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May 1st
mid-morning - radar shows rain soon = drove to the Square
Pond DTA bean field,
Taffey, Gunny, Daisy & Kooly ran several
Retriev-R-Trainer singles off a remote a
place board (to get them away from the loud "report") and duck call
note: Taffey retrieved four, should
have picked up the distracting pieces of
white paper ("out there")
note: Gunny was second and ran ten
marks....staying steady corrections were
impacting his marking......which was not sharp
note: Daisy was like a speeding bullet
= fast and accurate (ran six)
note: Kooly ran four like Daisy....wow!
note: Gunny came back out and ran four
more = much more focused & did
an excellent job of marking.....this time
note: started raining just as we finished
evening -
Gunny to the Sand
Ponds = rain didn't go
Interceptor for all
May 2nd - yard work....mowed the lawn and raked
leaves = day off
May 3rd - worked Amateur at Madison Retriever Club's FT
= another day off
May 4th
all day - trained at Stoughton
Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran an ABC
drill (marking) - walking gunner, duck call,
primer pistol and mallards
note: Daisy had big hunts on all four
marks - not sure why?
note: Gunny marked the last 3 well
after a little hunt & gunner help on #1
note: Taffey & Kooly were run by my
training partner as I threw in the field,
Taffey was confused at the line on her name.....then OK after
adjusting
the second setup was designed as a cold honor for the four young
dogs - two were
mine - Daisy & Gunny.......I
shot the popper gun for all the runs including the two
of mine that were honoring, Taffey
was the running dog three times &
Kooly once
note: all the dogs got a lot out of this drill
the third setup was three singles and a blind on water...the pond
level was high so
the large "shaved" point in the middle was lunging water (very cool)
Taffey was the
test dog to make sure the kick-winger mallard landing spot was
correct
Daisy ran the
long mark up the middle and the cold blind first, then she did the
left &
right marks as a double.....HRC bucket, duck calls and shooting at
the line
Gunny ran the
three singles (long up the middle first) and then the blind, in
hind-sight
I should have run the blind after the far right single and kept the
middle single from
conflicting with his blind....which was his first water cold blind =
a bit "hacky" but he
kept trying and finally got there........what a great day of
training!
Interceptor
for Taffey, Kooly & Daisy
with
Kooly's Preventic
collar good until June 1st
(left click to
enlarge thumbnails)
"ABC Drill" |
"holding blinds" |
"cold honors" |
"water setup"
(from the mound) |
"water" |
"middle mark/blind" |
May 5th -
evening - trained with a group at Rock Cut
State Park DTA....Gunny ran two singles
and a cold blind, Daisy ran a triple with a
blind, Kooly ran the triple with a blind
and was "loud" at the line, Taffey ran the
blind
note: popper gun off an HRC bucket line
May 6th - trained first at the Square Pond DTA (grassy area) threat
of rain
late morning - Daisy & Gunny
ran a two tier wagon wheel lining drill to orange
bumpers in a 40+ yard diameter setup
note: both did very well, worked slowly, expected consistent
delivery & good "looks"
set up an Unbalanced Renegade casting drill = one pile was white bumpers
and the
other was orange - ran Taffey, Daisy, Kooly &
Gunny - expected square sits on the
place board (cast from) and high expectations on delivery
= Gunny consistently has the
best square high sit Daisy & Taffey are the
fastest......with Gunny a close third
afternoon -
Daisy & Gunny
ran a set of four cold blinds at the Macktown DTA (really
neat & challenging cover) slight drizzle near the finish (126, 143, 146
& 134yards)
Taffey & Kooly
came out and ran the fourth cold blind
note: Daisy
was really sharp
note: Gunny is coming along really
well
note: examined Kooly's
legs and paws but could find no reason for what
appeared to be a very infrequent and slight limp (found nothing)
note: beat the rain
May 7th day off....grass is exploding in the yard & dogs seem
tired.....me too
May 8th afternoon
Gunny, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny ran a
four water mark setup at the Sq. Pond,
used wingers, HRC bucket, 3" flagged Avery Flashers, duck call & popper
gun, all the
dogs worked off a "chain gang" and there were three holding
blinds......the two
longest marks had stickmen with the wingers
note: Taffey. Daisy & Kooly ran a
double followed by two singles
note: Gunny ran the setup as four singles
with a water "no go" on the first one,
soon realized there are some basic skills in terms of release he needs
to
deal with.....he went on fetch not his name......Duh??? and he needs to
start doing work on de-cheating
(left click to
enlarge thumbnails)
"double" |
"singles"
|
"from the west |
"from winger #3" |
"from winger
#1"
|
"running
line" |
"chain gang" |
"Who is next?"
|
"relaxed" |
"Taffey's return"
|
"transmitter"
(Velcro'd to gun) |
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|
May 9th
late morning
Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny ran a lining drill
with increasing angles
through a line of decoys (mallards & geese)
note: Taffey was exceptional straight
and not affected at all
(most experienced)
note: Daisy went very well & only
flared the long left side a couple of times, dealt
with corrections and finished strong
note: Kooly ran his fairly well, but
at his usual steady speed (not flashy)
note: Gunny did not flare around the
decoys, but took many "banana routes", use
previous lanes when not really on the line he should take and was
"buggy"
at the line
(most inexperienced)
moved to the Square Pond and ran a "cheaty" pile -
Gunny from the bank and Daisy
had a longer entry
note:
Daisy "insisted" on cheating a little......it was not
permitted
note: Gunny was not thrilled with this
drill, "buggy" at the line, tried often to run
shore, finally got it straightened out = need to work on his
apparent water
"attitude" with a great deal of care
finished the session off with a 65 yard parallel swim by
Daisy = excellent effort
(left click to enlarge thumbnails)
|
"lining drill" |
"decoy barrier" |
"up close" |
"Gunny's drill" |
"Daisy's drill" |
"Daisy's parallel"
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May 10th
evening Gunny
& Daisy went to the Sand Ponds for two dog retrieving session
(one
honors the other retrieves), with the water much higher than normal,
marks could be
thrown all day & they would never be the same = lots of lunging
water with deeper
pockets of swimming water.....with two 3" Avery Flashers each dog
had about
eighteen retrieves apiece with a whole bunch of free time to run &
romp in water
note: Gunny had to honor & retriever,
the competition with Daisy for marks
was part of the on-going effort to provide him with many fun and
positive
water experiences
Taffey & Kooly had the day off and used
Fulminator on both = Taffey not much
dead
hair, but Kooly had a bunch
May 11th
morning
- group training at Macktown
Gunny & Daisy ran a tough KRD,
Taffey & Kooly
just ran the three blinds
note: Gunny displayed his inexperience,
poor initial lines & "mo", but he kept
trying & learning.....this was a bit over his
head
note: Daisy did OK
note: Taffey was in her Zig-Zag mode
after trying several times to just run down
the road on the first blind, not good at all
note: Kooly was unenthusiastic
dusk Gunny & Daisy
repeated the KRD....better, but nothing to
"jump up & down about"
note: Daisy's "look" on blinds is very
good & her blinds are generally very good
note: Gunny's "look" remains mediocre
at best, wagon wheel two tier to orange
bumpers is excellent, reconsidering going back and creating a few
sets of
er.........ah........pattern blinds......hedging on new philosophy
????, but I
keep returning to "Do what the dog needs!" and moving to pure cold
blinds
is not having a positive impact = initial lines are getting worse,
he is
giving me more of the "Stevie Wonder nods" and his "mo" is dropping
off
decision = give Gunny daily reps of
this KRD setup....see what happens
(refer back to March 6th - did well on blinds that day = What's
happened?)
possibilities = cover getting heavier, diversion issues, recent
water work ?
(left click to enlarge thumbnails)
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_small.jpg)
KRD
(Key Relationship Drill) |
May 12th late
morning trained at Macktown DTA
Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny
repeated the KRD with
running the three blinds after picking up a winger mark (good breeze
out of the southeast)
note: each did better as expected (especially
Gunny and Taffey)
afternoon Gunny &
Daisy CERF exam.....both clear
evening - training group at Rock Cut State
Park DTA = three marks and a blind
Daisy ran it as a triple with a blind did
fine on all except the memory birds = huge hunt
Gunny ran three singles = marking improved,
more focus and getting much better with
all the extra "stuff" going on (more dogs and people)
note: did not shoot a popper gun at the line
May 13th rain = day off
May
14th - morning trained at the Square
Pond - setup consisted 1) throwing a water mark to get
wet, 2) running a de-cheating, lining drill with three bumpers
across the southeast corner
of the pond, 3 running two water, cold blinds with angle entries and
4) drying off with
the Renegade casting drill on land
note: Gunny's water work was kept close
to the bank & older dogs had much longer
angle entries on the water drill and cold blinds,
Gunny is shows improvement
every day in terms of "what's up" & confidence, better at staying in
the water
and on the return line and worked with me taking casts on the
blinds, did really
well on the Renegade drill
note: Daisy was very sharp, fast and
responsive....stayed on line for the "corner drill",
solid cold blinds and did the Renegade with a ton of speed
(accurately)
note: Kooly was very solid and kept his
"mo" (he decided this wasn't work)
note: Taffey was in her usual "total
go" mode....worked on eliminating scalloping
water & on land used a modification of the Renegade (only one back
pile with
a tree to go on either of side depending on whether is was a right
or left back)
to correct her penchant for slipping into the 45º zig-zag mode on
land blinds
note: this was one of those really fun mornings of training - each
dog was "into it" &
I had a great deal of comfort in switching gears for each dog's
needs as far
as teaching, adjusting a setup slightly and applying the right
corrections
May 15th rain forecast for around here, checked
Radar, hooked up trailer & went to Gallagher's
Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny ran four
remote line ATV water singles, used popper gun,
duck call and stickmen (rain stayed to the south)
note: all four returned to the place board at the line by going back
through the water
Gunny was excellent at this for the first
time on water
note: the fourth mark had all four cheating the shore off the
reentry from the mud flat,
had Gunny, Daisy & Taffey rerun the
fourth mark
after completing the four singles, the four stickmen were placed up
on the hill and five
cold blinds (down hill) were run past them (very large slots)
note: Taffey, Daisy and Kooly ran nice
blinds, but Gunny was the best on the
longest
blind (#2....147 yards) He lined it! (perfect initial line and
carried the same line,
even when he had to cross the road.......NO WHISTLES)
(left click to enlarge
thumbnails)
|
"singles #1 & #2" |
"single #3" |
"single #4" |
"full set-up" |
| |
"blinds 3 & 4"
|
"blinds 4 & 5" |
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"ATV station" |
"dog ready" |
"dog returning"
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"blinds 1, 2, 3" |
"four Taffeyphotos" |
 |
 |
 |
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May 16th - morning
trained at the Square Pond DTA....Taffey,
Daisy, Kooly & Gunny did 2 easy
doubles working on HRC line manners & steadying, holding blinds, HRC
bucket, duck
calling & popper gun
drove to Macktown - ran the KRD with Daisy &
Gunny
May 17th - morning
trained at Bong (group HRC) ran a land series first.....Daisy
did the marks
as singles....they were not easy, big hunt on first mark, front
footed the long left
mark & had a small hunt on the short, tight bird - did OK on the
blind up the middle,
on the water......the marks were released in the wrong order, but
they were all
part of a three mark splash triple....easy, on the blind she was not
good.....hunted
on the point where the goose decoys were at after "sucking" to the
fall of a mark,
didn't drive back well, got lost behind some trees near the end and
"blew me off"
on several whistles.......hunt mode mentality was in full bloom.....aarrggh!!
Gunny ran the land series with a "whole lot
of people" around the line......he was
very good and went off lead from the holding blind to the
line....good job, big hunt
mark (helped), did a good job marking the tough second single,
marked the third &
did a decent job on the Finished blind.....it was a good session
Taffey ran the water series...."creepy" and
whining at the line, picked up each mark
with ease and showed why she is the "scallop queen" on the blind
Kooly did nothing but "stew" in the van
note: long day......many dogs to run.....my dogs learned a lot with
the hunt
test atmosphere and training format
May 18th - morning trained at
Gallagher's (group with trailer & ATV).....Anne, Gail & Bob on the
big pond......had three marks setup....older dogs ran it as a
delayed triple because of
wind issues....two real gunners in the field and one station with
remote wingers,
Daisy was good at the line and only ran a double (winger
malfunction), Gunny ran
the two longest singles, cheated "big time" on one.....called back
and rerun closer
to the bank (simplified) used mallards
left the two holding blinds in the field with the goose decoys on
the point and setup
four cold blinds across the marking field, the older dogs were run
on two blinds & put
up to come out later and run the other two......with only 8
mallards, the ATV was used
to re-bird often......Taffey ran two
blinds and Kooly ran the other two
note: Taffey went into "scallop mode"
again got a big correction
note: Kooly was his usual slow but
accurate self
note: Daisy went into hunt mode on the
toughest blind, winded the next one
over and started to "blow me off" again like yesterday......big
correction
and that nonsense was curtailed....good after that
note: Gunny was to run the "easiest
one" with the idea "to go" and "get in the
water"....very bad line called back and went closer to the
bank.....his
line this time was way off again, but it was straight at the more
difficult
blind on the left........so I let him go on and he "got there"
the last session was a four winger, four dog cold honoring and
steadying TEST....lots
of duck calling, a popper gun, every one on buckets close to each
other and hidden
wingers tossing mallards 10-15 yards in front of us,
Taffey was brought out to be the
"go" dog....she was perfect.....whining, creeping and requiring lots
of "here"/"heels"
ah....it was "interesting" and the electricity was very high, when
Daisy came out for
her "session" the e-collar was off and she broke three straight
times.....really "HOT",
then she got a stiff correction and "saw" the expectation and
settled down
Gunny was really good.......a "breath of
fresh air"........focused, steady and still, fired
off the line when he was finally called on and was perfectly steady
and calm on the
next when asked.......he is going to be something very special
note: a really fun session started around 9:00 am & over at around
2:30 pm
note: "get together" again in two weeks
May 19th - evening trained at
new area (group) Daisy & Gunny ran three singles and a blind
up
the middle - good job by both & Gunny keeps showing improvement
(quiet & steady)
note: decals on trailer = geese...."V's on the V"
(left click to enlarge
thumbnails)
|
"straight on" |
"right
side" |
"left side" |
|
May 20th - day off
May 21st - morning trained
at the Square Pond DTA
Gunny ran lining drills starting
with a
two tier (orange bumper outer ring)....switched to tossing an orange
bumper (which
disappeared in the not recently mowed grass) and working on a more
focused "look"
before sending - big improvement......the problem was Gunny appeared
to have
learned "there are two white bumpers I'm going to run between, then
an orange
bumper will be around later" sssoooo....."I'll look around
everywhere without any
focus...until you finally decide to send me. Then, I'll run between
the two white
bumpers (which I can plainly see and don't need to be looking at)."
later drove to
Macktown DTA and all four dogs ran the KRD
note: Gunny & Daisy
continue to improve.....picking up the "path" to
the blinds
closer to the line every time they run it. A better initial line
would help,
Daisy has
excellent "mo".....Gunny
is still working on his confidence and
trying to find out whether this is fun (or not)
note: Taffey
has the most experience and is almost lining them....fast
note: Kooly
naturally tries to go straight.....but there is no urgency to do so
Mississippi Flyway HRC
entered using "huntsecretary.com" Gunny
is in Started & Daisy is
in Seasoned.....Sunday May 31st
May 22nd late afternoon H2O
tune-up
Gunny & Daisy and a couple of angled entry
retrieves for
Kooly & Taffey
note: Gunny showed much improvement
over the first time
note: Daisy was focused and straight,
big change from last time, excellent "mo"
note: Taffey was not taking the line
she looked liked she was going to, did not
allow her to and sorted it out
note: Kooly was slow and straight
Gunny did two parallel swims, really want
to get out early...better second time
Taffey, Daisy & Kooly did one......there
was something peculiar about Kooly's "go",
when on the return, he tried to "beach" three times....."over" casts
were not getting him
"more water", but if I said "back" with the "over cast" he
immediately "got more water"
which is how he was taught in swim-by with "back" moving him away
from the shore,
.............but that was almost five years ago........hhhhmmmmm?
May 23rd day off - mowed lawn and "killed" weeds
May 24th
morning trained at the Square Pond DTA
-
Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny
ran Cassity's
Swish Drill (working on carrying a line) used the "faux shrub" and
orange bumpers
with the three older dogs running from longer distances, actually
the older dogs had
more trouble because their "habit" of not carrying a line to the
same target was
confusing at first.....this drill was mainly for
Gunny and his look
was better each "go"
(left click to enlarge
thumbnails)
|
"line one"
|
"line two"
(older dogs)
|
"line six"
|
"line seven" |
"line eight" |
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|
late morning
Daisy & Gunny
picked up an Avery teal water mark (short & right in front)
off an HRC line setup....bucket, duck calling and a popper gun
working on sitting still
and be steady, switched back & forth off the van & each did the
"line routine" 3 times
May 25th late
morning - trained at Gallagher's on the
Herb Walsh pond, ATV trailer alone, worked
on "decheating" with
Gunny & Daisy, ran a
set of three ATV singles, remote line with all
four dogs, 3" Avery flagged flashers, duck call and popper gun (like
May 15th)
previous training "photos" reviewing for
Daisy & especially
preparing Gunny
for today's
cheating singles work
(left
click to enlarge thumbnails)
|
"cheaty pile" |
"longer entry" |
"two piles" |
"parallel swim" |
|
today's "cheating" singles session
photos for
Daisy & Gunny
The last single in
the set (#3) was designed to check
Gunny's "understanding"
(similar line to
the teaching
mark....which was repeated....much longer & thrown from a different
direction).
He went straight!
note: it took three of the "decheating singles" to teach
Gunny the expectation
note: Daisy
had zero issues (this review for her revealed an understood
expectation)
note:
Taffey
went straight &
Kooly was going to
"cheat big time"....until I stopped him
(left
click to enlarge thumbnails)
|
"the contrast" |
_small.jpg)
"the decheat"
(teaching) |
"singles 1 & 2" |
"singles 2 & 3"
(#3 = "cheat" test) |
|
May 26th -
late afternoon - ran
T affey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny on an old set of 3 pattern
blinds
note: good exercise
evening - Daisy &
Gunny group training......it rained but we still
trained......ran a
set of three marks and a blind up the middle
note: Daisy ran it as a triple middle
mark was the go bird, she marked all
well and stepped on the memory, sharp on the blind and she was
very good at the line (no shooting though)
note: Gunny ran the marks as singles
and continues to improving....sharp,
did a good job on the blind after a poor initial line
May 27th morning
steady mist, Gunny
ran the Swish drill with mallards at the Macktown DTA
(last day here as the grass is knee high).....really fired after he
discovered ducks
afternoon at the Square Pond -
Daisy & Gunny ran 2 HRC walkups & a cold
blind
note: both did well........the steady mist
continued
Taffey & Kooly got the wet day off
(left click to
enlarge thumbnails)
|
"walkup gun"
|
"walkup one" |
"walkup two" |
"double walkup" |
"cold blind" |
|
May 28th late afternoon
trained at the Rockcut State Park....ran easy HRC triple with a
blind using
wingers, ducks, popper gun, two holding blinds, duck call and
a bucket at the line
Daisy, Gunny, Taffey & Kooly ran it (in
that order)....took a lot of time for each dog and
kept it calm and relaxed
note: each did a good job....Gunny had
no trouble counting to three = 1st triple
May 29th evening trained
at the Square Pond - HRC style marks wingers with ducks....double
for
Daisy and singles for
Gunny, holding blinds, bucket, goose call & popper gun, each
ran
a cold blind "that was shot" up the middle after running the marks
note: solid "reps" for both
note: Taffey & Kooly day off
May 30th
morning had to take a trip to Ottawa, IL
took Daisy & Gunny to get in some
training,
found a large, just cut grassy area with some terrain, ran a slot
lining drill between
two holding blinds & ran Carol Cassity's Swish lining drill in
another part of the area
note: both did very well on the drills with excellent "mo" .....it
was obvious the
use of a lot of ducks in marking drills lately has had a huge impact
in
Gunny's drive off the line,
Daisy has had "plenty" for a long time
note: Taffey & Kooly had the day off
May 31st Mississippi Flyway HRC test for
Daisy & Gunny at Mecca Mines - very nice weather
Gunny was absolutely wonderful in his
Started test....shot the gun (only one to do it),
took the leash off three yards from the bucket on sit, I moved over
to picked up the
gun and sat on the bucket, called him to heel, gave a duck call,
said "sit" on the
launch of the duck, right after I shot at the top of the arc and one
more time when
the bird hit the ground, "shucked" the shell, put my hand down and
said "Gunny",
Gunny never moved a muscle except for the ones that made his ears
perk when
the ducks were launched.......the two marks on land were in thigh
high, tall cover &
they weed whacked a small patch in the area of the fall, neither of
the water marks
were "cheaty" and started out as lunging water, the only issue with
Gunny was that
on the last water mark I had to move the bucket myself (different
line) and he got
a little loose on what to do at this point, once settled in at the
line he was again
sitting tall and solid.......at the Judges meeting when the handlers
were asked if
anyone was going to shoot, it seems my request at first was unusual,
Judge now
had to give a gun safety lecture and had to assume this was the
first time I had
done it, a few handlers told me I was wasting my money, etc.
note: After the land series the Judge said, "I see that you knew
what you
were doing. That's a nice dog."
Then there was Daisy.........the list
of what not to do is long.........but the good "stuff"
comes first.....walk-up was very good, diversion bird no problem,
only dog to line the
land blind, three whistled the water with fast responsive whistles
and "sits"....initial
angle backs were not perfect, otherwise it would have been one
whistle, the water
marks were straight as an arrow & fast, she was very quiet and
easy going in the walk
to and in the holding blinds...............negatives.........locked
on the land memory and
didn't swing to the go bird, big hunt on the memory (ran it first)
and had to handle her
to the second bird, loose at the line and knocked the bucket over
three times, wanted
to grab the ducks out of my hand........this is the first HRC test
where the judges sat
and did not assist with taking the ducks after the
delivery.......you either threw them on
the ground (which I don't like to do) or had to walk over to the
duck rack & hang them,
Daisy is loose enough at the line & this extra movement just
amplified the control issue,
Water was pretty good at the line, crept a body length on the second
bird, but stayed,
the only issues here were the delivery and where to put the birds,
she dropped the
second duck at the line and it was very soft, squishy and
flat......picking it back up
she mouthed it and the judge wanted to look at it............his
comment was it looks
roughed up and I did not say a thing.....although I wanted to say it
looks a like some
birds that have had a rough day.......she wasn't dropped then and
ran the blind, but in
the back of my mined this was his way of saying........you didn't
pass
note: passing was unlikely with all the negatives added together,
Daisy was actually a lot better than
before......just farther to go if she
is going to consistently pass tests.........she's higher than a kite
when the
first bird goes down......up until now she was higher than a kite as
soon
as she stepped out of the last holding blind....I guess that's
progress....but
it is coming agonizingly slower than what I was expecting & the
process
Is getting to the point of "Is it even worth it?"..then again
there's nothing
else to do and she is becoming more of a challenge than anything
else
After the test, I was thinking "One of us needs a lobotomy."
note: Gunny was a "breath of fresh air"
Flawless repetition is a
tool....excellence is the goal.
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