After training the young dogs this morning it dawned on me what Blaze is doing to me now. She is extremely smart and I have stopped her from chasing the birds. She loves to chase but if she can’t do that she will not point until she is right on top of the birds. I was watching her when she hit the scent cone on her second bird and she didn’t even slow down. She moved right to the pigeon then stopped. Now that I know what she’s doing I can stop it. The next few times I work her I flush her birds as soon as I know she can smell them. This will get her back to pointing at the edge of the scent cone. If I flush the birds before she points and I don’t let her chase she doesn’t have any fun.
Sometimes really smart dogs are harder to train than some of the others. Blaze came by this naturally, her grandmother, Allie, was the hardest dog I’ve ever worked with. Allie always wanted to be in charge, Blaze just wants to do it her way. Once Allie was trained she made a real good dog. Blaze will, too.
Whitey
Whitey
It was real warm when we started this morning so I staked the dogs out in the shade of the fence row. After hiding the birds in the tall grass I came back and put Whitey on the tail gate of the truck. I put the e-collars on her then put her on the ground. I heeled her to the field, whoaed her then tapped her on the head to release her. Whitey and Blaze are litter mates. Whitey is okay with doing it my way and is easy to train. Whitey ran until she hit the scent cone and slammed on the brakes. I walked in front of her, shot the blank pistol and continued to kick the cover. I flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, fired the blank pistol and said whoa, again. She never moved. I tapped her on the head.
Whitey pointed her second bird at about 15 yards and I walked in front of her kicking the cover. I shot the pistol and said whoa. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the bird, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I tapped her on the head to release her.
Blaze
Blaze
I brought Blaze out, with the e-collars on, to the edge of the field then released her to hunt. She was close to her first bird when she pointed. I walked in front of her kicking the cover, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the bird, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I tapped her on the head to release her.
On her second bird I saw her hit the scent cone and move all the way to the release trap before she stopped. I picked her up and carried her back about 10 yards. I walked in front of her kicking the cover, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the bird, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I tapped her on the head to release her.
Tur Bo
Tur Bo
When I replaced the pigeons for Tur Bo I put the birds about 10 yards apart. After putting the e-collars on him, I heeled him to the field, said whoa, then tapped him on the head. The wind was blowing pretty hard and he stopped on the edge of the scent cone. His rear end was low when he first pointed but it came up while I watched. I walked to his side and said whoa. I stroked his side and let him stand on point. I hooked my hand in his collar and flushed the farther of the 2 birds. He tried to chase but not real hard. He’s getting used to me holding him. He could still smell the pigeon he had pointed and he got rigid again. I stroked his side and told him what a good boy he is. Then I flushed the closer bird. I was still holding his collar. I stroked his sides and he went on point again. I let the pigeon fly out of the field before I turned him loose.
I enjoy trying to out figure these dogs. This is not the only thing that Blaze will try to beat me with. Actually it may not be the only thing she’s doing right now to beat me. It’s the only thing I’ve figured out so far. Time will tell.