Tur Bo
Tur Bo
Tur Bo on the whoa board with a pigeon in front of him
This morning I put the 2 feet by 3 feet whoa board beside the 2X6 whoa board I’ve been working the young dogs on. I drove a stake into the ground, behind the whoa board, and tied a check cord to it. I also, changed the way the pigeons were hidden. My cousin, Jim Smith, decided not to train bird dogs anymore so he gave me some equipment that he didn’t need. Along with some D.T. e-collars he gave me a D.T. bird release. I had 4 so now I have 5. I put 2 birds, attached to the pigeon poles, in the normal places. I hid 3 birds, in the tall grass, right in front of the whoa board. The last 3 birds were only about 7 or 8 yards from, the young dogs on, the whoa board.
I heeled Tur Bo out with an e-collar around his neck and another on his flanks. As he stepped onto the whoa board, I hooked the check cord to him by putting a half hitch around his flanks then hooking the snap to the D ring of his collar. I took some pictures then walked to the far end of the tall grass and as I started back I flushed the bird attached to the pigeon pole. Tur Bo moved to the very end of the whoa board but didn’t come off. I shot the blank pistol at the flush then again when it started to land. He danced around on the board but didn’t come off.
I continued to walk toward him and when I got close I noticed that the check cord was tight without Tur Bo coming off the board. He was going as far as the check cord would let him go. He needs slack to learn not to come off the board. I retied the check cord to give him more rope then walked in front and flushed a pigeon and shot the blank pistol. When he started to dance on the board I held the transmitter button down on level 2 and let off when he quit moving. He went back on point and I flushed another pigeon and shot the blank pistol. He started moving on the board and I held the transmitter button down on level 2 until he stopped moving.
He went back on point and I walked in front of him kicking the grass and flushed the pigeon and shot the blank pistol. The pigeon didn’t fly very high and straight at him. He came off the board and I turned the e-collar to level 5. I held the transmitter button down and walked to him, picked him up and set him back on the board. When his feet touched the board I let off the button. I turned the e-collar back to level 2. I had another bird that was attached to the pigeon pole and I walked around close to it kicking the grass. When I flushed it and shot the blank pistol he went to moving but he didn’t come off the board. I held the transmitter button down on level 2 but he stopped moving, quickly.
The blank pistol was empty but I continued tossing birds into the air. He would move every time but when I hit the e-collar button he would quit. He, probably, had 15 or 16 flushes and he finally quit moving on the last two. He never came completely off the board except the one time but he had his toe nails hanging off the board several times. I heeled him back to the kennel.
Blaze
Blaze
Blaze. The way the stake and check cord are from behind.
I heeled Blaze out with the e-collars on her neck and flanks, then hooked her to the check cord when she stepped onto the whoa board. After taking some pictures I walked to the far end of the training grounds and started back toward her. I flushed the bird attached to the pigeon pole and shot the blank pistol then shot again. She never moved. I continued toward her, kicking the grass. I had 3 fly away birds right in front of her. I flushed one and shot the blank pistol but she never moved.
I kept on kicking the grass and flushed another of the fly away birds and shot the blank pistol. The release trap threw the bird about 4 feet in the air and it landed about 3 yards from Blaze. If that had of happened to Tur Bo, he would have pulled the stake to get to the bird but Blaze never moved. I walked toward the pigeon and it flew into a tree that was real near. I went to Blaze and petted her and told her what a good dog she was before going back to the tall grass and flushing the last fly away pigeon. I shot the blank pistol and she never moved.
There was still a bird that was attached to a pigeon pole. I walked around it for a while then flushed it and fired the blank pistol. She never moved but as soon as the pigeon landed her attention went to the bird that was in the tree. I flushed several more birds for her and she never moved. She never forgot the pigeon in the tree that was real close to her. I heeled her back to the kennel.
Ever since I started working the young dogs on the 2X6 whoa board Tur Bo was more steady than Blaze but on the whoa board on the ground it’s just the opposite. But that is dog training. Change one little thing and the dogs react differently. Trying to figure them out is fun.