# Hunt and Field Training Plans for the Week of March 25-31



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Hoping you guys in the PNW have better weather this week, and that it cools off for those of us in the heartland!
What's everyone doing this week??

We are mostly trying not to panic.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Had to take a day off today. Something in the pond we trained in on Thursday did not agree with Breeze. Itch, itch scratch, all night! So got some chlor-hex shampoo and gave her a bath, and sprayed the irritated spots down with colloidal silver, gave her a benadryl, and now she is chilling. Ironically, the dogs came out of this pond smelling nice. They came out of the ones they were in Tuesday and Wednesday kinda stinky. Guess I am going to have to start rinsing and drying her now when we have done water work, because who knows where the nasties are hiding!!!


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Oh gosh, well hopefully we can run some setups this week as I've done nothing but drills the past week.


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Yesterday we worked on collar conditioning to sit (Bill Hillman-Traffic Cop). Tag is doing so good. He is the first dog I have had the I am not using the word STAY. He is to follow the command until I release him or give another command. 

Did the Traffic Cop with Dooley as well. I think it will do him some good to revisit the basics. 

Today we went to training class and both Dooley and Breeze were sluggos, don't know what's going on there. Tag was great, though he did growl at another dog today. Don't know what that was all about.


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

We are doing more pile work T work and working with more and more distraction. 

I let our chickens out today and I was very proud of Jige he didnt even try to chase them. He heeled out ot the barn kept looking at me. I think he was waiting for me to send him..hahaha. 

Going to have some fun days of just working on marks.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

We had a club picnic test day today. We ran it in two setups. Bonnie ran the firstall as singles. The second she ran the two long marks as singles, and then the two shorter ones as a double with the left mark as the go bird. She did a great job on her singles, expecially the longest, hardest mark. She was funny on her double. She was pointed right at the go bird when it landed, but after I sent her, went, oh there's anbother bird, veered off to the right, then thought better of it and came back left and hunted around until she had the bird. I was worried she had eaten up all her memory, but then she went right out to the memory bird! Twerp!

More T-work for her later today. We got a really nice stop enroute to the pile in yesterday's session, so we will be adding in a set of over piles this week!


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Today Breeze ran a triple in each setup. In the first she also had a poison bird blind and an under the arc blind. The poison bird for the first series is the purple mark.

Second setup she had two poison bird blinds after the triple. The bright green lines are her poison bird marks.

I think she was still feeling a bit funky today as it was not her best work. She was just uncertain and not her usual peppy little self.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Shelly, I just love your diagrams and explanations. Thanks!


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

We got to run a lot of water today which was really good. Scout isn't ready for water blinds, so we ended up only running one and just because it was across just a little puddle. She didn't hold the angle through the puddle, but I was very happy to see her drive across the water and then I handled her to the blind.

Water marks...most of them she was good at. The first one was a long water mark in the water and she had no problems tearing down the hill and diving in after it. The second one was trickier for her because it was pretty far on the land from the water and she wasn't sure about going, but did go and get it. I made her re-run it. The third mark she nailed and I built it by putting it closer to the shore and then re-running it and throwing it father back on the land. Fourth one was an angle entry into the water and she wanted to cheat. So we re-ran that a few times until she was going confidently on a straight line.

Overall not a bad day. Friend told me he thought Scout could go very far because she was smart and a had a lot of fire in her. That was nice to hear.


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Lisa, you have some snow headed your way...


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

DNL2448 said:


> Lisa, you have some snow headed your way...


What..? Lalala... Actually its supposed to be rain by the time it gets here. Warming up finally. Holding my breath...


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## Laurie Falter (Sep 26, 2011)

Just dipping my toes in. I will be bringing my 6 month old pup, Swifty, to the local club's field training day this weekend. This will be my first experience as well. The coordinator said that there will other pups there as well, and we can introduce them to the set up and then break off to do some puppy retrieves. 

Very excited!


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

How exciting Laurie! You will have a great time!!!!


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

gonegold said:


> Just dipping my toes in. I will be bringing my 6 month old pup, Swifty, to the local club's field training day this weekend. This will be my first experience as well. The coordinator said that there will other pups there as well, and we can introduce them to the set up and then break off to do some puppy retrieves.
> 
> Very excited!


Welcome! Be warned--this field thing is addictive!


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I was working in the yard with distractions yesterday. We had my sons 2 dogs out running around and the chickens too. I was throwing the bumper over a bunch of dead trees trying to get Jige to not cheat coming back it was going really good until River ran through just as I threw the bumper and I hit smack on the head . Poor dog he cried I felt just bad those bumpers are hard.


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## KathyG (Nov 21, 2011)

I trained both Saturday and Sunday which is very unusual for me. Was able to do water work yesterday but today it is 36 degrees.....

On Sunday I trained with an HRC club. I'm considering entering the UKC Spring Grand which is about 1.5 hours from my house. I'm very uncomfortable with the gun handling/shooting, as I'm not a hunter. I asked them to critic my gun handling for me. Overall, they said it was fine but did give my some subtle pointers which I greatly appreciated. Just the feedback from them helped my confidence.

Planning to play hooky and get out one day this week. The dogs are enjoying the work.

Kathy


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

KathyG said:


> I trained both Saturday and Sunday which is very unusual for me. Was able to do water work yesterday but today it is 36 degrees.....
> 
> On Sunday I trained with an HRC club. I'm considering entering the UKC Spring Grand which is about 1.5 hours from my house. I'm very uncomfortable with the gun handling/shooting, as I'm not a hunter. I asked them to critic my gun handling for me. Overall, they said it was fine but did give my some subtle pointers which I greatly appreciated. Just the feedback from them helped my confidence.
> 
> ...


Try to get out to a skeet range and shoot a couple rounds of targets--that can really work to get you comfortable with the mechanics of it so you don't have to think about it as much when you are sittin' on the bucket!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I'm not comfortable with the gun thing, either, so although I will handle Tito myself in AKC I will probably ask our trainer to handle him in UKC.
I have a hard time remembering to send the dog, let alone "Open, safe".
Sheeesh.



KathyG said:


> I trained both Saturday and Sunday which is very unusual for me. Was able to do water work yesterday but today it is 36 degrees.....
> 
> On Sunday I trained with an HRC club. I'm considering entering the UKC Spring Grand which is about 1.5 hours from my house. I'm very uncomfortable with the gun handling/shooting, as I'm not a hunter. I asked them to critic my gun handling for me. Overall, they said it was fine but did give my some subtle pointers which I greatly appreciated. Just the feedback from them helped my confidence.
> 
> ...


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Glad to see you here! Will be looking forward to the full report on how Swifty did this weekend.



gonegold said:


> Just dipping my toes in. I will be bringing my 6 month old pup, Swifty, to the local club's field training day this weekend. This will be my first experience as well. The coordinator said that there will other pups there as well, and we can introduce them to the set up and then break off to do some puppy retrieves.
> 
> Very excited!


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## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

Hello all! We have had nice 80 degree days down here in TX with a bit of humidity but overall nice! Lucky us  We will be continuing to work on force fetch but taking a step back from force to pile to go back to walking fetch and fetch no fetch. I met and trained with another couple in my club and they said that Remy really isn't quite eager enough to get the bumper to move on. It's frustrating to me because I don't know what to do.

I'll try to video for yall later but basically he is slow to pick up. I feel like he understands that that's the point, but I just can't get him to be eager. I was told to make myself more excited through it all and I'll be working on that this week. Do yall have any advice? I was working with a lab guy and he says this is "typical golden behavior".... is this true?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

best advice I can give is don't listen to anyone who has labs that tells you anything is typical golden behavior :doh:!
I only have 1 golden doing field, so I can't answer to typical, but slow pick-up seems to indicate an incomplete understanding of what's going to happen if that bumper isn't lunged for and grabbed off the ground real fast. 
When we did fetch no-fetch with Tito, we moved on only when he was lunging for that bumper so fast I couldn't possibly grab him to stop him.




ashleylp said:


> Hello all! We have had nice 80 degree days down here in TX with a bit of humidity but overall nice! Lucky us  We will be continuing to work on force fetch but taking a step back from force to pile to go back to walking fetch and fetch no fetch. I met and trained with another couple in my club and they said that Remy really isn't quite eager enough to get the bumper to move on. It's frustrating to me because I don't know what to do.
> 
> I'll try to video for yall later but basically he is slow to pick up. I feel like he understands that that's the point, but I just can't get him to be eager. I was told to make myself more excited through it all and I'll be working on that this week. Do yall have any advice? I was working with a lab guy and he says this is "typical golden behavior".... is this true?


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## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

Thank yo for your response! So do you recommend that I re-collar condition? Or just turn up the pressure during walking fetch? He is most definitely not lunging...


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I recommend that you get someone local who knows what they are doing, because I don't want to give you bad advice.
Did you ear pinch, or only collar condition? We used an ear pinch. 



ashleylp said:


> Thank yo for your response! So do you recommend that I re-collar condition? Or just turn up the pressure during walking fetch? He is most definitely not lunging...


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Slater's decheating work is going well. Yesterday I did a few hand-thrown cheaty bumpers, on the FIRST one he cheated on the way out, I let him, and he did not cheat on the way back, or on any other subsequent sends. This told me he is ready for the next phase which is stopping him en route, calling back with nicks and repeating.
So today I met with Kristin & Bob and we did real marks, cheating singles. Sure enough on the first one Slater tried to go around, I stopped him on the apex of his cheat, here-nick-nick-nick-nick, re-threw the mark and he PLOWED into the water there and back! WOOHOO! We moved around the pond throwing several cheating singles with me sending from pretty far back from the shore and Slater did perfect on every one. Was so happy to get a correction in and have him understand it 100%. I think we'll train at the L pond on Wednesday where I can repeat the concept.
We also set up a triple (which ended up being a double, since the winger wouldn't work) with a double blind. I threw a diversion bird on his way back from the go-bird so I guess it was an interrupted triple? Something like that. Slater did very well so I was pleased.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Today was our first day back into serious training. We did a few doubles and then she honored. Later on in a seperate session we did some handling drills.

Now with gas at $4.05 a gallon, I can't take the liberty of just running out to train with the group. It is an 80 mile round trip for me. Today, I followed up the field with my obedience class which is in the same area.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

ashleylp said:


> I'll try to video for yall later but basically he is slow to pick up. I feel like he understands that that's the point, but I just can't get him to be eager. I was told to make myself more excited through it all and I'll be working on that this week. Do yall have any advice? I was working with a lab guy and he says this is "typical golden behavior".... is this true?


1) Did you spend enough time nurturing your dog's desire as a younger pup?

2) Ignore the lab guy. An appropriate response might be "Wow, you sound misinformed."


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Just talked to a friend (with a golden) last night he's feeling kind of down because someone else in the group told him he needed to get a different dog if he's going to continue field training. While I get this might not be a sport for everyone....I think his dog is fine and he just needs to buckle down on basics.

She's not a high energy, super fast, or flashy dog but she LOVES birds. In fact, he has to be really careful because she's a bird eater and a clamper (does not want to give those things back). The dog has not been FF'd or CC'd and he's been struggling with recall which, IMO, is why he is not advancing. And he's never really trained a dog before so he is learning coordination skills, etc. And sure she's normally a very docile dog, yet she will got out and get it and sort of bring it back...messes around with bumpers..but again I just think if he got some help and did FF and CC (to here!) he will see a big change. He's going to a pro today so I hope he gets help and encouragement because I think they can do it. Just like my friend who has a show lab she might be running in Master this year. Dog is VERY birdy, but she is not nor will ever be one of these hard charging and flashy dogs. But, she gets the job done and she does it well. In fact sometimes I think the fact that she is not a supercharged dog is a strength in some things (steadying, marking--super solid marker).

But is there a time when you say its quits for this dog?


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Ashleylp: Lab people do not generally like Goldens, especially the hardened field "guys". You will find that a lot on RTF also, they can be like piranha to a newbie. That said, read between the lines and there is a lot of good advice, just have to throw out the jabs they take. I've seen them be cruel, so you do have to have a thick skin.

That said, I have yet to have a "typical Golden" each one is different and unique in their own way. If Remy retrieves, then you have won half the battle. I would try to encourage his play retrieve and ALWAYS end on a fun note, don't push him until he is tired or bored. I'll not advise you on Force Fetch as Tag is the first dog I did on my own. While I think we are a success, I'd hardly feel comfortable giving you advice, I'll let the more knowledgeable trainers do that. However, I do want to say, Don't give up on Remy, he is still young, and DON'T be discouraged with Goldens.


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

The only time I would quit with my dog is if he/she wasnt having any fun. This is suppose to be a time to spend together doing something we both enjoy. He/she isnt performing because they dont like it and I am getting frustrated then what is the point of continuing.

My club starts up training again on Monday. I am excited and nervous. I have a great group I train with except they forget that BaWaaJige is still a young pup. He hasnt looked like a pup in many months and when he does something he doesnt know yet they question it and I have to remind them he is under a 1yr old. I suppose it doesnt help he has been going out there since he was 9wks old. 
I have a tendency to berate myself that he isnt further along and even I compare him to my sisters dog and the other 2-3yrs I train with because I guess he gets compared to them so much. This yr. I swear I will keep everything in perspective. Jige is right where he needs to be.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

ashleylp said:


> Thank yo for your response! So do you recommend that I re-collar condition? Or just turn up the pressure during walking fetch? He is most definitely not lunging...


No, this issue is not about collar conditioning or more pressure necessarily--it is about one more step he seems to need to consolidate his learning before putting the movement of walking in the process. I now do fetch-with-resistance before going to walking fetch. I put the dog in a harness, and attach them to a fence post with a bungy...then put the bumper on the ground where they can JUST get to it. This teaches them to dig in and work hard for that bumper, and I find it really helps them. Then I do my stick-fetch, walking fetch, and fetch-no-fetch before moving on to FTP.


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## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

Thanks all for your advice. Yes, I've had multiple people "tease" me for getting a "sissy dog" and not having a lab which is "much better". But Remy is so bird crazy and so smart, I know he has a desire to do this. I almost think that since he's had birds he's like 'eh, bumpers aren't that great'. But I worry that if we were to use birds to work with force fetch he'd lose focus.

That being said, I think I am going to back up a few steps and re-start in a way. I'll go ahead and fetch to ground with ear pinch, then collar condition. Take it slower. I must have missed something along the way....


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## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

Also, I'm a newbie at this... and I'm a poor college student so I don't have the funds to send him off or meet up with an expensive trainer. Unfortunately, many people in my club don't train their own dogs... they send them off for a few months at a time. I am working with a new friend from my club who DOES train his own dogs (and they are MHs) but he lives on the opposite side of town (45min away) so meeting up can get costly. I'm there for training every weekend and I train on my own every day. It can be discouraging when I see these other people whose dogs are awesome... but they don't train their own dogs. I'm trying to keep that in perspective.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Hi Ashley, don't give up -- if the amateur who is 45 minutes away is willing to help you then you need to hook up with him. Offer to bathe his dogs, throw birds, help with drills, clean his dog truck, whatever it takes to get him to help you. 
My guess is your timing is off and you aren't giving enough pressure OR feedback, so the dog is sorta ambivalent to the whole process.
However I will tell you I NEVER had the "pounce on the ground" response to FF with Slater like you want to see. He was a tough SOB and I could not pinch his ear hard enough to get that response. It was when I went to throwing a bird/bumper and giving a correction if he dropped it or didn't pick it up fast that he put two and two together. However later on during FTP I did go to collar fetch on continuous and THAT got a FAST response. 
On the flip side my mother's golden Harvin was the EASIEST dog to FF -- I completed it from start to finish in about 3 weeks and within the first session he was diving on the bumper like his life depended on it. So you can see even with the same trainer, dogs can be very very different. I will say most of the time if the dog is dragging through FF it's because not enough force is used and the trainer is just nagging the dog. Your best bet is to get with this guy and have him help you.
Don't listen to the lab people who degrade your golden. There is nothing but poor sportsmanship there.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I find too that once they start to put all of the pieces together and begin to use their skills in the field, that drive keeps getting ramped up. My dogs have only gotten more "go" the further they have come along in their training. Bonnie started trying to leave for the back pile on me at the end of last week when I cued "yes". That told me she really understood what was expected next.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

ashleylp said:


> Also, I'm a newbie at this... and I'm a poor college student so I don't have the funds to send him off or meet up with an expensive trainer. Unfortunately, many people in my club don't train their own dogs... they send them off for a few months at a time. I am working with a new friend from my club who DOES train his own dogs (and they are MHs) but he lives on the opposite side of town (45min away) so meeting up can get costly. I'm there for training every weekend and I train on my own every day. It can be discouraging when I see these other people whose dogs are awesome... but they don't train their own dogs. I'm trying to keep that in perspective.


Take advantage of this!! Arrange a regular weekly training session with him. Budget for that gas somehow. When I was putting Breeze through basics I drove over an hour one way once a week during our training season to get to the pro who has mentored me. I threw birds for her truck of dogs and in return got a cheap day-training rate, the marks her dogs ran, and one on one guidance with my dog and the process. She taught me, so I could effectively teach my dog.

It is getting to the point where many of the pros who winter in Texas are heading north. But next fall, I would be finding out who trains in your area for the winter and seeing if there is a day in your schedule where you could do something like that. The advantage of working with someone who has worked 100's of dogs is that they have likely seen just about everything and will spot nuances in your timing etc pretty quick. And you can learn so much just by watching them work dogs!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

You should hear what they say when you pull up in a Porsche SUV and a short fat old lady gets out with her show golden in full coat. Everything but the bandanna, lol.
They shut up when they see him run. 
You learn to ignore them. Me and my swamp collie are having a good time. 





ashleylp said:


> Thanks all for your advice. Yes, I've had multiple people "tease" me for getting a "sissy dog" and not having a lab which is "much better". .


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> You should hear what they say when you pull up in a Porsche SUV and a short fat old lady gets out with her show golden in full coat. Everything but the bandanna, lol.
> They shut up when they see him run.
> You learn to ignore them. Me and my swamp collie are having a good time.


Now, I show up in a truck, but my older dogs are _blonde,_ not cream, but they are light. Winter is a big old English show line guy, big head, lots of coat--he got comments like, "Whoa he's got some noggin on him". Breeze is the same colour but just a petite little thing. Some lab guy actually said "Isn't she a cute little thing." And the way he said it clearly implied he did not think we belonged in Master. I think she passed and his dog didn't that day.:

I try to go beyond ignoring them: Train your dog super well, and show 'em up! Once Breeze showed what she could do she had a little fan club rooting her on this summer. It was fun.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

At a JH the judge said to me, "you gonna get all that pretty fur DIRTY??". The other judge said, "I was thinking the same thing". 
(it was the water series, nasty black sucking muck everywhere) Sheeesh. It's really bad when the JUDGES are making the comments.
After he ran, the judge said, "VERY nice dog. Congratulations. Amazing water entry".


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

hotel4dogs said:


> At a JH the judge said to me, "you gonna get all that pretty fur DIRTY??". The other judge said, "I was thinking the same thing".
> (it was the water series, nasty black sucking muck everywhere) Sheeesh. It's really bad when the JUDGES are making the comments.
> After he ran, the judge said, "VERY nice dog. Congratulations. Amazing water entry".


That's showing 'em.


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## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

Yeah, everyone in my club calls Remy "pansy boy". Luckily he's not the only golden in the club... another lady has a show golden that she is training... they call hers "pretty boy". REAL ORIGINAL, GUYS


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

But I lay claim to "Monster Boy" ! ! ! !


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I think mine trumps those: Winter is known in HRC circles in Ontario as "Fluffy B**tard"!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

LOLOL, yep, that one wins hands down!



sterregold said:


> I think mine trumps those: Winter is known in HRC circles in Ontario as "Fluffy B**tard"!


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I was at an upland test with BaWaaJige in feb. We didnt pass( I pulled him) but I had so many people tell what a beautiful dog I had an done guy said I dont care if I failed everytime if I had a dog like that that looked so good in the field.


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

I don't know if it is that we have more of a Golden presence out West, but I have never heard a snide comment at a hunt test before. I know it happens, but because we have a few well know trainers that have Goldens of their own, maybe not so much as in other parts of the country.

ETA: It's probably a good thing or I would get thrown out of the competition for getting rather mouthy back.


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## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

I try to let it roll of my shoulder. I'm still a newbie so my mouth is shut for now. When I become a master hunter I'll talk back


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

We had a training group today at my way cool designated dog training area!
So much fun!
We had 7 handlers with a total of 9 or 10 dogs (7 running plus a couple veterans that just wanted to pick up a bird)
A whole bunch of live pheasants
A whole bunch of dead ducks
great gunners (didn't miss too many birds, LOL)
Wingers, holding blinds, all the toys.
It was a really good morning. Tito had an issue with the double again, which greatly concerns me at the moment. 
But what I really wanted to say was that we had a pretty strong wind, and I couldn't help but notice that the goldens (and the toller who is an amazing marker) really shone in the wind, whereas the labs, although they are more advanced dogs, had a harder time finding the marks.
That golden nose deserves the reputation it has!!


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

I will say that the only place I've felt patronized for having a golden is at HRC Finished level. Then again I live in the south and there is a real good-ol-boys network to these HRC tests. I'm friends with the guys but I know they don't take me seriously when I walk to the line.
AKC is a whole different story and I have received nothing but positive feedback at all levels of testing.
Then again I think I take AKC more seriously and don't walk to the line without being as prepared and professional as I can be.

OK back to training.....
Today was a very MEMORABLE training day.
We went to the "L pond" and ran a series of cheating singles which got progressively more difficult (well, in my book):










We sent the dog from the spot where each number is. 
I cannot begin to tell you how awesome Mitch White's decheating program works. In just 2 weeks Slater is firmly grasping this stuff. The first time I had to give a correction was on mark # 4, on the way back in he beached early on the left hand shore (well, would be the right shore as I ran it, but left as you're looking at the picture). Nick-nick-nick as he ran on the shore back to me until he was back on the correct line. Repeated the mark and he did it perfectly.
Now the test. Threw mark #5 (straight down channel) with about a 35 yard entry. PERFECT entry straight down the middle. On the way back Slater was honest and stayed in the middle for about 2/3 of the way back. When he got about 15 yards from the end of the pond he turned his shoulder to the left bank (same bank he just got corrected on), and while he very purposefully did NOT get out, he stayed in about foot-deep water and tried running in. I gave three nicks as he did this, then I whistled him, and gave him an OVER toward the center of the pond. He took the over, swam a few strokes toward me, at that point he was exactly in front of me in the water. On his own he sat in the water and looked at me and clearly he was saying "Oh crap, not sure if it's safe for me to get out!" I called him with a come-in whistle and he came straight to me. Repeated the mark and this time he was PERFECT -- swimming straight down and back through the middle of the channel!!! WOOHOO! We ended the session by throwing mark #6 just to confirm in their mind -- go straight in, come straight out. I was SO pleased!!! Slaters attitude was great through the whole thing, if he understands what is happening he can take his corrections and comes back hard.
The bad news is, either the pond had some crazy algae bloom or the landowners put dye in the water, because when we got our dogs out they were GREEN. That took a LOT OF SCRUBBING with DISH SOAP to get it out!!!!!!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

sounds like a great training session, Anney! 
We get that green here in late summer. It's really hard to get off the dogs.


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## my4goldens (Jan 21, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> We had a training group today at my way cool designated dog training area!
> So much fun!


It was very interesting and fun to watch the dogs and handlers work. I understood very little of it all though. But I certainly understood how much work goes into field training. Kudos to all of you who train for this sport, it was very beautiful to see the dogs working the field like they were.


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## Radarsdad (Apr 18, 2011)

Anney, don't worry about about it. My pup today blew away about 6 Labs on inline marks with a flyer. The ones that give you the most grief are probably the ones that are most jealous and the least amount of knowledge at what they are looking at. They don't like getting smoked!
We trained with a field trial pro and his first comment was "your little dog did great today, Good luck with him." He is going back north and invited us to train again next Winter anytime we can come. What he meant by "little dog" was "young dog" there was no insult intended and he had only labs.
Some appreciate good dog work no matter what breed they are and those are the ones I respect.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Man rain sure is a buster when it comes to training. I wish it would just all go away. I live in a desert for crying out loud! Did train a little yesterday in the pouring rain. Hope to get out again tomorrow and Sunday but sure wish it were nicer. Trying really hard not to strangle the dog who has an irresistible urge to dig when its muddy and has even figured out how to get past the ex-pen and chicken wire in the backyard. Hmmm...


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

It's Scout's Happy Birthday today and as a present she got to go swimming. Woof. She loved it and we were lucky to have a clear day that actually reached the 70s! She did great with the water marks until the end because she got really tired after swimming mark after mark after mark. Loved it though. More rain coming tonight...yuck! 

On top of that had someone asking questions about us training in those ponds today. Really worried we might get kicked out so cross your fingers for us as it is really, really hard to find water to train on. This place is in a residential community and is slated for new houses once the economy picks up again...but for now is a great chunk of land with lots of great ponds...and is used to turn out horses and soon cows which we will share space with. The supposed owner has given us permission to train there but the home owners near there don't like it. Sigh :/


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

That is frustrating, especially when it is water. My club lost a beautiful training area with a fantastic spring fed pond because of a neighbour who regarded the area as his private nature reserve and tried to sue the conservation authority for "Loss of enjoyment" of his own property--seeing and hearing dogs retrieving was SOOOO stressful.:yuck: So now we try not to use our starter pistols when training near houses etc because water is so hard to come by, and people up here are so much more gun-phobic. We also train at another conservation area a fair bit where technically dogs are not to be off lead, but park staff have been really great about letting us be when it is clear our dogs are working and under control--so no guns and no birds when we are there, so that we don't tick off any of the campers or hikers or dog walkers (whose dogs are ususally the ones out of control....)


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

It is very frustrating...hopefully we can pull it together and get to stay there. My group is not the only one that goes there but we've contacted the club to beg people not to use poppers or bring large groups down there. We got kicked out of another place because other people were bringing everyone and their dog (pun intended) on a near daily basis and using poppers for those 10+ dogs in another to-be-developed neighborhood.

But we know the guy who supposedly owns it and he is ok if we train there but has made a few suggestions (no poppers) so that we don't upset the neighbors but doesn't really mind himself. It is kind of funny too, hearing about the concern of wildlife when you know that this property is slated to turn into a suburb. What will that do to the native wildlife? Until then the homeowners seem to view the property as their private oasis even though they do not own it and have not taken care of it (have even left the fence open when horses/cattle have been grazing). Ok, think this might be end of rant.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

sterregold said:


> ...and people up here are so much more gun-phobic.


I am very sympathetic. You don't know gun-phobic until you have lived where I live. Years back I was training my first dog in Alley Pond Park and I was using a CAP PISTOL. People reported to police that they heard gunshots. This of course brought the police into the park to find the gunman. I lived directly across the street from the park, felt like it was my park but I had to use a lot of caution since I had become a desperado. I now use a lot of stealth training to continue my outlaw ways.:--evil:


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

gdgli said:


> I am very sympathetic. You don't know gun-phobic until you have lived where I live. Years back I was training my first dog in Alley Pond Park and I was using a CAP PISTOL. People reported to police that they heard gunshots. This of course brought the police into the park to find the gunman. I lived directly across the street from the park, felt like it was my park but I had to use a lot of caution since I had become a desperado. I now use a lot of stealth training to continue my outlaw ways.:--evil:


 We have had the cops called to our hunt tests--when it was posted at the gate of the conservation area that there was a retriever test in progress and only blank ammo was being used. Luckily the cop that picked up the call last time used to help his dad train labs for field trials, so he just came and watched for a while!

The scariest incident happened to a friend--one member of their training party hit a deer that ran across the road when they were en route home from training. They called the cops to report the accident because the vehicle was badlay damaged. Another in the group had a shotgun with him, and dispatched the deer. Someone in the neighbourhood heard the shot, called the cops, and the _*SWAT team*_ showed up.


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