Friday was spent driving to Kent and back - no dog work

Saturday - hours and hours in traffic in London. But late afternoon saw a chance to work Topaz up a hedge and along the edge of a grass field. Oh I do hope he retains this style in the coming season. I do however feel he now needs ome work on his 'lines' they could do with being a bit crisper - straighter for longer. The stop is pretty good at the moment.

Catja - I threw a blind in the adjacent field before letting her out - that was to easy. Work with her is to go further on a cast; before letting her nose kick in.

After this took them up to the pond. Catja went in when instructed; but i would not say happily. Second retrieve was much better and her hunting of the margins once wet was exemplary and very fast. I threw her duck across the corner - expecting her to run the bank and go in close to it. To my surprise she jumped straight in and swam a good 30 odd feet to the dummy - returning by the bank route.

I left the dummy on the bank and got Topaz out of the car. Sent across the pond and out the other side then along the bank to the duck. I even convinced him to come back over the pond - despite his start around the bank.

Yesterday - no dog training as it was my FIL's funeral.

Thursday - had a site visit about 100 yards from 'our' pond so had a little session there. Catja went in OK to a retrieve about 2 metres in but one that was about 5 metres out fazed her. Topaz to the rescue.

Repeating closer again and then subsequent further ones had her swimming out with speed - but i am not sure if she is doing it because she 'must' rather than because she wishes to.

I might have to invest in a a pair of chest waders so can get out there with her.

Lunch time a quick trip out for some memories and marks in the field margins. A cock pheasant got up downwind of from within the rape which is now about four feet high. Catja watched it away and then went to investigate. One could watch her progress by the swaying stalks. Out of interest I tried the stop whistle - and she did; so at least she responds to the sound as a command and not any visual cues as well.

well Mark I driven by PO rubber bands did not have sufficient umph. Mark II with the rubber bands replaced by a piece of shock chord worked but only after a fashion - the feathers moved a bit when the dummy was in the water but the whole thing ran out of 'go' after to short a time. Topaz was sent to retrieve it and was less than impressed - picking it up by a single feather. It now lies in the bin.

Tonight was 'Fun night' at ringcraft. Norwegian judge. Catja did not make it to the cut in her class. Ellie in Graduate took first out of 12 and then went on to be Reserve Best. Quite a result for her. Particularly as I only took her at the last minute as I know she likes parading. She did move well and her tail did not stop; she walked into ever stand. Chuffed.

I have been reading a couple of books I recently bought on Amazon. one on the biology of dog behaviour - which is fascinating - about why rather than how, and Cotton - retriever training. This also has revealed a number of insights. The first one I like was teh assertion that even his best dogs needed reminder lessons in obedience and heelwork as often as twice a week. It makes a change to read a top trainer voice a view other than 'repeat half a dozen times to set the behaviour.

Continued the individual outings, with the emphasis on stop. Catja now puts her bum down in a flash when close but when out will often only stand. I would like to get her to sit sharply when away - so that any lapse in this eres towards the stand rather than standing now when any lapse is still movement.

I got to thinking about the sit close and sit out scenario - and began to wonder if it is not distance that is the key but 'attention' or 'focus' on me or even 'us' as a team. When working close it is a case of 'look here' 'now look there' with the odd dummy thrown in behind so she learns that I know where they are ans she may well have missed them. However when away she is more self directed in her hunting, led by her nose. I think received thinking is the dog has gone from 'pack drive' to 'prey drive' . If this is the case - and it makes sense to me then I need to dream up some way of keeping the dog in touch with me when she is in prey drive.

Wyngold's post elsewhere about high prey and high retrieve drive dogs being hard to make steady also struck a chord.

She also had a small session in Ropley pond and another in the local stream. The local stream is a small chalk stream with watercress in it, cold and a bit swift - so I am only using the slack water to get her happy to go in; if the dummy gets into the stream she is not happy enough to bounce after it but climbs out and then watches it from the bank. Ropley pond has a shallow entrance and is still water, full of dead leaves and at the edges the mud stinks. Here I am using the slope to encourage her further and further in until she swims, once wet we go to a banked bit so there is drop into the water.

Without access to a pinioned duck I can only build on her desire to retrieve her normal dummy. I have the concept of a dummy with twiddling wings (something like a cotton reel tank from my childhood - for those who have not had the pleasure get a cotton reel - the ones about 30mm diam and thread a small rubber band down the middle, put a piece of matchstick under one end and hold it in place with a piece of selotape, put a whole match the other and use this to wind up the rubber band; put it on the floor and let go.) So if i did something similar with a dummy and a bit of pheasant wing - threw that into the pond I would have a very enticing object.

Only took Catja out last night - the idea being to hunt her across the grass field en route to the set aside corner. Hmm she ran well and then spotted a couple of cocks fighting and went hell for leather after them, when they were no longer available she kept hunting on her own. Me in hot pursuit. I think I have somehow taught her that I am displeased she does not catch them. Not that I am displeased she did not stop to the whistle. I will have to rethink my strategy.

Today - different venue and just ran each separately. Catja sat when asked, once when she disappeared around a corner - when I arrived she was sitting where i would have expected to find her with an 'is this alright dad' type of look.

Topaz was much more up to speed than the other day and most times did no more than three steps before sitting - so a work in progress; but at least he was doing it every time. The biggest problem was he wanted to be drawn towards the wrong hedge.

Ellie had a lovely run - round and round in ever decreasing circles. She started tight at heel and was pleased to be ther it seemed. She would sit as I raised my whistle let alone blew it.

Tuesday was a trip down memory lane. We had a small job in London only a mile or so from where i used to live 30 years ago. So after we had finished I took them for a brief walk in Belair Park. This is where I took my first spaniel 'Bracken' I still remember her first encounter with ice - racing across the snow she saw some duck in a small patch of water; without stopping at the edge of the pond she continued only to realise the change in surface texture. Classic cartoon reverse paddling with her feet ensued as she slid across the ice.

I thought a little visit might be useful for Catja as the duck are very tame and used to dogs so we could get quite close without them flying off. I even managed to get her to go into the water on command (but only with insistence in the voice and me standing right behind her) which I think was a good step. Mind she had the last word on the subject as she smelt like a stale muddy puddle all the way home.

Funny what memories spring to mind from little triggers - I then remembered how we had first got Bracken - we went to see a litter and left saying we would think about it. However our vehicle suffered a puncture about half a mile away - something we saw as an omen about leaving without a pup - so we went back and said we would have one.