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It is a month since our last entry and not a
great month for Lottie and I . Almost two weeks training missed due to
illness (mine not Lottie’s) over Easter, and then a strained muscle for
Lottie. However, we are back on track now and it is becoming clear
that Lottie has a good capacity to retain learning even after a
substantial break in training.
What we have been doing this week is working
on the back (‘get out’) command, and on the stop whistle. I am still
sending Lottie from my side along the line of my arm, and have not begun
‘casting’ her yet. I have put up some photos of my training field to
illustrate what we are doing. I have set up two 'permanent blind'
locations where I now plant dummies whilst the dogs are in the vehicle.
Confidence and the first Permanent Blind
Lottie is confidently running the width of
my training field to ‘permanent blind’ A (see above) which is located at
the foot of a large oak tree. I ran these blinds as singles to begin
with but now usually put out three or four dummies in the short
undergrowth around the tree and Lottie runs there confidently across the
field which is a distance of about 80 yards. Like my spaniels, Lottie so
far picks up the first dummy she sees without shopping around. However,
I have to run this exercise as singles with my lab bitch as she will
switch or try and collect more than one at a time if I use a pile.
(This is a shame as the ‘pile’ is a useful timesaver in training.)
Lottie completely trusts that there will be a dummy here whenever I send
her and runs out fast and straight.
Introducing distractions
On some ‘sends’ I run Lottie right the way
across the field, on others we do a shorter run and add in some
distractions. She finds these quite hard to resist, especially the
further away we are from the dummies. I have built up a little drill
which helps her succeed - we do a straight run from 50 yards then walk
ten yards closer to the blind. I then throw a dummy out to my right
which she finds the least tempting and send her 'back' blind again.
Then we walk ten yards closer still and I throw out a dummy to my left.
She really wants this one. Sometimes I still have to ‘NO’ her off it,
but mostly we succeed. Finally we walk ten yards closer still and I
throw a dummy to each side. By now she can probably see the dummy she
is being sent back to (though all mine a pretty grubby) and finds this
fairly easy.
What is point F?
You may be wondering what point F is on the
photo. I couldn't resist showing you what was waiting for me this
morning when I stopped to open the gate. |
