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  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by TuMicks View Post
    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.

    Brooks definitely has plenty of "GO" and I think it's easier to manage that and to try and put "GO" into a dog like my Sophie, who couldn't care less about retrieving.

    I can't tell you how many compliments I've gotten on Brooks and how he loves to work. Doesn't matter if it's in the field or doing obedience or rally, you can just tell he loves to work. We were at a group training day with our club a couple months ago and I was walking back to the truck after running our marks and blinds. A lady comes up to me and comments that Brooks was the happiest dog she's ever seen, saying she was watching him doing the blinds, and when I gave him a sit whistle he spun around, sat, his tail thrashing and a big smile on his face. I laughed and told her he does that every time I give him a sit whistle, he just can't wait for me to cast him to the bird.

    Brooks will be 3 in May, and he's starting to show that he's maturing, and I think once he's fully mature, and with continued training, he's going to be a pretty good dog.

  2. #12
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    The thing most to be desired in a dog is BALANCE. You got a great pup and have obviously put a great deal of thought into everything you've done with him.

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  4. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by TuMicks View Post
    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.
    Aye Lass,
    Just plain AWESOME. So happy to hear you are doing well and enjoying life on the road with ye dogs. Good on ye.

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    Joanie Madden, Mary Bergin, Adrea Coor, and Nuala Kennedy, each an Irish whistle goddess in her own right.

  5. #14
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    Glad that you and RD are getting quality time together now that you are feeling better. We won't be getting out doors to train for awhile yet. A friend and I are going to start indoor drill work at a large facility here. We can do a lot of Dennis Voigt's 25 essential drills and then be ready for tune up drills in the spring. I was supposed to go to an obedience trial this week end with M but she came in to season. I thought she might as Elle came in first. They are running around in their twin diapers right now. The only good thing is they will probably get through the field trial season without another cycle.
    Have you don't the blind/ diversion drill with RD. It is the one where you set a blind and then teach it. Once the dog has it you put a person out in the field and the dog must run by them to the blind, next step is they fire a dry shot and the dog runs the blind, 3. they throw a mark (at first away from the blind) dogs runs the blind then picks up the mark, 4. throw the mark as a poison bird no the dog off and run the blind 5 the last step is throw the mark send the dog for the mark and handle them to the blind. It really helps teach poison bird and handling off a poison bird. The more the dog runs the blind the more momentum you get. We go back to this a few time in the season and after set up the concept of a poison bird or primary selection.
    Keep letting us know what you are doing. You are right, they always tell me its not the dog it's the handle. I sure can make some stupid handling errors.

  6. #15
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    -star-drill-jpg

    So this is one of the drills I have been told to work on while here. It isn't new to us entirely, but the big new emphasis is what happens on the line. I have to receive her and position her so that by the time she SITS to deliver the bumper, she's pointed where she'll be going for the next send. So that we're not doing the HERE-HEEL-NO-HEEL-SIT rumba. Bottom line is... it's almost all about me and my handling but overall, it's all about us becoming a team on line.

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  8. #16
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    We do one that is similar but we put 3 piles about 15 yds apart at the back, 2, 45 degree piles right and left and then the 2 over piles. When we stop the dog and give a straight up vocal it means dig back to the middle pile. When we stop and give a straight up silent cast it means change directions to one of the other back pile (right or left depending on which arm is raised. The other casts are all silent with arm directions. My dogs love this 8 handed casting drill. The middle back pile always has extra bumpers for lining through so the dog keeps up momentum and doesn't start to pop. We teach it after they have learned the split drill.
    it is great having a pro behind you pointing out the errors of your way. Bill used to rag on me about moving too much and flapping my arms around. Another thing he would get on me for is putting my hand down to direct the dog in. He wanted the dog to make the correct decision. "don't help her" and "what are you doing' still ring in my ears. We train with another of Bill's clients and you often hear him say "what are you doing: to his dog. I am sure it is just a ghost of Bill past.
    Keep us informed. I really appreciate your posts.

  9. #17
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anna Scott View Post
    We do one that is similar but we put 3 piles about 15 yds apart at the back, 2, 45 degree piles right and left and then the 2 over piles. When we stop the dog and give a straight up vocal it means dig back to the middle pile. When we stop and give a straight up silent cast it means change directions to one of the other back pile (right or left depending on which arm is raised. The other casts are all silent with arm directions. My dogs love this 8 handed casting drill. The middle back pile always has extra bumpers for lining through so the dog keeps up momentum and doesn't start to pop. We teach it after they have learned the split drill.
    it is great having a pro behind you pointing out the errors of your way. Bill used to rag on me about moving too much and flapping my arms around. Another thing he would get on me for is putting my hand down to direct the dog in. He wanted the dog to make the correct decision. "don't help her" and "what are you doing' still ring in my ears. We train with another of Bill's clients and you often hear him say "what are you doing: to his dog. I am sure it is just a ghost of Bill past.
    Keep us informed. I really appreciate your posts.
    Whether pro or other savvy dog person... this is so essential. It makes all the difference. So I was in a group situation, and another handler with a rip-snorter type dog was doing the same sort of rumba-cha-cha-cha that I typically do. You can learn so much.
    Last edited by TuMicks; 02-28-2019 at 10:26 AM.

  10. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by TuMicks View Post
    -star-drill-jpg

    So this is one of the drills I have been told to work on while here. It isn't new to us entirely, but the big new emphasis is what happens on the line. I have to receive her and position her so that by the time she SITS to deliver the bumper, she's pointed where she'll be going for the next send. So that we're not doing the HERE-HEEL-NO-HEEL-SIT rumba. Bottom line is... it's almost all about me and my handling but overall, it's all about us becoming a team on line.
    How far are each of those piles from the line??

  11. #19
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    About 50 paces or so to the back pile. You can move all the way up to the center, for example, and just run the three back piles. It widens them out and makes it a piece of cake. You can make three big stacks of white bumpers. It’s just a way to start teaching the pattern. Keep it fun always. The back pile is the most important, so you run it more often than the others.

  12. #20
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    The weather really sucks. Got a National Weather Service Alert that a big arctic blast is headed for TX hill country. Going down in to the twenties (OK... no smirking from you Canadians and other US Yankee types!!!) and the wind would be particularly strong. Right now it is rocking my little 18 foot R-Pod. I wish I could bring in all 3 dogs (RD and the two Senior citizens) but there literally isn’t enough room unless one of them could curl up in the marine toilet closet. I could manage it if I let at least one of them on my bed... but since the two girls have a fondness for rolling in cow manure, that is out of the question. The Pod is not particularly well insulated. (I think that may be a feature I’ll shop for in the future). But you can make it hot as a sauna in here with the little electric heater. I also have a spare propane tank. So I should be warm enough.

    Maybe I shouldn’t whine too much. The snow pack in parts of the northern sierra is up to 42 feet.

 



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