Bank holiday weekend.

Saturday - took her to the stream at work for a bit of a play in the water. I have to admit I got the sense she did not want to stop.

One of the points raised in the book i am reading is about play being used not to act out hunting scenarios but actually to test out uncertainties in a safe environment. It was with attitude of mind that I took her into the stream on Saturday, donning my wellies and splashing around with her.
Later in the afternoon we went to Ropley pond for another session. I hunted her around the pond first and then threw a dummy and almost immediately sent her in. There was no hesitation. Several more and I called it a day. The last being off a little bank - so was a 'jump in'

Sunday - we had volunteered to man a Brittany stand at the Blindley Heath Country fair. It is a small world as we were next to the girl who brings her Sussex to the shoot we pick up on. There was a most impressive display by a Welsh sheepdog handler who herded a flock of Indian Running Ducks around the ring with three collies. All on different whistles for left and right. He moved them forward by calling their name in a soft voice and stopped each by using its name in a hard voice - much as you would admonish a child - he said.
Walking an HPR around a game fair is most time consuming. She was on point to the birds of prey, and then the ducks and chickens and was gripped the sheepdog and duck display. When the spaniels did their display she marked every dummy - much to the amusement of the people standing next to us. I was most interested they teach their spaniels to be steady before they teach them to retrieve.
Monday - went to work briefly to empty my car of junk and at the same time gave my starting pistol and dummy launcher a bit of TLC and oil. The launcher, not having any grease handy put some wax on the shaft. I went outside and gave it a go - forgetting that I only now have 'long' blanks. The dummy flew 100 feet before it hit the top of a tree and fell to earth through the branches. Moments later the man who was working in the field appeared and started looking about. So plan B kicked into action as I had no wish to explain or justify my action - Plan B involved hunting Catja around the back of the yards and into the rape field with a few dummy retrieves for good measure, a walk to the stream and then back with a view to hunting up the 'fall' as we went past. The field person waved at us cheerily and the dog particularly as she carried her dummy along. We did a simple water retrieve and then as we returned Catja ran off to the fall having obviously marked it from earlier.

On the way home via the pond - again- this time i put Monet's duck out on the pond before fetching her from the car, a little hunt and then an 'aport' from a distance (as a directed blind). She went straight in. Another as a long mark saw her go in at the earliest opportunity rather than run down the bank for the shortest swim - that did surprise me. There is a small jetty over a bank of iris or similar, about 2' above the water; I thought we had made so much progress I would throw the dummy from here and show her how to enter from the bank. Well no chance for that she just jumped straight of the jetty.

Only once did she hesitate on entry and that was where she was next to lemna covered water; this she patted hesitantly so I called her away and sent her from a different place. The concept of texture and contrast certainly is worth paying attention to.