Three Weeks - "Narrative" Training Journal
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July 31st-Aug 1st Gunny passed
2 AKC Junior hunt tests (3rd & 4th passes) to earn his JH
title
note: first the good
- 1) he was excellent from the van to the line.....walked
calmly, loose
leash, sat in the holding blinds and just looked
around....very pleased, 2) marking
was excellent, 3) handled all his retrieves well (zero
drops) and gave the ducks up
when asked
the not so good - water (on
Saturday) he paraded amongst the judges before delivery,
but not on land, Sunday was worse on water (first
series).........for the land series,
decided to crouch down, use the here "trill" when he got
close and behaved in a
more animated manner to cause him to focus on me......it
worked.....no parade, but
this is probably an issue created by mostly training
alone........need to work on
deliveries with others at the line
note: Daisy was test dog for
the land series on Sunday....she was well behaved going to
line, focused, marked and delivered the mallards
responsively.......good to see, the
long lay-off has indeed changed her expectations.....at
least for one test day
Saturday's AKC Junior
Test - Gunny's 3rd pass
(left
click on thumbnails)
"1st flyer" |
"different view" |
"2nd mark" |
"water series" |
"very cool pond" |
Sunday's AKC Junior Test
- Gunny's 4/4 title pass
(left
click on thumbnails)
"1st
water" |
"2nd flyer" |
"full land" |
"1st land" |
"2nd flyer" |
Aug 2nd trained at the Square Pond grassy area.....setups
were HRC routines, holding blinds
were used to hide remote wingers, used mallards, duck
calling, popper gun with
primer loads, bucket and gun stand
first
Daisy then
Gunny did an HRC walkup
(popper gun & remoter winger, after the
retrieve....off bucket ran a mark (memory for next
setup...."schooling" a double)
second
Daisy then Gunny did an
HRC Seasoned land test simulation, double with
a diversion on the memory bird, after which "shot the blind"
(and ran)
note: both were solid and steady on the walkup - waited
awhile before retrieve
note: both were steady on the Seasoned setup, waited until I
put the gun in the
stand before picking up the first mark, diversion & before
running the blind
note: Taffey & Kooly had the
day off....got hot quickly....humidity has been nasty
note: Interceptor for all four
dogs. Frontline Plus on
Taffey, Daisy & Gunny
Aug 3rd day off for all.....including me......too much other
"stuff" to do 
Aug 4th early morning - getting
warm, humid and had to "dodge" rain showers, trained at BT's
hay field and the mosquitoes were in absolutely full force,
setup long gradient blinds
with the wind pushing them down a rise in the terrain plus
an angled breeze that
"pushed" the same way.........heavy dew and cloudy made it
just tolerable
note: four cold blinds with mallards.....150- 225 yards
note: Daisy was the best, three
or less whistles on each and lined one....very fast
and precise casts
Gunny did a great job on this
setup...especially since he has had the least
amount of training on cold blinds.......carried his lines
well, sat straight & took
excellent casts....5 casts or less with one lined...initial
lines much improved
Taffey & Kooly run blinds with
different styles (she's much faster), but they
"fade" and "fall" into scallops too often - four or five
casts on each blind,
except they each lined one.......they are definitely ready
for hunting season
note: really pleased with today's work....especially the
"young ones" 
Aug 5th van at the mechanics - steering column universal
frozen.........................not good!!!
morning trained in the
front yard............Gunny & Daisy
did a two dog steady/honor
session.....remote wingers, duck call, Dokkens, HRC bucket,
Avery Ultra Low Dog Hide
and a capgun......the session was video taped, next time the
dog in the hide will be the
running dog with the bucket dog doing the honor, both did
well & I need to make some
adjustments - needed heeling stick (in the van) and use
fewer verbal "sits"
note: Kooly & Taffey had the
day off
You Tube Video
Gunny & Daisy - Steady/Honor (Link)
Aug 6th - van not repaired - too warm = day off for all
Aug 7th early morning -
trained at the County DTA - land & water.......HRC setups
with mallards,
four remote wingers, two holding blinds, popper gun with
primer loads, bucket & g-stand
land first - walkup & a double with a diversion and cold
blind for Daisy & Gunny
note: Daisy did the
walkup first.....perfect, the diversion was thrown on the
way back
from the "go bird", but not picked up until she retrieved
the memory and ran
the cold blind...did a good job and was focused...her "ditz
factor" has really
shrunk a lot....challenged her today 
note: Gunny was
wonderful.....solid on the walkup, focused on the marks with
diversion thrown on his return with the memory, the blind
was just OK, his
sits and responsiveness were fine, but the angle backs were
mediocre...if
anything a short, 40 yard blind doesn't let him roll enough
note: Taffey ran the walkup &
then saw the "in your face" diversion as the "wipe out"
third bird in a triple plus a cold blind.......she was up to
it.....very nice
Kooly was to run the same setup
as Taffey, but he vocalized on
each of the
marks when they went down, picked him up and
Taffey came out to "pick"
the ducks, not going to specifically waste any time with
this today....nothing
new for Kooly, he
remains.....just a good "hunting dog"....too bad as he has
a lot of talent
(left
click on thumbnails)
"HRC land"
|
Daisy & Gunny - walkup
followed by a "straight up" double
with a diversion on the memory, "shot the blind"
afterwards
Taffey - triple with the
short mallard being a "breaking bird",
two
shots on the last bird down "covered" the blind
|
"Daisy's water"
(left side) |
(right side) |
"Gunny's water"
(left side) |
(right
side) |
Daisy - walkup, double and
a diversion....the
diversion was thrown on the go bird, but not
picked up until after the memory & blind |
Gunny - walkup followed by
a "straight up"
double with the diversion on the memory
bird, "shot the blind" (HRC) afterwards |
Aug 8th work at Madison Retriever Club's field trial
(Sunday) = day off for dogs
Aug 9th morning trained at the
Square Pond right after the rain,
good breeze and cloudy, just beat
the sun & heat Daisy & Gunny
ran four cold blinds angles across the pond with mallards,
moved line so that
Daisy's blinds would be longer
with more difficult angle entries
note: 2 blinds were up and out with exits about 15-25 yards, one was
right at the shoreline,
one was buried in the heavy cover out up on the shoreline (none
were predictable
in relationship to the exit, both did well,
Gunny was called back to the
line for
"dancing sideways" on an angle entry....took a good initial
line afterwards,
most all HRC Seasoned hunt test water blinds will be easier
note: Gunny's "turn & tread" in
the water is really good now, solid focus...he "gets it"
afterwards, Kooly was subjected
to an honoring Taffey, she
picked up almost every
"fun Dokken" as Kooly continues
to NOT see the connection between his "noise" and
her making all the retrieves
Aug 10th morning - trained at
Rock Cut State Park DTA in the tall grass...Gunny
& Daisy did two
HRC doubles with about a 120°
"swing" of the popper gun (primer loads).....one left to
right and the second right to left (they came out and went
through two holding blinds
each time...cloudy, in the upper 70's with very high
humidity and hordes of mosquitoes
note: the focus was on being steady at the line and marking
off the gun
Daisy & Gunny have thrived on
the many reps of the Seasoned test routine
next - drove to the square pond
and set up an HRC double with a walkup, diversion
and a cold blind Daisy had the
diversion thrown on the go mallard and picked that up
after retrieving the memory, shot the blind as per the
usually HRC Seasoned routine
Gunny ran his routine slightly
different with the diversion coming on the memory bird
note: Daisy was almost flawless
on the walkup, diversion and marks......her blind
got a bit "zig-zagy" at the end.......slowed down & didn't feed
into her speed,
her weakness in the past was an inability to come off the
first mark......this
is no longer a problem......yippee! 
note: Gunny is like a breath of
fresh air........he sits, looks and waits to be sent in
kind of a regal manner, need to make sure and line him up
solidly with a
good focus on the first water mark as he still has a
tendency to flare entries
to the right on his first water entry......otherwise he was
excellent........his
blind was actually better than Daisy's
afterwards -
Taffey & Kooly did about 7-8
"two dog leap frog" walking singles out
and back in a long, wide erosion strip in the corn
field.....much needed exercise
note: finished at about 11:00 am....the sun was out and
becoming "really hot"
Aug 11th
early morning
- Daisy & Gunny ran 3 cold blinds at the Square Pond,
used mallards
and long entries into the water (increasing angle
entries)......Daisy did well on
all
three, Gunny was called back
for one poor line on the most challenging angle entry
and took the correct line/angle after the
recall.........good sessions for both
note: Taffey & Kooly had
the day
off
note: morning thunder storms did not materialize
note: plumber at
9:30 am
Aug 12th
passed on training today....too warm.........forecast high of 92°
Dr.'s
at 9:30 am......."penalty" for not using sun screen
regularly = nitrogen & biopsy
buy dog food late afternoon
Aug 13th morning trained at the County DTA -
group of 2 doing the
Long Wait Drill (mallards),
four remote wingers on the peninsula, popper gun, two lines
and two holding blinds
with two dogs
in each session
Gunny & Gina trained together
first, the Gunz Up CD was playing, duck calling, dry
shots......each dog had to move from the "watching" position
to beside the handler
before being sent, Gunny honored on two retrieves, we picked
up the first mark as
both dogs stayed at the line, four mallards on the peninsula
and one 3" Avery Flasher
was thrown right in front of the dogs (splash breaker)
Daisy & Kate were the second
set of dogs to train together....each session was about
30 minutes long
Daisy
& Kate - The Long Wait Drill (Link)
note: Gunny & Daisy worked out
of the Avery Ultra Low dog hide
note: excellent review of the expectations for my dogs with
the ante "upped"
by having a different dog plus second trainer involved
note: Gina & Kate did really well for doing this drill the first
time.....they were
excited at first, but waiting gave them time to adjust, each
calmed down
and did well.....excellent sessions for all
note:
Taffey & Kooly had a bunch
of fun water bumpers as we picked up "stuff"
(left
click on thumbnails) |
"field setup" |
"winger pod" |
"line - south view" |
"north view" |
"east view" |
"dog
vans" |
MACH "Gina" MH |
"Kate" SH |
Aug 14th late morning trained
at the Square Pond DTA...Daisy & Gunny
ran two HRC setups,
the first setup = land double
with a water walkup & land diversion on the memory bird,
the blind was "shot" and ran up the middle,
the second setup
= water double with a
diversion on the memory with a long, "cheaty", "shot" blind
up the middle
note: both were solid at the line, Gunny
did great on land,
but did his little
dash at the water's edge on the go bird.......need to get
him more
focused on "out there" before sending him
note: Daisy was outstanding on the land & water blinds
note: Gunny was sharp on the land blind, but took a poor
initial line on water,
once cleared of the poor start......he was very good
note: checked water level and charged the marine battery for
the dog fans
Aug 15 Kankakee
River Valley HRC Seasoned hunt test Hebron, IN
Gunny & Daisy both got a
Seasoned pass
note: Taffey & Kooly stayed home
note: long day....morning was absolutely a "bear"......hot,
no breeze, very high
humidity and mosquitoes swarming.....cloud cover, shade & a
slight breeze
made the afternoon more tolerable with the humidity letting
up some
note: Daisy's weakest area =
heeling off lead (What's new?)
note: Gunny's weakest area =
initial lines on cold blinds
Aug 16th morning - trained at
the Square Pond DTA......set up four remote wingers in two
pods
(one covered by two holding blinds and the second shielded
by two "ghilly" shrubs)
around the figure eight walkup design were three Dakota
looker goose decoys and a
half-dozen of FB mallard decoys, three randomly place
stickmen were out at a distance
from an elevated place board and gun stand with a popper gun
rounded out the setup
Daisy was first.....heeled on
lead for the first 1/4 of the figure eight and off lead the
rest
of the way........OB exercises were done all the way
around....sits, walking sits with a
"catch up" here, down, circle right and left around the
stickmen and backward heeling,
once back at the start a blind was "shot" HRC style.....it
was up the middle of the setup,
the third phase of the setup was to do four walkups with the
popper gun (again HRC
style)......the the path followed the same as the "kind of"
figure eight done in the OB
first part of the drill.......Gunny
did the same setup
note: both did well....corrections were varied....verbal,
e-collar and heeling stick
note: the setup was designed to deal with the line manner
weaknesses observed
in yesterday's HRC hunt test
Taffey & Kooly ran 7-8 two dog,
walking, "leapfrog" singles.............for exercise
Aug 17th morning
Gunny worked angle entries at the swim-by pond
(started short moved long)
(left
click on thumbnails)
"right corner"
(close)
|
"left corner"
(close)
|
"left corner"
(distant)
|
"Gunny's return"
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"up close"
|
"proofing" |
"splash re-entry" |
"glancing at rake" |
"the return" |
"full view" |
evening Daisy & Gunny
ran marks at the County DTA, four remote wingers were
setup
with mallards, Daisy was first
- she ran the two middle marks as in schooling two doubles,
Gunny was next out and he ran
four singles, Daisy came back
out and ran two doubles
each of which included the "schooled" memory birds
note: both did well on focusing, sitting still and
marking....excellent session
Taffey & Kooly did a set of two dog, "leap frog" walking singles
(each had 7-8 singles)
Aug 18th late afternoon drove to Bong
Recreational Area DTA to show Gunny
the drop-off water
entries
& the steep stairs down to the pond, heeled Daisy & Gunny
down to the pond,
ran several hand-throw Dokkens marks for both,
Daisy is always airborne &
Gunny
walks/plow in......no issues and the drop-off is
significant....Gunny ran two
cold blinds
took Daisy & Gunny over to the
two fallen trees trunks up on the bluff for a little no-no
review and they retrieved marks run out and
back......jumping the trees, parked by
side of the stick pond and all four dogs Taffey, Kooly,
Daisy & Gunny ran a diagonal
cold blind from the road over to the hill past the steep
stairway on the north side,
with a wide mud shoreline (pond level is down) all four had
muddy legs.......so we
ended up at the gravel pond for a cleaning by running
another cold blind
note: there was no sense waiting for
Gunny to learn about the drop-off in a hunt test
note: continue strict OB.......24/7 with
Daisy
Aug 19th evening
Daisy & Gunny did
three HRC walkups at the Square Pond, using three remote
wingers and mallards, each walked at heel for a considerable
distance while "working"
the wingers.......the focus was on staying at heel (fast &
slow walking), sitting on the
"flush" and remaining steady.....each walkup was shot at
with primer loads.....both did
extremely well with this and the exercise seemed to have a
very good impact with
the extended walking at heel
note: Taffey
& Kooly had the day off
note: morning "weed whacked"
the tall grass on the shore of the goose pond
note: morning cut a dozen
willows to make poles for temporary blinds
note: continued decoy work
Aug 20th morning - ran HRC
double, cold blind, walkup
and diversion with Daisy & Gunny
at the
county DTA,
ran four walking singles with Taffey & Kooly while
picking up wingers,
drove to the Square Pond......Daisy &
Gunny ran a set of two cold blinds with mallards
note: setting up at the Square Pond it seemed really warm
and humid so the van
was closed up with the air conditioning on.......finished at
11:45 am
note: home at noon and the temperature was 88° feeling like
95°.......the cool house
was like.........very cool!
note: charge marine battery for dog fans & pack van for hunt
test
(left
click on thumbnails)
"HRC Seasoned"
(land) |
"walkup" |
"go bird" |
"memory/diversion" |
"winger pod" |
"cold blind" |
"103 yd. blind" |
"100 yd. blind"
Daisy's
|
"70 yd. blind"
Gunny's |
"Thorson Pond" |
Aug 21-22 WISILL-Badger State HRC Seasoned hunt tests
at Bong Rec Area, WI
Gunny & Daisy passed their HRC
Seasoned tests both days and earned HR titles
note: at the end of their first series on water, I was
second guessing myself
about violating a rule of not running back to back hunt
tests, both were
a bit loose (understatement), but got through the series
without any
fatal gaffs, their land series has to be much improved......Daisy
had two
delays....broken winger and then a bird boy tripped the
memory bird
as she was walking toward the line.........however, she did
a really good
job of focusing and proved herself,
Gunny turned in another almost flawless
land series.....nearly as good as yesterday's......I knew
both had passed
note: the ride home seemed really short
The following set of
8 pictures
are of Daisy's land series (WISILL HRC test) & taken by
Illinois Bob (RTF)
(left
click on thumbnails)
note: Now......it's time
to hunt !
(left
click on thumbnails)
"Ribbon Ceremony" |
"The Ritual" |
"five Gallons" |
"boonie protection"
|
"That was cold!" |
"double dipper" |
"saturated again" |
"go bird"
(Sunday water) |
"memory bird" |
"cold blind"
|
"shot the blind"
|
"Back!"
(Gunny) |
"the retrieve" |
The last three photos were taken by Bob Bryer. Thanks,
Bob!
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