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  1. #1
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Well, well, well...

    All those little drills have seemed to have had some effect. Now... she was going to stay put ANYway, since we did the set-up so that I would have practice running her as in a Junior... (when do I have my hand on her collar, when not, when do I put my leash in my pocket, when do I say SIT and when can't I... baby stuff but if I didn't practice it, I'd screw it up for sure.) So, yes... I had my hand on the flat, buckled collar. I didn't restrain her, however. We were actually up on a mound. Did that encourage steadiness? Or would being on a mound tend to give her a flying start and encourage breaking? I don't know.

    But she was very still... very locked in. Very quiet. Very different.

    I don't know, but I believe it is helping. She ain't fixed. She's always going to be a creeper, whiner, threat to go... but I think there is hope.

    -marks-blinds-3-17-16-jpg

    (My bad... I did not take the necessary time to "NO" her off that flier before sending her on the blind. Duh-OH!)

  2. #2
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    I may have mentioned that folks in our training group are really not into drills very much. Obviously, drills are (by design) something you can do with just you and your dog. Nevertheless, I think drills and exercises are a bit poo-poo'ed by folks I know that do HT's. But I've been describing the couple of drills I have been doing that I think are helping us out with our line manners.

    Two developments.. I found out that some folks on whose property we train do drills ALL. The. TIME. These are people who have been to quite a few Master Nationals with their goldens. And, for many of their drills, they use white PVC pipe laid out on the ground to discipline themselves and their dogs about their body positions relative to each other. Ta DAH! Exactly what we've been working on. So I feel like I'm doing the right things.

    Also today, doing a "simple" blind spread (nothing is simple in a NV desert landscape choked with sage brush, of course...) one of the pros complimented me on the way Rocket Dog was lining up with me. We picked up those blinds better some dogs who are much further along in training than we are. (Quick brag... once Rocket Dog gets a head of steam going, she doesn't dance around bushes and bramble... she just goes through them. Also, she didn't square the road today, took a nice angle across, angled up the hills... Once she begins taking and holding a line better, she is going to be a real thrill to watch on blinds.)

    Anyway, tomorrow we drive to Suisun City to run our very first HT. I know it's just a Junior... but the degree to which all the scents and sounds and birds and guns and other dogs will cause her to blow her gasket and otherwise have seizures of extreme doggy anticipation, that is still a mystery. I think I'll know the minute we begin our walk to the holding blind. I know we can't "train" on the grounds... but maybe we can use the parked trucks near us to make her think this is a "go to the back of the bus" exercise.

  3. #3
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    We try to balance our programme with marks blinds and drills. Right now we are trying to shake off the long winter and are reviewing all the steps in the 4 corner drill. Today we reviewed the no no drill by putting the two no no pipes out on one side and the diagonal. M was fine after a brief simplification on the short side pipe but it took much more to get her to take the line over the pipe on the diagonal. She kept wanting to cut the right end of the pipe. She even blew off the whistle so I made her do some disciplined casting back to the pile and then take the correct line in. We moved up and I re-established the pile but she again wanted to cut the right end so she got a nick for not listening. After that she took the line correctly. I think the problem was that it was a slight uphill slope and when she got to the pipe she could see the bumper pile and thought it would be faster to cut around. She had no problem at all when we move to the opposite corner.
    The next time out we will add a white snow goose decoy on the side she wanted to cut. This will be further suction. Also I will set out a couple of the mannequins on the other sides. Rand is also going to cut down a couple skids so I can make some brush boxes. These are good for creating a gap to run through or going over short bushes that may be on the line. She still wants to leave on the word line. We really have to work on slowing down and getting the full focus.
    You may be surprised by RD at the hunt test. I thought M would be a real basket case at her first hunt test. The judge actually compliment me on how nicely she came to line and focused on the test.. Take every advantage you can of using the vehicles around you. I have even given my a swat on the rump with a healing stick between parked trucks. A good friend who had a high flier used to put him out of the truck and make him run about two miles before they got to a trial. Good luck with your test and let us know how you and RD do.

  4. #4
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    How big are these "no-no pipes"? I understand the drill... I think I've seen it in a Hillmann DVD. (He used a canoe if I'm remembering right.) Do you set them up off the ground on a box or something? I have some flower pots that are about a foot tall and I could place the gutters I have on those.

  5. #5
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    The pipes we use a 18" black culvert pipes. One is about 6 ft long and the other is about 9ft long (got them from a friend in construction Very often the companies have scrap pieces left over). We just place them on ground so they cross the line and the dog has to go over them to stay on line. I have used many things to make an obstacle for the dog to have to carry a line over. I took orange frost fencing and cut it in half so that it was about 21' in height and tied white bags to it because the dogs have difficulty seeing orange. I have used PCV pipes to make a jump, the half skids are good because you can cut branches to poke through the slats. We have used the obedience high jump and bar jump. I place a piece of cloth over the bar so the dog isn't tempted to duck under. We used to train for the indoor competition at the Toronto Sportsman show. For that we used bales of hay, cedar rails and cut down small pine trees. The no no drill is simple to teach take the line I give you and carry it even if there is something in your path. I have a tape of my old guy Evander at the Sportsman show and he loved jumping over the bales. You can hear the announcer saying that he took all the bales and was looking for more on his way back. He won that year.

  6. #6
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    Hmmmm... my son-in-law works with contractors. I'll see if he can find some pipes of similar diameter. My husband may want his flower pots back when the warm weather comes.

 



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