older dogs worked left to right & Gunny did the opposite
                                      Gunny after removing the stickmen and putting out big black and white Flashers
                                      headed for the 150 yard blind first, started "ping-ponging" at about 100 yards, so
                                      moved up on him & finally hacked him to blind #1, #2 was better, I stayed closer to
                                      him, #4 was even better, he one whistled #5 from the line = better on each blind,
                                      the goal was to get out there & show improvement 
                                                    note: skipped #3 and I picked it up afterwards
                                                    note: Gunny kept trying = he needs birds on his blinds & bumpers on drills
                                                    note: 150 yard cold blind too long, casting not good enough and distance
                                                             is the issue as far as control, shorten and incrementally extend
                                                                               (left click on thumbnails)

                                    set up a two wingers with a stickman for Gunny and Daisy to run a single mark of 125 yards
                                    Gunny stepped on it and remained steady with stick taps
                                    Daisy had her head down on the way out, over ran it and then popped......I turned my
                                    back on her and she went back to looking.....soon found it and returned (not like her),
                                    especially since Gunny stepped on it
                                                                                (left click on thumbnail)

                                       note: dropped older dogs off at the house & drove Gunny to the Square Pond DTA
                     set up a new drill called the NoNo Push/Pull Road Drill to work on Gunny's "lock"
                            1st  identified the visible 25 yard pile pile from between two stickmen on what will be
                                  the far side a gravel driveway (referred to as road from now on)
                                  Gunny lined the pile a few times 
                           2nd lined the pile again going between 2 bumpers placed on the near side of the road,
                                  but from a position where the pile is the target and these two bumpers are clearly
                                  out of his peripheral focus, after crossing the road......Gunny NoNo's the stickmen
                                  and lined the pile
                                  (Why did the puppy cross the road?)
                           3rd  Gunny next ran from a line far enough back of the diversion bumpers so as to need
                                  push/pulled to the center (away from them).......he split the visible diversion bumpers
                                  this side of the road, crossed the road, No-No'd the stickmen & lined the pile which is
                                  not visible from the "third" line because the road is higher than both "grassy" sides
                                  (not unlike running out of a ditch)
                                        note: Gunny never picks up the two bumpers, he is "pushed" or "pulled" off of, he
                                                 has essentially three things to "click" on, the correct one is straight ahead &
                                                 not immediately visible (but he has a clear mental picture of its existence),
                                                 with the tree line in the far background he is locking on a direction
                                        note: Gunny was giving me three distinct "clicks"....which was the primary goal 
                                        note: verbal cues are "no"...."no"...."good" and there are four different "things"
                                                 to be "no'd" off of to one "good thing" which is not visible.........direction     

                                       So.....why did the pup cross the road? Because...he wanted a retrieve.  
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails) 

                   July 19th - (morning) left just as the rain was moving out, started at the Industrial DTA
                                     Gunny ran his two pattern blinds with hen and rooster pheasants - lined both
                                                     note: huge rooster, and he carried it back nicely
                                     Taffey, Kooly & Daisy ran the same blinds - pheasants
                                                     note: Taffey needed one cast on each, Kooly lined them both and Daisy
                                                               is still in a "funk" about something
                                     Gunny & Daisy did the lining drill from yesterday  (at the Square Pond DTA)
                                                     note: Gunny was sharp
                                                     note: Daisy figured out how to run it easily, but at first the issue of not
                                                              "locking" and bugging was obvious, after about 5-6 bumpers the
                                                              "no"..."no"...."good" cues started to kick in and she was sharp,
                                                               her whole attitude changed, sat up tall with her ears perked   
                                     Gunny did some decheating, lining drills at the Swim-By pond......he needed it 
                                                      note: four bumpers for each cheat (right & left), by the time we got to
                                                               the last one in each pile, he was going and returning in the water  

                                  The Kwick Lining Drill (Link)   
                
                   July 20th - too muddy at BT's....trained at the Rockton Sport Complex with Anne & Tim W.
                                     (early morning) setup a remote winger/stickmen Y-Drill first & all four dogs ran it
                                     Taffey had a long hunt on the first mark and stepped on the other two
                                     Kooly was like a laser
                                     Daisy was a "ditz" huge, ugly, long hunt on the first and hunts on 3 & 4
                                               (still think she is coming in heat)
                                     Gunny had a hunt on the first. persevered and marked the next two really nice 
                                                    note: did the whole "routine" crate to the line through a holding blind
                                                    note: Taffey and Kooly honored from the hide with the next dog
                                                                                 (left click on thumbnails)

                                     the rest of the group arrived and ran the Y Drill, then we setup a W Drill with the
                                     idea of running the dogs past the two closer stickmen (three marks)
                                     Gunny was the only one that ran this setup - sucked badly to the gunner on the
                                     first two marks, figured them out and pinned the long third mark, improved in
                                     one area = did not go to the gunner after picking up the mark
                                                    note: he seemed distracted by the Kooly in the honor position (got over it) 
                                                                                 (left click on thumbnail)

                                     Gunny later ran 5 BB blinds of about 40- 50 yards
                                                    note: he went, he stopped and he took casts (the expectation was met)
                                     Kooly ran two cold blinds (short and long) mainly because birds were being used
                                                    note: Taffey and Daisy only ran the Y Drill 

                   July 21st - rain in the morning - good day to five the dogs time off = lazy day & relax
                                                  note: WOW! last day off was July 9th       
                   July 22nd (morning) trained at the Square Pond ("grassy" area & pond)
                                   Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny did the "hide steady / chain gang" drill
                                            note: Taffey went first and did it easily, very steady and sharp
                                                     Gunny was second and continues to impress with his calmness
                                                     Daisy is really wired tight, but was rock solid on the steady mode
                                                     Kooly was continual correct on the chain gang for noise, Taffey was
                                                               brought out to sit on the far place board and when there was
                                                               the slightest "peep" out of Kooly the quiet command was
                                                               followed by "Taffey".......she picked up a lot of bumpers as
                                                               Kooly was corrected and watched......he is slowly getting it and
                                                               there were at leas 30 reps on the Dokken, goose calls and Taffey
                                                               mixed in with a few retrieves from a silent Kooly, toward the end
                                                               in was in the hide, re-heeled outside, backward healed and
                                                               switched sides heel.....any "peep" even leaving the line got
                                                               "Taffey"!!!.........he was very good the last five in a row with a
                                                               solid responsive to me body language.....his attitude was good
                                                               during the entire drill (not bad for a dog that once was soofffffttt!
                                                                              (left click on thumbnails)

                                  Gunny did a session of walking baseball & moved to the pond to do a review of FTW
                                             note: big improvement on walking baseball after the first BB blinds session
                                                      the other day
                                             note: FTW review went perfect, 1.5 up to 3 and back down had him flying into
                                                      the water, maintained a great attitude and fired off the line on "back"
                                                      even when there was no bumper in the water (when he hit the water a
                                                      bumper came flying out front with a splash as the reward...works great)
                                  Gunny established a 3rd pattern blind after driving to the Industrial DTA
                                              note: nine bumpers in an identified pile and walked backwards to extend the
                                                       line about 130 yards......needed a few casts on the last one.....good pup!
                                              note: very cool morning....for the end of July, this was nice
                                  (evening) Gunny continued to establish the 3rd pattern blind by running him at two
                                  pheasants then ran the other two pattern blinds with pheasants
                                             note: 1st run on the new pattern blind he "ping-ponged" at 100 yards, moved up
                                                      and got him there, next go much better....then he lined the other 2 blinds
                                             note: very full day for Gunny (much easier day tomorrow)         
                  July 23rd  (late morning) Gunny - ran eight BB blinds with 3" Avery Flashers in the deep grass at
                                  the Industrial DTA, there seemed to be a lot of scent (saw a rabbit), not focused at all
                                  and seemed confused.....went badly......after thinking about it with the scent issue and
                                  the fact that every time come to this DTA we run pheasant pattern blinds......his mind
                                  was not in doing something else
                                             note: ran the two pattern blinds with pheasants afterwards and he was fine
                                             note: spent some time at the swim-by pond with Anne W. and her Kate pup
                                                      doing FTW and a preliminary step on swim-by
                                  Taffey, Kooly & Daisy had the day off              
                  July 24th  (morning) Gunny ran his three pattern blinds at the Industrial DTA - ran the new one
                                  first with two pheasants there, five whistled it the first time and two whistled it the
                                  second time, line the other two and drove to BT's hay field and setup a remote winger,
                                  stickmen Y Drill for all four dogs (110 yards on the longest mark = not very difficult)
                                            note: the older dogs ran off the mound and Gunny did not (no experience
                                                     and it is a very steep drop off )
                                                                             (left click on thumbnails)

                                  Taffey ran it first (test dog) and she stepped on all three marks......switched the first
                                  mark to a white 3" Avery Flasher because of the changing from sunlight to shade
                                  Kooly pinned each mark
                                  Daisy got hung up a bit in some alfalfa as she came down off the mound on the first
                                  mark and blew by it about 100 yards........popped & got the "big ignore"...ugly hunt,
                                  stepped on the last two
                                  Gunny missed the first mark by less than a yard upwind and had a long hunt, the
                                  second was again missed upwind = shorter hunt, stepped on the last mark
                                           note: he was persistent, but has not grasped the AOF concept yet, did not switch
                                  Gunny to the Rockton Sport Complex where they just mowed the grass and set out
                                  four cold blinds 60 to 125 yards with pheasants = totally different attitude, corrected
                                  for slow or sloppy sits and he was still trying to drive = took decent casts and waited,
                                  after he ran those, put out four more cold blinds = this went very well
                                           note: he was definitely into this cold blind session and the difference was birds
                  July 25th  Gunny ran his three pattern blinds at the Industrial DTA as a KRD by putting a remote
                                  winger/stickman in the field, he picked up the mark (pheasant) ran the blinds right,
                                  left and up the middle (pheasants) = good job (135, 140, 155 yards)
                                  at the Rockton Sport Complex DTA setup a long poison bird blind for the older dogs
                                  Taffey ran it really well, Kooly took a poor initial line (then no issues), Daisy darted
                                  at the last moment and just managed to stop her a few feet from the poison pheasant,
                                  took the cast and then was fine
                                  Gunny ran a set of "Box Blinds" & left the stickman/winger in the field as a diversion,
                                  he did a good job, with casts and whistle sits.....carried lines a good distance, too
                                           note: his improvement on blinds is good
                                  Taffey, Daisy & Kooly did a remote group whoa drill at the Square Pond DTA
                                           note: finally got a 3 minute "whoa", after a few "sit breaks" by Kooly & Daisy 
                  July 26th  Gunny ran his KRD at the Industrial DTA = picked up the mark, two whistled the
                                  first and lined the last two..........excellent job, after driving to BT's hay field and
                                  Taffey, Kooly & Daisy did a good job on a close-up, "in your face" poison rooster
                                  blind, Gunny ran a 160 yard single (pheasant), drove to the Rockton Sport Complex
                                  and Gunny did his second day of a set of "Box Cold Blinds" (pheasants)...sat straight
                                  on the whistles, looked right at me and waited, took good casts and did a great
                                  job.........excellent "mo" & effort
                                           note: KRD = past the old fall, behind the gun & wide of the gun with variations
                                                    in changing the order plus through the fall, under the arc and poison bird
                                           note: Box Blinds are four cold blinds set out in roughly a box shape in short
                                                    cover, the pup is sent after the closets two first using push/pull and the
                                                    second farther set of two required casting through old scent = forward
                                                    momentum is easy to promote and Gunny seems to be accepting his
                                                    role in the teamwork of finding "our" birds   
                                                                                 (left click on thumbnails)

                  July 27th (mid-morning) Gunny ran his KRD again, good job....one whistled the first and third
                                          note: still working on getting a good lock on the direction at the line
                                 drove to the Square Pond "grassy" area and ran all four dogs on the "No-No Push/Pull
                                 Drill" added the variation of picking up and alternating between short bumpers and
                                 the long pile......moving up and back made things clearer for each dog
                                          note: each of the four dogs are doing this two-sided
                                 Taffey was very good until I tried to "pull" her to the short left bumpers.....since she was
                                 no'd off them earlier for some reason that meant...forever.....got it worked out eventually
                                 Daisy did not start with a solid lock, but it was noticeably better at the end of the session
                                 Kooly was precise and didn't miss a beat & was very full of himself about it
                                         note: this is a drill he likes almost as much as walking baseball
                                 Gunny got into the grove early and is learning fast
                                         note: it got warm fast.....good thing the "air" in the van works  
                  July 28th (early morning) Gunny ran his KRD at the Industrial DTA & drove the the Swim-by Pond
                                 to train with Anne W. (Kate and Gina) 
                                 Gunny & Daisy ran the right and left cheating corners drill
                                         note: Daisy did fine.....Gunny was trying to cheat the return every time, but he got
                                                  better with each rep (left corner worse than right)
                                 Taffey, Kooly & Daisy ran a water poison bird blind (winger)
                                         note: Taffey did fine, Kooly was not easy to pull off & Daisy was the most difficult
                                 Gunny ran a close to the water honoring drill with Kate = he was very good & controlled
                                 Kooly ran a close to the water honoring drill with Gina = he was not very good (vocal) 
                                 (4:00 pm vet's) Taffey = 64.5 lbs, Kooly = 64.5 lbs, Daisy = 59 lbs, Gunny = 64 lbs
                                         note: had blood drawn for all 4 dogs and submitted to VDL = EIC genetic testing,
                                                  total cost $298
                  July 29th (morning) trained at the Square Pond "grassy" area and did a remote winger/stickman
                                 wide double with pheasants, calls & a cap gun off a bucket HRC style (left to right - push)
                                            note: warmed up quickly....line was in the shade as was one "gun station"  
                                 Gunny went first = first go uncomfortable with me "sitting" beside him & not very steady,
                                 picked him up and reset the 1st winger (no retrieve), second time picked him up and
                                 reset both wingers, third time he was good - understands now........after doing the other
                                 three dogs, Gunny came out & ran it again.......he was good, sat high and stayed still
                                 Taffey was next and did OK, the usual BIG lean
                                            note: trouble swinging to the 2nd mark (we've done zero multiples for some time)
                                 Kooly saw the pheasants, "whined", I picked up birds & reset wingers three time with no
                                 retrieve, put away after each "attempt" and on the 4th set he was re-heeled off each bird
                                 down & corrected for whining "quite often", long delays on the hand down & taken off one
                                 bird & "put" on the other several times, never lost his intensity & finally was able to avoid
                                 making ANY noise.......it was a long session
                                 Daisy was "amped" after having to wait for everyone including Gunny's second outing
                                            note: just like Taffey, she had some trouble swinging to the second mark,
                                                     otherwise good, steady and sat still
                  July 30th (early morning) Gunny ran his three patterns at the Industrial DTA with mallards
                                 Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran a repeat of yesterday's HRC double with mallards at
                                  the Square Pond DTA in the "grassy area"....short and easy....for a "steadying" routine
                                            note: Gunny went first and came back out to run it again after the other three
                                 Gunny ran 2 mallard, remote winger/stickmen, water singles on the Square Pond
                                            note: dropped the older three dogs off at the house and drove to Rockton
                                 Gunny ran a big Box Blinds setup with four mallards at the Rockton Sport Complex
                                            note: Gunny is doing well on his land blinds
                                            note: started at 7:00 am & done at 9:00 am......it was 82º when finished

                                      Gunny needs: treading water work, longer marks on land and real gunners

                  July 31st (early morning) Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran four "inline" singles with remote
                                 wingers,  stickmen and 3" flagged Avery Flashers at the Rockton Sport Complex at
                                 60, 120, 175 & 225 yards (range finder) 
                                           note: Taffey stepped on all four - nice!
                                           note: Kooly missed the second and stepped on the rest
                                           note: Daisy got the first two and acted like she didn't see the last two......so it
                                                    turned into a "go as sent drill" for the last two (and she did)
                                           note: Gunny did fine on the first three, but started to fade wide on the fourth,
                                                    stopped him and handled him back to the correct line = that went well!
                                 Gunny did  work on a water casting drill plus some more practice on treading water at
                                 the Swim-by Pond (dropped the three older dogs off at the house first) 
                                            note: casting nicely at the finish (accurate....comfortable) & treading water better
                                            note: doing some silent casts with "literals" being introduced
                                                                               (left click on thumbnails)

                         July 16th - July 31st     √ = times worked on  b = birds  w = water

                        July 1st - July 15th