I had a friend bring a young dog over and work it on my backing dog. We, after working the second day on backing, put some pigeons out for it to point. Working with the young dog made me regret selling Bodie. I really enjoy working the dogs on birds and I hate force fetching the dogs. But in my opinion, for a reliable retrieve, they need to be force fetched.
Mann after the pigeon had flown.
Abby really concentrating on this honor.
Sally pointing quail.
I have been trying to work Abby and Boss twice a day on the retrieving bench. Some days I actually get it done, some days I don’t.
A few days ago, I heeled Mann from the kennel and whoaed him where the rest of the dogs could see us working on the retrieve. Mann is starting to really enjoy retrieving. I threw the Dokken quail and he ran to it, picked it up and ran straight back with the dummy. I had him hold for a few seconds then said, “give”. He dropped it in my hand. I tried to give him a treat but all he wanted was to be petted.
The Dokken quail has a string on it so you can throw it farther. For Mann and Sally I throw as far as I can. On the second throw Mann crossed in front of me just as the dummy was moving at it’s fastest. It hit him in the side of the head and knocked him to his knees. The dummy still went about 15 yards. My first thought was he will never retrieve again. Mann went straight to the dummy, scooped it up and returned. I did a lot of apologizing, that he really didn’t understand but he liked the petting. I threw the dummy a few more times then let him run for a while.
My neighbor and I cut a large elm tree down close to the kennels. It was dead and in danger of falling on the pigeon pen or maybe the kennels. We had left a tall, maybe ten feet tall, stump. Earlier this year I cut the stump to about chair height. Before returning the dogs to the kennel I sit on the stump and pet each dog. The girls, Sally and Abby, really like the treats I feed them but not the boys, Mann and Boss. Mann would stand and let me pet him all day, I think. Boss crawls into my lap. Neither will even eat a treat.
Turkey season is open in Missouri now. To the west of me is a lot of farm land that has several people hunting. I run the dogs with the 4-wheeler so I can keep them from going off my property. Most of the dogs try to stay in front of the 4-wheeler. I stay right behind them to the back of my property then as I make the turn to head back toward the kennels I get them in front of me, again. When it’s cool enough I let them make two rounds. Yesterday I didn’t get a chance to let them run until late in the day and once was enough with the temperature being in the seventies.
Boss pointing a pigeon
I worked Sally next. She will work for treats. She figured out really quickly that if she did everything right on a retrieve she got a treat. If she dropped the dummy when she got back to me, instead of holding it, she didn’t get a treat. She stands with the dummy in her mouth until I say, “give”.
It’s really hard to video Sally retrieving. Most of the pictures I have taken of my dogs were when they were on point so she stops when she sees me raise the camera. Her dad, Turbo, did the same in a hunt test one time causing a judge to laugh and say, “That’s the first time I ever saw a dog pose for a picture.”
All of these dogs love to run and they can run fast when I ride the 4-wheeler. After running her to the back I sat on the tree stump and petted her. She also got 4 or 5 treats.
Boss pointing Abby honoring.
I heeled Abby near the retrieving bench but whoaed her about 15 yards from it, took the Wonder lead off, tapped her head and said, “up”. She ran and jumped onto the retrieving bench. I walked both sides of the bench petting her at several spots on the bench. I put the string around her toes and held the dowel in front of her and said, “fetch”. I tighten the string each time but now most times it’s just a slight pressure. She knows that if she takes the dowel the pressure goes off. If her head is high I hold the dowel near her feet. If her head is low I hold it higher. She is doing a good job reaching for the dowel. After about 8 or 10 fetches I heel her back to near the 4-wheeler.
When we get close I say, “whoa”, take the Wonder lead off and get on the 4-wheeler. After I start the 4-wheeler and put it in gear I say, “okay”. All of the dogs go as fast as possible to the back. They aren’t as fast as they are when they know I have pigeons out for them but they are fast. After a good run I sit on the stump and feed her treats as I pet her.
Boss is next. He is not as far along as Abby is because he’s trying different things to beat me. I started stopping him before we got to the retrieving bench and sending him to leap on before I did Abby. But he’s trying to be tentative with every thing right now. I heeled him to the bench and said, “up”. He jumped onto the bench. I walked both sides of the bench petting him.
Mann on point Sally honoring.
I put the string around his toes. I placed the dowel right in front of his mouth, pulled on the string and said, “fetch”. He took the dowel but just barely closed his mouth on it. I raised his head, petted him and tapped on the dowel. He tightened on the dowel. After a few seconds I said, “give”. He didn’t want to give the dowel up. There is no pressure when the dowel is in his mouth. I only said, “give” once and waited. After several seconds he moved his head off the dowel.
After the first time I started raising and lowering the dowel so he had to reach for it. His hold got better as we went along. He knows what it takes to end the session and he goes through the motions. This part of the force fetch is not fun for either of us. I heeled him back near the 4-wheeler and put him on whoa. I got on the 4-wheeler and let him run.
Sally pointing a single.
When we got back to the kennels I sat on the stump and Boss crawled into my lap. I don’t know whether it’s pay back or not but he seems to always find some mud to get into just before we get to the stump. But I allow him to get onto my lap and I pet him. After a couple of minutes I put him in his kennel. I may enjoy the petting more than the dogs.
I’m recycling pictures because I haven’t been working the dogs on pigeons and I don’t take pictures on the retrieving bench right now because I want to really focus on what the young dogs are doing.