Here is the plan based on "modified behavior" rather than making the dog behave. First, Kooly
needs to adjust. Making him do something is a whole lot more difficult than teaching a new behavior.....especially in the heat of adrenalin plus the inability to apply the usual corrections in testing vs. training.

Recently, the Farmer/Aycock Problem and Solutions DVD revealed a technique of "stepping back" leaving a dog "out front" (not at heel) and correcting for not heeling when the dog is a creeper. In
Julie Knutson's dog training seminar in Kentucky (earlier this year), responsiveness was considered a key component of a dog in balance. Obviously, a dog barking at the line is not in balance. Also, it is a known fact amongst some dog trainers that to succeed you have to think like a dog and "get into their heads".

So why does a dog bark? He is usually steady, but not really in the true sense.......because barking is a manifestation of a dog that isn't steady. It is like the proverbial "leak in the dike". 1) He wants to go forward so badly and knows he can't. So he releases the pressure of "staying put" by barking. 2) His responsiveness is away from the handler (that's why it is so difficult to correct).

Now a second fact comes into play here which I was not aware of until the "Trainin' in the Timber" seminar. A correction for a known skill violation must occur in less than 2 seconds for it to meaningful. This is extremely significant in all phases of training.  

I've been told being analytical can be a curse, but this is what I've done to knit all this together. Ducks up close make Kooly bark. If I make it a poison bird, it gets even worse. "Here/heel" means more vocalization. He resents it and will take any direct correction method (within reason) that can be dished out. Nothing had changed for some time (almost a year now).

Taken off the line is not effective because 1) dogs like this are so "jacked" the word consequence is meaningless and 2) taking off line (to where ever) fails to meet the criteria for the "2 second rule'. Also, "getting in his face" and confrontational corrections "feed the beast".

Here's what I decided to do.  In the yard, we are doing a ton of backward heeling. I want Kooly to understand that going forward is not the only choice, and I want him very adept at heeling away from the line.

When marks are thrown, he must move backwards first before any retrieve is made. The idea is to get him to be more responsive and aware of my presence and less driven to go forward. This over time will make vocalizations unnecessary. The barking (manifested by a lack of responsiveness and high drive to go forward) will disappear. Heeling infractions will be a powerful indirect pressure restoring the balance.

So this is what I am doing 1) an exciting bird goes down (close, water often, lots of duck calling and shooting, 2) as it drops I casually step back (Problem and Solutions technique for a creeper), 3) a quiet heel is commanded (no release), 4) a moderate heel/stick/heel or heel/nick/heel is applied (indirect pressure for the barking) and I wait. Depending on the situation, I may step back again and
 5) the "muzzle/quiet" correction is applied when appropriate.  I want Kooly looking to me to see where I'm at and break down his out of balance urge to go. I actually want him to make eye contact. He has!

On a side note, I can get away with this because Kooly is a very good marker. He can look away and still step on the marks. He takes good pictures!

At first, Kooly was completely oblivious to the fact that I was no longer beside him. After a few days, I could see him glance quickly back to see where I was. To me this meant I was gaining some responsiveness. The last few days his body language seems to suggest that he knows he'll have to heel (no pun intended) before a retrieve. The goal will be for him to "sneak back" with me when I start to move. Togetherness is neat.

At this stage, he knows I'm there and now I can say "quiet/good". I can talk to him and it registers. He is gradually changing to the "new more aware routine". I think this will require continual maintenance, but the maintenance routine will be clear and fair for Kooly. And if this doesn’t work, he won’t be any the worse off.

We cannot have screaming as an emotional release....so an alternative must be taught. One bad habit is replaced with a meaningful one. The beast is not being fed. (Thanks Rody.)

I like what I see so far. Some of the other ideas are based on consequences which are much more of a thinking human's concept, rather than those of a "jacked up" dog high on adrenalin.

Up until recently Kooly has not been the same in training. I had not been able to duplicate the issues that rage up in a hunt test, and he has not seen many tests. This was my "lame excuse" for “not trying hard enough”. He'll be four in November and been in only eight well spaced hunt tests. His last three were AKC Senior July, 2006 (which he failed).

When not "inoculated" with the adrenalin rush of test.......he trains quite well. He is an exceptional marker and a total team player on blinds (with great lining abilities). However, at the line......in a test.....he has not been fun.......and a total stranger.  This year he has run an HRC Seasoned June, 2007 (passed) and an AKC Senior in late June of 2007 (passed).  

For sure I don't have all the answers on what we are doing, but I'm comfortable with the general approach.

The reason we are getting these reactions now is because Kooly is seeing a ton of "in your face" marks, a lot of shooting at the line and being asked to move backwards when “amped”. I started over stimulating him in training. By doing this, we are able to deal with what was only happening in tests.

The younger Kooly was always extremely sensitive and soft, but to some degree this has disappeared.  The term washout had been tossed around with Kooly when he was younger (more than once). He didn't handle pressure very well at all. He still doesn't deal with it in a normal way, and Kooly has become a project. He is what he is.....and his early training and mental makeup got him where he is today. Close, but no cigar.

A later addition to the plan was to incorporate the "muzzle/quiet" approach at the line. There is nothing dominating about it…….just a physical reminder of the expectations. This recent idea (not mine) definitely provides a clearer picture of what is expected.

We did some work adding the "muzzle/quiet" factor using zero tolerance on a short, winger, "big splash" water mark, with shooting, a holding blind and duck calling. He spent a lot of time in the holding blind....alone, out and back. It took 15 marks before a faint "light at the end of the tunnel" showed up. He did watch another dog pick up every one of those marks before going back into the holding blind. Daisy was getting ready to grab Kooly by the throat and say, "For crying out loud, how many of these am I going to have to pick up before you get the message!!??"

I should emphasize the backward heeling has been the key because it creates the needed anxiety spike. Therefore, I now have plenty of opportunities to "explain" the standard. Poison birds have become a steady diet in training because this requires a re-heeling step. Selection now is routine for the same reason. Kooly is becoming more aware and responsive which decreases the need to vocalize.

Recently, I went over to my pro's place where he had planned to run a few singles with his younger dogs. Kooly was sat off to the side....loose and by himself to watch. After awhile, he laid down and rolled on the ground without intently staring at each mark. When I finally ran him......there was no movement (not even a paw) or vocalization (not even a whimper). He has not done that for a long time. These were not "in your face" singles, but it was still very cool! 
                                                                                                                       July, 2007