Place Board Training Pictorial

          The following thumbnail photo gallery represents many drills and marking set-ups where
           place boards and/or the "place" command are used. They move from the early OB and drill
           training of Kooly on to more advanced training in preparation for his running AKC Senior
           Hunter tests. The transition to larger set-ups is done incrementally and dogs pick it up
           quickly. Dogs thrive on mental pictures.

           Picture #12 is a set-up that Taffey did (some time ago) in preparation for her Master Hunter
           and Finished level hunt tests. There are several pictures with Daisy, playing some puppy
           games...............remote sit, "here" and front finish sit when she was introduced to the place
           board. Other pictures show all four KwickLabs - Taffey, Kooly, Daisy and/or Gunny using
           the place board concept.

           Place boards are easy to introduce early on with puppies and may be used to enhance
           many different aspects of a training program. During wagon wheel casting drills from the
           pitcher's mound, it makes things much easier if the dog will go back "to the mound" on
           a "place" command. The same approach is "handy" (pun intended) when teaching three
           handed casting.
                                                     Three Handed Casting - "place board" (Link)

              Place board concepts are especially valuable when training alone.
                   note: In some of the photos there is no place board.........................a place board
                              imprinted dog will transition to a "mental picture" of what "place" means.
                                                                         (left click on thumbnails)

place boards (top view) #1	place boards (bottom view) #2	Kooly - 6 months #3	Kooly - 6 months #4
Kooly - 6 months #5	Kooly - 7 months #6	Kooly - 18 months #7	Kooly - 18 months #8
Kooly - 19 months #9	Kooly - 19 months #10	Kooly - 19 months #11	Taffey - 4 years old #12
Daisy - 3 months #13	Daisy - 8 months #14 (in the middle)	three steady dogs #15	"Who is next?" #16
Daisy - 12 months #17	Daisy - 19 months #18	"No Watch Drill" #19	"Renegade Drill" #20
Kooly - 5 years old #21	Daisy - 3 years old #23	Gunny - 1 year old #22	Gunny - 22 months #24
"Y Drill" (125 yards) #25	"Gunny's 5 singles" #26	"down the bluff" #27	"inline marks" (drill) #28

(1) - (2) two place boards (top & bottom views) the round place board is 23" in diameter, cut our of 5/8"
     plywood with "risers" cut to shape out of 5/8" plywood: the rectangular place board is a section of
     an end shelf support frame sold at Menards (3 feet by 27" out of 2X2's) and covered with 1/4"
     plywood, each place board has indoor/outdoor carpeting glued on. Recently I added perforated,
     rubber fatigue mats to a couple......for better traction. They are much heavier, but effective. After
     the need for a slightly raised platform becomes unnecessary, this type of rubber mat makes a nice
     "place board" (by itself).

(3) Kooly 6 months remote sit drill

(4) Kooly 6 months remote sit/here drill

(5) Kooly 6 months singles with wingers, place board sit beside bucket HRC style and helps with
      delivery foot work

(6) force to pile & working a pile of nine Kwick bumpers

(7) "down the shore" marking drill with walking "poorman" singles, remote line three marks with
      ducks

(8) ABC water marking drill with walking "poorman" singles, remote line and five marks

(9) big check down marking drill with walking "poorman" singles, remote line and five marks

(10) marking drill with walking "poorman" singles, remote line five stickmen and three marks
      (longest 300 yards)

(11) W - marking drill ("place" beside a white coat over a bucket on a blind pole) - dog casts back to
       line after delivery in the field

(12) four marks thrown with a remote line ("place" beside a stickman on a levee), walking "poorman"
      singles (white = marks - 159, 153, 163, 173 yards), the gunner/BB (that would be me) remained in
      the field and after each retrieve, Taffey would cast back to a place board on the levee to run the
      next mark, the stickmen stations were left in the field, we then the four singles up by running by
      running six cold blinds mostly "up the slots" from the line - Taffey loves to train.
      (red = cold blinds - 178, 177, 166, 159, 184, 179 yards) - complex training session
      This is the Madison Field Trial grounds - Gallagher's area (west pond before the upgrade)

(13) Daisy at three months working on remote sit, "here", front finish sit game (two minutes or less)

(14) steadying drill for Daisy & maintenance for Kooly & Taffey     note: the tie down on Daisy, it must
      be short enough to prevent the dog from getting off the place board (otherwise you might have a
      breaking dog dragging the board)

(15) steadying drill with two place boards (one remote) and an introduction to a dog hide

(16) water steadying and honoring drill with the pup on a place board

(17) Daisy ran these remote line singles (163, 196, 155, 123, 90 yards) when she was 12 months old,
       she was cast back to the "place board" at the line after each mark, the gunner/BB (that would
       be me) stayed out in the field

(18 three remote line ATV, stickmen field singles with a long up-the-slot mark ran last (184, 249, & 394
      yards) Daisy ran them right, left, middle and casting back to the remote line "place board" after
      each retrieve

(19) after staking dogs out during drills for awhile, the "place" command will allow me to place my
      dogs anywhere without staking (and they will stay there) while another dog works on a drill, this
      picture was used to jokingly present the idea that my dogs, also, have a command called the "No
      Watch", that way Daisy and Kooly are ordered to not pre-learn the up-coming tune-up drill lines
      being run by Taffey

(20) This is a Carol Cassity lining drill called "The Renegade". The "place board" is a modification.
       My dogs are cast from the "place board" and sent back to it after each retrieve. The "running
       line" keeps moving farther away. As they return to "the position", I can move backwards.

(21) The "Hide Steady Drill" starts with a "place" command. To Kooly this means enter and lay down
       in the hide. To retrieve......the dog must remain in the hide and "here/heel" before being sent.
       They do NOT "blast right out of the hide".

(22) Gunny was a year old when I bought the Avery Ruff Stand. He jumped right up on it when the
       "place" command was given.

(23) Daisy is doing the "Ruff Steady" drill with a "place" command. In this steadying drill, the Ruff
       Stand is not a "launching pad". The dog is "here/heeled" before retrieving.

(24) Gunny ran the Four Phase Drills "poor man" which means he remains at the line on a "place"
       command. This is Four Phase Drill C - "under the arc".

(25) Marking drill run by Taffey, Kooly, Daisy and Gunny - remote radio line with a place board,
       this is a little higher place board to be able to see any creep on longer marks, the radio "voice"
       corrects for creeping, reminds to sit & watch and releases for the retrieve

(26) Gunny's five water singles - remote place board taught concept, mallard marks thrown from a
       boat with dog at the line, remotely released.....the dog makes the retrieve, delivers to the
       gunner/handler in the boat & is cast back to the line with the place command for the next mark

(27) "Down the bluff" water singles run by Taffey, Kooly and Daisy...remote place board line concept,
       mark is thrown with primer shot, dog is released, retrieves and delivers to gunner/handler and
       is cast back to the line on the place command for the next mark

(28) inline marking drill - remote radio, place board line with the gunner/handler in the field training
       all four dogs.......Taffey, Daisy, Kooly and Gunny (the only way a 70 year old trainer working
       alone could possibly work four dogs in a morning session involving 32 singles)