Devils Jumps

Sunday I took Fresco for a session in Devils' Jumps a 36Ha field currently stubble. There was a back wind and it is a long way to the end of the field before I could turn into the wind for him. When well away from the boundaries (so no geographic distractions) I took a gamble and let him off to hunt; my prediction was he would run around like a loon with not particular pattern. i was so wrong he ran down wind and then broke and quartered back to me. I write this not to say 'how good is my dog' but in the realisation that if he can do a text book pattern of his own making with no whistle in a large open space then whilst he could do that in more confined areas the fact that he doesn't does not mean he his hunting badly, just differently. It made me think how often i might have tried to 'correct' his pattern when in fact his underlying trend was 'on message' It was again a fine example of me the handler mis-reading my dog!

Steve T joined us with Tilley who had a good blast before we moved on to the area around one of the pens. A good chance for some points and some steadiness. We finished with the dogs sitting in the pen as the birds started to go up to roost for the night. A very useful couple of hours.