# Trained with Birds Today :)



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Well, we found a great new training spot and were even able to pull out some birds, a holding blind, and poppers. It was great! 

The terrain is really good--longer grass to work with, and some patches of really tall grass to have the dogs push through. No doubles for Scout since the grass was a lot longer than what we are used to.

She marked beautifully for her first two birds and found them right away--but I had to walk out there to get her to pick them up. *sigh* She will pick them up, and she is interested in them but she just needs more practice and reinforcement. My assignment is to go to walking fetch with birds (now that I have some).

Our next two marks we did with bumpers. She's been driving out to get them nicely, and we didn't want to lose that if I had to march out there to get her to pick up birds. The shorter mark ran through a point of really tall grass (like 3 ft) with the mark landing on the shorter grass beyond it. Scout took the line going and coming, and found the bumper right away. The three labs all had some difficulty with the longer mark (they also did blinds in that general direction). Scout had zero trouble though 

On my own we have been working on basic casting. There might be a name for what I am doing, but I don't know what it is. I set her facing me, put a bumper to the left, right, and behind her. Then I send her one at a time randomly to pick up each bumper (no piles yet). 'Over' with the hand signal came so naturally....I've been slowly adding distance, but soon I will probably need to up the ante. We've also been doing 180 doubles with just me throwing. Not too shabby....


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

sounds so great! we want to come play, too!!!!


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

Scout is coming along so nicely and she's still so young! I love these updates!


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## TexGold (Jun 10, 2010)

Some unsolicited advice: You are doing the right things, but from what it sounds like, not a necessarily logicial progression. You have apparently even stumbed on to "baseball," a basic method for teaching casting.

Nevertheless, I think you may save yourself some problems and difficulties down the road if you hook up with one of the systematic approaches to training. I am familiar with Evan Graham's and like it. Mike Lardy also has a training system program, and there may be others again with which I am not familiar.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

TexGold said:


> Some unsolicited advice: You are doing the right things, but from what it sounds like, not a necessarily logicial progression. You have apparently even stumbed on to "baseball," a basic method for teaching casting.
> 
> Nevertheless, I think you may save yourself some problems and difficulties down the road if you hook up with one of the systematic approaches to training. I am familiar with Evan Graham's and like it. Mike Lardy also has a training system program, and there may be others again with which I am not familiar.


Thanks Tex. I have been following the Lardy outline from his website--I did finish FF before doing the basic casting I described which I didn't think would count as baseball because I am not doing whistle sit, piles, or really long distances. I take it true baseball with those things will come after FTP which I am going to hit soon once I get further along with scent discrimination (obedience).

With FF I did everything with bumpers--including walking fetch. I was kinda hoping I wouldn't need to force birds but I am going to go back and do that now. Bah. She likes them, wants to jump up and get them but there is still that disconnect with picking them off the ground (she does sometimes). She hasn't figured out quite the best way to hold them either.


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