It was cold this morning so I decided to wait until afternoon to train dogs. I put the roading harness on Tur Bo, hooked the weights on, then started heeling and whoaing him. (It started spitting snow.) We walked around the edge of my yard stopping, saying whoa, walking ahead of him for 20 yards or so, walking around him then tapping him on the head, saying heel and stepping off. It’s around 1/2 mile around the perimeter of my yard, so we get 40 to 50 stops. Tur Bo is starting to stop and stand still on the command.
I put him on whoa, stepped in front, picked up a stick and threw it. Tur Bo was after it in a flash. He ran to the stick and stopped. I grabbed him and heeled him back to where he was supposed to be on whoa. I whoaed him then threw another stick and again he went after it. I heeled him back, put him on whoa then threw another stick. This time he stayed on whoa. We went back to walking the yard.
I pulled the roading harness off at the shed then heeled Tur Bo to my whoa board where I whoaed him 5 or 6 times then heeled him to the retrieving bench. He was hesitating before jumping on the bench but now he doesn’t hesitate. I petted him, then rolled the tennis ball down the bench and he retrieved it. I put him on the ground and let him run back to the kennel.
I put all of the gear, Blaze, Whitey, and Tur Bo in the truck for the trip to the county park. By the time we got there it was snowing pretty hard so I skipped the retrieving. I put out 2 pigeons, then released Blaze after heeling her about 25 yards. She pointed her first bird and I spent a lot of time walking around kicking the cover. Finally I flushed her bird and she took one step. I set her back, kicked the cover, then released her. I have been putting a collar around Blaze and Whitey’s flanks but today I didn’t do that and Blaze decided on her second bird that she could chase. When I flushed the bird she was in hot pursuit. I started holding the button on the e-collar that was around her neck down on level 2, then went to 3, then 4, then 5 but when I hit 6 she put on the brakes. She was probably 125 yards from where she pointed when she finally stopped. I had not said anything. I walked to her, picked her up and carried her back to where she had been on point. I made her stand there about 2 minutes while I kicked the cover in front of her. I finally released her.
Blaze
I replaced the pigeons in the release traps and heeled Whitey for about 25 yards then turned her loose. She pointed her first bird and I walked in front kicking the cover. When I flushed her bird she didn’t move. I walked in front of her kicking the cover, then released her. She pointed her second bird and we went through the same routine as before. When I flushed the bird she never moved. I let her run for awhile then put her on her tie out.
Whitey
By the time I replaced the pigeons in the release traps and after Tur Bo had seen Blaze and Whitey work their pigeons he was ready to go. I heeled him down the trail about 150 yards. For awhile one of us couldn’t remember who was in charge. I made several 180 degree turns trying to get him to pay attention to me and heel instead of pulling. He finally started heeling so I whoaed him, then turned him loose. The first bird he pointed he was about 25 yards from, when he pointed. I waited to make sure that he was getting the scent. There was almost no wind, the snow was falling straight down. I moved up close to him and took 2 pictures then waited until he moved before I flushed the bird. He chased for a short distance then went back to hunting.
Tur Bo
On the second bird he was within about 5 yards from the bird when he hit the scent cone. When he hit the scent cone he slid to a point. He is always high on both ends. I have never touched him when he is on point. His mom and dad put his head and tail where they are. Dolly, his mother has a straight tail that is usually 12 o’clock. His dad, Shadow Oak Bo, always looks good in the pictures I have seen of him. He moved and I flushed the bird. This bird didn’t fly very high and he chased it for at least 150 yards. I let him run for awhile then loaded everything in the truck and returned home.
Whitey is doing real well, holding on the birds without moving most times so she is ready to steady to shot. Blaze is still moving after her birds are flushed but she knows what to do. She is just trying to see if I’m going to make her be steady every time. She is real close to being steady. And on Tur Bo, I’m going to let him chase for quite awhile. This builds desire although he has a lot of desire. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him.