Aye Mates,
Some of the best waterfowl hunting experiences I have had over the years are on rivers and that means moving water. Rivers can be especially productive in the late season when other local bodies of water are frozen solid. Moving waters present challenges for retrievers that more placid waters do not. Dogs need to learn how to negotiate in moving waters in making retrieves of downed birds whilst allowing for stream velocity and it's carriage of game down river with the current. A retriever's first experiences with moving waters should be during training sessions specifically designed to address those conditions rather than during a hunt. One can almost guarantee birds will be lost to the current during a hunt over a dog that has not had previous training in the handling of moving waters.
Photo #1
MAC a one year old retriever is seen here making the retrieve of a training bumper in this quickly flowing river swollen with the melted runoff from March snows.
Photo #2
MAC on return with a canvas training bumper in the frigid March melt waters that rapidly carry marks thrown downstream.
The training I conduct for retrievers in the handling of moving waters teach the dog how to head off the retrieve by making allowance for stream flow and not letting "birds" get by them in the moving current.
I also make a point of doing land - water - land retrieves to instruct the dog how to negotiate the current in reaching birds that are dropped on the far shore with a rapidly moving river to cross before making the pick up.
Time spent training to address moving waters will make for far more effective retrievers and far less potential for precious game birds lost to moving waters.
Cheers,
THE DOG WHISTLER ☘️🇮🇪🇺🇸
Last edited by IRISHWISTLER; 03-22-2019 at 02:16 AM.
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Joanie Madden, Mary Bergin, Adrea Coor, and Nuala Kennedy, each an Irish whistle goddess in her own right.
Yet another thing I would never had thought of. Thank goodness there are trainers like you. Mac's looking great.
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Kissing Bandit
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Joanie Madden, Mary Bergin, Adrea Coor, and Nuala Kennedy, each an Irish whistle goddess in her own right.
That's great that you train for that! My guys love to swim, but their experience is mostly at our local lake and/or at the beach (bay side of a barrier island). The few times they've been in moving water I've kept them on a long line because it does make me nervous that they are unfamiliar with it and don't necessarily know how to negotiate it.
I love your training posts - so fun learning about the training for other dog sports!
Annette
Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009
And remembering:
Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015
And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014
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Ah, to have water as varied as yours. There is so much to be taught on rivers... if only we had a few. We have the Truckee, of course that goes through downtown Reno, but when it's even moderately high, it can be dangerous. Not a training option. (God forbid we have a sudden warm spell and spring rain at the same time... the melting snow pack plus additional rain will flood the downtown like it always does. After which there will be a bond issue voted upon and they will re-engineer the Truckee again at great expense. But I digress.)
But the point surely is... you use your terrain and water to maximum advantage, using maximum creativity to produce a well rounded working retriever.
Love your posts and photos!
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