Whitey
Whitey
Whitey must like being on the 2X6 whoa board. On wild birds she has a lot of style but during training sessions she doesn’t usually show much style. When I put her on the whoa board she looks good. I had hid 4 pigeons, in the tall grass, in release traps. Two of them could fly away and two were attached to the pigeon poles by long strings. After lifting her to the 2X6 board I took some pictures then walked to the far end of the tall grass and started back toward her. When I came close to the first bird I flushed it and fired the blank pistol. When the pigeon started to land I shot again. She never moved.
I continued toward her, kicking the grass, and flushed the fly away bird when I got close to it. I shot the blank pistol and she never moved. I walked toward her to the next fly away bird and flushed it. This pigeon flew close to her but even when I shot she only turned her head to watch it fly away. The last bird was a little farther away so I circled the pigeon pole so I could be watching her when the pigeon flushed. I flushed the pigeon and shot the blank pistol, then shot again when the bird started to land. She never moved. The blank pistol was empty but I continued to flush the two pigeons that were attached to the pigeon poles. She never moved. After 12 to 15 flushes I lifted her down and heeled her back to the kennel.
Luke
Luke watching a pigeon that flew real close to him.
After all the years I have been around dogs, occasionally I’m still surprised by them. This was the second time that Luke had even seen the 2X6 whoa board but when I heeled him close he leaped on with no help from me. I thought that the dogs would hate the whoa board but Luke seemed to like it. After hooking the chain to his collar I took some pictures then walked to the far end of the tall grass. As I started back toward him I flushed the pigeon and shot the blank pistol. When the bird started to land I shot again. He never moved. I kept walking toward him, kicking the grass and flushed the fly away bird. I shot the blank pistol and he never moved.
I continued walking toward him and when I got close I flushed the second fly away pigeon and fired the blank pistol. The bird flew real close to him and the only thing he did was turn his head to watch it fly away. (The second picture of Luke shows him watching the pigeon fly away.) I circled the pigeon pole so I could watch Luke as I flushed the next bird attached to the pigeon poles. As the pigeon came up I shot the blank pistol and shot again when it started to land. He never moved. I flushed some more pigeons after the pistol was out of blanks and he never moved. I heeled him back to the kennel.
I’m going to work the young dogs on the 2X6 whoa board for this week then try them on a whoa board that sits on the ground. I will have a check cord with a half hitch around their flanks and hooked to the D ring in their collar. The check cord will be tied to a stake driven into the ground. I’m hoping that after a lot of repetitions on the 2X6 whoa board they will figure out that they have to stay on point even through the firing of the blank pistol. With enough repetitions we will get there.