June 1st  (early morning) Gunny ran single T, mixed in a few large orange bumpers, ran about 8-9
                              back piles, 4 left "overs" and 1 right "over" (Daisy picked up the remaining 5 bumpers
                              out the T field (from the van......which saved me from walking back out there and took the
                              edge off of her for the first time "roading" session with Gunny.....coming up next)
                              drove to BT's alfalfa field where Taffey, Daisy & Kooly "roaded" one mile after which Gunny
                              came out so that all four dogs could "road" the last two miles (the levee has a small area of
                              shallow water for the dogs to cool off each time around the 1 mile loop)
                                         note:  68º, ¼ mile out of each 1 mile loop was in the shade with tall, dew cover grass,
                                                   slight breeze and sunny
                                         note: for the first time running with the other three Gunny held his own, Daisy was
                                                  after him quite a bit, but Gunny loved running out front with her and did not
                                                  back down (they will sleep long and hard today, especially Gunny)
                              Interceptor (all four)
              June 2nd (mid morning) trained at BT's with Anne W. - setup four wingers with stickmen, primer
                              reports and used mallards......off a steep levee into heavy cover with not much breeze,
                              warm, sunny and high humidity....dogs did fine....I ended up fighting off heat exhaustion
                              and finally got home, took a cold shower and went to bed.......whew!
                                          note: Gunny went first and did a really nice job.......steady improvements every day
                                          note: Taffey was sharp and intense
                                          note: Daisy was run by Anne and was a little uneasy with the change, did OK
                                          note: Kooly was run by Anne and he was really sharp
              June 3rd (morning) the three older dogs have the day off, Gunny ran single T and since it was cool
                             he picked up 16 bumpers, worked on the left "over" more (four bumpers) and did a high
                             percentage of backs, three "stick" forces from the line and four backs from a whistle sit
                             at the apex........looking better every day.......stronger & more focused
                                          note: afterwards drove down to the pond & did 4 quick fun retrieves from the water
                                          note: two more days of single T and the second T will be added
                                          note: just finished in time to beat the big storm that's moving in
                             (dusk) Gunny ran his single T - 6 back bumpers, 3 left overs & 2 right overs
                                          note: brief session, cool evening....left over weakness corrected
              June 4th day off for all
              June 5th (morning) Taffey, Kooly & Daisy ran the 3 dog remote drop drill at the Square Pond DTA
                             Gunny ran his single T with many more back bumpers to work on a sudden desire to drop
                             bumpers on the way back......after a few "No"....."fetch/nick/fetch" corrections this was
                             "cleaned up" and will probably require reminders for a few days
                                          note: place side pile bumpers for the second T starting tomorrow
                             after the land "work", took a short trip to the pond......since none of the nesting geese
                             were successful this year......finally decided to start using the pond for training
                             Taffey & Gunny ran singles "together"..........the marks were thrown so that Gunny had to
                             wait for Taffey to get close to hers.....then his was thrown.......got in some wide diversions
                             for Gunny and his enthusiasm for water retrieves has skyrocketed.......6-7 for each
                                          note: the focus was on Gunny - first of all....fun, then good water entry, delivery
                                                   to hand......followed by shake 
                             Kooly & Daisy worked together on their "sets" of water marks......6-7 total for each
                                          note: the main focus for these two was being steady
               June 6th day off - rain early, later.....too warm with high humidity
               June 7th (morning) warm, high humidity, good breeze - Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny trained off a
                              place board using water marks and the "chain gang" at the Square Pond
                                          note: water definitely increased the excitement level, Taffey & Kooly were
                                                   whining and Daisy was very animated off lead with terribly busy feet,
                                                   Gunny was OK, except he wanted to "parade" after each retrieve
                                          note: all the dogs were heeled off the place board to a sit before retrieving
                                          note: Taffey & Kooly were not very responsive to requests to heel (at first)
                                          note: in spite of elevated excitement......there was zero creeping or breaking
                                          note: looking for gradual improvement      
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails) 

               June 8th (afternoon) morning - after thunder storms moved through, a brief cold front with
                              cloud cover was a relief, Taffey, Kooly & Daisy ran two long cold blinds
                                           note: Taffey took good initial lines then got a little "zig-zaggy" with the
                                                    several terrain changes pushing her left each time = kept on line
                                           note: Kooly ran them about the same as Taffey
                                           note: Daisy got off the van perfectly (for her, this was a big improvement)
                                                    heeled quietly to the line after airing (a good distance to the line) and
                                                    ran both blinds really well
                              Gunny ran double T for the first time and picked up 15 bumpers total - ran both side
                              piles and the only issue was needing two casts (almost every time) on the "overs"
                                           note: good attitude and effort 
               June 9th (evening) Gunny ran the back pile on his swim-by pond - eight bumpers, had a little
                              issue on wanting to return "around" the pond, but corrected that and the last six were
                              straight over and back with good momentum and a great attitude, drove to the Square
                              Pond "grassy" a set-up a long "up-the-slots" lining drill using five stickmen at a 45º angle,
                              Taffey lined the first three and one whistled the last
                              Kooly was not nearly as fast, but did well on three out of four
                              Daisy was way quicker than Kooly, did the first three super & got "zig-zaggy" on the 4th
                              Gunny ran his first 4 spoke wagon wheel and did it eagerly, with nearly zero issues
                                          note: wanted to "jump the gun" and go on "dead bird" a few times
              June 10th (early morning) Gunny double T then wingers marks with (ducks) for all 4 dogs
                              Gunny ran is double T with 14 bumpers did his "overs" with quicker responses today
                                          note: ran the last two back bumpers faster than the first two (I think he knows
                                                   when they are all gone......we are finished. )   
                                                                                 (left click on thumbnail) 

                              Setup three remote winger stickmen singles to take advantage of a a no cheat situation
                              for Gunny, by moving the line around and changing the order of each mark every dog
                              received the kind of marks specifically geared for their individual needs
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails) 

                              Taffey ran first because she is the official test dog (making sure everything is OK) plus
                              there is a need to keep her sharp and provide exercise  
                                          note: very "amped" at the line and really explosive off the line.....sharp

                              Gunny ran from a closer line than Taffey, adjusted so the 1st was easier to see on the other
                              side of the stream (first mark in and out water and no available cheat), the 2nd was in the
                              water of the inlet stream to show not everything will be on the other side and not quite as
                              easy to find, the 3rd was a duck in open water......first water ducks
                                          note: did well on the 1st and 3rd, it took him a little time to figure out the 2nd, still
                                                   parades at the line (need to setup some drills to take care of this)
                                          note: wanted to play with the wet ducks before delivery (need to work on this), but
                                                   once he settles down, holds the ducks nicely for delivery, starting to get the
                                                   "shake" sequence correct

                              Kooly ran his three singles from a more distant line which made the middle mark very
                              "cheaty" (wanted to work on this) the order of the singles was right, left and middle last,
                              he cheated the middle mark 9knew he would) and was handled back into the water
                              which screwed up that mark, will run this as a blind later this week with the 3 older dogs
                                          note: need to do more water and land "cheaty" work with him

                              Daisy ran the setup from the same line as Taffey, except the left mark was the memory of
                              a delayed triple...the right mark was thrown second and she picked it up, then the third
                              mark was thrown up the middle and retrieved before the delayed memory on the left
                                          note: she nailed all the marks, only issue was getting her to "pull" on the second
                                                   mark of the multiple (which was her first multiple in a very long time)
                                          note: good memory, nice lines and excellent focus with confident body posture
                                          note: Daisy is starting to perform more like Taffey every day (which is way cool)       

              June 11th (early morning) Gunny ran double T with 14 bumpers - did a good job
                              (morning) ) later trained at Hook Lake, WI with pro Brian Moyse
                              Taffey, Kooly & Daisy ran two water marks with gunners in boats out on the bog,
                              they are familiar with the heavy lily pad issue on Hook Lake
                                      note: nice marks, honoring, holding blind and general "from the van and back OB" 
                               Daisy ran a cold blind up the middle   
                               Gunny ran the shorter marks thrown for the younger dogs 
                                      note: not sure how he was going to handle this since his first duck in water was
                                               only yesterday, first big lily pads spooked him for just a second and then he
                                               dug in to get the mark, second was going really well when he was attracted
                                               to something to the right of the line......a quick help from the bird boy and he
                                               picked up the second duck......this was a very big jump in difficulty in 2 days
                                                                                   (left click on thumbnail) 

                               the second setup was two marks down the shore to the right.....the second was difficult
                               Daisy saw it as a double, but by the time she came back with the go bird, the 2nd mark
                               was "mentally gone"......ran it as another single and still had to handle her on it, none
                               of the dogs did well on the 2nd mark (tough)
                                       note to self:  1) verbal "overs" drive back!!! 2) make up your mind if you are going
                                                            to correct on a "cheat" or handle........not both
                               Kooly ran the two marks as singles - 1st pinned & 2nd "sucked" to shore a tad too early &
                               had to handle.........Kooly ran a cold blind setup farther south of the first setup & he
                               was "zig-zaggy" too often
                                      note: saved on gas = trip to Stoughton training, stopped at vet's for Kooly's two
                                               shots with no vet needed for this visit that saved $25, next stopped at Mounds
                                               to pick up Kooly's food on sale = everything part of the 1 round trip not 3
                  3 trips would have been 114extra miles = $28 + $15 off food (on sale) +$25 for no vet = +$68
      
              June 12th (morning) Gunny ran double T work......72º, cloudy, no breeze & 69% humidity......set out 6
                              back bumpers and two at the "overs", planned to run 6 back and only 1 of each over as
                              Gunny has been "going at it hard" recently, first two "goes" were slow with glances toward
                              the side piles, not real crisp pickups at the back pile and a body language of "Geez, I really
                              don't feel like doing this." Reviewed force to pile on the next four with a hint of him thinking
                              about bolting to a side pile or refusing, finished off the six back & returned the 6 bumpers
                              to the back pile with Gunny on a remote sit at the line, the grass was freshly cut and all the
                              piles were very easy to see, the four serious reviews of FTP from the first set of six bumpers
                              brought about a quick change in attitude........he ran the second 6 hard out and back, put
                              him up and I picked up the side pile bumpers
                                      note: excellent response to pressure
                              drove to the swim-by pond and Gunny swam the "back" pile six times with each "go"
                              producing a more aggressive water entry (no pressure applied), he was "into" it
                                      note: On the first bumper he took two steps toward cheating the bank, I gave him a
                                               verbal "no" and then remembered, "I'm not supposed to do that."  
                              day off for the other three
                                      note: a ton of rain to the north and quite a bit here all afternoon & night
             June 13th (morning) Gunny ran his first walking baseball drill & did an excellent job
                                      note: all casts were set up to be "overs" and "backs" & it was easy for him because
                                               three handed casting had the same basic mechanics, the difference was in
                                               moving around
                              moved down to the pond and ran a concept blind = "cheaty", across a point angle exit
                              to land after water re-entry, each dog repeated it, extra emphasis on the return
                              Taffey was "zig-zaggy" and wanted to cheat the return
                              Kooly wanted to take a line to the left all the way, had to make him wait longer on casts
                              to get him to change momentum, "cheaty" on return
                              Daisy's initial line was left, but after that her handling was excellent, honest return
                              each dog was placed on the "chain gang" to run the "Hide Steady & Chain Gang Drill"    
                              Taffey ran first - a little "whiny" at first, but nothing happened until she quieted down
                              Gunny was second and is getting the idea of waiting = good job!
                              Kooly spent at least 15 minutes working at his vocalization which finally ceased and he
                                  did his three retrieves without making a "peep" (lots of goose calling and waiting)
                              Daisy was animated at first (too much) so she did a lot waiting on remotes sits before
                                  finally allowed in the hide
                                       note: 3 retrieves per dog, with the older dogs in the hide, Gunny works off a 6' lead
                              drove to the swim-by pond and Gunny did four bumpers to the back pile
                                       note: 1st "go" just walked in, but on the last 3 he was airborne from the shore  
                                                                                  (left click on thumbnails) 

              June 14th (morning) Gunny ran walking baseball, "jumbo" push/pull drill for the older dogs (easy day)
                                      note: Gunny did a very good job with walking baseball "backs" and "overs" started to
                                               take some "over" casts without the verbal
                                      note: Taffey, Kooly & Daisy each are a little different about the thought process on the
                                               "push/pull" drill, worked a total of 13 bumpers in two piles at about 30º....one at
                                               25 yards and the other at 50 yards (very visible - 3" Avery Flashers), Taffey is so
                                               intense she sometimes goes where she wants to and ignores the cue, Kooly is very
                                               precise and easy to focus, Daisy lies once in awhile (looks one way & goes another)
                              (evening) rained out        
              June 15th (late morning) early- rain and soggy.....Gunny & Taffey - long walk at the Sand Ponds
                                      note: the rain has filled the Sand Ponds and created a large number of extra areas
                                               to run water, using "poorman" tactics Gunny & Taffey had at least 15 marks
                                      note: Gunny's longest mark was a 175 yard swim across the big pond with a wide
                                               variety of marks including multiple entry singles (exciting session) and Taffey
                                               gave Gunny a lot to look at
                              (late afternoon) Daisy & Kooly - long walk at the Rockton Sport Complex - threw four
                              "poorman" singles for both, good run, but Kooly broke a nail and it was bleeding (a lot)
                                      note: Kooly to the vet tomorrow
              June 16th (morning) trained with Anne at the Rockton Sport Complex stretching marks with an
                              inline drill - five marks from 50 to 250 yards
                              Gunny carried all the way to the 250 yard mark, used the "fire drill" technique on the two
                              longest marks
                              Daisy did a really nice job and was FAST!
                              Taffey ran two cold  blinds 100+ yards on each one
                              Kooly to the vet - Rimadyl for 4 days & Cephalexin until gone, after five days it should
                              not be a problem (pain) and about one week back to training
                                       note: keep as clean as possible
                              (evening) 46th anniversary - no training
       
              June 17th (morning) trained with Brian & Linda at BT's DTA Gunny & Daisy ran four singles with
                              real gunners, primer pistols and pheasants or chukars, Taffey & Kooly had the day off
                              Daisy had a big, ugly hunt on the first, short one & needed help, the rest were good 
                              Gunny needed lots of help on the first one, none on the second, some on the third &
                              did well on the last one
                                       note: Gunny was dropping the birds when he got in the deeper cover, this needs
                                                to be corrected (not an isolated situation as he was dropping the unfamiliar
                                                bumpers the day before) 
                                       note: meds for broken toe nail (day two)
              Frontline Plus to Taffey, Daisy and Gunny
                                                                             (left click on thumbnails) 

               June 18th - (morning) Gunny ran a new drill to work on his issue of dropping bumpers/birds on the
                                 return. it's the "Know More" Drill = 4 piles of retrieving objects at the corners of a square
                                 with 30 yard diagonals, retrieves are from the corners..........1st pile is 2" white "knobby"
                                 bumpers with a couple of 3" orange, 2nd pile is five full sized Dokkens and one mallard
                                 ATB (none of my dogs like to pick the ATB up...slippery when wet and too big across), 3rd
                                 pile is 3" Avery Flashers and the 4th is a pile of birds, 3 mallards and 3 pheasants (2 hens
                                 and a big rooster)
                                 Taffey, Kooly & Daisy = day off
                                          note: any cast refusals were met with "back/nick/back", any drops are corrected
                                                   with "fetch/nick/fetch" or further enhanced with an ear pinch
                                          note: zero drops on the 2" white "knobbies", collar corrections on dropping the
                                                   1st 3" orange bumper which he subsequently blinked and went back to the
                                                   pile and picked up a 2" white one, picked the rest of the white up, dropped
                                                   the orange one he hadn't touched yet......collar corrected and retrieved this
                                                   one, refused to pick up the original orange bumper collar corrected again
                                          note: moved to the Dokken pile and he picked up the five Dokkens with no drops,
                                                   the Avery ATB mallard was a big issue (as planned).......dropped and collar
                                                   corrected, after three corrections he refused, resulting in an ear pinch to
                                                   pick it up, spit out twice....pinch corrections again, the next time he dropped
                                                   collar correction followed by another pinch...........threw it back out an he
                                                   refused at the line, walked off "heel/nick/heel" and once in was in motion,
                                                   "back/nick/back" and when he got there refused to pick it up.......ear pinch
                                                   fetch and it was now clear he was taking a better grip on the ATB, back to
                                                   the line for delivery and repeated two more times with ear pinches...clearly
                                                   his force fetch "memory" has "slipped" some, but there is a definite sense
                                                   of urgency on his part when it is clear the ear pinch is on
                                          note: moved to the 3" Avery Flasher pile and six retrieves with zero issues, his
                                                   problems are with unfamiliar bumpers and birds, this drill deals with his
                                                   "poor choices" 
                                          note: last pile of mallards and pheasant......clearly "amped" after the first one, but
                                                   dropped it halfway back........"fetch/nick/fetch" again with zero tolerance for
                                                   anything but a clean delivery, including lowering the bird to ground as he
                                                   pivots to deliver at heel
                                          note: he was not "sloppy" or hesitant when we finished = message received
                                                   and standard reestablished (going to repeat this drill as much as it seems
                                                   necessary)
                                          note: attitude good as we finished = total time....less than 15 minutes
               June 19th - trainer did "yard work" - mowed the lawn and did some gardening, dogs' day off
               June 20th - (early morning) Gunny ran his double T - 10 back pile bumpers with 2 bumpers in each
                                 of the four "over" piles.....the focus was good casts & no drops with the most sends (ever)
                                           note: did a good job with only two small drops (late....we are about finished
                                           note: one last thing to do is some casting with the bumper in his mouth
                                 after a quick move down to the pond he got wet and cooled off with three fun bumpers
                                 Taffey & Daisy did a session of walking baseball with two 2" Avery orange bumpers
                                 Taffey was sharp and her usual driven self 
                                 Daisy was "amped" and usually took off in a hunt mode (head down), did well until I
                                 tried to give her a verbal straight "left" back..no way, even after several attrition attempts,
                                 angle back every time........simplified = identified the back position with two thrown
                                 bumpers and set her up for the straight verbal left "back" cast = perfect, identified the
                                 angle back position by tossing two bumpers there & set her up for a silent left "angle
                                 back" = perfect, went to walking baseball mode for those two positions.....she took the
                                 verbal "backs" and and silent angle backs  = perfectly  (not sure why she got hung up
                                 on this today, except we've been doing walking baseball in the same area for quite
                                 some time.........change areas?
                                             note: will check this again next week 
                                 Kooly's toenail is still bleeding some after airing = remains on the shelf 
                                 (late morning) Gunny did his initial over pile for swim-by, ran around the pond on the first
                                 one, my meeting him, saying "no" and placing him on a remote sit and then calling him
                                 to come back across was enough of a correction to remind him of the "right way", the
                                 light came on and he retrieved four bumpers from the "over" position.  A couple huge
                                 bullfrogs were sitting on top of weed masses and were moving around. Gunny thought
                                 about getting one a few times, but he is now "de-frogged"  
                                             note: yesterday's "stiff" corrections on the "Know More" (dropping) Drill has had
                                                      some effect on his momentum (not bad......., but noticeable)
                                 (late afternoon) trained at Stoughton FT grounds with Brian L. = water marks across the
                                 new, larger improve swim-by pond........not really one now, stickmen, ATV gunner, 3"
                                 Avery Flashers and a primer pistol
                                 Taffey went first (to check things out) marked OK (kind of sloppy really - hunted too much)
                                 Daisy was  her usual fast self and did not mark all that well, running fast and using her
                                 nose is an issue.....still "sucking to the gunner", need more focus to get tighter marking,
                                 might start salting AOF more and using longer throws
                                 Gunny got there with not a whole lot of momentum and his hunts were not very well
                                 thought out, needed help on the middle mark...........he was trying, but clearly lacking in
                                 experience with marks up on shore, in heavy cover after a swim
                                             note: these were tough marks for an inexperienced dog (Taffey had a lot of
                                                      issues with her first marks thrown on this pond)......mostly because once
                                                      the dog is in the water (and more so as they near the other side).....the
                                                      gunner stations disappear from view.......trust in going straight is lacking
                                             note: Gunny is still not responding very well to bird boy "help", need more
                                                      shorter cover marking to head off his penchant for big hunts
                                             note: skipped the fourth mark because the concepts and factors would only
                                                      create problems not needed (i.e. cheating and bank running)
                                  Kooly was not a happy camper - nail still a problem (day off)           
               June 21st & 22nd dogs had both days off - slacker mode!.....but the yard & garden look better
               June 23rd (morning) trained at BT's hay field and ran two Mama-Papa setups with remote wingers,
                               real gunner, popper gun, decoys and stickmen, Kooly has time off (toe still tender)
                               Taffey ran first as the test dog = everything worked and the setup looked OK
                               Daisy was very good at the line, steady, focused, marked well and delivered calmly
                               Gunny ran the two marks as singles without the decoys, for both marks he was really
                               focused at the line...1st mark flew into the heavy cover (not supposed to), good line
                               and he dug it out, 2nd mark...good line hard charge with a hunt at the end
                               Taffey did not run the second set
                               Daisy came out and did a better job on the second double (nice!)
                               Gunny did about the same on the second set, initial line very good, excellent "mo",
                               marks maybe a bit more than what he is ready for, but he figured them out
                                               note: need to do some marking in shorter cover and get him jumping on
                                                        longer, but easier marks (fewer factors)
                                                                              (left click on thumbnails) 

                               (evening) Gunny ran a session of walking baseball at the Square Pond grassy area                
                                              note: he did this very well on all four casts.....right and left "backs" and both
                                                       "overs" were crisp with zero auto-casting, upbeat and having fun 
                               afterwards he got 3 water singles 1) splashed five yards from the far side of the pond,
                               2) right at the edge of the "grassy" bank in heavy moss and 3) across the pond into
                               the tall grass = great lines right to the first two, even with all the "stuff" floating on
                               the surface, the last one took him a little while to find, but he stayed right in the area
                               and "dug it out"
                                             note: Gunny is a very strong & swift swimmer 
                                             note: delivery and shake sequence is very easy going and controlled, used
                                                      2" white "knobby" bumpers
               June 24th (morning) Gunny ran two long remote winger singles at the Rockton Sport Complex
                                (185 and 200 yards) two stickmen and two wingers at each station so as to fire off
                                another 3" Avery Flasher to get him there......it worked
                                    note: looked out to the correct stations, good focus & high "mo"
                                drove to the swim-by pond & Gunny picked up four bumpers on the right "over" side, 
                                finished today's work with 1st force to water (FTW), this went really well (last bumper
                                thrown out in front of him was not until he had entered the water on "back" )
                                             note: went up and down the e-collar levels.....no issues
                                Daisy & Taffey ran an eight bumper water Tune- up Drill in a Zig-Zag mode with
                                orange bumpers
                                             note: Taffey has always been very explosive in drill work and she fired out
                                                      on every blind, good workout, a couple corrections for cheating, returns
                                                      were in the water with a few slightly closer to shore than I wanted
                                             note: Daisy was very sharp on this drill, faster and better than Taffey  
                                                                        minor correction on #6 (slight early out), returns were super "not" cheaty 
                                             note: Daisy continues to show a much more mature approach to everything
                                           Kooly has not worked in seven days because of the broken toe nail, today he got
                                to swim across the pond twice on two short water blinds, he was in no rush
                                                                             (left click on thumbnails)                               

                                (evening) Gunny - did four remote winger concept doubles at the Industrial Park DTA
                                             note: the first one was too long and he forgot the memory bird, the second
                                                      would have been fine, but just as the remote was released 2 bicyclists went
                                                      by and he totally lost his focus, the third was almost OK....but he did have
                                                      a hunt on the memory bird, finally on the fourth one he stepped on both
                June 25th (morning) Gunny did a short off choker tab steadying lesson......used "no/here" and the
                                heeling stick for corrections.....he did well, drove to the swim-by pond and did four
                                bumpers to the "over" pile, replaced them, put him on a remote sit & cast him to the
                                right "over" pile from the swim-by line and after quickly returning to the original line
                                called him back to the starting point........did it with no issues.....good puppy!
                                   note: things are progressing well on swim-by & Gunny is getting it with a
                                                     confident attitude
                          Taffey, Daisy & Kooly got the day off        
                June 26th (mid-morning) trained at the Swim-by Pond, already in the low 80's, a very slight
                                breeze, cool water with all four dogs on a "chain gang" in the shade, one of the
                                best things about this training area is the large number of barn swallows = no bugs!
                                Gunny did the next step in his swim-by = remote sit at left side pile position, bumper
                                thrown into the middle of the pond from the actual swim-by line, Gunny cast "over"
                                to pick up the bumper and then cast the rest of the way "over" to the other side, out
                                with a verbal "OK" and given a fun bumper......did this twice......then repeated the
                                same "mini-swim-by" routine from the opposite side.....he was perfect....zero issues
                                              note: today's "mini-swim-by" approach is from Evan Graham
                                              note: that was inspiringly awesome (it must have been seamless in his mind)
                                              note: his swim-by sessions have not dominated training in the sense that
                                                       they have been crammed into a short time frame or every day, Gunny's
                                                       first water pile work for swim-by started June 9th on this pond and
                                                       balanced with doing a lot of other "things"   
                                Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny did the "Hide Steady" drill which lasted until noon
                                              note: Taffey had Daisy pick up one Dokken on her session (jumped out of
                                                       hide before being asked to heel out)
                                              note: Daisy was very good on her session - worked slowly
                                              note: Kooly had four Dokkens picked up Taffey during his session......zero
                                                       tolerance for noise is beginning to sink in....much better in the hide
                                              note: Gunny's steadiness is really improving (no tab today)   
                                              note: the prize for the most corrections  for "noise" on the "chain gang" today
                                                       was won by Taffey with Kooly a close second (Gunny was quiet)
                                              note: this drill is having a dramatic, positive impact on all four dogs. 
                                                                           (left click on thumbnails) 

                 balance analysis - Gunny needs wagon wheels & lining drills, birds, inlines and stretched
                                               Daisy needs challenges & detailed, consistent attention to control
                                                      note: multiples with blinds
                                               Kooly needs continued work on responsiveness during excitement
                                                      note: blinds before marks
                                               Taffey needs more attention to precision  
                June 27th (morning) Gunny trained at the Swim-by pond - repeated the previous lesson of
                                 left and right "mini-swim-by" perfectly, did three back pile sends with whistle sits
                                 on two of them to work on treading water.......not bad.....on the last one as he came
                                 back he was "kind of stopped" and cast to the right, got out and then was a little
                                 confused, sat him there went across and called him over, not quite so relaxed so did
                                 repeated another over "mini-swim-by" which he did easily and he regained his calm
                                 composure......and then he did his first full swim-by.....back pile....stop at the apex &
                                 took the cast to the right exited and came back the other way with a swim-by over
                                 and finished on the other side........I did a little walking both ways....but he was very
                                 solid with what was being asked of him.......very good, thinking puppy!
                                 drove to the Rockton Sport Complex and set up two wide, long remote wingers with
                                 stickmen at 175 & 200 yards, salted the AOF with three extra bumpers each
                                 Gunny went first as singles - looked out at the correct stickman and got out there
                                              note: stepped on the 200 yard single, straight with excellent "mo" and had a
                                                       little hunt on the second....didn't carry the line quite far enough
                                              note: should have had the choker tab on him.........took off like he was shot
                                                       from a canon.....steady is not there yet when excited and his level of
                                                       drive for each mark is gaining momentum
                                 Taffey went second and ran them as a double 
                                              note: stepped on the 200 yard and blew by the 175 yard single about another
                                                       75 yards, eventually got back and picked it up (not a pretty hunt)
                                 Daisy ran it as a double and was about to hook the "gunner" so I handled her back to
                                 the correct line....still over ran it and hunted (huge, wide open featureless field)
                                              note: Daisy was very intense at the line, but under control.....focused and
                                                       responsive....we are getting there 
                                 Kooly's nail is looking a lot better, but drove to the "easy" grass area at the Square
                                 Pond DTA and ran a short session of walking baseball......no bleeding from the nail
                                              note: thaw six pheasants out tonight and place in the "holding" freezer
                 June 28th (morning) Gunny established his first pattern blind at the Square Pond "grassy" area
                                              note: ten bumpers in a pile started at about 25 yards and backed up to where
                                                       he picked up the last bumper at about 125 yards...........this is not going
                                                       to be a pattern blind we will use much, but it imprints the technique of
                                                       establishing one..........no issues & fired hard on the last one
                                  Taffey, Daisy & Kooly did a poison rooster blind with a remote winger and pheasants
                                  at BT's hay field, wind blowing out of the west at 13 mph gusting to 22......used a
                                  holding blind for extra OB work
                                              note: Taffey went by the poison rooster & feather scented area and registered
                                                       that she smelled it but kept going on the line to the blind = good job
                                              note: Daisy was good at the line, went as sent for the blind, but trusted her nose
                                                       so much that she caved quickly to the scented area and poison rooster, one
                                                       whistle and a cast and she refocused nicely = good job
                                              note: Kooly was responsive at the line......no issues = good job
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails) 

                                  drove to the Rockton Sport Complex and set up to remote stickmen wingers with birds
                                              note: Gunny jumped on two pheasant singles 145 & 165 yards with a straight,
                                                       fast and intense drive to each mark....Wow! = good puppy
                                                                                 (left click on thumbnail)   

               June 29th (morning) Gunny trained at the Sand Ponds - carried in a remote winger with a horn to
                                set up singles with stickman....small rain squalls everywhere.......one to the west and
                                another to the east missed and go three singles in until one did not miss us........got
                                soaked.....but it was worth it
                                               note: Gunny did some very nice marking.....his drive has improved.....a lot 
                                               note: the Sand Pond's water area has more water in it than two weeks ago,
                                                        could run singles in here every day for the next two months and never
                                                        repeat one 
                                               note: 1st mark = angle entry, land/water/land/water with mostly lunging water
                                                        and the potential for a cheat (went straight out and back)
                                                        2nd mark= land/water/land/water/land/water all lunging water much
                                                        longer than the first with the mark disappearing momentarily behind a
                                                        small tree in the arc (took a nice straight line and carried it)
                                                        3rd mark = down off a steep mound into deep lunging water with some
                                                        "holes" to swim through, arc of the mark carried behind a mound into
                                                        water, got there quickly with a nice straight line nailed the mark
                                               note: seems to know where they are even with many terrain & cover changes 
                                                                                (left click on thumbnails)   

                Taffey, Daisy & Kooly got the day off
                June 30th - (morning) drove to the Square Pond "grassy" area and Gunny ran his new pattern
                                  blind - put out two bumpers = three whistled it the first time and lined it the second
                                  drove to BT's hay field to train with Ann W....setup a W marking drill with pheasants
                                  at the three long stations, dogs to run through decoys and by the short stations
                                  Taffey was test dog and she stepped on all three = nice job
                                  Daisy went second, but the first two marks were preceded by an anti-RSG blind first
                                  and she did a nice job on the marks, a little "wild" on the blinds 
                                             note: her "off the van, to the holding blind and line" routine shows improvement
                                             note: anti-RSG blind = "anti-ready/set/go" blind which is designed to increase
                                                      responsiveness at the line and emphasize control
                                  Gunny was next = to the line routine was very good and off leash until he hit the
                                  pheasant scent at the line, went back to the holding blind and used the short tab
                                  (needed it when the first pheasant and primer report went off, flew off the line, was
                                  momentarily started by a decoy, blew past the stickman, the wind pushed him off line,
                                  the hay bailer and wagon finished off his mind and he went into a big hunt
                                             note: the second and third marks weren't much better, by the time he got out
                                                      there he was way off line and put in big hunts & saved by his nose
                                  Kooly went last and the anti-RSG blinds did a good job of emphasizing responsiveness
                                             note: stepped on first two marks,  but the wind pushed him left of the line on
                                                      the last mark (recovered quickly with a short hunt)
                                                                             (left click on thumbnails) 

                               (evening) Gunny will do a short session of the eight bumper wagon wheel drill