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  1. #1
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Money well spent.

    As most here know, I was at my wits end with Ram Jet Rocket Dog who was just acting like a wild child, doing about everything wrong that a high octane field dog will do. So she went back to the pro for a little refresher course in etiquette. This was the first day the pro allowed me to run her. What a difference a bunch of money can make!

    When I went to get her off the truck to air her, she right away wanted to give token obedience. I know that had I let her get away with doing so, the pro would have read me the riot act. And I'd have just thrown a lot of money away. So, I dropped the hammer on her* to good effect.

    With some modest coaching I put RD through a spread of 6 blinds (in our typical, thick scrub-sage and hilly terrain) and it went pretty well. I will say... when RD can pull it together, she will be an amazing dog. She runs straight lines for-bloody-ever at full tilt. The only "problem" today was on the occasions where I gave her a poor cast when her straight line was interrupted by impenetrable, heavy or thorny cover.

    Tomorrow we are going up to the American River and will be doing water marks and blinds. There actually is water up there on US Forest Service land. I am not sure if the pro thinks I'm ready to handle RD on more challenging set-ups. We'll see.

    * The pro says of RD, that she "can't get in enough trouble." By that she means, when in doubt, give a correction. RD is not a dog that is easily crushed or is a diva (like Bridget!). And at the same time, if RD is given an inch, she'll immediately take a mile.

  2. #2
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    I find that the money I spend on the pro probably save me in the long run. I figure to run a double Amateur that goes from Thursday till Sunday costs me almost as much as a month at Don's. What with 5 days in a hotel and gas plus food and entries. The time at the pros pays off in being more confident in the dog's performance when we do start to run some trials.
    I find that M is so fast that I have to be on top of her all the time or she will be running me on her terms.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anna Scott View Post
    I find that the money I spend on the pro probably save me in the long run. I figure to run a double Amateur that goes from Thursday till Sunday costs me almost as much as a month at Don's. What with 5 days in a hotel and gas plus food and entries. The time at the pros pays off in being more confident in the dog's performance when we do start to run some trials.
    I find that M is so fast that I have to be on top of her all the time or she will be running me on her terms.
    Yes, it sounds like M and RD have been hatched from the same egg. You have to hit the whistle so fast, a lot of times you want to have that whistle back. And in training, I find, I have to be ever alert, asking myself if RD took any extra steps she didn't need after I blew the whistle... if she begins to do that, she'll begin to have a loopy sit, and then, probably will begin slipping whistles entirely. But if I start with the second whistle-nick... I ask myself, did she really hear it? What's the distance? What's the like wind out there, is she in high grass or is she going deaf because she's hit running water?

    So much self doubt. That's where the pro is so helpful. I can trust her to say... "let her roll" or... "if she does X... I want you to BURY her!" (Which has only happened once, thank goodness.) RD has just too much potential for me to screw her up.

 



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