Retrieving & Field Training Talk

[The Spotted Devil]

Nice to be back, RS, and good to see you in here too :)

That's a tough one alright - not something I've really had to deal with but am very conscious of it nonetheless. Certainly a genetic component to having a soft mouth but a heck of a lot of learning/coping behaviours too. Just wondering if you can incorporate a little of the bird work with your other obedience - for example, nose touch - hold bird - give - nose touch - reward. Just to take some pressure off and put an easy behaviour beside the difficult one. However, you've got some good people out West you should be able to give you a hand. Good on you for keeping on it - the difficult dogs always make you a better trainer!

[rubyroo]

RS i hope you work it out. I've had a dreadful time with my boy, we have been disqualified so many times for him absolutely smashing birds. I think it is a dominance behaviour (as he wouldn't do it with a man) and also him trying so hard to please me he gets anxious (major stress head), so taking pressure off on the return could definately help. (I've tried everything with him apart from sending him to boot camp with someone tougher than me) My young pup was a little mouthy, but he is a pup and I have been focusing more on the obedience while the bird is in his mouth and not paying too much attention, just a little, on the bird and this seems to be working. Everything is starting to come together. It's been too hot to run marks, so this morning I made the most of the cooler morning and he nailed it, everything, I'm so proud of him.

[RubyStar]

Thanks, TSD. That is good to get some suggestions that are thinking outside the box. I'll give that a go :)

rubyroo, I hope you can sort it out with your boy! Your pup sounds like he's coming along great! What breed do you have again?

I know I'm not the first, nor the last to have a mouthy dog who will bring back a bird to be embarrassed about. I know it must be partly genetic, but I believe it is mostly learned behaviour and stressing. She carries soft toys around ever so gently, has to keep bringing me slippers, socks, thongs, you name it, all without asking. She also loves playing the "another one" game inside with finding me my other slipper or shoe But she started learning a horrible mouthing behaviour with the obedience dumbell which I never got on top of, and it has carried across to other items.

The mouthing was worse on those times that I grumbled at her to get back into heel during the heel between the flags (and yes, funnily enough, the heel BACK was great! The excitement of getting to the flags before me took over, and yes she knew what they were about! She'd get there before me and sit, watching eagerly for the bird!! ). Was also a bit worse when I didn't talk to her on her return with the bird. Oh and to make matters more difficult, I can't talk too excited or she gets excited and chomps down, too! Oh dear!

If I could get on top of the bird thing, restricted isn't necessarily completely out of the question. I just have to learn to train in short bursts, but when you rarely get the chance to head out with someone to throw dummies for you, sometimes you like to cram as much as you can in which can have a negative effect for us! And of course there's the heat. She doesn't "do" heat

Edited February 28, 2013 by RubyStar

[rubyroo]

Hey RS, I've just about given up on my boy. He will be 10 this year and still weighs over 36kg and tries to run like a 2yr old and seems to get a bit sore in the front when he runs too much. I have GSP's, all 3 of them.

I'm definately not ruling out learned behaviour. He was allowed to chew and destroy tennis balls and squeaky toys for the first 5yrs of his life. He is obsessed with them. So most of our afternoons have been spent at the dam with a ball he goes crazy but he is happy so I'll give the trialling a miss as I'm not doing anything to help now I've made a decision to stop. I've tried Valium and it just made it worse, quality of life is what I want him to have.

Stinger is the same, when he does something good I cant even put my hands on him to pat him he goes through the roof.

From all the DVDs I've watched you have to have your obedience right to move forward. Training by yourself can be beneficial as your dog has to learn to b patient and stedy. You walk out throw dummies, Walk back and send or walk out and send from where you are you can do multiples from here, one left one right, etc.

Save up and get a bumper boy, you can plant birds where they are going to fall. I've also learnt that the more you use birds they will become just as mundane as bumpers/dummies. Don't give up, they were born to do this!

Rocket, stinger and ruby.

[RubyStar]

I had a feeling it was GSP's you had, but didn't want to be wrong Gorgeous dogs!

My girl has fairly good obedience (which I am well aware can go out of the window when out in the field! ) and is steady, it's just the damn heel up So we have done a fair bit of wait, walk away, throw dummy, send, etc etc. We can do some very basic left and right overs and backs, easy doubles and sighted blinds. Anything more than that and we're out of our depth Stop to the whistle is um, progressing (drop to the whistle, anyone?), and stopping and casting well, not yet She decides she's smarter than I and anticipates I'm going to stop her. But we've only done small amounts of this so far.

I too spent years letting Ruby play with squeaky balls so it definitely is at least partly a learned behaviour. The squeaky ball is the all time reward for both my girls.

Millie has more enthusiasm for retrieving and repetition of drills, but she isn't that keen on holding birdies, and could be perhaps gunshy. Doesn't matter though, she's only an Associate Gundog Shame though, she reallllyyyyy loves to retrieve this one!!!

Edited February 28, 2013 by RubyStar

[fetchindawgs]

I had a feeling it was GSP's you had, but didn't want to be wrong Gorgeous dogs!

My girl has fairly good obedience (which I am well aware can go out of the window when out in the field! ) and is steady, it's just the damn heel up So we have done a fair bit of wait, walk away, throw dummy, send, etc etc. We can do some very basic left and right overs and backs, easy doubles and sighted blinds. Anything more than that and we're out of our depth Stop to the whistle is um, progressing (drop to the whistle, anyone?), and stopping and casting well, not yet She decides she's smarter than I and anticipates I'm going to stop her. But we've only done small amounts of this so far.

I too spent years letting Ruby play with squeaky balls so it definitely is at least partly a learned behaviour. The squeaky ball is the all time reward for both my girls.

Millie has more enthusiasm for retrieving and repetition of drills, but she isn't that keen on holding birdies, and could be perhaps gunshy. Doesn't matter though, she's only an Associate Gundog Shame though, she reallllyyyyy loves to retrieve this one!!!

RS You will find that many of the current trialers have gone through a biting episode with one or more of their dogs sometime during their time doing trials. I had problems with Swaggy for a little while, after he got to AA. It didn't happen all the time and most times it was just a hole in the bird, but it was worrying to me that it was happening and I had to figure out why. Basicly, it was stress. He got worried and sometimes this transferred to a bitten bird. I pulled him out of trials for quite a long time to try and overcome the problem. He hadn't marked any birds during Novice or Restricted, so possibly my body language, and, the extra control in AA, had triggered this response from him. I did a lot of frozen bird work (as you are doing), day after day. He had to hold that icy bird for up to 30 minutes and was not allowed to let it go until I asked him to. I also made sure, when I did enter him back in trials, that I dropped my shoulders, didn't look him in the eye as he returned, and was totally at ease with him. It all worked in the end and we had years of trialing and unmarked game until his retirement from competition.

Personally, if I was you, I wouldn't worry about losing the points on the heelup, (at this stage). As you say, you would like to finish Novice and maybe have a go at restricted with Ruby, and higher aims can wait until your next dog. Sometimes you have to forfeit points just to keep everything running smoothly. Later on, use your frozen birds for your drills, so that Ruby gets to think they are not something special.

Hope to see you at some of the trials this season !!

[rubyroo]

RS keep having fun. It will come. Their light bulb does go off eventually. And I have accepted the fact that my first dog is my learning dog and trying as hard as I can to make the next one better. He has so many problems and I have learnt so much.

I'm so in over my head at the moment getting ready for the pups first trial not sure where I'm up to and what I've missed, I know I have missed lots as I'm starting to get a few confusion refusals. Will hopefully rewatch some DVDs this weekend.

[RubyStar]

Personally, if I was you, I wouldn't worry about losing the points on the heelup, (at this stage). As you say, you would like to finish Novice and maybe have a go at restricted with Ruby, and higher aims can wait until your next dog. Sometimes you have to forfeit points just to keep everything running smoothly. Later on, use your frozen birds for your drills, so that Ruby gets to think they are not something special.

Hope to see you at some of the trials this season !!

Yeah I am going to (try) take it easy and try to make it more relaxed and fun. No grumbling at being too eager in the heelup for starters! And reassurance when she's out in the field. I'm not concerned about losing points at the moment, I just want her to bring the bird back with minimal damage! I hope to get up the confidence to come out this again season

RS keep having fun. It will come. Their light bulb does go off eventually. And I have accepted the fact that my first dog is my learning dog and trying as hard as I can to make the next one better. He has so many problems and I have learnt so much.

I'm so in over my head at the moment getting ready for the pups first trial not sure where I'm up to and what I've missed, I know I have missed lots as I'm starting to get a few confusion refusals. Will hopefully rewatch some DVDs this weekend.

Good luck for your pups first trial! Let us know how you get on :) What DVD's do you have? The one I have that I love is the Wildrose one. Of course I skip over bits that aren't relevant for me, but for the most part, I like it :) I also have Retriever Fever which has some good bits in it. Always on the lookout for more DVD's as I need all the help I can get!!

[rubyroo]

RS I also have retriever fever, smart fetch, fowl dogs and bill Hillman puppy training. I would have to say they all have some great concepts, I do like fowl dogs the best he is very thorough. I just find I have to watch a small section at a time or I start day dreaming, I have a very short attention span at times!!

[The Spotted Devil]

I tend to prefer books over DVDs but really love getting help from those in the know - thus I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's training day

So...my little film star is just doing her usual thing :laugh: On Thursday night I took a "Puppy Games" class at my club so turned up half an hour earlier than usual to squeeze in some drills on novel grounds. 3 leg lining drill was great - nice long runs and she had to deal with some frustrating distractions that I asked her to work through - including a kid that just wandered in her path out of nowhere. The parent thought it was great that their child was nicely distracted *rolls eyes* Another wagon wheel, working on some tight angles, was all we had time for. Yesterday Mr TSD helped me with some marking drills at the oval.....started with an X marking drill with 6 dummies at a decent distance - all very good except the first angle in which Em over ran...the second angle in was spot on though. Then we did a long-ish double, both thrown to my left. Ran it as 2 singles first which was fine. Then as a double - it was getting a bit shady, the first dummy was black and the throw was a bit flat so got lost in the trees - I don't think she saw it at all. Picked up the second dummy which was a better throw (saw the arc only) but I had to treat the memory mark as a blind. A bit confusing for her (my fault) but she picked it up ok - definitely handler/thrower errors!!! A bit slack today as I've had a long day at work....might just have a play with a few things before the sun goes down :)

Edited March 2, 2013 by The Spotted Devil

[The Spotted Devil]

Em and I had a brilliant time at the VGC's retrieving training day yesterday Special thanks to all the experienced handlers who turned out to help the raw beginners, novice dogs and those of us who were looking for a bit more. The GSP club also ran a Beginners test in the afternoon which had a good entry - hopefully we have a few more dogs and handlers hooked on our great sport!

After so long away from the trialling scene it was great to catch up with everyone when I arrived at the property at about 8.30am. After lots of talking we split up into 3 groups - one group worked on beginners/novice land marks, the second group worked on beginners/novice water marks (these 2 groups swapped over half way through the morning) and the third group worked on transitioning from novice to restricted. Em was one of 4 or 5 dogs in this latter group. We basically built a "run" and ended up with a triple by the end of it!

First it was a hot blind across very rocky ground with a couple of suction points either side - contours and paths. Em was just about exploding with excitement so I worked on heeling her to the start peg as well....a couple of times she was bouncing ahead so I'd stop and just say nothing until she realised she had no shooting partner and would reverse quickly into position :laugh: At the starting peg I had her sitting facing the blind - a handler came down and dropped a dummy on the pile. Then I treated it as a blind: "Blind. Yes. Back!" She ran a really good line, didn't fall for the suction traps, picked up the dummy and delivered to hand very nicely. GT suggested sending her again to solidify the exercise which I did. However, the helper didn't realise I had sent her and walked to the blind pile. Em was really confused and hesitated - I stopped her, waited until she was looking at me nice and square, then sent her back. GT said I was probably too quick to handle and he would have left her to it. Anyway, she picked up the dummy and delivered to hand. I actually thought Em was running quite slowly for her and was a bit concerned.....until I walked out a whole heap of dummies to the pile and saw how difficult the terrain was. I'm impressed that she ran at all!!! Next exercise was to add a mark from the Bumper Boy up on the ridge that landed at about 70 degrees to the blind pile. Pick up the mark, then get the blind. Em's marking was a bit sloppy on that first one - she overran it and didn't want to hunt on the face of the slope which is pretty normal for an inexperienced dog. She kept working the top and the bottom and just didn't get in a position to take advantage of the light breeze. She didn't give up at any point though. Had to handle her into the area as I didn't want her to get sucked in by the blind. All fine in the end and picked up the blind fine too. Next, we ran the same mark and blind but as a memory mark. Much improved on this - Em had no problem on selection, picked up the blind and picked up the mark much more quickly even though it didn't land in quite the same area as last time. Finally, we ran the same mark, send for the mark (easy!), then GT hand threw a 2 bird (I was late in whistling Em off it but she didn't swap), leave the 2 bird, pick up the blind and then pick up the 2 bird. No whistles required and she was just as enthusiastic as on the first run, despite the heat. I have a lot to learn in terms of incorporating the breeze/contours into my handling - had lots of tips and have plenty to think about! In obedience we'd call it "ring craft".

I took Em down to the water - let her pick up a couple of dummies to cool down and wandered back for lunch. On the way back I found an excellent small, dry, rocky gully and practiced sending Em from further and further distances. She attacked it really well - no hesitation, nice and straight there and back. After lunch we walked down to watch the Beginners Test - couldn't see too much from the hide for the land run so chatted with a few newcomers. Em could see the arc of the mark though and was super excited. For the water run, the judge was kind enough to let Em pick up the game when the handlers were shown the run. It was a nice opportunity to put some pent up excitement to good use and cool her down. She also got to play pick up dog on another occasion - the game had floated right into the trees/logs so I treated it as a blind and she really had to clamber over some timber to get it. Super pleased with herself and would have happily picked up a dozen more :D

A nice photo of her playing pick up dog....

And another snatching a snooze at lunchtime...

Edited March 4, 2013 by The Spotted Devil

[fetchindawgs]

Em and I had a brilliant time at the VGC's retrieving training day yesterday Special thanks to all the experienced handlers who turned out to help the raw beginners, novice dogs and those of us who were looking for a bit more. The GSP club also ran a Beginners test in the afternoon which had a good entry - hopefully we have a few more dogs and handlers hooked on our great sport!

After so long away from the trialling scene it was great to catch up with everyone when I arrived at the property at about 8.30am. After lots of talking we split up into 3 groups - one group worked on beginners/novice land marks, the second group worked on beginners/novice water marks (these 2 groups swapped over half way through the morning) and the third group worked on transitioning from novice to restricted. Em was one of 4 or 5 dogs in this latter group. We basically built a "run" and ended up with a triple by the end of it!

First it was a hot blind across very rocky ground with a couple of suction points either side - contours and paths. Em was just about exploding with excitement so I worked on heeling her to the start peg as well....a couple of times she was bouncing ahead so I'd stop and just say nothing until she realised she had no shooting partner and would reverse quickly into position :laugh: At the starting peg I had her sitting facing the blind - a handler came down and dropped a dummy on the pile. Then I treated it as a blind: "Blind. Yes. Back!" She ran a really good line, didn't fall for the suction traps, picked up the dummy and delivered to hand very nicely. GT suggested sending her again to solidify the exercise which I did. However, the helper didn't realise I had sent her and walked to the blind pile. Em was really confused and hesitated - I stopped her, waited until she was looking at me nice and square, then sent her back. GT said I was probably too quick to handle and he would have left her to it. Anyway, she picked up the dummy and delivered to hand. I actually thought Em was running quite slowly for her and was a bit concerned.....until I walked out a whole heap of dummies to the pile and saw how difficult the terrain was. I'm impressed that she ran at all!!! Next exercise was to add a mark from the Bumper Boy up on the ridge that landed at about 70 degrees to the blind pile. Pick up the mark, then get the blind. Em's marking was a bit sloppy on that first one - she overran it and didn't want to hunt on the face of the slope which is pretty normal for an inexperienced dog. She kept working the top and the bottom and just didn't get in a position to take advantage of the light breeze. She didn't give up at any point though. Had to handle her into the area as I didn't want her to get sucked in by the blind. All fine in the end and picked up the blind fine too. Next, we ran the same mark and blind but as a memory mark. Much improved on this - Em had no problem on selection, picked up the blind and picked up the mark much more quickly even though it didn't land in quite the same area as last time. Finally, we ran the same mark, send for the mark (easy!), then GT hand threw a 2 bird (I was late in whistling Em off it but she didn't swap), leave the 2 bird, pick up the blind and then pick up the 2 bird. No whistles required and she was just as enthusiastic as on the first run, despite the heat. I have a lot to learn in terms of incorporating the breeze/contours into my handling - had lots of tips and have plenty to think about! In obedience we'd call it "ring craft".

I took Em down to the water - let her pick up a couple of dummies to cool down and wandered back for lunch. On the way back I found an excellent small, dry, rocky gully and practiced sending Em from further and further distances. She attacked it really well - no hesitation, nice and straight there and back. After lunch we walked down to watch the Beginners Test - couldn't see too much from the hide for the land run so chatted with a few newcomers. Em could see the arc of the mark though and was super excited. For the water run, the judge was kind enough to let Em pick up the game when the handlers were shown the run. It was a nice opportunity to put some pent up excitement to good use and cool her down. She also got to play pick up dog on another occasion - the game had floated right into the trees/logs so I treated it as a blind and she really had to clamber over some timber to get it. Super pleased with herself and would have happily picked up a dozen more :D

A nice photo of her playing pick up dog....

And another snatching a snooze at lunchtime...

Gorgeous photos of the "EM", and it sounds like you had a great time at the training day. Victoria always seems to get a great response from new handlers to the training days put on, which hopefully progresses to more people in the sport. W.A. has some training days for beginners too, beginning this weekend (Sunday 10th) in the Guildford area,and then again on the 17th and 24th. Cost is $15 per dog for the 3 Sundays, and registration is at 8 am. Anyone interested in attending with their gundog should contact the Retrieving Club of W.A. for the venue. Same format as Victoria just had with experienced handlers there to give advice and instruction.

[The Spotted Devil]

Thanks fetchin' - the water retrieve is a beautiful shot....you should have seen the size of the camera lens!!! Good luck with your training days also - retrieving is not something I would ever have known about had not people like LL taken the time to introduce me to the sport so the more opportunities there are for beginners the better!

Yesterday I had quite a few things to get done so the dogs had a lazy day at home after their first night back at agility for several months. This morning I took them to the water as it's a bit warm at the moment and I'm working tonight. Zig just had fun retrieving his toys in the water when I wanted to give Em a break - I must say how great it is to have Em on hand when I throw one too far out for him and he decides he'd rather not thank you! :laugh:

I thought it might be nice to follow up what we did on Sunday and build a run. Also took a few items of game with me to give her a buzz on the blinds, although "buzz" is a bit of an understatement! I let her see me drop the game on one side of a small creek then walked to another pond and did a couple of water retrieves on dummies. Of course, I then realised I'd left my whistle in the car so it was a nice traipse back in the sun to get it! Worked on a few more straight water entries through reeds (with clear space either side) and that was going really well - sending from heel and also setting her up to face me and take a "back". Then I lined her up to the aforementioned across water blind and she was all over it. Replaced the game. Added a hand thrown water mark (dummy), pick that up, then get the blind. Easy. Hand thrown dummy, pick that up, throw a two bird (dummy), leave that, pick up the blind (game), pick up the two bird. All good although I'm still whistling her off the two bird. Gave that run a rest, walked down to another wider body of water that was a dry creek before the rain last week and tossed a couple of items of game over onto the bank (got my new Muck Boots wet ). Ran it as a drill. Send. Stop. Back. Deliver. Then send for the 2nd one. All good - just super enthusiastic to go back so a good reminder for me to slow down my handling. Walked back to my original send point for the previous run after setting up 2 across water blinds (game) at 90 degrees to each other so both were familiar. For the finale, I threw an in water mark. Walked back to her. Leave. Pick up the 2nd blind we worked on (at 180 degrees from the mark). Picked up the 1st blind we worked on (splitting the previous blind and the mark. Send for the in water mark. It had floated quite a bit but I was impressed with the line she took - just kept swimming to the other side of the pond. Stop whistle. Come in whistle. She got a whiff on the breeze and picked it up no problem. As she came running back I threw a two bird (game) - as I had intended that was very tempting but she just had a good look before delivering the dummy. Lined her straight up and that was an easy pick up to finish off with. Phew! Tomorrow morning I think it will be drills :)

[The Spotted Devil]

Bloody hot tonight! Even at 6.30pm so a short session for Miss E. Around 6 dummies in a pile. Send to back pile. Throw two bird to the right. So much better - she had a good look but didn't need a whistle. Deliver. Pick up two bird. Send to back pile. Stop. Back. Throw 2 bird to the left. Deliver. Pick up two bird. Set up single T. Send to back pile. Deliver. Send to back pile. Stop. Cast right. Oops what's that again??? :laugh: Handle and deliver. Send to back pile. Send to left pile. No way! I want the back pile!!!! lol. Handle and deliver. Send to left pile. Ohhhh why didn't you say so??? Send to back pile. Send to back pile. Stop. Cast right. Send to back pile. I think that adds up!!!

[The Spotted Devil]

Had a fine training session on Friday morning with a friend. A bit of a drive but really great to catch up with a few people plus an opportunity to train on different grounds. Still hot so we worked on water, water, water! Em hadn't done a two bird in water so we started with a fairly short one. She had a good look but didn't veer off and came in without a whistle. Picked up the two bird no problem. Ran it again but with longer (and thus more tempting!) swims. No problem. I did praise her for swimming past the two bird, at which point she veered off and needed a come in whistle but no other issues. We had taken the gun with us so I could practice steadiness in the hide. Using the same dam, I put Em on a sit stay near the water whilst I walked over the bank. Waited, walked back and rewarded. Walked back over the bank. Waited. Fired gun. Waited. Fired gun. Walked back and rewarded. Rinse and repeat with longer periods of waiting. No problem, although apparently her tail nearly fell off with wagging :D Heeled her over the bank whilst my friend quietly dropped a dummy in the water. Lined Em up as a blind and sent her. Ran after her up the bank so I could watch what she did...hit the water and caught sight of the dummy no problem so I ran back to the starting point to receive it. Not a difficult retrieve but a useful concept of running up and over the bank and attacking the water. Drove to another dam but changed our training ideas when we noticed the bull protecting his herd Set up the 4-shot for a very cheaty across water mark. Started Em close to the water - she took the entry very well, needed one handle to keep her in the water, but wanted to cheat like crazy coming back. It took some handling but she stayed in the water. Set her up in the same place and walked over to the exit point and called her through. Rewarded with a hand thrown dummy. Set her up on that side (holding the dummy), ran back to the start point and called her through. Needed less handling so lots of improvement but it really showed up what we haven't been training lately. More than anything I was very pleased with her attitude throughout. Took the stopping and casting really well - was listening, thinking (a little too much!) and just very pleased to be there. A couple of easy water retrieves to cool down and we called it a day.

I had planned to work on agility on Saturday but it was just too hot so Mr TSD joined me for some more water training in the early evening. He had Ziggy playing in the water so I could concentrate on Em. Dropped some game as an across water warm blind. Threw a mark at 90 degrees in another body of water. Pick up the blind. Pick up the mark. Threw a two bird (with the game :D) Using game was very tempting and she ended up being horribly confused so I took it right back to basics. At the very end of the session I repeated that same exercise and she nailed it so hopefully she has a better understanding. Meanwhile it was time to work on cheating....or rather NOT cheating :laugh: Did some call throughs with game across a very small body of water and she was quite dreadful! It was a very good exercise though as, by the end of it, she knew she COULD cheat but chose NOT to. Moved to another body of water and repeated the exercise on a fairly tight angle and she picked it up straight away. Going out is fine but coming back still needs work. A few 'straight backs' into water and finding Zig's toys in the reeds to finish off. Before we walked back to the car I placed the well worn game next to a tree in the middle of the park. Just before we got to the car, I sent her across a small creek to pick it up. A good, long, straight run there and back. Very productive session.....as was the stop at the pub for dinner and beer on the way home The Spotted Devil was happy to sleep quietly under our chairs but The Springer Devil doesn't know the meaning of 'tired' and kept jumping on his head until he wrestled with her. Little turd :laugh:

[RubyStar]

I attended the WA Retrieving Club's first training day yesterday. I took Millie along this time, to see what she remembered as there is a RATG coming up. It was HOT. Thankfully we didn't have the sun beating down on us as it was overcast, but it was painfully muggy.

We did 2 single marks on land each and even though the dummy landed in an open patch of ground, most dogs ran around the bush to the left of it towards where the mark had been thrown from. Yep, Millie was one of them. When I walked out closer to help her out the dummy stood out like dogs balls, so it still baffles me how most dogs got drawn in by the bush She needs a fair bit of work and the heat drained her a bit, but her craziness returned after she got to take a dip for some water retrieves. To get her to hold as she exited the water, I ran away and yes she held it, but I landed flat on my bum when I ran backwards and down a ditch. Owie! My back was twinging all day. Thank goodness I didn't do any real damage, mainly just the pride :)

Next week I will take Ruby and see what she remembers. Her marking had improved last year but after such a LONG break, she might have forgotten it all! Hope it isn't as hot next week. Thinking of taking a frozen pigeon for her next week and having a go with that after the other dogs have run. Is this a bad idea?

I did some hold work with her with a frozen pigeon when I got home yesterday, and will continue to do this in the hopes she gets better with keeping it in tact She holds beautifully as I am calm and she is calm, but add in the rest and its munch city I will keep trying :D

[The Spotted Devil]

Good on you RS Even the experienced dogs will have a drop off in marking skills if they don't practice!

Any video of your stack? Owwwwwwww! Hope you don't pull up too stiff tomorrow.

I caught up with RubyBlue last night and worked on some marking with her dogs. Much improved so we ran a couple of across water marks - heaps of enthusiasm from her girl.

With Em, I reviewed the last few days of training....warm blinds, marking, two-bird and anti-cheating exercises were SO much better........but she's convinced that she's never done a memory mark in her life! Back to the drawing board tomorrow :laugh: Still hot today. Waiting for the sun to go down so I can do agility flat work as I really don't feel like doing the 1.5 hour round trip to water.

[fetchindawgs]

I hear that Livertreats has turned "RED" and is having a go at the retrieving training sessions with this much smaller dog.

She will have a very jealous Rebel at home me thinks.

Good to hear you are having a go with both the girls RS. Nothing like getting out there amongst a lot of dogs to see what the reaction is. In respect to where Millie went for the mark, a dog will always try and take the fastest route to the game (every time). Lots and lots of training and being consistent is the only way to convince them that the straight route is best, regardless of what looks like an easy pickup to them. Have that problem with Whiz sometimes and it is very frustrating.

Hey TSD have you entered Em in the Easter trials ? And if so, are you doing restricted as well as Novice ? Sounds like she might be up for it.

[The Spotted Devil]

Red eh? Sounds interesting!

Have entered Easter trial, fetchin' - just Novice as we haven't trialled for about 6 months with all my overseas gallivanting and I didn't want to put pressure on myself :) Plus, I'm not keen on rushing from stake to stake....it's nice to watch other dogs run, help out on the thrower etc. So looking forward to it though - what with camping and the like it will be really fun

[LabsRock61a]

Hello there ! I'm newish to DOL, and to Australia (long story). I just moved to Melbourne with my Lab, and would like to find out about any field training days (or even trials) in Victoria. My Labbie is currently in quarantine, and is the US-style field type. We mostly did obedience work in the US, but did a tiny bit of fieldwork. He completely adored it, and it was great for me to watch. I thought it would be fun to do a bit more here. Can you point me towards resources for Victoria ?

Thanks !