I put the e-collar on Tur Bo and heeled him to the retrieving bench, stopping occasionally. The first few times he wanted to sit when I stopped. When he started to sit I would tap him on the head and start walking again. I haven’t said whoa yet to Tur Bo. If he stops beside me we go straight ahead, if he passes me before he stops I change direction. Tur Bo usually jumps onto the retrieving bench but today he held back. I pulled on the piggin’ string and told him up but he laid down. I let him lie there for a few seconds without any tension on the leash. He stood up and I said up and he jumped onto the bench with a little help from the leash.
I walked him up and down the bench petting him several times. After he became comfortable on the bench I rolled a tennis ball down the bench and he pounced on it. He brought it right back and I petted him for a while before I took the ball from him. He gives the ball with no problem. I rolled the ball for him 5 or 6 times then put him on the ground. I didn’t bring a check cord so when I threw the tennis ball he retrieved it once then started playing keep away. Rather than get that started I put him on the chain gang and ended the retrieves.
I walked Blaze down to the bench but didn’t have her jump on it. I threw a tennis ball for her and she ran out, put her nose on it and came back without the ball. I had an e-collar on her so I held it down on level 3 and walked out with her to the ball. This time she found the ball and the instant she picked it up I let off the e-collar. We walked back where I had thrown the ball from. I took the ball from her and threw it 7 times and she retrieved each time. Did the e-collar improve her eye sight?
I walked Whitey down near the retrieving bench and threw the tennis ball for her. She ran out and brought it back in a fast run. About the third time I threw it she refused to retrieve. As Blaze did she ran out put her nose on it and returned to me. I hit the e-collar on level 3 and walked her out to ball. I held the button down until she had the ball in her mouth then let off. We walked back to where I had thrown the ball from. I took the ball from her and threw it 7 more times and she retrieved it every time.
I rode my 4 wheeler around my neighbor’s side of the bird field because that’s where I usually put the birds. Then I crossed over to my side and put 2 pigeons in release traps. I heeled Blaze over to the neighbor’s side and released her. The last time they pointed where they thought I may have put a bird instead of trusting their nose. This time she hunted the neighbor’s side without slowing and when I pointed to the other side she crossed over and continued to hunt. She was in the brush on a hillside when she pointed the first bird. I had the transmitter for the release traps on the wrong trap. When I pushed the button to flush the bird I was watching her for movement. When I pushed the button she turned her head but didn’t move. I knew that I had flushed the wrong bird. I adjusted my transmitter and flushed her bird. She didn’t move until after the bird was gone the she started to go to hunting. I whoaed her and she stopped. I carried her back to her original stand. After kicking around in front of her I released her.
Again I rode around on my neighbor’s side before putting the birds in the release traps on my side. I heeled Whitey to my neighbor’s side and turned her loose. She hunted all of the cover on my neighbor’s side and was ready to go to my side when I motioned her over. She pointed her first bird and I had my transmitter on the right bird. When I released the bird she didn’t move. I stroked her up, praised her and released her. She found her second bird. I moved in and kicked the cover, then released the bird and Whitey didn’t move. I praised her and stroked her up, then released her.
For Tur Bo I did the same thing. I drove around on the neighbor’s side then put out 2 birds on my side. I heeled him to the neighbor’s side and released him. He hunted all of the available cover and was ready to go to my side. I motioned him over and the first bird he found he pointed but the was unsure. He didn’t hold very long and when he moved I could tell he wasn’t sure where the bird was. I released the bird on his movement. He went back to hunting and soon found his second bird. There was no doubt about this one. He held this point for almost a minute then moved. I flushed the bird.
Tur Bo
The first time I put birds on my side of the training grounds the dogs knew there were birds somewhere on the grounds. They didn’t trust their nose to find them. Now they are hunting all of the ground. This time none of them pointed until they smelled the bird. If you put the birds in the same place each time they will point but they don’t learn to trust their nose.