A useful morning yesterday with the keeper. lovely water. good hedgerows and woods and fields. Fly in the ointment is he felt the 'syndicate' would not wish to have field trials in the shooting season - which is contrary to the view the landowner held. Tests and Spring Pointing were OK - will just have to see. I think a panel judge or two and a meeting with all stake holders is called for.
Took himself with me on our drive around and he did his usual bit of standing on the cuddy box peering out of the front window. When we visited the water he went on point and flushed a pheasant from behind a tree - very pleasing.
On the way home stopped off for a bit of water work, as I had wellies on board I went in with her. She was on super hyper drive after getting wet, didn't wish to go home.
Another thought from the autism book - animals react to detail, it is the small things that stop them, if there are several connected to one behaviour you need to correct all the details not just some of them before you will get an improvement - but then it will all drop into place at once.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tried a new exercise for the orange ones. - clock or waggon wheel. I am reading a couple of books at the moment that have prompted a few thoughts. ' The Pershore Way - training retrievers' said something along the lines - 'repetition is the greatest tool for a dogs understanding'; the other, which I have only just started and bodes well is by Temple Grandin - Animals in Transition. (about using an understanding of autism to understand animal behaviour) here she related a story about 20% of air line pilots in flight simulators not seeing a plane parked on thier approach runway. Highlighting the fact that in a lot of cases we 'see' what we expect to see and the corollary we don't see what we don't expect.
It was this idea of a dog seeing what it expected to see linked with the idea of repetition as a training tool that seemed so powerful.
Back to the waggon wheels - they were both 'pants' we were in a grass field so no natural 'paths' to line them on. Catja wanted to go where she could smell one and Topaz just kept drifting off line or taking his own line. Instead of the 10 yard blind retrieves (the grass is long and hiding the dummies) with arrow like precision I had thought would be nice we ended up doing five yard runs to ensure success each time. I might have to go to a park or somewhere like that to get short grass for seen retrieves.
Otherwise it has been a good doggy day. I won some bob white quail eggs on eBay and have a keeper lined up to hatch them for me; and I have a meeting with another keeper for a tour of his ground for a new FT venue.
It was this idea of a dog seeing what it expected to see linked with the idea of repetition as a training tool that seemed so powerful.
Back to the waggon wheels - they were both 'pants' we were in a grass field so no natural 'paths' to line them on. Catja wanted to go where she could smell one and Topaz just kept drifting off line or taking his own line. Instead of the 10 yard blind retrieves (the grass is long and hiding the dummies) with arrow like precision I had thought would be nice we ended up doing five yard runs to ensure success each time. I might have to go to a park or somewhere like that to get short grass for seen retrieves.
Otherwise it has been a good doggy day. I won some bob white quail eggs on eBay and have a keeper lined up to hatch them for me; and I have a meeting with another keeper for a tour of his ground for a new FT venue.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday - a very good dog day!
morning - a couple of hours helping an errant Brittany find her paws. You have to love these dogs - this little bitch knew exctly what to do but was playing everything to her advantage. A few pointers to the handlers and a whole new world opened for all of them. It was lovely to see how she related to them in the end. A dog with a tail is so much easier to understand :-)
afternoon - Topaz to retriever training. 100yard blinds. he did this quite well - but his taking a line needs to be improved. He did not swap dummies however!
It came to mind today that Brittanys 'speed hear' - a bit like speed reading where you pick up key words and fill in the understanding. Brittanys do this - hearing particular words and filling in the missing bits to suit themselves :-)
morning - a couple of hours helping an errant Brittany find her paws. You have to love these dogs - this little bitch knew exctly what to do but was playing everything to her advantage. A few pointers to the handlers and a whole new world opened for all of them. It was lovely to see how she related to them in the end. A dog with a tail is so much easier to understand :-)
afternoon - Topaz to retriever training. 100yard blinds. he did this quite well - but his taking a line needs to be improved. He did not swap dummies however!
It came to mind today that Brittanys 'speed hear' - a bit like speed reading where you pick up key words and fill in the understanding. Brittanys do this - hearing particular words and filling in the missing bits to suit themselves :-)
Sunday - a very good dog day!
morning - a couple of hours helping an errant Brittany find her paws. You have to love these dogs - this little bitch knew exctly what to do but was playing everything to her advantage. A few pointers to the handlers and a whole new world opened for all of them. It was lovely to see how she related to them in the end. A dog with a tail is so much easier to understand :-)
afternoon - Topaz to retriever training. 100yard blinds. he did this quite well - but his taking a line needs to be improved. He did not swap dummies however!
It came to mind today that Brittanys 'speed hear' - a bit like speed reading where you pick up key words and fill in the understanding. Brittanys do this - hearing particular words and filling in the missing bits to suit themselves :-)
morning - a couple of hours helping an errant Brittany find her paws. You have to love these dogs - this little bitch knew exctly what to do but was playing everything to her advantage. A few pointers to the handlers and a whole new world opened for all of them. It was lovely to see how she related to them in the end. A dog with a tail is so much easier to understand :-)
afternoon - Topaz to retriever training. 100yard blinds. he did this quite well - but his taking a line needs to be improved. He did not swap dummies however!
It came to mind today that Brittanys 'speed hear' - a bit like speed reading where you pick up key words and fill in the understanding. Brittanys do this - hearing particular words and filling in the missing bits to suit themselves :-)
Saturday, April 25, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
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.
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.
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