# Hunt and Field Training Plans for the Week of July 22-28



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

What's everyone doing this week?

Tito is hot, lazy, bored, and out of shape. This hot weather has to end soon, it's just beating us up.


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## my4goldens (Jan 21, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> What's everyone doing this week?
> 
> Tito is hot, lazy, bored, and out of shape. This hot weather has to end soon, it's just beating us up.


It was cool up in northern Michigan !!! And then we come home to this heat again, ugghhh !!


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

It is hot here too. We are going to training on monday night not sure what we are going to do there. I am working with Jige on solid whistle sits and I have started using the gun to mark with. 
Thursday we are going to head over to Solway and train with Mr. Bill Autery. Talked again with him today and thursday worked for us and he said any day I wanted to come and train with him is a good day. Sweet!!!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Supposed to be over 100 here again tomorrow.
Tito has a dental on Tuesday (which will shoot Wednesday for him, too)
This week is looking mighty familiar, sigh.....


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

Aww that sux Barb. Hopefully you can get out next weekend.

Not sure what the high was yesterday I think around 90 it wasnt as bad as last weekend it was 98 degrees. I do some training in the yard early in the morning very short marks but work on perfect sits, holds, heeling stuf like that. Then I try to get over to a big field to do some long marks. I am trying to get in as much training with tall grass as possible as the farmers are all haying.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I know I've whined about this before, but the biggest problem for me with the heat is the pet hotel dogs.
I have to take care of the boarded doggies from about 5:15 a.m. until 9:00 a.m., and again from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. That doesn't leave any time for training before it gets hot, as it's already brutal by 9 a.m. these days.
In addition to that, I am here ALL day on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Which basically means my time "off" is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. That's it all week. 
It's why we don't show or go to hunt tests very often. It's really hard for me to get away on weekends, and I have to choose carefully. Luckily the place where we do agility trials is 10 minutes away, so agility is a bit easier. I can't do anything at all during the summer months, it's just too busy here.
Our schools go back mid-August this year, so I might be able to go to a couple of HRC hunt tests the weekends of August 18-19 and August 25-26. 
I need to win the lottey and retire 



General V said:


> Aww that sux Barb. Hopefully you can get out next weekend.
> 
> Not sure what the high was yesterday I think around 90 it wasnt as bad as last weekend it was 98 degrees. I do some training in the yard early in the morning very short marks but work on perfect sits, holds, heeling stuf like that. Then I try to get over to a big field to do some long marks. I am trying to get in as much training with tall grass as possible as the farmers are all haying.


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

Oh man I didnt realize you worked the weekends like that. You either need to win the lottery or we need to get you set up with stadium lights so you can see at night..LOL plus spray really good for mosquitoes. I hope the heat breaks soon for you and Tito.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> I know I've whined about this before, but the biggest problem for me with the heat is the pet hotel dogs.
> I have to take care of the boarded doggies from about 5:15 a.m. until 9:00 a.m., and again from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. That doesn't leave any time for training before it gets hot, as it's already brutal by 9 a.m. these days.
> In addition to that, I am here ALL day on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Which basically means my time "off" is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. That's it all week.
> It's why we don't show or go to hunt tests very often. It's really hard for me to get away on weekends, and I have to choose carefully. Luckily the place where we do agility trials is 10 minutes away, so agility is a bit easier. I can't do anything at all during the summer months, it's just too busy here.
> ...


Ugh! I worked for a small business owner for a short while after high school and I know how tough it was for them. At least they weren't involved in animal care so they didn't have to worry about weekends..but otherwise taking time off was really, really hard and they rarely were able to do it.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Good training day with birds. Our group has not been consistent training with summer because of traveling for tests or vacations plus it is just hot. I built a double for Scout as the marks were close and both thrown in. She's having trouble with these and wants to split the differences between the two marks when she runs for the memory bird (go bird is fine). She did it today too even though I built it by running the memory bird as a single. Just something to work on! She's fine when they are not that tight or thrown both in together. The single was simple and she did well.

Her blind was on the outside of the marks. It was not the best or the worst. I don't know if it was because she was tired and it was warming up, or if it was from pressure on the double but her momentum was a little low today. Otherwise she handled fine to the blind.


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## luvgld7 (Jan 23, 2008)

This is Sawyer on his land mark yesterday - getting ready for JH at the National. Sawyer is a Fisher kid and a good boy. Record breaking heat in Dallas so group training sessions are very short early in the AM.


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

Great picture of Sawyer!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

great photo of Sawyer! We need to meet up at National. Are you doing the WC or WCX with him?


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## luvgld7 (Jan 23, 2008)

Thanks HollyK and Barb. 

I'm gonna sign up for the WC - but Sawyer doesn't exactly count to "two" yet.....so we'll see how things go in Aug. Sawyer will be in RN and maybe conformation (12-18) and the puppy will be in conformation 6-9 (just look for the naughtiest boy - he will just turn 6 mos before the National).


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Wooooweee look at that poofy tail! Go Sawyer!


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Ran 3 blinds each both last night and tonight. Fisher & Slater did really well. Last night it was a wide open field no cover but the blinds were quite long. Tonight more cover & terrain and even a fallen tree to jump over which they both did en route to the blind, no handling to get it done, either! Cute stuff.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Did a small set up in a very heavy cover field this morning. Two blinds and I threw a mark in the middle for her. Took some hunting because of the thick cover but she got the mark. The first blind was difficult. I am finding that getting there 90% isn't hard, but fine tuning to that exact spot is more tricky particularly using bumpers in thick cover she had a hard time once I got there finding it. She did persevere in the end but next time I train in this thick cover I need to remember to use birds for the scent. Second blind was perfect despite the cover. She lined it and took no handles. Yay! We also did a few water marks where I sat her and walked all the way around the pond and threw singles myself. She did great with those including the stay--long stay with me partly out of sight Good dog.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> The first blind was difficult. I am finding that getting there 90% isn't hard, but fine tuning to that exact spot is more tricky particularly using bumpers in thick cover she had a hard time once I got there finding it. She did persevere in the end but next time I train in this thick cover I need to remember to use birds for the scent.


Use a stake and white bumpers. I'm telling ya it's not worth the fight at the end, nothing will dampen the dog's enthusiasm like a hack job just to find freakin bumpers in the grass. Birds are great as a reward but they also encourage the dog to put his nose down and hunt, not something you want to make a habit of with blinds.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

No formal training for us this week. Just got home from a three day show where my Butch got his first points-a 5point BOW from the Bred-by class. Home for a day to do laundry and repack and then I am off to whistler for the Royal Canin breeder symposium. Doggies get to stay home with their favorite house sitter.

Here is Butchies win pic-he is not looking his most refined as a big storm was blowing in-there was a tornado down the road!


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> I am finding that getting there 90% isn't hard, but fine tuning to that exact spot is more tricky


I totally get the slip in control on the last 10% of the blind. I have been coached to finish the blind even if she gets away from me. I have to get her stopped on her run back in and recast her to the blind, with a bumper in her mouth, and finish the blind under control. Showing her slipping the whistle is not the answer but running under control is. I don't know how many times my lecture of the day has started with "running blinds is not about getting the bumper......"


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

hollyk said:


> I totally get the slip in control on the last 10% of the blind. I have been coached to finish the blind even if she gets away from me. I have to get her stopped on her run back in and recast her to the blind, with a bumper in her mouth, and finish the blind under control. Showing her slipping the whistle is not the answer but running under control is. I don't know how many times my lecture of the day has started with "running blinds is not about getting the bumper......"


Sometimes I don't even think it is just a slip in control at first. It's like...she's right there why can't she find it? If it becomes ping-ponging back and forth to where it is and she's not seeing/smelling it then when control breaks down the most for me because she's losing trust that I know where I am sending here cause she knows she's been there and hasn't found it. 

I like the idea of the white bumpers but stakes I am not so sure about...maybe in thick cover. The problem I have is I have seen too many dogs conditioned to running to a stake. Just this last weekend you would have thought my friend's dogs completely lined his blinds but in reality the dog saw the orange stake and went straight for it. The handler knew it too and knows he needs to get away from using stakes. I try to use ribbon the majority of the time.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> I like the idea of the white bumpers but stakes I am not so sure about...maybe in thick cover. The problem I have is I have seen too many dogs conditioned to running to a stake. Just this last weekend you would have thought my friend's dogs completely lined his blinds but in reality the dog saw the orange stake and went straight for it. The handler knew it too and knows he needs to get away from using stakes. I try to use ribbon the majority of the time.


So what's the problem, the dog lines the blind in a test????? Oh that would be a heartbreaker!
If the dog can see a stake from the starting line then your blinds are too short anyhow.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

K9-Design said:


> So what's the problem, the dog lines the blind in a test????? Oh that would be a heartbreaker!
> If the dog can see a stake from the starting line then your blinds are too short anyhow.


Do all tests use a stake to identify the blind? Also I have seen fence posts etc in fields before and it has caused major suctions problems for some dogs that run to stakes. My pro doesn't like to use stakes a lot either except in early training.

The field we were training was low cut grass so even at a distance not that hard to see a stake...


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

We run blinds to little stakes, big stakes, ribbons, the middle tuft of grass in front of the big tree, just depends on the day. We hardly ever use birds on blinds in practice. I believe the at least part of the thought is to keep the scent down. I want her taking my casts not using her nose. That said, I did watch her wind the blind (bumpers) on her way back from a mark last Sunday.


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

In the tests I have watched here, I have only seen ribbons.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

I will run to stakes if that is what my group is using and I did early in training but I try and just use ribbon. I have also ran to land markers but I try not to do that because I have gotten myself in trouble before when I couldn't remember exactly which tree or bush I thought I set it by.


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