I’m sorry I haven’t put a post on my blog for a while but my wife, June, has been going through some problems with her heart. I haven’t been able to devote much time to the dogs, other than cleaning pens and making sure they have been fed, this week. June went in for what we thought was an out patient procedure and they have kept her in the hospital. As I write this I’m waiting on her pick up call. I haven’t been allowed to visit.
Josie on the barrel with pigeons in front of her.
Abby on the barrel with pigeons in front of her.
Josie with pigeons in front of her.
I do, usually, turn the puppies out several times a day. The puppies are really starting to explore the yard. I started putting a pigeon down in front of the puppies with it’s wings locked but they got to aggressive really quick. I don’t know whether they are just that aggressive or it’s because there are 8 of them but I had to quit locking the wings. Now, I just call the puppies when I have a pigeon in my hand and let it fly when they all are trying to get the bird.
This not only makes them bird crazy but it also teaches them to come to me. Most of them are now chasing the pigeon when I let it fly away.
I also toss dog food in the grass close to where I’m sitting so they get something good when they come close to me, as well as it teaches them to use their nose to find the food. I do this close to their kennel with the food they have in their kennel. When we are close to the pigeon house and older dogs I use the grown dogs food. The puppies like this and most of the time when one is finding food they all hear and come running. They have to use their nose to find the food.
The last time I worked the young dogs, Josie and Abby, I started with Abby. I had put some pigeons in release traps but I kept the bag of birds on my shoulder, as we walked the edge of my yard. I heeled Abby out of the kennel with the e-collars on her neck and flanks. I whoaed her a few times with no stimulation but she was not stopping as fast as I thought she should.
Abby, also, thinks when I say, “whoa” that as long as she stays in the general area that is close enough. She hasn’t got the idea that “whoa” means don’t move your feet. I started stimulating her with the transmitter on 2 low. That made her stop quicker. But some of the time she would move a foot when she was on whoa. On this day I was ready. When she moved a foot I would stimulate with a 2 medium. After a couple of these she quit moving.
I still had 5 pigeons in the bird bag and as we got back behind my house I slipped one out of the bag, hit the transmitter button on 2 low, and said, “whoa”. As I said, “whoa” I tossed a pigeon in front of Abby. I still had the piggin’ string in my hand. She started to follow the pigeon and I jerked upward on the piggin’ string and said, “whoa”, again. She stopped and watched the pigeon fly away.
We went all the way to the back of my yard and as we started back toward the front I stimulated her and said, “whoa” and tossed another pigeon. She jumped but didn’t try to follow. We watched it fly away. I heeled and whoaed her back to the retrieving bench. With my help she jumped onto the bench.
Abby.
When I tossed my glove down the bench, after petting her at several spots on the bench, she retrieved them. She really seems to enjoy retrieving the glove but when I tried it a few days ago with a retrieving dummy she refused. I am going to try a longer chain, from the pulley system on the bench, and see if she will retrieve from the ground, beside the bench. I set her on the ground.
We went to the whoa barrel where she jumped up. I attached the chain to her collar and got the release traps, with a pigeon, out of the shade and set them right in front of her. I put a pigeon to sleep in the grass in front of her. After styling her up and taking pictures I woke the pigeon and let it fly away. She knows that to move much will cause the barrel to shake and she will fall. She didn’t move.
As I styled her up I flushed a pigeon from a release trap. She didn’t move. I put another pigeon to sleep in front of her but it woke up and flew away before I could do anything. I had one more so I put it to sleep. As I took pictures I flushed the last pigeon from the release trap. I continued to walk around her kicking the grass. I woke the last pigeon and it flew away. She didn’t move. I took her back to the kennel.
Every dog is different. Josie is really good on whoa and is actually better on the heel command. The worst thing she does is when we are heeling she thinks she can anticipate my turns if she keeps her head against my leg. It’s hard to walk with a dog’s head against your leg.
Puppies trying to figure out how to hook up the trailer.
I did a few left turns to get her head off my leg. We went to the front of my yard, across to the north then back toward the back. When we got behind my house I said, “whoa” and tossed a pigeon in front of her. I was expecting to jerk back on the piggin’ string but she went straight up when I tossed the pigeon. I almost flipped her over. She stopped when I said, “whoa”.
We went on to the back and started toward the front. As we heeled I hit the stimulation on the transmitter on low 2, said, “whoa” and tossed a pigeon in front of her. This time I just tightened the piggin’ string and she stopped. I heeled her to the retrieving bench where she jumped on with my help.
The first toss of the glove wasn’t but about half way down the bench and she retrieved it just fine. The next toss was all the way to the end and she went about half way and acted scared to go down the bench. She had turned around too fast the last time on the bench and her back legs went off the bench and she fell. That may have caused her to be a little timid. I made another short toss and she retrieved the glove. I set her on the ground.
Pigeons make the difference.
I heeled her to the whoa barrel and set her on it. After attaching the chain to her collar I moved the pigeons in the release traps in front of her. I put a pigeon to sleep in front of her. I styled her, took some pictures then walked in front of her. I woke the pigeon and it flew away. She moves a little more on the barrel than Abby does.
She was still styled so I flushed a pigeon from a release trap while I was putting another bird to sleep. Flushing from the release trap doesn’t seem to bother them as much as one that has been put to sleep, flushing from the ground. I continued to walk around her. I woke the pigeon and it just started walking away. I thought if I could get around it I could herd it back in front of Josie. Not this time. When I got close the pigeon flew away.
Josie with the release traps and a pigeon asleep in the grass.
I walked back and forth then put another pigeon to sleep in front of her. I flushed the second bird in the release trap. She didn’t move. I walked back and forth then woke the last pigeon. She was pretty steady when it flew away. I heeled her back to the kennel.
While I was writing this June called and I was able to go pick her up from the hospital. She’s home where she should be, thank the Lord.
Along with training these two I will soon have another. I’m keeping the lone male pup out of Sally and Mann’s litter. June and I have been trying out new names on him but I couldn’t come up with something I liked. He was the only male in this litter with 8 females. We tried King, Duke, Sonny and several others but I didn’t like them. Finally, I remembered that El Jefe means the boss. So, for today at least, that is his name, Windypoint’s El Jefe.