Field at the county park.
The field that I train on, at the county park, has a road down the side with just a little cover on the east side. When I hid the birds this morning I put them east of the road. One time I hid one of the birds for each dog on that side of the road. After hiding the pigeons I walked west of the road to put my scent in the field that I turned the dogs loose in. If I hadn’t put my scent in that field the dogs would not hunt very long there. They’re not stupid. If I haven’t been there, there are no birds there.
At home I have a limited area to work the dogs in so I have to vary the way I hide the pigeons. Sometime I hide them on my side, then walk back on my neighbors side, trying to fool the dogs. After being worked just a few times the dogs will not spend any time on the side without birds.
Whitey
Whitey
I had left the dogs tied out in the shade while I hid the pigeons. I had worked Blaze first yesterday so today it was Whitey’s turn to go first. I put an e-collars around her neck and another around her flanks and heeled her toward the field. Before we got to the field I had her jump a guard rail that the county used to surround the parking area. I heel all 3 dogs up to the guard rail, on the way to the field, and I step over then say, “up.” This will carry over to the field if I need them to jump a fence.
After whoaing Whitey and walking around her for a minute or so I tapped her on the head. She started working back and forth across the field but when she didn’t find any bird scent right away she really started reaching out. We worked further down the field than ever before. She wasn’t finding anything so I worked her across the road. She hit some scent but not enough to stop her and she passed the first bird then came to the second and locked up. When she first pointed she was more sideways than she is in the picture. I took pictures then walked around behind her and on both sides. The pigeon was in the tree line so I couldn’t walk in front of her. I flushed the pigeon and shot the blank pistol. She never moved. After walking around for a little while I tapped her on the head.
She worked back toward the first bird and pointed. This pigeon was hid in the tree line so it restricted my walking. After a short time I flushed the bird and fired the blank pistol. The bird came out real low and couldn’t have been over 2 feet above her head. She turned her body and watched it fly away. I walked around kicking the grass then tapped her on the head.
Blaze
Blaze
Blaze jumped the guard rail on the way to the field. I whoaed her and walked around her for a minute or so then tapped her on the head. Each time after hiding the pigeons I walked back through the field on the west of the road. Blaze was working the field but she wanted to point, a couple of times, in places I had put birds in the past, probably. That’s the nice part about knowing where the birds are. I kept walking and said, “let’s go.” She knows she’s not smelling anything so she goes on. When she went to hunting we went across the road.
She hit the scent on the first bird and pointed. I walked around kicking the grass then flushed the pigeon and fired the blank pistol. When I fired the blank she started moving. I didn’t say anything or do anything. I wanted to see how far she would chase. She only followed about 7 or 8 yards and stopped. She knows what she is supposed to do and is willfully disobeying. I put the e-collar on level 3 and held it down. I walked to her, picked her up, with the e-collar button still held down and carried her back to the original spot. When her feet touched the ground I let off the button. I made her stand there a couple of minutes then tapped her on the head.
She pointed the second pigeon and I took pictures before walking around kicking the grass. When I flushed the second bird it must have hit a limb or something because Blaze caught it about 2 feet out of the release trap. That’s not supposed to happen. Especially with a dog as far along as she is. When a dog catches a bird I try not to say anything. I want to use it as a retrieving exercise. By the time they catch the bird there is nothing going to change anything so use it as training. I took the bird from her and picked her up and set her back. (When I got home I tossed the pigeon in the air and he flew away. When I fed later he was in the coop.) I made her stand for a couple of minutes before tapping her on the head.
Blaze’s training is going to change. We are going to back up some and I’m going to get stricter. She knows what to do but she is refusing. She may need a little stress in her life.
Tur Bo
Tur Bo
If you’ve seen Tur Bo on the blog before you might notice his tall isn’t as full as it used to be. I clipped all of the dogs yesterday with what I call their prison haircut. Actually, their bodies look pretty good but I used scissors on their tails and they look pretty bad, but it’s cooler. I heeled him to the field after he jumped the guard rail. I whoaed him, walked around for a couple of minutes then tapped him on the head to release him. I like to see him charge down the field. He went way past where we usually put birds and kept going. He finally turned and came back near me then was gone again. The next time he got close I worked him across the road.
When he pointed the first bird he was twice as far as either one of the females had been. The ground wasn’t as saturated as it had been and I was going to use my stake again. He was dragging a check cord with a half hitch around his flanks. So I pushed the stake into the ground behind him and ran the check cord around it. This let me get in front of him and kick the grass still holding the end of the check cord. He never moved until I flushed the bird and he only tightened the check cord, he didn’t really pull until I shot the blank. When the blank pistol went off he started after the pigeon and the stake pulled out without slowing him one bit. I stopped him when he hit the end of the check cord. I picked him up and set him back. After a couple of miutes I tapped him on the head.
He pointed his second bird and I pushed the stake in behind him. I held the end of the check cord, walking in front of him kicking the grass then flushed the pigeon and fired the blank pistol. He still moved but only about a step. As soon as the check cord got tight he stopped. I put him back, kicked the cover then tapped him on the head.
I’m going back to the whoa barrel or the whoa board with Blaze and Tur Bo for a few days to see if I can make them understand. Blaze knows what she is supposed to do, she’s just telling me she’s not going to do it my way. I think she will. Tur Bo is only a year old so he’s about where he should be. Figuring out how to get a dog over a hump like this is the fun of dog training. All dogs can’t be trained the same way.