# Hunt and Field Training Plans for SEpt. 23 to 29



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

my goal for today is to put my brain in one piece and come up with a plan and goals for this week! Lovely weather here, too.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Whisper Creek today (St. Augustine). Lots of water work.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Had a really nice session at Whisper Creek today. Set up a triple with a mom & pop + winger, cheaty on the go-bird, sorta a neat setup. We haven't been to Whisper Creek since early summer and the change is amazing. Ponds are HIGH and LOTS of cover around this one pond, really neat!!!
Then we went to a different pond and set up 4 blinds, all pretty long and spread apart, two had long angle entries and the two other ones were straighter entries but cattails at the end to handle through, pretty neat stuff.
Well here's the report. Fisher did AWESOME on everything but BROKE after the 2nd bird on the triple. I'm too chicken to burn him in the water so I just yelled and he came right back. This is called me being a wimp and him getting away with murder. But he's so stinkin cute and really did a super job. His blinds were lovely. He had developed this bad habit of autocasting in the water, and finally after working on it lots he is holding steady until given a cast, gee funny how that makes water blinds so much nicer......

Slater did a great job on the marks but he has slid back into this bad hangup of being weird and no-going on blinds in the water! UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
He did this before we ran Senior, and now it's back. He did it on two out of the 4 blinds today. First blind was fine, 2nd blind was a longer angle entry, got him lined up, sent him, he went a few feet then turned around and came back. Heel-burn-heel and resent, went fine exactly where I needed him and with good momentum and finished the blind no problem. Repeated the blind and he went fine. Put him up. 3rd blind was another longer angle entry (in the other directions, the blinds were spread apart and didn't affect each other), I walked him a few steps in the right direction, sorta talked him into it and he went like gangbusters. The 4th blind was a straight entry, lined up looking just fine, hand down and "BACK" and he didn't move a muscle. I had not said "dead bird" that time prior to sending b/c there were no marks and well, what the heck else but a blind would I be sending you for? So after he didn't move I said "Dead bird" he instantly wags his tail and looks out again, "Good" - "BACK" and he went with gusto. This dog, is, a, weirdo.
If Fisher had this problem I'd say it's me but Fisher has NEVER refused to go....
Oh well LOTS of work for us.......


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I had every good intention of taking the monster boy swimming today, but it's very cool, breezy, and overcast right now so I'm waiting to see if it's going to rain or not. I'd like to do some water marks with him, but I don't have anyone to go with me today and I don't want to hand throw short ones. We've been doing a lot of water blind work and he's been doing really well with it, but I don't want him to get out of balance on the marks/blinds stuff. 
So I'm sitting here waiting to see what the weather is going to do. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

hotel4dogs said:


> So I'm sitting here waiting to see what the weather is going to do. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.


I wish I had that excuse with Rose's heeling. She does everything else so good but so hardheaded about this one. She heels excellent all over the house. 

Outside she has discovered that she can cross the fence in the cow field and all of a sudden the recall is forgotten. So it is back to square one with our almost 4 mo old brat.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

wow, Claudia, what lovely grounds! We could do some serious training there!


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Claudia M said:


> I wish I had that excuse with Rose's heeling. She does everything else so good but so hardheaded about this one. She heels excellent all over the house.
> 
> Outside she has discovered that she can cross the fence in the cow field and all of a sudden the recall is forgotten. So it is back to square one with our almost 4 mo old brat.


Can I quote Connie Cleveland? "With that distraction, your dog didn't even hear you." (More of a paraphrase.)

Don't be too hard on Rose, she really didn't hear you say heel or here.

Good luck!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Back in from some very light duty training. 
I took the monster boy to the local conservation area, where we did some hand-thrown marks. Since I was alone, and can only throw about 25 yards on a good day, I threw into very heavy cover instead. I threw short singles and doubles, using bumpers, which involved some very intelligent hunts. It was good to do short marks, too, as we've been doing longer ones. Also good for him not to have a gunner in the field, as he tends to mark off the gunner/bird boy and he couldn't today. So it was some good stuff, although short. 
Then 3 quick land blinds, just to revisit blinds. I've been laying completely off his land blinds due to his *issue* with memory birds. The blinds today were nice, so I quit after the 3.
Followed that with some short water marks (hand thrown again) into a pond absolutely choked with lily pads. Decided it was good for him to get among the lily pads, as we haven't done that for a while. He isn't bothered by them, so we didn't do too many marks. 
Finally, a nice swim in the river....just to clean him up!


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Yesterday we worked on pattern blinds. I have Buffy going for orange bumpers now and she did pretty good. I want to get back to water this week to continue with keeping her honest in the water.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

gdgli said:


> Can I quote Connie Cleveland? "With that distraction, your dog didn't even hear you." (More of a paraphrase.)
> 
> Don't be too hard on Rose, she really didn't hear you say heel or here.
> 
> Good luck!


LOL she heard me just fine, she can hear the fridge opening all the way from the basement. 

And her look to me was pretty much saying "I found heaven, see you when I get hungry for some real food!"

I almost went back in the house but I was a chicken - I did not dare this time. She normally runs like crazy to catch up with me when I leave her behind in the yard. She kept on checking back to see where I was but she did not budge. I found myself wishing the cows would stampede towards her - that would have cured that "distraction".


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

hotel4dogs said:


> wow, Claudia, what lovely grounds! We could do some serious training there!


all we are missing is the water both here and at the hunting cabin in WV. I guess I am a spoiled brat just like Rose wishing to have everything I want in my back yard. 

I am really trying to get my hubby back in training mode but his heart is broken with all the past goldens.

Today he hunted 7 doves for her. We practiced with Rose 3 times in the kitchen. Her mouth is gentle and she brought it back to me each time I threw it. 

I looked ridiculous holding the darn dead dove with a paper towel.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I had a very busy day today. First, a trip to the NYSDEC to pick up materials for my Waterfowl ID class Monday. Then I went to my obedience teacher for some training with Buffy. Then off to the field to continue with our water work.

We started with cheating singles. Then we did some water exit drills. We finished with a couple of pattern blinds on land. I am very happy with the results.

I trained on State Land today. We are very lucky. Years back (over 35 years) our club got permission to dig out some ponds so that we have technical ponds to train on. We dug three ponds. The area is now called Three Ponds.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Trained @ L Pond
Low on time so set up one backpile/blind ran from different angles and threw singles in between. 
water-water-water
Whisper Creek tomorrow


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

We trained on Sunday, and oh my gosh what a disaster. We set up doubles and it probably the worst mark placement ever, all the dogs had huge hunts. We kept trying to tweak the set up but should have just scrapped it and started over. I don't think there was much training going on with those marks. I did like the blind, it ended with the dogs working across a slope. It took many whistles to get Winter to push back across it. She kept wanting to either run up or down the hill, and couldn't see I wanted her to dig straight back. We reran it and she lined it. We'll be revisiting across a slope blinds again soon.
Today we trained with the Pro, my Sunday training partners were training also. After telling him about our horrible setup, he went over (accompanied by quick drawings) what kind of training setups would be good for us to run, influences, how to adapt it to different levels, ect. He also stressed having a training plan before you get to the grounds. 
The today's setup was a series of land doubles and then a long blind that was up the middle, over a small ditch and ended halfway up a steep hill. I watched many dogs run today. There was lots of conversation about level of the dog, effort, types of correction, timing, not a bad way to spend a sunny end of summer afternoon. Plus, Winter stepped on all the marks and one whistled the blind.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

We did stetch-em-out singles last night. Marks at 180 yars, 22 yards, and 230 yards. With my friend's girls, we ran the marks closer first and then he backed the running line up as they had not had as much experience with longer marks. It really started to click with his younger girl by the end of the session. His older girl has only ever been run on shorter hunt-test type marks so it was much more difficult convincing her to look long and keep going--even with momentum throws. So she needs more of it to build confidence.

I ran my kids on it from the base line. Butch needed help with the longest mark but did the other two just fine. Bonnie and Breeze did all three well, but luittle Bonnie was the rock star on it, going full-titl out and full tilt back. I am very disappointed now--one of my clubs was having a FT in two weeks with a Junior (Derby)--the last one for which she is eligible before she ages out on October 7th but it has now been cancelled due to low entries!! Grrr!!!

We worked on getting little Wings to look longer as well, and she finished up doing a 75 yard mark.

Pictures--Bonnie going out on the longest mark. The white dot is the gunner, and the blonde dot is Bonnie, and then one of her back with her bumper! Then some of Miss Wingsy.


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

Shelley, I think those homegrown girls will be providing you with alot of fun and ribbons in the years to come!

Trained again today with a friend who has a 2+ year old female Chessie. 
We did a mark/blind land drill, then moved to water for a couple of blinds and hand thrown singles. Both dogs did well.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

GREAT training session today. First off the weather was perfect. Well maybe a tad warm but mid-80s and sunny with rolling clouds, so pretty!
Went to Whisper Creek (St Augustine) and trained on the large pond. 
Set up a triple + diversion bird or I guess you could call it a delayed/interrupted quad?? 
Anyways Mark #1 was straight across the narrowest part of the channel, about a 35 yard mark. Mark #2 swing to the right, 75 yard swim across open water with stiff crosswind, go thru high cat tails, bird up on bank. Mark #3 (go-bird) swing 180º left, bird shot from same shore steep angle back into the middle of the channel, steep fall down the bank, wind pushing bird away, long angle entry maybe 65 yards total. Pick up go-bird and right #2 bird (long hard swim into the wind for a memory bird), diversion thrown on way back from #2, p/u diversion then p/u middle memory bird. Blind was 90 yards angled across pond and well up on land between marks #1 and #2. WHEW
Slater did AWESOME I was very proud of his #2 mark, locked right on it and motored out there, dead into the wind, thru cattails, no sweat, stepped on it. 
We set up 3 different blinds after running everyone on the marks, was very happy with Slater he didn't do anything too weird lining up/sending for the blinds. I didn't nitpick the initial lines very much, basically if he was looking roughly straight forward and locked on I sent him. I was VERY happy with his casting, taking literal casts. Work there has definitely improved.
Pretty happy overall!
We have breed shows this weekend but will probably go back to Whisper Creek on Monday.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

It's raining today so no outdoor training. Time for a little obedience work in the house.

Also, we are giving a retrieving demo at a dog show tomorrow.


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