Three hot dogs after one round of "roading" - Taffey, Kooly & Lick
Journal and
Pictures from Hunting (some training)
September, 2005 - December, 2005
Sept 1 road two miles in the morning at Macktown,
afternoon walking baseball followed by
swim-by treading water sessions & "following" overs, finished with "big splash"
Dokken
mark, Kooly was staked out to watch Dave's pup work
Sept 2 "roaded" at Macktown in the morning, did walking
baseball (not well) & worked on swim-by
late afternoon, back piles with marks in between working on "mo", got spooked by
a Dokken
near the cattails (same problem), but finessed back to OK attitude and then went
right into
cattails to dig out another mark, finished some right/left overs with "opposite"
walk & re-entry
note: Interceptor heart worm pills for all
|
Three hot dogs after one round of "roading" - Taffey, Kooly & Lick |
Sept 3 too humid to road today, ran swim-by today, just going to do back pile
alternating with marks
to work
on momentum
note: with marks he flew into the water - keyed by "mark/Kooly", on the "dead
bird/back"
pile runs he slinked into the water (very clear difference), this was low voice
and
no pressure, told Dave I was going to try something based on the read that he
may
apparently perceive a great deal of pressure from the words used on the pile,
so
on the third send to the visible pile he was told only "good/Kooly", he flew for
the pile = "back" is perceived by him as a bad word, his sensitive nature from
being pinched to the piles in previous sessions where he refused to go has
carried
over, he learned he has to go, but the words produce more pressure than he can
deal with, lesson learned and filed away, may have to use the commands my GWP
friend uses "line/get out" instead of "dead bird/back" on blinds
(then again.....maybe not lol)
note: the rest of the swim-by lesson went terrific, happy dog flying into the
water,
stopping and treading water nicely, looking at me and then taking back & over
casts while swimming hard & delivering with a bounce, interestingly = back is
only a problem "out of the hole" (trainer error!)
Sept 4 ran some water marks into the cattails on the corner of the
swim-by pond, then ran the back
pile without using "back", worked on treading water and then going "back" about
every
third go, finished with a right & left overs followed with one more back pile
note: tentative at the line twice, but entered water fine with walk off/heel
technique,
dug way into cattails for last mark, he looks with very good eye contact and
takes
excellent casts, "sat" well in the water and finished with a very good attitude
note: FrontlinePlus for all three
Sept 5 worked again with "Scooter" and Dave, both "Scooter"
and Kooly" are at the same stage in
swim-by, neither have been rushed through it and just about finished,
Kooly worked on
treading water and casting back, finished with one right & one left over with
finishing on
the opposite side
note: Kooly got off to a slinky start and had one "no go" = decided to apply
some
pressure and not finesse this today, it was the right call because he accepted
the correction and continued with improved "mo" instead of shutting
down = big hurdle! sent on "dead/bird back", good looks on "water sits"
finished strong & happy
Sept 6 ran a few water & land marks waiting for Dave, staked Kooly out to watch "Scooter" do his
swim-by session, then Kooly worked the back pile fine and when whistled to tread
water
was able to concentrate, waiting for casts (any head turn got another whistle
sit), then his
first over cast to the right pile and a re-entry to exit left was done = went
super, at first he
looked at me and got another over cast, the light went on a he made a
determined,
swim to exit and sit on the other side, after a back pile he repeated the "swim
by" pass
again = great attitude, did it well, understands and I was impressed
Sept 7 "roaded" about three miles with Taffey & Lick early in
the morning = he is fast, fit and
loves to run, late afternoon - worked on marks thrown into cattails = much
improved, ran
swim-by, three backs, then ran left over, picked up bumper & re-entered for
swim-by
exited with bumper then re-entered to do a second swim-by (swam very straight
back
and forth to the pile areas)
note: his body language was "You want me to do what?" OK, I get it.
Again?
Really? OK, if you insist!" = very smart pup, looking, thinking and
willing
his attitude after work is exciting, very energized!
he is sensitive, but I'm beginning to get a better handle on when to push or
whether to finesse, his confidence is blooming & his ability to focus is super
Sept 8 ran three water mark in and through the cattails
before doing swim-by drill, ran three
piles with on cast, very tentative on first go, but improved quickly, after
third back, did
swim-by and back for effect, he's got it!
note: repeat swim-by in two other ponds (Gallagher and Stoughton), start steady
diet of land & water marking set-ups, stretch distance & start some
de-cheating drills end of next week
note: looks like the optimistic goal of being de-cheated before winter is
reality
note: working two dogs with one staked out & watching seems to have had some
positive bonuses with distraction proofing and additional OB opportunities
Sept 9 day off, spending more time in outside kennel
(six hours today)
Sept 10 early morning - three walking two dog singles with
Taffey, road three miles with Lick
and
Taffey at Macktown, pick up 12 quail at John's
Sept 11 planted two quail for Kooly to work at Macktown,
reminded of why I shouldn't use pen
raised quail to train with = poor flyers, couldn't jump high enough in cover to
fly, pretty
much a waste of time = too hot, no breeze, he was really jazzed by their smell
and the
fact they were first time quail (nice solid, but gentle mouth)
afternoon finished swim-by at "five minute" pond, not flashy, but
handled well
note: what a great stretch of September water training weather!
Sept 12 day off, too hot - practiced getting in and out of the
Marsh Rat (boat) in front yard
Sept 13 road three miles at Macktown & practiced getting in and out
of boat again, worked
on pressure conditioning (within OB framework) & walked him near/ around a lot
new and "strange" things
Sept 14-19 six days off, yard OB, playing in & out of boat,
spending a larger part of the day
in the outside kennel (less "complaining" third day)
Sept 20 roaded easy three miles
Sept 21 day off, yard OB, day in the outside kennel
Sept 22 roaded five miles
Sept 23 day off, yard OB, day in the kennel
Sept 24 trip to Rockcut State Park to check out the duck boat &
ramp design, retrieved
several marks (Dokken) off the front deck & back in via the ladder/ramp, Taffey
went
first and Kooly was eager! (used tie-ups for both dogs to avoid "congestion",
Kooly was
airborne into lunging water first and then moved to deep water
note: Kooly was very good today & took all the new "stuff" - boat, motor, water,
waves and retrieving in stride
Sept 25 morning - threw some fun bumpers in the yard -
honoring with Taffey
afternoon - took a long boat ride on the Rock River, set out three mallard & one
goose
decoy and threw Dokken singles into and past decoys, Kooly was fairly steady &
did
well with the current and ramp (made some modifications from yesterday's first
trial)
note: two geese swam up to within 15 yards and watched what we were doing
Sept 26 Kooly and Taffey went to Horicon Marsh (1 hour 45
minutes) for a scouting trip, small
narrow boat ramp (one at a time) should be interesting with a 12:00 noon opener
note: not sure we'll go for the opener
Sept 27-28 days off, yard OB
Sept 29 road five miles at Macktown (almost always on grass, worked on "sit, whistle, shot,
flush"
chain for steady to wing and shot (picked this idea up on first time around),
Sept 30 road five miles and work on "sit, whistle, shot, flush"
chain, start "whoa" training, started
de-cheating drill at the "Square Pond", as soon as I started to handle him he
went into
the "shut down" mode and refused to go, pinched to the water and with a bit of a
struggle he decided to go, but soon spooked from a small exposed mud flat, threw
bumpers in and around that and finished with some OK retrieves, this issue of
not
trying when some pressure is applied is not going away
Oct 1 run the uplands at Blonhaven and he
did not have a clue, liked the smell of fresh
pheasants and went into the cover better the second time out with Taffey, showed
a noticeable lack of courage when the cover got even a bit difficult, got
spooked a
couple of times with hunters in the distance and wind blown cover
note: the last two days have not been very encouraging, the continuing lack
drive and courage under even light pressure is beginning to be a concern,
is it a maturity issue or a sign of a lasting problem?
note: today decided to change the breeding of Taffey to FC AFC Calumet's Super
Sonic ("Soupy") & started to contact buyers on the puppy list
Oct 2 day off, decided to pass on the noon
WI duck opener, did some stick fetch today and
worked specifically on some pressure conditioning, elevated until he bolted and
then
worked back down through the pressure to ease him out of it, avoidance is not
going
to be accepted and finesse is not going to be the first option all the time
Oct 3 Taffey went to Horicon, Kooly stayed home
Oct 4 hunt/train at Blonhaven, eight bird special
set hens out in one area for Kooly to
start with, walked cover (heavy sorghum) and Kooly was moving fairly well,
the sudden scent had him very excited and jumping about, he went on point
and I flushed a hen, he did not see it fly and it was only wing shot, Kooly kept
on it and eventually trapped it and brought it back, nice job and this really
kicked up
his energy level to find one more, after running the other two dogs, all three
went
out and Kooly got his second wind, he was much better today
Interceptor heart worm pill & Frontline Plus
Oct 5 Koolly
ran two walkout blinds (using pheasants) - lined both with excellent momentum
and handled the birds well, spent day outside in the kennel
Oct 6 day off, too many other things that have to be
done
Oct 7 hunt/train at Blonhaven, another eight bird
special, Kooly got first crack at the release,
another warm, very dry morning and he did not find anything, the two experience
dogs
had trouble with the scenting conditions, soon realized all the birds were
running and
changed tactics, Kooly ran well but only got some conditioning
Oct 8 day off, worked on holding and delivering of
birds in the yard
Oct 9 "Euro" shoot at Blonhaven - 600 bird release with
only my three dogs and two others,
Kooly watched Taffey, Lick and the birds for the first six rounds staked out,
finally let
him loose and he sat steady with the other two, first bird was an easy thirty
yard retrieve
right in front of him, before the end of the day, Kooly retrieved over a dozen
flyers &
did a nice job picking up cripples and dead pheasants in the "after" clean-up,
Kooly was
very steady and under control (and not because of the collar or any pressure, he
was just
cool!)
note: Kooly learned a ton today and handled it well
note: thrill of the day - three dogs sitting steady, Kooly was sent first,
followed very
soon by Lick and finally Taffey = three dogs, one by one, returned with their
own birds and sat for delivery = that was as neat as it gets, the last few
rounds it was a personal pleasure to look down and see three dogs
scanning the sky and waiting to see if it was their turn
note: temperature was in the seventies, sunny, very dry and a slight breeze, went
through five gallons of water, staked Taffey and Lick for a couple
rounds,
Lick has a problem with heat, but she hung in there and got her
second
wind - none were in any distress, the "roading" and three days of
hunting
this last couple of weeks has them ready, Taffey's nose is raw
and tender
note: between the three of them, they picked up about 140+ birds including at
least thirty cripples afterwards
Oct 10-11 day off for three very tired dogs, plus
one more
Oct 12 "roaded" five miles in the evening & Kooly
really ran well, his speed is impressive
and he is beginning to show some graceful, powerful athleticism
Oct 13 day off, worked on heeling and general OB, spent the
entire daylight in the outside
kennel
Oct 14 repeat of yesterday
Oct 15 Kooly stayed home today in the kennel as Taffey
& Lick worked a guide hunt at
Blonhaven, in the afternoon Kooly worked on handling pheasants correctly (a good
periodic review of the rules helps a young dog)
note: I sometimes forget that OB is not something you teach a young dog and
then assume it will be there from then on, expectations should be
reviewed and ingrained with regularity
note: Kooly thoroughly enjoyed the attention, the time in the kennel really
focuses a young dog on short lessons
Oct 16-17 worked on handling pheasants and OB in the yard
Oct 18 went to Blonhaven for a hunt with Brent, Kooly went
out by himself after Brent went
home, great training session with Kooly finding six scratch birds, shot well
(double on
two roosters) - so he was able to retrieve all six, the "light" is burning
strong, he started
looking up for the flight and was searching really well, even got up a covey of
quail
note: handled birds much better today (not quite as wild eyed - ha!)
note: covers ground fast and effortlessly (perfect build for the upland), he
air scents the birds from quite a ways off (really looks like he has a
very good nose)
Oct 19-21 days off with only walks and yard OB
Oct 22 walking baseball at "The Square Pond"
Oct 23 yard OB
Oct 24 trip to Steve's in truck (deer stand work) no training
Oct 25-26 two more days off in kennel & yard OB
Oct 27 short forty-five minute scratch hunt at Blonhaven Hunt Club (after
Taffey's guided
hunt job)
got up about 15 pheasants in an area that is adjacent to a large CPR field,
Kooly was hunting hard, shot four birds for him which he retrieved
note: no pointing as all these birds were running, lots of action and scent
everywhere!
Oct 28 day off with yard OB
Oct 29 fun bumpers in the yard
Oct 30 day off with yard OB
Oct 31 ran three walkout blinds & several concept doubles
with orange bumpers
note: very upbeat and attentive
Nov 1 rained all day & cold
Nov 2 worked on yard OB, Kooly's attitude is getting
really super and listening with the two
older dogs around (as distractions) seems to have enhanced his level of
concentration
Nov 3 start back with formal field trial training (one
year old on Nov 14th) introduced the KRD
at the Rockton Road TA ("in front of the gunner" - establish pile #1 out to
179 yards),
this was done by placing a pile of 16 bumpers at the destination while Taffey &
Kooly
sat 25 yards away, Taffey was sent to the pile while Kooly watched, then Kooly
was sent
for "his turn", backing up in seven more increments each was sent with Taffey
first as
Kooly would wait his turn, Taffey crushed her "easy" job and Kooly did
fine all the way
out to the 179 yard total distance - first day!
note: tomorrow there will be three increments and six pheasants
note: almost two months away form formal field trial training doing hunting and
conditioning skills plus upland work (break in transition after completing
swim-by and doing some de-cheating)
note: Interceptor and
Frontline Plus
Nov 4 continued work on first KRD pile (using 6 pheasants)
placed stickman gunner station
at the position of the mark area (buried piece of PVC with next size up cap into
which
the stickman re-bar can be inserted after freeze-up, establish same PVC inserts
for
the four phase & definitive casting drill areas)
***note:
Today's session was extremely gratifying. The plan two months ago was to step
back and devise a specific plan especially for Kooly to work around his softness
on pile work and end up with some "fire" on pattern blinds. He would run
them,
but it was work. He needed some to time mature and a break from the pressure.
His heart just wasn't in it. So we stopped "the program" right after swim-by and
one session of de-cheating. He was first "roaded" to heighten the pure joy
of
unfettered running and improve his conditioning. We did all the
preparations for
hunting - upland and waterfowl. Kooly got into the "Euro" tower shoots
with birds
everywhere and learned what pheasants were like in the uplands. He got
less time
in the house by giving him quite a bit of time in the outside kennel. Kooly
ceased
being a picky eater and thrived on his new routine!
Yesterday's established pile with Taffey as a visible mentor went well with
bumpers. He looked OK. Worked all the way back to 179 yards, but he didn't run
at full speed. Today the pile was reduced in numbers and frozen pheasants
were in place instead of bumpers.
Taffey's fire always excites me and she just tears up the first run at sixty
yards.
Kooly is lanky and deceivingly fast, but he runs out on the first one like
yesterday -
just OK out (no real fire), but he came back very fast. The pheasant excited
him!
At 120 yards, after Taffey's explosion. Kooly is lined up and the usual
"dead bird/back" was said. The light had gone on and Kooly was now a
flash!
Wow! On the final 179 yard pheasant Kooly ran his retrieve faster than Taffey
(hard
to believe) and got a lot of "atta boys". I went home with a huge smile on
my face.
Maybe this will be one of those training sessions worthy of being called a
milestone.
It is such a pleasure to have a plan that comes together..........especially
when
you know the needs of a pup were met and force was not the answer. The
focus
was to give him some time and make it fun!
Nov 5 morning - set up another pattern blind at Blonhaven
hunt club before the "Euro" tower
shoot
(300 bird
"presentation"), shorter 125 yard blind and Kooly did very well (three birds)
for the "Euro" all three dogs were taken out, a 20 mph wind from the southwest
pushed
birds in a direction where three handlers could get most, the wind gave gunners difficult
shooting
conditions,
but shot very well (66% even on a "no wind" day would be excellent),
Kooly was staked for
the first two
rounds and he didn't like it, because of the high number
of birds in our area,
three dogs were
almost too much to work with, so I kept one staked out
and alternated them. Kooly
made some
exceptional marks even though he was distracted
by the
action and sheer numbers (he managed to stayed
focused on
the one he was after),
held his own picking up birds afterwards in the
clean-up
note: OB not quite as good as last shoot, need to work him alone from now on and
alternate rounds to let him settle
note: estimate of birds picked up = 70+ and went through three gallons of water,
later there were three dogs "conked out" for the night in the living room
Nov 6 ran 1st KRD blind (in front of the gunner)
after a 75 yard "poorman" mark at Rockton DTA,
using pheasants and after waiting/honoring Taffey (she was running her's first),
Kooly "fired"
out and did really well with his turn, steadiness was excellent & a solid bonus
note: quickly loosing daylight, this set-up took only 25 minutes to run
(door-to-door)
Kooly is looking impressive!
Nov 7 day off
Nov 8 did training/hunt for all three dogs at Blonhaven
(run separately), seven bird release and
Kooly went first - for a young pup, he works the cover very well and got up four
birds,
shot all and Kooly is now looking & marking out of the tall cover = four nice
retrieves,
After the others (Lick and Taffey) ran their turns, we moved to another area to
do a "group"
hunt for scratch birds. There is a huge CRP area across the road that the
pheasants use
as a refuge (but they filter back in for the food plots). The three of
them (dogs) got up
15 birds in less than forty-five minutes. Kooly now has a meaning to his
life and is full
blown into it! His "fire" for birds is now lit.........back to field trial
training.
Nov 9 ran KRD without
Taffey and used remote winger & stickman gunner for the mark, then
started to establish second longer "behind the gunner" pile (using pheasants)
Nov 10
morning - roaded all three dogs 8 miles, Kooly was strong to the finish
Nov 11
late afternoon (dusk) - ran eight long walking "poorman" singles on the 14th
fairway
note: concentrating on recording (monitor) marks & blinds with the idea of
maintaining at least a 5-1 ratio, this means KRD only once a week
(after established)
Nov 12 day off - just a bit of yard OB
Nov 13 late afternoon - six "poorman" marks at Rockton road training area
with a pheasant,
(125 -
yards) remote sit, pinned four and had small organized hunts in the AOF on the
other
two, very solid, fast and sharp!
note: got home & read that Kooly's dad is now 2004 NFC = what a thrill!
Nov 14 Kooly's birthday - one year old! solo run at Blonhaven (left Taffey
& Lick home), tough
running a pup
that is not fully into handling, but he picked up a whole bunch of pheasants
and was
delivering them under control, great nose afterwards = he was picking up scent
readily and
finding lots of cripples and dead birds, he's in great shape as we did a
session
of walking
baseball later (after a meal break for the handlers) and loving every minute of
it
Nov 15 day off - steady rain
Nov 16--17 two more days off, non-dog work to do
note: Kooly will now have his name transitioned to Kool (he's a big boy now)
note: his eating habits have changed much for the better = cleaning up his bowl
in one "effort", wondering if the early serious bout with puppy diarrhea and
probably whip worm issue took its toll on his system and is now recovered
from it, always was a bit on the skinny side, but he is starting to look
much better physically and his mental makeup is really improving
note: Kooly may train in California this winter with guide money "footing the
bill"
Nov 18 steady drizzle - lazy day in the kennel
Nov 19 about 12 concept doubles in the yard
Nov 20 trained late afternoon at Rockton Road DTA,
8 remote sit, walking "poorman"
singles (125-250 yards) = hard charging, very steady and jumped on them all, did
6 long,
hand thrown concept doubles, finished by running the 180 yard pattern blind, got
about
half-way and started to hunt, handled = "ping-pong'ed" (back and forth avoiding
back
casts) = move up (to close the distance) = same thing, sat him for awhile
applied
indirect pressure (level 4 burn), waited and then gave back cast = perfect
response
with a straight back to the blind - he dealt with the pressure! this is
significant!
Nov 21 day off in outside kennel - daily OB
review
Nov 22 a dozen concept doubles with focus on
heeling correctly (both sides) plus stick pressure,
looking out at second mark while holding first, delivering first bumper while
maintaining
"look" at second, last four included a diversion
note: Kool is becoming a real "manic" retriever = just loves the work
Nov 23 day off in outside kennel (inside at
night, as usual)
Nov 24 concept doubles with push/pull
selection (two sided) and proper delivery with "look"
Nov 25 yard OB, more concept doubles work &
a session of walking baseball
note: Kool loves the attention and work, becoming extremely athletic
(Wow!)
Nov 26 daily OB routines
Nov 27 cold rain all day long, day off
Nov 28 "roaded" eight miles at Macktown DTA,
40°, very little breeze and sunny,
all three dogs very "up" and handled it easily, each got a single mark
afterwards
note: Kooly is very fast & built perfectly to handle it
note: definitely going to California for the winter
Nov 29 day off
Nov 30 rain into snow
Dec 1-5
cold & snow - total down time for three older dogs,
Interceptor (monthly dose)
Dec 6-8 a few fun bumpers in the snow
Dec 9 day off - Kooly goes to Madison for X-rays of hips and elbows
for OFA
note: prelim - hips GOOD+ and Elbows - clear
Dec 10 three dogs - Lick, Kooly & Taffey run the uplands 45 minutes at Blonhaven
eight
inches of snow, got up three pheasants (no gun)
Dec 11 Taffey & Kooly ran the Blonhave "Euro" shoot with steadying as the
focus for
Kooly and "quiet" the focus for Taffey, good & just the right number of
birds
for a good work-out, both made some nice long marks today
Dec 12 day off
Dec 13 all rode to the vet's with Daisy (eye appointment), weight -
Taffey 65 lbs,
Lick 71 lbs., Kooly - 66 lbs.
Dec 14-16 snow and more snow, not much to do, a little OB review in the
"game |
room"
and that's it
Dec 17 all three dogs went for an extended romp in a snow covered corn
field,
bitter
cold and windy, 45 minutes was all the handler could handle
Dec 18 guided hunt at Blonhaven, bitter cold and 0°, fortunately not much
wind,
when I
let all three dogs out to air, they all immediately started limping from
the
cold (it was only temporary),
started with Taffey and coated the
hair and
pads of
her paws, Taffey got into a hunting rhythm almost immediately & hunted
so well
I never switched out with another dog, lots of solid productive points
and
hunted the cover for all the gunners, steady comments about how well
she was
doing came in the 2+ hours we spent in the field, for some reason
the
cold did not seem to affect anyone or Taffey, fun morning and the clients
were
very happy - good shots, too...which makes it so much better for the dog
note: Taffey's paws went through the morning without any problems
note: the snow cover made it easier to see Taffey and the orange
tummy protector adds to her visibility, therefore, in the heavy
cover I could let her range even farther than usual, the two plus
hours of walking was not as bad as expected, but when we
finished.........we were "done"
Dec 19-21three easy days
Dec 22 conditioning run at Blonhaven in area #5, 7 roosters and 10
hens up plus one
quail, took the camera to do some shooting
Pictures of Today's Running (Link)
Dec 23-24 two days of couch potato'ing
Dec 25 Taffey & Kooly ran a set of three cold blinds (first time -
all about 175 yards)
in the Square Pond corn field across erosion strips (north to south),
repeated
because they are going to be pattern blinds (cloudy, 36°,
stiff breeze out of
north and no ice)
note: as soon as these three are smooth, with style - four more short ones
will be placed at half the distance to make a 7 bumper lining drill,
Kooly needs this a lot more than Taffey (Kooly needs the work &
Taffey does it because she just totally lives to do "anything")
note: Taffey was sharp, ran really fast with good initial lines & responsive
to the whistles (not many), nice, long literal casts, she has always
been a strong blind performer - she's like a sports car (fun!)
note: Kooly ran into big trouble on the far left one because there is an old
pattern blind directly to the left & this created considerable suction,
momentum was no where near Taffey's (but improved for him),
his memory is clearly a plus as the repeats were much better, in
retrospect I should have run them right to left to avoid the suction
and doing the easiest one first, occasionally - the plan will include
training birds/shackled ducks or clipped winged pigeons in each
pattern
note: remind self to continue running Kooly first as it makes his handling
more fair, running him after enjoying Taffey's power and precision
makes for unfair comparisons (I think it impacts my patience) and
Taffey has had three more years of blinds, these were not easy cold
blinds, especially since we have been only upland hunting
 |
Dec 26-7 two days of couch
potato'ing & a little OB review
Dec 28 set up three cold blinds at the "grassy area" (too much mud in the
corn fields)
(125-150 yards), Kooly's ran them like he was really needing shackled
ducks
("What's my motivation?", Taffey one whistled the first one and lined
the other
two at
full speed (she is getting fantastic at taking a line and carrying it)
note: this set-up will become a second easy pattern blind
Dec 29 guide job at Blonhaven Hunt Club - three guns (afternoon), hunted
area 12W,
34°,
cloudy and excellent scenting conditions, most of the birds were holding
and
Taffey was pointing nicely, however, some were running as the deep
snows
had melted to make movement easier,
Taffey hunted the whole time
with
Lick doing about 45 minutes at the end, she had a nice point on a chukar
Kooly
ran two cold blinds (pheasants) plus some remote line "poorman"
singles
afterwards (near the clubhouse)
Dec 30 day off
Dec 31 ran the "grassy area" pattern blinds. looked much different with
all the snow
melted,
Kooly was better and Taffey lined each one, so on the repeat she was
lined
half way to one & then cast to another, every cast was full tilt and
crisp
note: Taffey is so into games and fun surprises the false lining really
seemed to excite her (like "Wow, this is different, I like it!")
Jan 1 day off, Taffey has injury to left paw (half dollar size raw
skin above pad)
Jan 2 sleet, hail, rain and thunder most of the day
Jan 4-6 couch potato time
Interceptor
Jan 7 day off Taffey's paw needs one more day
Jan 8 free run at the corn field for all four dogs, Daisy has no
trouble chasing down
anyone,
ran two cold blinds with hen pheasants with Kooly (more energy on
the
second one when he realized real birds were "out there")
Jan 9-11 three more days of couch potato, Kooly is finally getting that
hang of being
loose
in the house with out needing someone to pay attention to him
Jan 12 push/pull lining drills with Kooly and Taffey (I don't know why
they love this
drill
so much. Maybe because they just don't know which one I'm going to ask
them to
pick up so it is just a fun game with no pressure.
Jan 13 free run at the corn field (if it doesn't rain), followed with
some "three dog,
walking, poorman singles"
Jan 14 run a wide long/short winger double with stickmen and have an
inline longer
blind
over the short mark's fall
Jan 15 ran Kooly and Taffey together at the Blonhaven "Euro" shoot with
the focus
on
being steady at the line, let Lick do some "clean-up" afterwards
note: picked up about 60 birds, Taffey was a little wild and acted like
he might be coming in heat, Kooly was very focused, ran super
nice marls and was able to concentrate on handling on some
complicated blinds during a frame (shooting and birds falling near)
Jan 16 Taffey is definitely in heat, day off for all
note: Kooly is doing some moaning and was off his feed last night,
Taffey's crate will be moved away from his for a month
Jan 17 Kooly and Taffey did a push/pull lining drill (OB control
and exercise), Lick
ran some fun bumpers
Jan 18 Kooly and Taffey worked a 15 bumper pile at 40 yards, Lick
did fun bumpers
note: Kooly went to Eye Care Clinic in Wheeling, IL for CERF - did not
pass
a few retinal folds in both eyes, going to get second opinion, but
either way - neuter next month (too soft, allergies, retinal
folds,
females in the house)
Jan 19 guided hunt at Bonhaven in the afternoon, hunted Taffey
alone & Lick for the
last 45 minutes, 25 bird release pointed a lot the rest were running
with Taffey in heat and running areas 2 & 3, Kooly did not hunt today
note: area #3's quarry wall almost got Taffey today, pointed pheasant
15 yards from the cliff (25 feet straight down and no fence), flushed
back over her head and the client shot, Taffey wheeled to fetch & I
blew the whistle as hard as possible, she stopped on a dime two
feet from going over (the guides may get together and build a
fence along there before someone looses a dog
Jan 20 guided hunt at Blonhaven in the morning - clients put out
four pheasants and
four chukars, they had plenty of extra birds in the field due to
yesterday's
hunts, Taffey was pointing well and the birds were holding - 6 inches of
snow
made for an interesting morning, Taffey ran hard for almost 4 hours and
Lick
worked with her the last hour (8 bird release - 11 pheasants & 4
chukars shot)
note: father/son hunted today, the boy was 12 years old and was just
extraordinary in his ability to shoot, work with the dog and knew
what was going on, he did especially well with the safety aspects
and his Dad obviously was a good teacher
note: took Kooly out and ran him for awhile afterwards
Jan 21- 4 days off
Jan 25 worked on lining drills in yard
Jan 26 rain all day