What a day in the field!

[Labradorks]

No video as there were not enough hands, but I spent the day in the field with my trainer and another student and her dog. First water of the season for us, so a very happy (but a little rusty) dog!

The two land retrieves were great. One pretty basic 100 yards out, the other fell on the other side of a hill about 75 yards out. I think that he did a quick drive-by of the gunner on the hill mark, but I couldn't see and forgot to ask.

The first water mark was a cluster! A local pro designed a new technical pond recently and there are lots of inlets and pressure on both sides, like a canal. The bird didn't fall where expected and with my dog's relative inexperience with water as technical as this, he had a rough go of it. He achieved what he was sent to do, but not very well!

Second mark was better. Third was perfect! We waited in the shade and played in the grass, then did one more water mark and it, too, was perfect. Out of all of those, we got two deliveries to hand without shaking off the water, so that's a step in the right direction.

As much as I fret over my dog being too sensitive, I really appreciated him yesterday as I was training with a dog (a young, intact IWS) that is not only sensitive to pressure, but is very, very easily aroused. He is either difficult to control (coming out of the blind on two feet) or shutting down at all times (sitting there unable to actually do anything) -- there is just no in-between for him. Linus is just so easy to handle and makes this field stuff fun!

[TuMicks]

Was that IWS, by any chance, Realta's Duck Commander? (Butch Higgins ran him in the Junior at Marin.) A nice running dog. I was impressed.

Sounds like a wonderful day where both handler and dog learned some new stuff.

[Labradorks]

Was that IWS, by any chance, Realta's Duck Commander? (Butch Higgins ran him in the Junior at Marin.) A nice running dog. I was impressed.

Sounds like a wonderful day where both handler and dog learned some new stuff.

Nope. He's a young guy!