Feb
3 did walking baseball with orange bumpers at the Soccer Complex with
Kooly
and then Taffey, worked on right verbal backs and silent right angle
backs
note: Taffey was taking angle backs on back casts (not unusual for her)
note: Kooly was better about direction (Taffey was all go & less precise
at
first - rusty) orange bumpers not easy for either to see, Kooly seemed
to remember where they were more than Taffey
Feb 4 cold, windy with a few snow flurries - day off & worked
on training van
Feb 5 ran a remote wing stickmen triple at the Soccer
Complex, Kooly went first &
used orange bumpers, Taffey ran it with white bumpers
note: the visibility made orange a bad choice, picked up far right, then
far left with the middle last, Kooly had to be handled on the middle
mark (ran over it and kept going), Taffey hooked the gunner on the
last mark, very cold (teens wind chill) but the ground was soft
enough to "stick" the stickmen (ground getting "crunchy" when
we finished)
note: winger #1 still needs more work and #4 is not charged enough
Feb 6 day off - things to do, found beeper product for
wingers (samples shipped)
Feb 7 angle back vs. "almost" back drill from a place board -
four piles white
bumpers (first time three bumpers at each - Kooly and Taffey at
Rockton DTA,
ran three remote winger singles in square pond corn field (y-drill pod)
note: Kooly was went through the motions, did the jog & picked up quite
a bit when I became a cheering audience, "almost" backs verbal &
larger angle back silent
note: Taffey was firing full bore, at first the "almost" backs were not
taken
and this is one of her problems (too much zig & zag) demanded
correct casts with lot of attrition and she finally start taking them
(Taffey needs regular maintenance on this, not sure if her huge
"desire to fire" keeps her from making a fuller pivot back), Taffey
didn't run any marks (handler freezing)
note: winger #4 not working consistently (low battery, loose connection(s)
and/or antenna issues)
Feb 8 (morning) repeat at the soccer complex, Kooly even
spacing and three bumpers
at the "almost" angle backs and two at the wider, Taffey made back pies
"more"
back than Kooly's and used some attrition to get more precision out of
her, her
bumpers were four "more" backs and only two each in the "wides" walking
two
dog
"poorman" singles in the corn field at the square pond DTA (used Dokken)
note: in the pictures....white = casts, red = returns & yellow = "place"
Feb 9
repeated 3rd day of the angle back vs. "almost" back drill from a place
board,
time to start running cold blinds off remote winger singles
Feb 10 day off
Feb 11 did walking two dog "poorman" singles (8 apiece) on the golf
course
Feb 12
ran Kooly alone at the Blonhaven "Euro" shoot focus on steadiness
note: Kooly ran the first 10 rounds and picked up 53 roosters
note: Taffey and Lick had the day off
Feb 13 day off
Feb 14 Kooly ran two remote winger singles (150 yards each) &
Taffey ran
two remote winger marks (200 yards each), then each ran a 250 yard
pattern blind, both dogs found running up the slot between the
the two marks' stations a non-issue except for the initial suction
note: threw a short memory bird off to the side making a double, was for
simply counting to two, but also for a steadying "test" (both got
stick corrections)
note: Kooly's attitude was "O'boy, I gotta' be very careful." Taffey's
was "Ok,
I can play this game......it's training.......not a test."
Feb 15 Kooly ran four remote winger stickman singles with on
indented and a tight
to the middle indented station "up the slot" mark, Taffey them all but
moved
back to make the long marks close to 200yards (Kooly ran them at 150
yards)
note: both jumped on all their marks, used the delayed hold for each
mark
Feb 16
driving rain, sleet, hail, snow with thunder and lightning = day off!
Feb 17 day off storm - sleet, wind and snow = finish up the
winger modifications with
sirens, one
mounted on each winger & able to rotate for directional maximizing
Feb 18 day off - cold & ice
(12 noon = -1° with wind chill of -13°)
Feb 19 - 22 too icy!
Feb 23 ran walking singles with a remote line with Kooly in
the MUD, Taffey
had the day off
Feb 24 ran stand alone stickmen singles at the soccer
complex, remote line
place board over short grass & no factors = 110, 165, 175 & 130 yards
singles, frost in the ground and drilled holes for the stickmen
note: long easy singles are getting Kooly and Taffey into the "run
straight" mode, used Dokken
note: dropped by vets - weighed Kooly = 66 lbs, Taffey = 66 lbs and
Daisy = 58 lbs, bought two month supply of
Interceptor
Feb 25 day off Interceptor
(for all dogs)
Feb 26 Kooly & Taffey ran 2 remote winger doubles & two long
blinds (200+ yards)
note: Kooly marked very well, Taffey "tried" to switch on one and then
on the second double "tried" to hook a gunner
(got away with neither)
Feb 27 windy & cold, day off (Daisy worked)
Feb 28 ran two remote winger singles (flower pot) each
followed by 200+ yard
blinds right through the AOF of each mark
note: Kooly lined the first & one whistled the second - WOW!
Taffey three whistled each & stayed tight to the lines - nice job
Mar 1 check out new training area = closed, set up a
five blind fan in difficult
prairie grass area 150, 85. 300, 175 & 165 yards ran them "outside in"
alternating right & left heel with the long one last using fresh ducks
note: Kooly took excellent initial & carried them well, sits on every
whistle and takes every cast, lined the 150 & 85yd blinds = very nice!
Kooly carries a cast straighter and farther than Taffey, requiring
fewer casts (usually), these were tough blinds with a lot
of cover changes & a 16 mph cross wind
note: Taffey is definitely faster, but she swerves off line in a zig-zag
habit, not really an issue because she is very responsive to
handling and we can maintain a good line
note: both are a lot of fun to handle on blinds (good team players & no
issues) Kooly's softness has become a non-issue
Mar 2 Kooly & Taffey ran 6 remote line "poorman"
singles (alternating)
Mar 3 ran guided hunt at Blonhaven in the
afternoon, 21 bird release in area #11,
Taffey hunted 3 hours and Lick came on to help the last hour, Taffey's
work
was flawless and almost all of the birds were pointed (a couple of wild
there was one rooster that sailed about 250 yards and suddenly helicoptered
down, Taffey had marked it and came up about 10 yards short, after a
brief
hunt she started to go out of sight, one whistle, a sit and one cast
took her
right to the bird (winding it helped), the clients were amazed (we had a
good
view), Lick did her usually steady tracking and pointed three birds,
Lick and
Taffey really hunt well together
(afterwards) Kooly and I went to area #2 for a quick half hour hunt, he
hit a solid point and I shot the bird for him (this is the second time
he has
pointed and held for the shot), Daisy then came out and as she was
trailing
"something" running two roosters jumped and I dropped one for her, she
brought it right back (still quick kicking and alive) What a great day
for all
dogs and a pup!
(19 "free" birds and getting paid for it at the same
time)
note: went a bit early and work Daisy on three handed casting
note: on the way home Lick had a whole lot of "fluid" in her crate, it
wasn't urine, but saliva, called vet = not in right now so I read
my vet manual about excessive drooling = gum disease, mouth
injury or anxiety are some causes for hypersalivation, the first two
would find the dog not wanting to eat, so I fed her realizing I could
eliminate two if she ate and validate the anxiety which makes
since because she was in a new crate and really pissed when I
took Kooly out alone to hunt and then Daisy, drooling soon stopped
and she went to sleep, vet said later - correct diagnosis and not
all that uncommon
Mar 4 day off for Taffey, Kooly ran eight winger singles at
the Rockton DTA, first set
he marked well & the second set was not a good set-up in that there were
a
lot of buildings across the horizon which made it difficult to pick up
and track
the Dokkens. big hunts on two marks and he needed some handling on the
other two (should have used white & black bumpers)
Mar 5 ran all three, Lick, Taffey & Kooly in 650 bird release
"Euro" shoot, poor
shooting a heavy snowfall still didn't seem to matter, lots of roosters
and the
dogs had fun, focus on being steady worked nicely for Kooly
Mar 6-7 bad weather and Taffey's front paws are raw = days off
Mar 8 Taffey still needs more time for her paws to heal,
Kooly was used to
introduced
and ran several two dog walking "poorman" marks with Daisy, after
clearing up
the command sequence to not confuse either dog Kooly took two out of
every
three marks to focus keeping Daisy steady, eventually they were running
75 yard
marks at the end (Macktown DTA)
Mar 9 Taffey's paws took another day off and were treated
with a coat of "Foot Prep"
made by Remington, Kooly ran six tough "stand alone" walking singles
from
remote positions using a Dokken, stepped on all of them with the longest
at
about 150 yards in good cover with matted down areas, very impressive
lines
and enthusiasm, we just beat the rain
Mar 10 ran two set-ups at the Stoughton field trial grounds with
Kooly and Taffey,
the first was a triple with the memory bird long up the middle, the
second
was three singles each followed by a cold blind
note: Kooly did a great jog with the second and third mark of the
triple,
the go "Dokken" fell into a snow bank and he overran it, after a
long hunt and a handle he picked it up, figuring the next two
birds were going to be difficult after the time spent on the go bird
Kooly lined up like he knew exactly where each mark was and
stepped on both of them (good memory!)
note: Taffey did some OB before running, watched the triple go down
with a bumper in her mouth and had no problems
note: Kooly ran the second set as singles and marked them OK, but his
blinds showed a great deal of apathy when he learned they were
only bumpers 
note: Taffey ran only the blinds and knew she was running without an
e-collar which I had not put on her, forgot that point and got
careless with whistles and casts, she figured it out and started
pre-casting, not a pretty sight (but we got them)
note: highlights of the day were Daisy's marking & Kooly's memory
note: weighed Daisy at vet's on the way up - 58 lbs
Mar 11 Day off for Taffey and Kooy did a steadying drill with
Daisy
Mar 12 two dog walking "poorman" singles at the Rockton Road
DTA
Mar 13
rain & more rain last
night = day off
Mar 14 two dog steadying
drill with Kooly and Daisy at the Industrial DTA, Taffey got
the day off,
worked Daisy on the end of a flexi-lead with bumpers thrown to
positions of all casts in 3HC - simplification & reviewed FTP
Mar 15 walking "poorman" singles with Kooly at the Rockton
Road DTA
early, then it
started to snow = all day, Taffey got another day off
Mar 16 day off for all
Mar 17 Today
was another “training” day. There were two back-to-back “Euro” shoots at
Blonhaven Hunt Club. My oldest son had never run a dog in a “Euro”
before and
since he has a special attachment to Lick (my eight year old Lab), he
got a huge
kick out of working with her. She must have picked up over fifty birds.
Meanwhile,
Kooly and Taffey were sitting on both sides of me at the “slow” station
with the
training focus on being steady. The wind would not produce much action
here,
but certainly enhanced anticipation. Taffey spent the first part of the
session
watching Kooly pick up every bird. She finally realized none would be
hers until
she stopped dancing around. This session went well and Kooly benefited
from
his excellent behavior. I’m sure Taffey refers to him as being young and
selfish.
Daisy did her first full “Euro” in the second shoot. When she finished
it was time
to take three tired dogs and one exciting young pup home. What fun!
Mar 18 day off
Mar 19 worked two tower shoots at Blonhaven, Kooly and Taffey worked
together
in the first one, Kooly took the first nine frames of the second and
then switched
out with Daisy - both slept well afterwards
Mar 20-21 couch potato days
Mar 22 (morning) fun bumper review of three-handed casting (attitude
flex)
(afternoon) ran two set-ups at
Macktown DTA - 1st two remote wing singles with
a cold blind after the first and then a poison bird blind for the
second, 2) long
angle exit/entry of cover using pheasants,
Taffey day off
Mar 23 Kooly and Taffey ran five remote line stickmen
singles with Dokken and .22
blank pistol at BT's alfalfa field (190 to 210 yards)
note: marking sharp and ran hard, cast back to place board line
Mar 24 day off
Mar 25 Taffey and Kooly ran the first four frames of a
tower shoot at Blonhaven,
Kooly went hunting afterwards and Greg shot him one rooster
Before the "shoot" Kooly and Taffey ran two singles each with a blind
(one was a poison bird blind)
Mar 26 trained Kooly and Taffey at Stoughton on a
set-up of four long singles, the
visibility of the longest mark was mediocre at best, "duh trainer's"
error,
changing the position of the line made a big difference, but the
sessions had
little positive value, the dogs were staked out today which
they enjoyed
