Traveling Pointing Dogs

I gave Sally, Sunday off, from force fetch, then Monday was cold and miserable. So she got two days in a row off. It is cold, rainy and windy today but I thought I should do something with her. I put gloves, hat and a lot of clothes on and went out to work her.

I make her heel without me touching the leash.

Sally

Sally

I put the e-collar on her and heeled her out with a leash. I heeled her for about 25 yards then whoaed her. I hooked the leash around her flanks so it wouldn’t drag and made her heel with no restraint. After another 25 yards I whoaed her and took the leash off. I released her to run.

I walked to the retrieving bench and waited on her to come close. She came to me and I said, “up”. She jumped onto the retrieving bench. I petted her and walked her back and forth. I think, because of the amount of time I spend petting her, she loves the bench.

I hooked her to the pulley system on the bench but I had it where she couldn’t run back and forth. I put the string on her leg and a half hitch around her middle toes. I held the bumper in front of her and said, “fetch”. She was slow but she took it. I tapped the bumper telling her to hold. She held the bumper with no problem. I said, “give” and she dropped it in my hand.

I had her fetch and give several times and she did it correctly. Then she took the bumper by the end instead of in the middle. When I tapped on it she turned her head and the bumper dropped to the ground. I pulled on the string and slowly picked up the bumper. She grabbed the bumper. I tapped the bumper on both sides of her mouth but she held on. I said, “give” and she dropped it in my hand.

We did the fetch and hold several times. Once again, she took the bumper by the end. When I tapped on it it dropped to the ground. I pulled on the string and slowly reached for the bumper. When I got close to her head she grabbed it but dropped it again. I continued pulling on the string and when it got close to her mouth she grabbed the bumper. This time she held it correctly.

I untied the pulley system so she could reach farther and move along the bench. I raised the bumper above eye level for her and said, “fetch”. She raised her head and grabbed the bumper. I held it near her feet and said, “fetch” and she took the bumper. Most of the time I tap on the bumper to make sure she is holding, correctly.

I placed one end on the bench while holding the bumper and told her to fetch. She reached down and took it. It was slow but taking the bumper from the bench level is a big step. After three retrieves from the bench I took the string off and had her carry the bumper to the other end of the bench. I petted her then said, “give”. I took the bumper and set her on the ground. It was too cold to let her run for very long but she ran for a few minutes. I put her in the kennel.

I intended to work Sally on Wednesday but when I got up it was 17 or 18 degrees. It warmed up later in the day but I didn’t get time, to work her. This morning was above freezing when I got up. More like April.

I led Sally out with the piggin’ string. She had an e-collar on but I didn’t even have the transmitter. I want the dogs to be used to getting the e-collar on whenever they are out of the kennel. I heeled her toward the retrieving bench with some 180 degree turns thrown in for good measure. I whoaed her and released her to run for a few minutes before putting her on the bench.

A really big bumper.

This morning I snapped the chain to her collar but left it free where she could run up and down the bench but not jump off. I put the string around her leg with a half hitch around her toes. I held a bumper in front of her and said, “fetch” and pulled on the string until she opened her mouth. I don’t have to pull very hard. Just enough that she knows I can do it harder. After the first time on the normal bumper she opens before I pull. I give her the option.

Again, this morning she took the bumper by the end instead of the middle. When she does this I know she’s going to drop it. I always play along and tap on the bumper. She drops it and I pull on the string and slowly pick up the bumper. When it gets close she grabs the bumper.

This morning I introduced several other bumpers. I have one that is a 3/4 inch pipe that I have wrapped duct tape around with a large ball of tape on one end. She didn’t like this one. I have another Styrofoam bumper with the cover coming off. She didn’t like it, either.

I started with the pipe bumper and when I held it in front of her and said, “fetch” she didn’t want to open her mouth. I pulled on the string and she opened right up. I tapped on the bumper and she spit it out. I pulled on the string and slowly picked it up. When I held it in front of her she grabbed it. I had her fetch and hold several times with this bumper.

A ragged bumper.

The Styrofoam bumper, when I held it in front of her she didn’t want to take. I held a steady pressure on the string and she opened her mouth. As soon as she took it her head went down and she dropped it. I pulled on the string and slowly picked up the bumper. I held it in front of her and she grabbed it. When I released the pressure on the toes she spit it out. I pulled on the string and slowly picked up the bumper. When I got close to her she grabbed the bumper. This time she held it. I petted her and tapped on the bumper but she wasn’t letting go. When I said, “give” she dropped it.

I had her grab the bumper above her eyes and with one end on the bench. I used 4 different bumpers and the next time I will use more. Hopefully, I will be able to work her 3 times today.

After she was back in the kennel for about an hour I put the e-collar on her and led her out again with the piggin’ string. After a little heeling practice I turned her loose to run for a few minutes. This time I had the transmitter for the e-collar and when she didn’t come back in a few seconds I held the tone signal button down for a few seconds and called her. She came in a dead run. I said, “up” and she jumped onto the kennel.

I now have about 10 different bumpers for her to work on. I started with the one I’ve been using all along then went to others. She didn’t like the pipe bumper and the bumper with the cover coming off so we worked on them. She dropped the old bumper once but that didn’t work for her so she held the rest of them.

The pipe with a duct tape ball on one end.

I have some real big bumpers that some dogs in the past didn’t like. I was beginning to think they were too big for English setters but Sally took it with no problem. This second time today we worked on her taking the bumper above head high and off the bench. She only dropped one bumper and we used about 6 or 7 different ones. I will continue to mix the bumpers up so she learns that she must grab something when I say, “fetch”.

I was able to work her the third time today. As usual, I led her out of the kennel with the piggin’ string. I did a little practice on heeling then released her to run. I had to call her when I wanted her to get on the retrieving bench, but she jumped on with a happy tail. I hooked her to the pulley system where she could run up and down the bench.

Even with me doing force fetch with her she gets right on the bench. I put the string around her leg with a half hitch around her toes. I petted her for a while then held a bumper in front of her and said, “fetch” and pulled on the string. She took the bumper. I had her hold it for a few seconds then said, “give”. She dropped it in my hand.

I started going to different bumpers. Some I had her fetch and hold several times and some only a couple of times. I want her to look for something to put in her mouth when I say, “fetch”. This afternoon she had trouble holding the large bumper. Not that it’s too large but because she’s trying to see what she can get by with.

When she dropped it I pulled on the string and was in no hurry to pick up the bumper. Usually, before I got close to her her mouth was open. I think she dropped that large bumper four times. She must learn that when she picks something up she can’t drop it. Each time I pulled on the string and slowly picked up the bumper. Finally, she held it.

Force fetch is never fun but we are past the really hard part. She’s getting the idea. We haven’t worked on this very many days and she’s reaching high and low to grab the bumper. A few more days and she will quit dropping the bumper, I hope.

Another bumper.

She’s holding the bumper and holding up her foot with the string.

A different bumper.

I will write about the force fetch as we go along. I have already put the first day on the blog and now I will just write about each day kind of like a log book.

Sally holding a bumper.

Sally with a bumper.

Sally walking down the bench.

March 30, 2018 The over night temperature had been well below freezing so I waited until about 10:30 am to work her. Working her on the retrieving bench is easier than working them on birds. I just have to take an e-collar and piggin’ string to the kennel. She jumps onto her house and I put the e-collar on and lead her out with the piggin’ string.

Along with the force fetch we work on her heeling. I heel her for a few feet with the piggin’ string then whoa her and take the piggin’ string off. I slap my leg and tell her to heel. Most times she does it pretty well. After a few feet of heeling off lead I whoa her then tap her head to let her run. I go to the retrieving bench and wait for her to come to me. I pet her then tell her “up”. She jumps onto the retrieving bench.

I walk her back and forth on the bench, stopping her and I pet her. I have the pulley system on my bench tied where it will not move. I snap her collar to it. I put the string around her leg above the tarsal joint and then around two toes with a half hitch. I made some bumpers out of 1 1/2 inch schedule 40 plumbing pipe. I just cut 10 inch pieces and wrapped duct tape around them to make them easier to hold.

I petted her for a few minutes then held the bumper in front of her and said, “fetch”. She didn’t reach for it so I pulled on the string. The first time I had to put a little pressure on toes but after the first time she took the bumper as soon as the string got tight. I let her hold the bumper for quite a while, maybe 45 seconds, as I groomed her ears and tapped on the bumper. She held it really well the first few times then she got lazy.

She took the bumper, instead of in the middle, she was toward the end. Then she acted like the bumper was really heavy and it turned her head sideways. When her head got sideways the bumper slid out. I pulled on the string and slowly bent over and picked up the bumper. I held pressure on the string until she took the bumper. As soon as she took it I let off the pressure. That was the only time that the bumper was heavy enough to turn her head sideways. Dogs will try to beat you any way they can.

I set her on the ground and let her run for a few minutes. When she came close to the retrieving bench I had her jump onto it, again. This time I just walked her back and for the petting her. I took her back to the kennel.

About 2:00 pm I put her back on the bench, after letting her run for a few minutes. After hooking her to the pulley system and putting the toe hitch on I held the bumper in front of her and said, “fetch”. She didn’t even try until I pulled on the string. As soon as the string got tight she reached for the bumper. She’s still not moving very fast for the bumper.

After the first time she, usually, will take the bumper without me pulling on the string. I want her to grab the bumper so I started pulling on the string then saying, “fetch”. I had her hold it for a very short time then took it from her. I pulled on the string again and said, “fetch”. We did this over and over. She started getting faster.

I’m going to do a lot of repetitions of this to get her to grab the bumper. She is doing really well for this only being the second day of the force part of force fetch. I rode the 4-wheeler while she ran around the yard. After a few minutes I put her back in the kennel.

Sally

3/31/18

I was going to work Sally three times yesterday but life got in the way. I only got to work her twice but she’s coming along real well.

This morning when we got to the bench, before I could say, “up”, she jumped onto the bench with so much exuberance that she slid off the other side. She came back under the bench and jumped on top. The instant she got to the top she looked over the side. A squirrel took off from under the bench and she jumped off the bench and was right behind the squirrel. I called her and she came back. I said, “up” and she jumped back on the bench. She was still excited and watched where the squirrel had disappeared. I petted her until she settled down.

Sally doesn’t look on this force fetch the way a person would. She is ready to get back on the bench. In fact she loves the attention or she wouldn’t be so ready to jump onto the bench. I do a lot of petting and I tell her what a good dog she is over and over.

Sally

I walked her back and forth on the bench then hooked her to the pulley system. I want her to reach quicker for the bumper so I’m pulling on the string, gently. That is kind of hard to explain but she knows if she takes the bumper the pain goes away. Now I’m not pulling hard enough for her to feel pain as long as she reaches for the bumper. She is also still trying to figure out what she can get by with. One time this morning she wanted to try to refuse the bumper. As I tightened the string she decided that wasn’t the best choice.

This morning I had her reach for the bumper. She didn’t reach far but I held the bumper above her head and sometimes below her nose a few inches. It seems like she does better above her head right now. She will get better on both. I had her holding and giving before I started the force fetch. That has really paid off. She very seldom drops the bumper.

She, also, is going after the bumper quicker. I will continue to tighten the string before I say fetch for a while.

Sally

When I finished I set her on the ground, tapped her and said, “okay”. She went right where the squirrel had gone. She was really moving but the squirrel was gone. I let her run for a while then since she wasn’t in sight I hit the tone on the e-collar and called her. As I walked back toward the kennel she passed me. Before we got to the kennel she went across the fence to the north. I knelt down, hit the tone button on the e-collar and called her. She came right to me in a dead run. I put her in the kennel after petting her for a few seconds.

I came back out in the afternoon. I had left my piggin’ string in the house so I led her from the kennel with a leash. We have been working on the heel command off lead. I hooked the leash to her collar and heeled her out of the kennel. I whoaed her and hooked the leash around flanks. I slapped my leg and told her to heel. She walked along side of me better with the leash than she had when I took the piggin’ string off. I released her but decided to take the leash off so I called her back. I removed the leash and let her run until I got to the retrieving bench. When she came to me I said, “up” and she jumped onto the bench.

I walked her back and forth on the bench. I stopped her and petted her every few feet. I attached her collar to the pulley system where she couldn’t move. I put the string around her toes. I held the bumper in front of her mouth, pulled the string and said, “fetch”. The first time she is slow and I have to put a little pressure on the string but she reaches for the bumper. I took the bumper from her then held it above her eyes where she would have to reach up. She took the bumper with no problem.

Luke pointing quail.

As she holds the bumper I caress her ears, tap on her muzzle, tap on both ends of the bumper and tap her chin. I tell her to “hold” as I tap on her. One time she took the bumper by the end. I knew what was coming. I tapped on the bumper and it slid out of her mouth. I pulled on the string and slowly picked up the bumper. When I put it in front of her she grabbed it. I tapped on both ends of the bumper and it didn’t move.

Another time she spit the bumper out. Again, I pulled on the string and reached slowly for the bumper. When I put it in front of her she grabbed it. I let off the pressure on the string.

Most of the time she held the bumper great. She is trying different things to see what she can get by with. I had her take the bumper 20 or 25 times then put her on the ground to run around for a few minutes. I put her back in the kennel.

Dogs do things, to see what they can get by with, just like we did to our parents or our kids did to us. Earlier I couldn’t get by with this but maybe I can this time. Training dogs is not too much different from training kids.

Sally on point.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo on a pigeon.

I don’t like to force fetch my dogs but it is necessary. I put Sally on the bench last year and taught her to hold and give. It taught her to give the bird up but not to fetch. After the season was over I guided some guys who killed approximately 140 birds over her and part of the time with Dolly and in the afternoon with 2 German short hairs, that would retrieve. She really learned to mark. Most of the time she would beat the short hairs to the bird. When she did they would go back to hunting and I had to walk to her to get the bird. Some of the time she would start toward me with it but drop it before she got close and sometimes she would just guard it until I got there. But teaching the “give” command made her drop the bird with no issues.

Sally holding a bumper.

I used an old collar through a turn buckle to keep her in one place.

The toe hitch.

Teaching her to hold and give before I started the actual force breaking made it much easier, I think. The first day I put her on the bench I just worked her on hold and give. I opened her mouth and put the bumper behind her canines. She remembered how to do it. When I worked her last year I had also made her hold and give on the ground so I set her on the ground, placed the bumper behind her canines and we started back to the kennel. After we had gone about 50 yards she dropped the bumper. I pinched her lips against her teeth, lightly, and replaced the bumper in her mouth. When we got to the kennel she thought she was done. As she went through the gate she dropped the bumper. I stopped her, pinched her lips against her teeth, lightly. I replaced the bumper. When we got inside her kennel I had her jump on her house with the bumper still in her mouth. When she hit the top of her house she spit the bumper out. I picked it up and put it back in her mouth. Jumping with the bumper is new so I didn’t pinch her lips against her teeth. I told her to give and took the bumper.

This morning I started with the toe pinch. We practiced the hold and give for a few minutes then I ran an old collar through a turn buckle then around the pulley system on the bench so she couldn’t run away. I had a string with a loop in one end that I placed around her leg above the tarsal joint (first joint above the foot) then a half hitch around two toes on her left front foot.

I let her get used to being restrained for a few minutes. Then I opened her mouth, put the bumper behind her canines and told her to hold. I left it for a few seconds then said, “give”. She dropped it in my hand.

Now it was time for the part I hate to do but it’s very necessary. I pulled on the string and it tightened around her toes. I held the bumper in front of her mouth. She tried to turn her head away but the bumper followed. I continued to pull. She tried to pull her foot back and I just kept my hand still. Finally, she opened her mouth and I put the bumper in her mouth and let off the pressure on her toes. She has “hold” down so we had no issues with her holding the bumper. I let her hold it for a few seconds then said, “give”. She dropped it in my hand.

Sally

I petted her and told her what a good girl she is. I had also petted her while she was holding the bumper. Petting and petting a lot is a big part of this. I held the bumper in front of her and said, “fetch”. I pulled the string and she locked her jaws. I kept a constant pressure on the string and she finally opened her mouth. I put the bumper behind her canines. I petted her and groomed her ears. Each time I make sure that her teeth aren’t biting her lips. After a few seconds I took the bumper from her.

I held the bumper in front of her, said, “fetch” and pulled on the string. She opened her mouth. This didn’t happen the third time but after a few tries. I made a big deal out of it. After a few seconds I took the bumper from her.

Sometimes she opened before I could pull but most of the time she didn’t but she did really well for the first time. Finally, she took it one time with out me even pulling on the string. I figured that was good place to stop. The first session was about 15 minutes long. I let her run for a few minutes before going back to the kennel.

Tur Bo

I left her in the kennel for about an hour and a half then we went back to the bench. I tied her to the cable running down my retrieving bench so she couldn’t move around. I put the string around her left front foot. I pulled on the string and said, “fetch” while holding the bumper in front of her. She resisted but not for very long. She is learning that if she takes the bumper the pain goes away. After she held the bumper for a few seconds I said, “give”. Now she’s not as ready to give as she was. This will come.

Pretty soon she was opening her mouth as soon as the string got tight. With the toe hitch it causes their head to go down. I started holding the bumper a few inches below her head so she had to reach. Then I started holding it at eye level. She would reach for it. I still have to pull on the string most of the time but she’s learning really fast. Normally, force fetch doesn’t go very fast so I will hit a problem down the line, probably.

I haven’t seen the sun in I don’t know how long and today was no different. It never got out of the low 40’s and then started to rain. I was going to work Sally four times today but that didn’t work out. But I did work her the third time after I took care of my animals, this evening.

I heeled her out of the kennel then let her run for a few minutes. As I stood by the retrieving bench she came close. I called her to me and she jumped onto the bench. I walked her up and down then hooked her to the chain on the pulley system.

I held the bumper in front of her and pulled on the string around her toes. She didn’t take the bumper right away but she only resisted for a few seconds. I held pressure on the toes until she took the bumper. I took the bumper from her after petting her for a few seconds. I held the bumper where she had to reach above her head then the next time had her reach for it a little lower than where her head was.

Luke pointing quail.

I started saying, “fetch” then pulling on the string. If she took the bumper before I pulled on the string I didn’t pull. With enough repetitions she will learn that when I say “fetch” she needs to get something in her mouth. I had her take the bumper, probably, 15 or 20 times then took the string off. I walked her down the bench with the bumper in her mouth. We got to the end of the bench and she dropped the bumper. I had another bumper and pinched her lips against her teeth and put the bumper back in her mouth. I made her hold the bumper while I walked around the bench. I took the bumper from her and set her on the ground.

I never let the dogs jump off the bench. It’s hard on their joints to hit the ground that hard but the biggest reason is I don’t want them to decide when they get off the bench. If I set them on the ground we do it when I want to.

I let her run toward the back then we went on back to the kennel. I let her run before we start and after so she can shake the pressure off. I worked her three times but neither time was over fifteen minutes. As long as the weather stays about half way decent I’ll work her several times most days. I’ll still give her each Sunday off. We all need a day off.

Sally with a bumper.

Sally walking down the bench.

Sally