However, two mallards were taken out of the freezer around 6:30 am and training gear for the
morning was "rounded up" in the garage. All the collars were recharged last night.
Today's plan mostly revolved around what Gunny needed. He is running AKC Junior hunt
tests both days at Wisconsin Amateur RC in Horicon, WI. Gunny is well into transition, but
I have kept him from competition for a much longer time than my previous three dogs. He
will probably end up "getting there" sooner. Daisy is working toward running a Seasoned
HRC test (along with Gunny) in two weeks. She has her AKC Senior and the plan is for both
to progress together for their HRC Finished titles. Taffey is ten and retired from competition.
She and Kooly are keeping in shape for the upcoming hunting season.
Some of Gunny's needs were to be addressed by running two land singles requiring him
to break through a wall of cover. Later, two water singles would expose him to low, almost
sinking, soggy mallards in very thick duck weed. Close by is a small pond with just the
right factors for Gunny's session.
The predicted thunderstorm slid by to the north of us and wingers were in place by 9:00 am.
There was no breeze and the temperature was already near 80° with lots of humidity.......but
the cloud cover made it tolerable. The first setup was "down the wall" of cover (similar to a
"down the shore"). Daisy ran it through a corner of the pond. Water made the marks much
more difficult. Gunny moved up to eliminate the water factor and decrease distance. The arc
of each mark could pass behind a few small maple trees. Therefore, it was necessary to pick
the best spot for the line so as to minimize this factor (but not totally).
(left click to view thumbnails)
 "water to the wall" |
 "longest single" |
 "inlet terrain" |
"Gunny's singles"
|
Taffey, Kooly & Daisy are finished for today.....short morning....high humidity plus everyone had a good workout yesterday. |
The second part of the session was designed for Gunny
to learn about low or
sinking ducks in "green slop" near the shore. By now the two, old
mallards
picked from the freezer were totally unthawed and very soggy. He needed to
figure it out. On each mark, Gunny was close (but no cigar).
He swam by.
Up on land he went, but soon realized that's not where they fell.
Gunny is a
thinker and was soon back in the water with a purpose....looking and
staying
close to where he was sure they fell......it paid off.....good dog.
Today's
session had a winner.
 "duck weed one" |
 "reverse of one" |
 "duck weed two" |
 "winger #2" |
 "reverse of two" |
Training Notes
Daisy ran the first single very well, squared
"the wall"...but knew where the mallard
fell, on the second mark she was lost after smelling the scent from the
short winger,
big hunt....with handling complicated by the tall weeds, she finally stumbled
on the
mark, debated about running it again....but decided to...she knew where
it was (an
old fall), but only realized it after hunting a bit some more, not a
good mark for her,
water, too tight, winger scent, "wall" plus the arc behind a maple "fried
her mind"
Gunny
came out next.. The line was moved. The short mark had him busting right
through the wall........nice retrieve.......and the arc was behind a small
maple. The
second
single had him square the wall, but
recover
to make the retrieve. The key
dog for today did well....so far.
Taffey went next. She marked the short single
with no issues. The long one gave
her a few indecisions, but she figured it out. She is ten years old and has seen
just
about everything.
Kooly was next. He is my best marking dog.....usually. So I
figured this would be
a good time
to challenge him......ran it as a double. Long first and he watched it go
down. Short was next and
he was
focused. After a good look.......he fired into the
water. When he came out,
Kooly split the difference between the two marks and
started running around out in the
short
grass....as if to say, "Man, I am screwed
up.......and I don't
care."
It's hot. The humidity is getting to me. Kooly is having fun
or just flipped into
his
latent "quirk mode".......and running loose. So,
tweet.......tweet......here Kooly. I
put him up. Kooly
seemed perplexed (or not)......that's just too bad. 
Gunny went to the "wall" and
had two,
short semi-cold blind retrieves.
After Thoughts
In retrospect, the marks would have been fairer if the stations had
stickmen.
Another aspect of writing this page was to list the "things" required to
"make
a day". Equipment, travel, setup, dealing with each dog's specific needs,
the
amount of time available, weather, places to train & decisions "in the
moment"
significantly impact the progress of a dog. At times it becomes
necessary to
answer the question.....Is balance being maintained? Sometimes, I seem to
get
wrapped up in the mechanics of "making the day" rather than focusing on
what is actually going on.
Organizing thoughts (in retrospect) is healthy.
Slighting even one area of skill development can greatly inhibit another. Is
it any wonder, that three years with a different trainer could result in a
very
different dog? In three
years, how much more "growth" might a dog achieve
if any improvements were made (each day) in just a few of the above?
Which of the above are the
most critical.........over the long haul?
For me, they have to be 1) meeting the needs of each dog, 2) improving
on
"decisions in the moment" and 3) seeking balance. Interestingly these
are never static and perspectives can be elusive. Writing is a tool that
clarifies.
This was only one day......and it was far from perfect.
My wife has a favorite phrase that I like. "I am peddling as fast as I can."
Now.... if only I had the perfect map.
update: August 16th
Gunny passed
both AKC Junior Hunts put on by the Wisconsin Amateur
RC in Horicon, WI. This gave him four straight passes for his JH
title. Two weeks later, he passed his first HRC Seasoned test in the
Kankakee HRC hunt test near Hebron, IN. Daisy passed Seasoned,
too.
update:
August 22nd
Gunny & Daisy ran HRC Seasoned both days at the
WISILL/Badger State
HRC hunts this weekend. With both earning two Seasoned passes, Gunny
and Daisy have their Hunting Retriever titles (HR).
It's time for hunting season.
