Tur Bo with a Dokken quail..
Blaze with the chuckar.
Dolly with the pheasant.
It has been too hot to work dogs on anything except retrieving. Lord knows they need work on retrieving. I was going to work Tur Bo on some pigeons this morning since it was supposed to be in the 60’s this morning. I got up early and checked the temperature. It was 75 so I worked the dogs on force fetch.
The dogs would rather point birds (and I like the pictures of them on point better than of them retrieving) but they enjoy the attention they get from retrieving. Blaze has her 2 pups in the shed so she gets the run of the big pen. I usually work her first then put her in a kennel until I work the rest of the dogs.
I put the e-collars on Blaze. I always put both e-collars on the dogs, the neck collar and the flank collar. I work the dogs on a lot of commands in the yard and I don’t want them to be able to get by with not stopping if I say whoa. I heeled Blaze to the first retrieving dummy lying in the yard and said, fetch”. She dropped her nose but didn’t even try to pick up the dummy. I heeled her in a circle and held the button on the neck collar down on it’s lowest setting. When she came to the dummy she picked it up. I let off the button when she cleared the ground with the dummy. I knelt in front of her and called her to me. I petted her for a while before saying, “give”. She dropped it in my hand. I heeled her to the next bumper lying on the ground. She picked it up, brought it to me and held it until I said, “give” with no problem.
She picked each of the retrieving dummies up including the Dokken chukar and the Dokken quail and delivered them to hand waiting for me to say, “give”. I threw the Dokken quail and said, “fetch”. Blaze started for the quail pen. I turned the e-collar to level 3 and held the button down. I called Blaze back. I held the button down until she got to my side. I walked with her to the quail dummy. She picked it up and we walked back to where I had thrown it from. I knelt down and had her hold the dummy for a few seconds then said, “give”. She dropped it in my hand.
I threw the quail 6 or 7 times and she retrieved it correctly each time. I put her in the kennel.
My daughter, Dana, my son-in-law, Robert and grandson, Isaac, were petting the puppies a few days ago and I threw the quail dummy for Blaze and she refused to retrieve. I let her get away with it. With her running loose she thinks she is in charge. For some dogs, it doesn’t take much for them to take charge. I will have to enforce everything she knows to keep this from happening in the field.
I brought Dolly out with the e-collars on her flanks and neck. Dolly enjoys the attention and likes to retrieve. As we got close to the first dummy I said, “fetch”. She ran to the dummy, brought it back and sat in front of me. She held the dummy as I petted her. I said, “give” and she dropped it in my hand. She retrieved each of the dummies that were lying on the ground, correctly. I threw the quail for her 6 or 7 times. She ran to it, scooped it up, returned to me and sat in front of me holding until I said, “give”. I took her back to the kennel.
I heeled Tur Bo out next. He doesn’t do anything slow. As I heel him he is looking for the dummies lying on the ground. When he sees it I say, “fetch”. He saw the first one and I sent him to retrieve. He scooped it up and returned. He ran by me on the right circled around coming back on my left. He sat on my left holding the dummy. I petted him then said, “give”. He dropped it in my hand. I heeled him to the next one and he brought it back. I heeled him to the next and when he saw it I said “fetch”. He passed it then passed another and picked up the chuckar. He dropped the chuckar and grabbed the quail. He came back at 90 miles an hour on my right and circled back on my left. He stopped and I made him sit. He dropped the quail when I said, “give”.
I like to get 4 or 5 correct retrieves, in a row, before I quit with a dog. I must have thrown the quail 10 or 12 times before getting 3 in a row. Each time I threw the quail he would bring it back but a lot of the time he would sit beside me but drop the dummy before I reached for it. It was pretty warm and he wanted it out of his mouth so he could pant. Slowing down would work also. After 3 in a row I put him in the kennel.
Luke was next. I heeled him out and he retrieved all of the dummies that were lying on the ground, correctly. I have been trying to get him to retrieve the thrown dummies from longer distances. I threw a couple close then one farther out. He retrieved the close ones correctly and the first one from farther out. The next time I threw one farther he ran to it, acted like he was going to grab it and came back without it. I held the button down on the neck e-collar, on the lowest setting, and walked him back close to the dummy. He grabbed the quail and I let off the button. I went back to the place I had thrown the dummy from. He sat in front of me holding the dummy. He dropped it into my hand when I said, “give”. I threw 3 short retrieves then a couple a little farther. He did the close ones correctly and the first of the farther ones. The second of the farther throws he started to pick it up but didn’t. He circled it, grabbed it and returned. He sat in front of me holding the quail until I said, “give”. That was close enough, I put him back in the kennel.
During this hot weather the dogs are just happy for me to do anything with them. Force fetch is better than sitting in the kennel. Lucky doesn’t like to play these games so I just get him on top of his house and pet him for a few minutes. At 12 years old he has earned the right to not do something he doesn’t like.
Luke
Dolly
Blaze. I like pictures of dogs on point more.