Monday - HGS night. two this week. one 15 month and one 5 month. Simple seen retrieves followed by some hunting followed by some more seens.
It is a real pleasure to see a dog come on - the Vizla at the end was really holding her ground and hunting for the dummy (which she had miss marked) Whilst I would normally want to see a mark run to and not hunted for I felt it was important to see just how determined this little bitch was; and she was. The Brittany on the other hand went over the courseof the evening from retrieving only a feather to returning to hand with a puppy dummy. Such a happy little dog that never strayed far whilst hunting (albeit looking) She enjoyed working with her owner who was being encouraged to 'look' into undergrowth as well.

Catja was there as 'demo dog' - when handlers have never done something before it often easier after describing what I want them to do to do it with my own dog so they can see. One can talk over the dogs actions much more effectively than directly to a handler as they are running or after. As we were near the pond we finished with a few simple water retrieves. these she went straight in for without hesitation; and then back in almost for the hell of it.

In the trainers 'wash up meeting' (we have a chance to discuss how our evening went and problems or otherwise ) a couple of interesting points were raised. One was about a recent working assesment where the judge admonished the handlers for wearing their whistles around their necks - in the judges opinion they should carried like referee whistles off the wrist. Ready to put to mouth but not in mouth. None of us could see the benefit of this and all wear neck lanyards and have developed the art of talking around the whistle to the dog (and to others should the need arise). The whistle is there to offer immediate command, milliseconds can make all the difference!. Someone suggested they would loose their dentures - as they often directed the dog and blew the whistle at the same time.
If using a silent whistle (metal) then the trick is to put a piece of plastic tube (available from Band Q or similar) on the end with which to hold the whistle. (it also gives you something to chew on when it all gets a bit tense )