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  1. #1
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    We are in TX. Warmer weather... not so much!

    I dragged the little travel trailer from NV to the hill country just east of Austin. OMG... the land! The water! It is really retriever training paradise. That said, last week I was wearing layers upon layers including my insulated carhart coveralls, gloves, scarves, knit cap and I was still freezing. Tomorrow... yeah, supposed to be in the 80’s. So I guess the take-away is they know no moderation in TX.

    The big lesson I’ve learned so far from the pro’s with whom I’ve been working is that (surprise-to-no one) the dog’s biggest problem is her handler. I fidget on line and I am too chatty. I’m probably going to end up putting together a “no-no jar” where I get fined a dollar for every time I break in to nauseating baby-talk to my dog or shuffle and dance on line. Today I was better about those things and lo and behold her marking was spot on. We also worked on poison birds and she pulled off of them and ran a nice blind.

    I will need to work her on some water issues but the combined air/water temperatures have not been warm enough for extended sessions.

    I feel terrific. Taking a post breast cancer follow-on medication and so far no side effects. Energy is terrific. Sleeping in the teeny trailer is great. Everything is looking up so far.

  2. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to TuMicks For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (02-23-2019), barry581 (02-14-2019), bmathers (03-08-2019), Jollymolly (02-15-2019), POPTOP (02-17-2019)

  3. #2
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Great to hear things are proceeding as planned! Sleeping in a tiny trailer- oh, so much less to clean! Keep the good news coming!

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    TuMicks (02-17-2019)

  5. #3
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    That's great news! I'm so happy for you!
    Cookie Black Snowflake
    July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.

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    TuMicks (02-17-2019)

  7. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    What a good report, you keep it up.
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    TuMicks (02-17-2019)

  9. #5
    Senior Dog Jollymolly's Avatar
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    Enjoy your time training. Yes the weather in. Texas has been crazy

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    TuMicks (02-17-2019)

  11. #6
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    Glad you're feel good and having fun with RD!!!!

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    TuMicks (02-17-2019)

  13. #7
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    And next week it will be back in the 50s! Keeps things interesting around here! Glad to hear you and RD are having a good time and feeling good.
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    TuMicks (02-17-2019)

  15. #8
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    My homework is to work on the 7 bumper lining drill (7 big white bumpers in short clipped grass... each one easy to see... about 3 paces apart. Stand with the dog at the end of the line and off to the side just a bit, send the dog for furthest bumper. Repeat process from other side of the line of bumpers so that you are pushing and pulling... or heel and here-ing. The tighter you are to the line of bumpers, the harder it is.) It becomes quickly apparent how essential it is to have the dog aligned properly. If she is even a teeny little bit ahead of where she should be, she controls which bumper she gets..

    Another homework assignment is to work on a mark... then a blind. Mark then blind. Then mark but pull her off, run the blind... I.e., a poison bird. Mixing it up. Main point it go-where-I-send-you.

    The main point of all these assignments is that what happens on the line determines what happens as she leaves the line. So even though it may not seem like it at first glance, these are all line behavior assignments.

    Weather this coming week is nothing but cool/cold with lots of rain and drizzle and thunderstorms. Which beats the heck out of Reno where it’s been more or less constantly snowing.

  16. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by TuMicks View Post
    My homework is to work on the 7 bumper lining drill (7 big white bumpers in short clipped grass... each one easy to see... about 3 paces apart. Stand with the dog at the end of the line and off to the side just a bit, send the dog for furthest bumper. Repeat process from other side of the line of bumpers so that you are pushing and pulling... or heel and here-ing. The tighter you are to the line of bumpers, the harder it is.) It becomes quickly apparent how essential it is to have the dog aligned properly. If she is even a teeny little bit ahead of where she should be, she controls which bumper she gets..

    Another homework assignment is to work on a mark... then a blind. Mark then blind. Then mark but pull her off, run the blind... I.e., a poison bird. Mixing it up. Main point it go-where-I-send-you.

    The main point of all these assignments is that what happens on the line determines what happens as she leaves the line. So even though it may not seem like it at first glance, these are all line behavior assignments.

    Weather this coming week is nothing but cool/cold with lots of rain and drizzle and thunderstorms. Which beats the heck out of Reno where it’s been more or less constantly snowing.
    I've been doing the poison bird drills, secondary selection on marks for a month or so, and have been doing straight lining drills. We are going to start the angled lining drills as soon as the weather starts cooperation.

    I've been dealing with a lot of the issues you've dealt with while training RD, he can get pretty vocal going to the line when he's amped up at group training, basically simulated hunt test environment. Just another thing to work on!

  17. #10
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    It’s funny... I was noticing since I’ve been here that she is quiet on marks, but vocal on blinds. Go figure! But I am more convinced than ever that having a dog that has “too much” GO is a great problem to have. I love the attitude your dog shows on your videos.

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    barry581 (02-19-2019)

 



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