I walked Tur Bo to the retrieving bench after putting an inoperable e-collar around his neck so he would get used to having a training collar on. I also used the piggin’ string and made him heel. He jumped onto the retrieving bench and was more comfortable walking up and down. After putting my fingers and a retrieving buck in his mouth and making him hold, I rolled a tennis ball down the bench and he pounced on it and brought it right back. I rolled it down the bench 3 or 4 times and he brought it back every time so I put him on the ground and threw the ball. He ran out picked it up and brought it back. I threw it 3 or 4 times and he brought it back each time. It’s really hard to stop, when they are doing something right but I put him on the chain gang.
I put an e-collar on Blaze and heeled her to the bench with the piggin’ string. Instead of putting her on the bench I threw a tennis ball, on the ground, for her several times then put her on the chain gang. I did the same for Whitey then put her on the chain gang with the other two. Yesterdays picture of the dogs on the chain gang made Tur Bo look huge so I took a picture from the other end today. He still looks huge.
I put out 2 pigeons for Blaze and by the time I got close she was already on point. I walked in front of her and kicked the cover, then flushed the bird. She didn’t move and watched the bird fly away. I lead her away and turned her loose to hunt. When she got close to the next bird and I could tell that she could smell the bird I released it before she could point. She stopped to flush. Then she started to move. I hit the e-collar and said whoa. She stopped and I picked her up and carried her back to where she had originally stopped. Then I walked out where the bird had flushed from and kicked the cover, then went back and stroked her up, then released her. She hunted back to the chain gang.
Whitey ran all out to the back of my training grounds and was on point by the time I caught up with her. I walked in front and kicked the cover, then flushed the bird. She didn’t move until after the bird was gone, then she started moving. I hit the e-collar and she stopped. I carried her back and set her up. Then I walked back in front again, then back to her and stroked her up and released her. She pointed her second bird and didn’t move. She did it right so I released her and she hunted back to the chain gang.
Tur Bo missed the first bird and was really running when he ran by the second bird and whirled into a point. He was about 75 yards ahead of me and by the time I got there he was standing tall on both ends. I walked all the way to the bird without him moving. I took some pictures, then stood there waiting for him to move. When I got to him he had his left foot raised and I was watching it. Twice he started to put it down and if it had hit the ground I was going to flush the bird but both times he pulled it back up. Then it came down and he was chasing so I released the bird.
Tur Bo
We worked back toward the front of the training grounds and Tur Bo pointed his second bird. He was on the wrong side of the bird, the wind was at his rear but he knew where the bird was. He stood but not as long on this bird.
He is only 9 months old today and I have killed wild quail over his points. He is getting better and better on pigeons and by the time the season opens this fall he should be a bird dog.