I have only been able to work Abby and Josie a couple of times in the last week. The puppies, even in the rainy weather, needed to be out of their kennel, several times a day, so they could learn about their world. The puppies are now over 7 weeks old and have received their first shots and been wormed several times. Keeping track of 8 puppies going in different directions is stressful at times.
Puppies wanting attention.
Josie on the whoa barrel.
Josie on the whoa barrel.
Since these puppies were three weeks old I have been feeding them. I started with a formula of milk that was given to me by my vet. Each time I fed them I played the CD for Gun Conditioning by Master’s Voice. Now that they are on solid food, puppy chow, I still play the CD at least twice a day. The puppies were about 5 weeks old before I moved them into their raised kennel. The weather had turned real cold and I felt like they were better off in the shed where it was warmer.
But I took them outside when the weather allowed. I locked the wings on a pigeon a few times but the puppies got really aggressive, quick. After just a couple of lock wings I started letting them smell the pigeon then I would let it fly. I, also, tossed dog food in the grass to wake their nose up. They like to find the dog food from the big dogs better than their own. Different taste, I guess. When one pup finds the food, no matter where I throw it, the others join in like they are really hungry. But the food in their kennel never runs out. I keep food in their pans at all times.
This last week the different people that bought pups out of this litter came by and picked their puppy. I don’t feel right about picking the puppy for them. When each person told me they wanted a puppy I wrote their name down and that was the order of their pick. The first pick had 7 females to pick from and after each pick I left a puppy in the pen. My intention was to keep the male and I have one female left over. The last person to pick had two puppies to look at and he had a hard time choosing between the two.
With this Covid-19 there haven’t been as many people coming by to pet the puppies as there have been in the past but I handle them several times a day. There still have been a few people to pet them, enough for them to really like people. I have really enjoyed having the puppies and with all of this going on; the skeet range is closed, it’s dangerous to go to the lumber yards or even go to church, I’m glad I have them.
Yesterday, I worked Abby and Josie on heel, whoa, retrieving and honoring. I put the backing dog out with two pigeons, in release traps, in front of it. The backing dog was hidden behind a brush pile. I had three more pigeons, in the box on the 4-wheeler, parked near the whoa barrel.
I heeled Abby out with the e-collars around her neck and flanks. Later, on the honoring, I will want to work the pups on a check cord and have them honor, so I had her drag a long check cord. I heeled her to the front of my yard then to the north across my yard and my neighbor’s. Then toward the back. I whoaed her and walked around her, to the front and to the rear. These two pups are different on the e-collar. It takes a 2 medium for Abby but Josie will work fine with a 1 medium and sometimes with a 1 low.
Josie and the backing dog.
When we got toward the back we crossed the wet weather creek and started around the brush pile. As soon as I saw her see the backing dog, I whoaed her. I styled her and released one of the pigeons. She wanted to chase but I held her with the piggin’ string, saying, “whoa”. She styled back and I stood for a few seconds, released the second bird and laid the backing dog down. This time she didn’t try to chase. I petted her and heeled her to the retrieving bench.
Abby really likes the retrieving bench. She runs up and down it as I walk along and pet her at several spots on the bench. I threw my glove down the bench and she retrieved it 5 times. She doesn’t always hold until I take it but she brings it back. She either drops it as she gets to me or when I touch the glove. I make a big deal out of her getting the glove back to me then set her on the ground.
I heeled her to the whoa barrel and she jumped on. After I hooked her to the chain I put two release traps, with a pigeon in each, in front of her and then put a pigeon to sleep in the grass. I walked around in front of her taking pictures and kicking the grass. She was as close as she could get on the barrel but she wasn’t moving. I flushed a pigeon from one of the release traps. She didn’t move. I walked around her.
Abby and the whoa barrel.
I stroked her sides and told her what a good girl she is. As I walked around her I flushed the second bird in the release trap. She didn’t move. She could see the pigeon in the grass and her style was good as she stood tall on the barrel. I stroked her and walked in front and woke the pigeon. It flew away and she watched it go without moving. I set her beside the barrel and styled her as I said, “whoa”. I heeled her back to the kennel.
I reloaded the release traps, by the backing dog, and left 3 birds in the box on the 4-wheeler near the whoa barrel. I put the e-collars on Josie’s neck and flanks and heeled her out. We went the same way I had taken Abby. Josie is usually better about heeling and whoaing than Abby. Abby sometimes thinks she should be the leader. Josie is okay with me leading. Just a little difference in dogs.
We got to the front of my yard and I got a phone call from a friend I hadn’t talked to in a long time. I answered the phone after putting her on whoa. She stayed on whoa really well for a little while. I was standing a few feet in front of her when I answered the phone. When I wasn’t paying attention she came to me. In just a little while she was walking around me almost like I walk around her when she’s on whoa. After the call I whoaed her then heeled her on to the back.
Puppies trying to figue out how to hook up the trailer.
We crossed the creek and as we went around the brush pile she saw the backing dog and I whoaed her. I stroked her up and flushed a pigeon. She wanted to chase. I held her with the piggin’ string and styled her back up. I stroked her and told her what a good girl she is. I flushed the second pigeon and laid the backing dog down. She still wanted to chase. I held her with the piggin’ string.
I heeled her to the retrieving bench where she jumped on. She doesn’t like the bench as well as most of my dogs do. She fell off a few weeks ago and is scared of the far end. When we got to the far end with me just petting her she was lying on her belly. I keep thinking she will get over her fear but so far she hasn’t.
She’s only scared of the far half of the bench so I threw the glove about half way down the bench. She went to it but didn’t pick it up. I grabbed it and tossed it again. Again she went to it but didn’t pick it up. I went to the half way point of the bench and tossed the glove back to the start of the bench. She grabbed the glove and brought it to me. I tossed it 3 times then went to the start and tossed it back to the middle. She ran to the glove, scooped it up and brought it back. I set her on the ground.
Abby
We went to the whoa barrel where she jumped up for me to hook her to the chain. I had left the release traps in front of the whoa barrel but I hadn’t reloaded them. After styling her up I reloaded the release traps and put a pigeon to sleep in front of the barrel. Josie just knows she can catch those birds if I would just let her.
I styled her up and as I walked in between her and the birds she would move all the way up and some way hang on the side of the barrel. I set her back and when I went in front of her she would move. After several times of her moving she finally stayed where she was on the barrel. I flushed a pigeon from a release trap and the pigeon that was asleep awoke and flew, too. She almost came off the barrel. When I pick her up to set her back her front toes are curled around the end of the barrel to hold on. I almost lifted the barrel when I set her back.
We still had a pigeon in a release trap and after setting her back I walked between her and the pigeon. She moved. Several times she moved. I have been using the e-collar on whoa with both of these dogs. On a real low level and they understand that when they feel stimulation on their flanks they are to whoa. After giving her a chance to stay where I whoaed her I started stimulating her. When she moved I would hold the button on the transmitter down on medium 1 until I set her back. I tried to let off the button when her feet touched the barrel, where I wanted them.
Josie
After two or three times I could see that wasn’t working. I went to medium 2 on the e-collar. This is not enough to make her even squirm, for sure not enough for her to yelp. I still had to set her back 3 or 4 times before she finally let me walk between her and the pigeons without moving. I flushed the pigeon and she moved a little. I heeled her back to the kennel.
I haven’t even started my truck in at least a week. I have used June’s car to go to the grocery store but that is about all. With everything, skeet range and fun stuff, being closed, without these puppies and young dogs, I would go stark raving mad. I’m glad I have them.