The weather forecast for this week is rain every day except Monday morning so I decided to just work the young English setters, Mann and Babe. I have been working the older dogs most of the time but with Sally being due to deliver her puppies any day, I decided not to work the older dogs.
Six release traps by the whoa barrel.
Babe on the whoa post.
Mann pointing a pigeon.
Babe has been wagging on her points. Not just a twitching but a full wag like she is the happiest dog in the whole wide world. I don’t field trial but even so, it doesn’t look good and the other dogs may not recognize her wagging as a point. I have been putting her on a whoa barrel and she doesn’t wag. I keep flushing pigeons while she is on point on the barrel. She doesn’t move. I even put one pigeon to sleep and laid it on the whoa barrel. It woke up and walked around in front of her until I flushed it. She didn’t move with the pigeon walking right under her chin.
This morning I put all six of my release traps in front of the whoa barrel, with pigeons in them. After putting the e-collar and GPS collar on Babe and heeled her out with the piggin’ string. I had her dragging the long check cord. In a short distance I whoaed her and walked about 50 feet in front of her. I came back and walked around her. I heeled her away for several more yards then whoaed her again. This time I knelt down and called her to me. She came in a run.
When we got to the whoa barrel I took the check cord and piggin’ string off and set her on the barrel. I styled her up. She stands with a perfect tail and she doesn’t move. She does not wag. The first time she was put on the barrel she jumped off. The chain stopped her with her back feet just touching the ground. She hasn’t moved on the barrel since.
After styling her up I walked in front taking pictures. I kicked the cover and flushed a pigeon. She moved her head to watch the pigeons but didn’t try to chase or move her feet. I continued to kick the cover and flushed another pigeon. I stroked her sides then walked back in front before flushing another pigeon. After each pigeon I stroked her sides and told her what a good girl she is, then went back in front kicking the cover. I flushed all six pigeons. I set her on the ground and styled her up. Right beside the barrel she doesn’t move after I style her up. I heeled her away.
She jumped onto the retrieving bench and we walked up and down it with me petting her every few feet. I took a one inch dowel rod and placed it behind her canine teeth and said, “hold”. I would pet her for a few seconds as she held the dowel until I said, “give”. I had her hold the dowel in 6 different places on the bench. Each time she held the dowel I had her take a step. This is hard for the puppies. All I want from her is to move all 4 feet. I put her on the chain gang.
On the retrieving bench I have been using a canvas covered dummy that I keep in a plastic milk container. I think, some animal took my canvas bumpers. There were two of them in the container and now there is none. My retrieving bench is not where I would expect a person taking them, although this is possible, but I really think some animal took them.
I got more pigeons and picked up the release traps. I hid the pigeons, three traps in two different locations.
I took Babe off the chain gang and heeled her away. She was dragging me with the long check cord when she hit the scent cone on the first set of pigeons. She was wagging but not as bad as before. I walked in front of her aggressively kicking the cover. She stopped wagging as I attacked the cover. I flushed a pigeon and she turned her head to watch it fly away. She didn’t move her feet. I started kicking before she could start wagging. I flushed the other two pigeons. I went to her, styled her up and petted her. I tapped her head and she started dragging me to the next set of pigeons.
Babe with the pigeon asleep on the barrel.
When she got close to the next set of pigeons she pointed, when she hit the scent cone. She was wagging but it wasn’t as bad as before. When I went in front of her, aggressively kicking the cover, she quit wagging. I flushed all 3 pigeons, starting with the farthest from her, and she only moved her head. I stroked her and styled her up then tapped her head. I took her back to the kennel.
Leaving the release traps where they were, I reloaded them. I heeled Mann out with the e-collar and GPS collar around his neck dragging the long check cord. Mann doesn’t have to work on the whoa barrel. I drug the whoa barrel out of the woods for Babe. I hadn’t used it for a lot of years.
Mann heeled for a short distance when I whoaed him. I walked about 50 feet in front of him then walked back to him and all around him. I heeled him away. I whoaed him again and walked about 50 feet in front of him. I turned and called him to me. He came in a run. I heeled him to the retrieving bench. He jumped onto it.
As we walked up one side and down the other I stopped and petted him. Mann doesn’t hold the dummy as well as Babe does so I have to work with him a little more. I opened his mouth, placed the dowel rod behind the canines, took my hand away as I said, “hold”. He spit the dowel out. I put some pressure on his lip against his teeth, not enough to make him yelp, and replaced the dowel in his mouth. He spit it out. We went through this about 4 times before he held the dowel. When he held it, I petted him and told him what a good boy he is.
Luke pointing a pigeon.
I had him hold the dowel in 6 different places on the bench. Three times he held it fine and three times I had to pinch his lip against his teeth. When he spits it out there has to be a consequence. I set him on the ground and heeled him away.
I don’t make him drag the check cord when I work him on birds. When I tapped him on the head he checked most of the spots I had ever hid a bird for him before as he moved down the field. He hit the scent cone and went on point. As I started toward him he took a step toward the bird and went back on point. I yelled, “what are you doing”. I picked him up and set him back.
As I kicked in front of him I flushed the pigeon that was farthest from him. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed another pigeon. He watched the bird fly away but didn’t move. As I continued to kick the cover I flushed the pigeon he had pointed. He watched it fly off but didn’t move. I heeled him a short distance, tapped his head and he went back to hunting.
He hit the scent cone on the next set of birds and slid to a stop. I watched him closely but he didn’t move. I walked to him kicking the cover. I flushed the first pigeon and he watched it fly away without moving his feet. I flushed another then flushed the pigeon he was pointing. He never moved. I took him back to the kennel.
I may be able to break Babe from wagging with enough work on the whoa barrel but I will probably never be able to work her without the long check cord. Her breeding is telling her to go wherever she has to, to find birds. As long as she’s hunting I can live with it.
An update on Sally. She, finally, 65 days after her final breeding, had a litter of 8 pups. One was born dead. This morning I checked on the pups and found another puppy dead. This happens but as a breeder I feel like I failed the pups. I checked them often but sometime in the night the little puppy passed away. There may have been something wrong with the little girl but I didn’t see a problem.
Sally and her babies.
Mann pointing a pigeon.
Babe pointing a pigeon.