It rained over the weekend and was wet and muddy but Tur Bo didn’t mind. I put an e-collar around his neck and another around his flanks then heeled him around my neighbors side of the training grounds. This was different for him and he wanted to hunt instead of heel. We turned around a lot as we walked along. He continued to try to lead me around. When he would get ahead of me I turned left by hitting him in the head with my knee then I would turn around to the right. He is whoaing real well but he continues to try to lead. We will get this worked out.
He loves the attention he gets on the retrieving bench and jumps on with no problem. I walk him up and down petting him. Then I opened his mouth and placed a retrieving dummy behind his canines and told him to hold. I no longer keep my hand under his chin. I have to tap him occasionally to make him hold it tightly but I no longer have to hold his mouth shut. Then when I take the dummy from him I hold one end and say “give” and he moves his head off the dummy. We do this 7 or 8 times then I put him on the ground. This exercise will teach your dog to give if they are going to retrieve naturally.
On the way back to the kennel I worked on the whoa command with Tur Bo off lead. I held the button, on the e-collar on his flanks, down then said whoa and held the button until he stopped. I released the button as soon as his feet quit moving. One time, after he had stopped I called him to me, then said whoa and raised my hand like a traffic cop. He’s getting better on whoa. We will continue to work on it.
I put 2 pigeons on the strings to the pigeon poles then placed them in release traps. Tur Bo still had his e-collars on and I brought him down. I whoaed him on the whoa board then had him get on the barrel. Again I had forgotten to bring the camera. He knew that there were some birds out there and he was rigid. I walked back to the kennels, got on the 4 wheeler and rode it to the house to get the camera. When I got back Tur Bo had not moved. I may be prejudiced but he is breathe taking on point.
This is the way he looked when I returned without me touching him.
Tur Bo
I walked in front of the barrel and made a big circle. Although the closest pigeon was covered with grass Tur Bo didn’t move his eyes from the bird he was pointing. He didn’t care how far I walked or what clumps I kicked, his eyes never wavered. I flushed the pigeon, fired the blank and said “whoa”. About the time the pigeon landed I shot the blank again and said “whoa”. I want the dogs to anticipate whoa after each shot. After I shot the 6 banks I flushed the birds a few more times. I never let them walk away from a bird on the ground. I always carry the dog a short distance back toward the kennel from where they are on point at. Then tap them on the head and command heel to return to the kennel.
I put Blaze on the whoa board and walked out in front of her. I made a production of making a big circle, kicking clumps of grass, and stomping my feet. Blaze paid no attention to me, she knew where the bird was. I flushed the bird, fired the blank and said “whoa”. She moved her feet but she stayed on the board and when the pigeon was about to land I fired the blank again. She was still on the board but when I fired the blank the pigeon started flying again. When he started to land I fired the blank gun again and she came off the board. She wasn’t going toward the pigeon she went off sideways. I held the button for the e-collar on her flanks down and slowly walked over, picked her up and the instant her feet hit the whoa board I released the button. I walked down to the second pigeon and flushed it, fired the blank pistol and said “whoa”. As the pigeon was about to land I fired the blank pistol again. She stayed on the board. I fired the blank pistol 1 more time and flushed the pigeons several times and she stayed on the board.
Blaze
Whitey was next. I don’t know why I go through a big production but I do. It must be for me because the dogs don’t pay any attention to me. I flushed the pigeon, shot the blank and said “whoa”. When the pigeon landed I shot the blank again and said “whoa. She never moved. I shot 4 more times and flushed the birds several times and she never moved. She is not as high strung as Blaze is and she is not as stylish on pigeons or pen raised quail as Blaze is. She has lots of style on wild birds.
Whitey
Dolly
Luke
Lucky
I worked the other three dogs on the whoa board just as I had the others and they did fine. Tur Bo needs more time on the barrel and Blaze needs more time on the whoa board but everyone else could go to the ground. But I may wait another day or two.