Things to take home from our last weekend of hunt tests

Here are a few tips I picked up this weekend and some things I want to remember about my girls' performances:

• Think about everything that happens surrounding your dog's first test. Mitch had a dog who had vomited and had diarrhea in the truck on the way to the test. It was supposed to be his first Junior Hunt Test weekend, but Mitch pulled him both days. He didn't want the pup to associate feeling crappy with a hunt test.
• Have very good rain gear. I'm so glad I had my Frogg Toggs! I had been tempted to get camo togs, but I ended up with black and was glad I did. As Adele says, "handler black" makes you easier to be seen than camo when you need to handle.
• Start reading Adele Yunck's blog, the Northfield Natter! Adele is an awesome trainer, and a great down to earth gal who I enjoy being around. She showed me photos she was taking and seeing them on the blog is awesome. I can't wait to dive in and learn more about Master. Congrats to Adele on Gryffin's second Master pass and getting to the water blind with Ty at her first Senior test!
• How to be a good sport with an intact bitch. We had an incident on land as one dog left the honor and the other came in from the go bird. The working dog, an intact male, went after the honor dog, who was already on leash and who was a bitch. The working dog failed when his owner couldn't get him under control and he went after the girl several times. The gutsy girl wasn't having any of this boy's bad manners. I've seen this dog fail two other tests by going after other dogs, male and female. After the incident, a couple of intact males were more than a little interested in the ground where the girl sat on the honor. After a couple of complaints, the judges asked the club to check the dog to make sure she wasn't in season. IMHO, the males were reacting to a combination of a girl and the adrenaline from the near dog fight. I've seen this happen before and it takes a while for that energy to dissipate. However, the owner of the bitch was a very good sport. She said the bitch had been in heat last month but wasn't now, which the club confirmed. The handler also offered to run last on water so her dog wouldn't interfere with any other dog. It was a good example for me since I own two intact bitches. Again, IMHO she had every right to be pretty mad (after all her dog had been attacked repeatedly and then other handlers started to complain about her dog), but she handled it with grace and offered to run last for the other dogs.
• Pagey showed hints of great of things to come. Yes, her obedience was bad on land, and she really hunted for her first mark; but her second land mark was better and her water mark was to die for. Her guts on that water entry was fantastic, too. This dog is going to be a blast to run in hunt tests. She's bold and stylish, and she's going to make heads turn. I just have my work cut out for me!
• Devon ended with more positive comments from the judges. Yeah, we failed our last test and she was bad. But the judge telling me she was one of the best dogs in the entire test Sunday will ring in my memory for a while. Devon racked up some great comments in the last four weekends from judges who have all different breeds. She made me proud with amazing marking and good blind work. Even better, there is no doubt that we should push on to Master.

Devon's final hunt test of the season

Devon was entered in a one-day Senior test on Sunday. I was very worried she would not be a good dog on Saturday when Page was running. One of Devon's very few bad habits is being destructive when I take another dog out to train or trial. Devon's specialty is pulling whatever is in a 12-inch radius of her crate into the crate and shredding it. I've done a good job of creating a dead zone around her crate, but she still manages to snag a poop bag every once in a while and I find it in pieces in the crate. It's amazing how many little pieces a 1-gallon bag can be shredded into.

However, Devon did a good job on Saturday maintaining control. I think the bark collar I put on her first thing Saturday morning had something to do with her positive attitude.

We woke up to more rain on Sunday, after it rained all day Saturday. UGH, I was sick of being wet. Even worse, there wasn't enough workers for the Senior test. Our judges had to set the test up by themselves. The test was supposed to start at 8 a.m., but by 8:30 a.m. we only had 10 handlers. I grabbed a catalog and started checking people in as Marshall, and the judges asked if anyone could run a gunning station since we needed one more worker.

We adjusted the running order to work around handlers working and suddenly no one wanted to go first. I decided what the heck and I wrote myself in first. It's a good test of the dog and handler to go first, and since we'd titled the week before, I had nothing on the line.

Our judges gave us a lovely doable Senior test. As the judges proved last week, you don't have to kill Senior dogs and handlers with near-master level tests to weed out the dogs who should pass and the ones who shouldn't. This was the same husband-wife judging team who had seen Page and I on Saturday, and I was determined to make sure they saw I could train a Golden since they also worked Goldens!

Devon was solid on the walk up. She lined her go bird and locked easily on her memory bird. The memory bird was in the same spot as one of the Junior marks the day before. Devon pulled up early and turned toward the gunning station. When she reached it, she did a 180 (not before giving them a tail wag) and went directly to her mark. She hadn't done that in ages, and I think she was just getting some ya-yas out being first on the line and being cooped up the day before.

We walked over to the blind. She locked pretty quickly and took a nice initial line. It was too bad she wasn't later in the running order, or she might have lined it. She went a little right of the line, I let her carry it, but then stopped her. She obeyed and took a nice left over. However, I stopped her a little late for the back. I had an epiphany here, realizing I have been waiting to whistle when she's on the line. I need to whistle earlier and stop her short of the line to prevent her overshooting to the opposite side.

She started working back, but now was a little to the left of the line. I gave her a whistle, but she ignored it. She was getting farther left and ignored a second whistle. The third whistle she obeyed, but by this time she had smelled the bird. She never looked at me but her head was turned in the correct direction and I knew she was going to go, so I gave her the over and she hunted up the bird.

It wasn't the prettiest land blind she's ever done, but it was good enough. We moved back for the honor. Devon is solid on honors, but she pounced her front feet like she was going to go when the memory bird hit. My heart stopped, but I didn't react (I think I was numb) and she was solid until we were released. Not a bad land series for the first dog!

I went back to work behind the judges bagging birds for the rest of the land series. I love doing this job, since you can see so much of the handling and the way the test runs. That being said, I was pretty tired after another 28 dogs! At least I got lunch!

They called 20 dogs back to water. Fortunately, the day had cleared, but the wind was continuing to swirl from all directions as it had on land. The judges worked to reset the water test, telling us we'd like it better than what they had originally planned.

I did like it. It was a straight-forward double with the go bird up on the opposite side of the bank and the memory bird visible in water. The blind was almost straight across the pond, where I had "suggested" the judge put it when he was setting up (I didn't think he'd listen!).

It was not a pond I expected Devon to like. It had stumps and lilies in it. It was dark; but it did have grass along the bank. She prefers grass to set her precious blond feathers on than mud. This time we ran "in order" which put me near the end.

We walked up to the line, and Devon was ready to go. She did a good job going down into the water, swimming across, pulling up on the opposite bank and giving a short hunt for her bird. She lined up a little buggy for her memory bird, and I kept pulling her to my right thinking I was giving her the best line. I figured she would be buggy and was ready for a handle into the water, but Devon surprised me by going straight in and straight to her bird.

Wow! That was an improvement. The judge even laughed and said the reason she was buggy was because she couldn't see the bird the more I pulled her to the right because of a bush. Gee, maybe I should give my dog more credit.

So she aced the marks, and now to the blind. Devon again surprised me by going straight into the water for the blind when she usually cheats the bank. Maybe that water work last week helped! She got halfway out and pulled to a point of land to the left. I whistled for a sit to give and over, and she ignored it. Four whistles later and she finally sat. I waited, then cast her right over and she went left! Devil! That was now five refusals! I gave her two more whistles to sit and she ignored them, getting farther away from her bird in her attempt to hunt it up because she thought she knew best.

That was it - I hated to do it, but it was time. I gave her a come in whistle and called her in. She didn't deserve to get the reward and in my mind we'd already failed with that many refusals. The devil ignored me and took off around the back of the pond. She was hunting! Even worse, she found the bird by cheating the bank and coming in behind it. She finally got wet and swam back to me with the bird.

The one judge came flying out of his chair, saying, "You couldn't get her to sit! You couldn't even get her to sit!" He couldn't believe I was calling my dog in. His wife and co-judge who had been standing behind me turned and answered for me. She said, "nope, there was no way!" He went on to tell me I didn't want to see the scores we had left in the book and that she was one of the best working dogs of the entire test. He couldn't believe I'd called her in and not tried to hack it out.

Now I know what Mitch feels like when he picks up one of his dogs. There are times he's done the same thing because he knew a dog wasn't working with him. He's rather sacrifice the pass than sacrifice the training. Frankly, that's the kind of trainer I want to be. I want to be more worried about my dog's training than a Q or a pass. It's a hard thing to do, but you have better dogs for it.

In the end, I explained we already had the title and we'd been testing four weekends in a row. The judges agreed that's why I saw what I did on the blind. She was getting test wise and needed a break.

So that's what we're doing this week - giving Devon a little break. She'll get set ups on Thursday and a WCX test in a couple of weeks. But now our focus turns to tracking and agility and obedience. We'll work on refining some skills this winter and then hit it again next spring. We're definitely headed to Master, so I still have work ahead of me!

And even though I had two bad girls walking off the line this weekend, I smiled all the way to the car with both. Devon gave me a great hunt test season, and I know she loved getting her ducks. She works her guts out for me, and I can't ask for much more than that!

Devon SH!!

Devon earned her AKC Senior Hunter title this weekend by passing both tests. I am just so proud of this dog for putting it together and passing four of six tests in a row. This title once again marks a first for me; Devon has the privilege (or the burden) of being my first certified and titled tracking dog and field dog. Oh the things we've learned together!

Saturday

We finally got a decent Senior test. This one was straight forward and challenging, but it wasn't a killer test that was near Master level. Both birds came from truly hidden gunning stations behind trees. The memory bird (60 yards) landed in a nice mowed path with lots of cover strips in between for the dog to break through. The live flier (80 yards) landed in cover behind a large circular area of light colored grass.

The blind (50 yards) was angled to the left of both marks off to the side and was 50 yards to a bush. The dogs had to drive between two trees then push straight over a mowed path in front of the blind.

We had to walk up to the line and sit the dog when the duck call started behind us. Several of the dogs were confused by the duck call from the line and turned almost missing the first mark down. We've practiced this so Devon only gave a head flick before turning to her mark.

She marked both birds down very well, but as soon as the second mark (the "go bird") hit the ground she immediately turned her head back to the fall of the memory bird. Hummm, now what to do?

You can pick the birds up in any order, and I knew that. However, I waited after the judges called my number (which releases me to work) to send Devon. The pause was enough to get her to swing her head back to the go bird. I gave her another split second to make sure she wouldn't swing back and sent her. Later the poor guy sitting on the honor said to me, "I thought you were never going to send your dog!" I gave him a heart attack and I felt really bad and apologized.

Devon picked up her marks beautifully. She lined up nicely for her blind. I wasn't sure how she'd handle going between the two trees. That's a lot of suction for her and I wondered if she'd power past them or get sucked to one of them. I was very pleased when she powered right between the trees. I could tell she caught the drag-back from the previous dogs and she was on a direct line.

I wondered for a split second if she was going to line the blind, but then she hit the mowed path in front of the blind and pulled right. I whistled and she sat and took one beautiful cast to the bird. Boy she made that look easy!

It was a good thing her land was picture perfect, because water was a little tense. We were in a mucky pond, which Devon hates. The water marks both splashed and were nice distances. Devon went out for the go bird, but once she got into the pond she reverted to being a princess and hating the mud.

The memory bird was near the bank in the shade so it was hard to see. She knew where the memory bird was, but she flared and stayed on the bank when I sent her. I had to whistle her to get into the water, which meant I had to "handle her to the bird." Once she was in the water, she remembered the mark, but I still had to whistle her and cast her to it. She looked quite confused, but I think our discipline casting got us through it.

Now we only had the water blind to get. It was tight to the bank, which is a struggle for Devon. She didn't want to sit on the bank with all the mud, so I had a hard time lining her up. Once sent she stayed on the bank as I expected. I had to put her over into the water, then she locked on the far shore where the "go bird" had landed. I let her swim, but then whistled her back left to the line of the blind.

Once Devon was back on the line I whistled her and had a difficult decision to make. A left back would have spun her toward the shore which I knew would make her shore up. A right back would likely have sent her back out toward where the water mark had been and where she had just come from. I didn't like either option.

I chose a left back, and she did just what I expected and got back on the shore. Three casts later and she still was on the shore but now one over gave her the blind. It was very, very ugly. All positive comments from the judges stopped when she was working the blind. I knew we were on the bubble as far as passing, but I also knew her land work had been very solid and we had the wiggle room.

The other dogs that had run late also struggled with the shore on the blind. Mitch was the last to run and he came down with two Flat-Coated Retrievers. On the way down he asked how I did and I said I wasn't sure but we'd talk later. His first dog Vince did exactly what Devon did, so I got to see the pro work and I "went to school."

Mitch kept Vince out to the right of the blind in more open water. He wasn't on the line of the blind, but it kept Vince out of trouble on the bank until he winded the bird and was cast back left for it. He did the same with his next dog, a younger and less experienced Flat Coat named Louie (who I love). Louie had more cast refusals but still got the bird. I figured his performance was on par with Devon's.

The judges told Mitch Louie did about what most of the last four dogs did. I thought that comment was interesting, because they indicated the last four dogs ran the blind differently and not as well as the first four dogs (only 10 dogs went to water). Obviously they saw a trend as they judged and took it into consideration.

In talking with Mitch later, he said the mud and muck in that pond held a lot of scent which is why the later dogs were pulling to it. This explained why Devon did what she did because she's a tracking dog and follows scent. It was a really good lesson for me to learn, and I was really glad I got to watch Mitch run his two dogs.

That night at the banquet, I was rewarded with our 3rd orange ribbon (Devon already had her reward of six ducks for the day). I'm not sure it was the prettiest pass we had, but it was a pass! In the end 10 of 15 dogs passed, with all the dogs going to water passing.

Sunday

This was another very nice Senior test. The straight forward land test was double with a memory bird of 50 yards and a go bird of 70 yards. The blind was off to the right and about 45 yards. We had a silent walk up and an honor.

I ended up helping as bird boy collecting birds behind the judges for all but four dogs when I ran Devon. It is one of the best ways to watch and learn during a test, and it really helped the time pass. The dogs were wired Sunday morning, and the honor was very tough. We lost about 5-6 dogs when they broke the honor. The way the test mechanics worked, the honor dog had to wait for one gunning station to reset after the blind was run. The dogs who were high got even higher waiting and watching that gunner reset and knowing more birds were coming down.

Devon was wired Sunday morning. She came out of the truck bouncing straight up and down. In the blinds she's usually quiet and leans against me for pets. In the last blind when I took of her leash she was really sassy (see the next post for more details). I knew we were in for a ride, but I wasn't sure if I'd be driving or she would be!

Devon was controlled walking to the line. She marked both birds well and only flicked her head back to the memory bird for an instant before locking on the go bird. Luckily our honor dog held. Devon took a beautiful line to the go bird, and an equally great line to the memory bird. Because she was so wired, I had her hold the bird while they planted the blind and this kept her sane.

Devon three whistled the blind and did a lovely job. She held her honor and made the land test look easy. I knew we once again had very solid marks on land, and once again we needed them for water.

Ok, I'll admit it. I was pretty tense for land. I wasn't nervous, but I really, really wanted that title so tense would be a good way to describe me. Water was tough. It was a deep pond with dead trees and stumps. There was some debris under the water, but not much. I knew Devon wouldn't like this pond any better than the one the day before.

The water double was tight, maybe 45 degrees. The go bird was longer than the memory bird, which was tucked back into a cove on the right; that meant the dogs had to swim past the memory bird for the go bird. If the dogs got the memory bird first, it was a very difficult handle to the go bird in the middle of stumps and dead trees. I knew if Devon didn't get that go bird first on her own, we were sunk.

I lined Devon up differently than every other dog. I lined her up to the far right on the only remaining grass. I had her lined squarely up on the go bird, knowing it was the most important; I could handle to the memory bird. I also knew if she was sitting on grass she wouldn't be worried about her precious princess cream colored butt sitting in the mud.

The birds went down and I sent her on the go bird. My total concentration was having my body indicate the far bird; I even took two steps to the left behind her to make sure she swam that direction when she flicked her head right to the memory bird. Devon was an awesome dog and swam right to the bird. The first step was accomplished.

As I suspected, she once again didn't want to go back into the water for the memory bird and I had to handle her. UGH! She got to the memory bird, so we had two birds down and one more to go. Devon also made me crazy by sneaking up the bank on the way back with the memory bird and coming down the roadway through the gallery and down the path to the line behind us with the bird. I was so proud. At least she didn't set it down to shake on her wayward journey!

As I was lining her up for the blind, the little princess didn't want to sit her butt in the mud again. UGH! My stress level was going up by the second. I finally got her sent, and she flared on the bank needing two overs before I got her into the water. Once in the water she took a line to the left of the blind. I worked to push her right, but it was only slightly successful. She shored up 20 yards to the left of the blind, ignored my last sit whistle and took right directly to the blind along the shore. She knew where it was, the stinker!

Once again, the judges were quiet after the blind. Goodness she made me crazy this weekend. Talk about sweating it out! She has the judges raving about her land work and her marking, and then she does ugly water blinds and makes them start calculating cast refusals! I knew we had done a better job than Saturday and I knew we had lots of room on the water blind, so fingers and toes were crossed for the orange ribbon. And once again Devon had her reward of six ducks for the day. She was thrilled!

Well, the end of the story was at the beginning of the post. Devon passed, and the judges said we earned it. One judge said she was a great little dog (pretty good compliment since he's a Lab guy); and the other said we had to clean up some little things (gee, flaring on the bank and being a princess about mud) but we should definitely go onto Master. Of the 21 dogs who started on Saturday, 12 went to water and eight passed.

As I have said throughout this journey, I have a great dog. She works her guts out for me and we're a good team. This weekend I think she was rewarding herself a little more than listening to me, but we got the passes and we now have another first, a Senior Hunter. Now it's time to get this girl a bath -- she kind of smells!

We're off again!

We're off for another weekend of hunt tests. Devon's had a good week of training. We focused on blinds and lining this week. One thing I'd like to improve is Devon's bad habit of flaring off the line on water blinds. I hate having to give her an over into the water just to get her swimming.

I also re-learned (how long will it take me) that when Devon is spiraling down the drain and ignoring my casts giving her a correction only makes things worse. Instead, I need to calmly walk out to her, re-sit her from her last failure, walk back and recast her. This requires a lot of walking on my part, but it settles her into working with me again and it's plenty of "correction" of her. We have not yet had this problem in a hunt test (I'm knocking on wood right now), but I have had it happen several times in training. I guess I'll have to invest in hip waders for water...

I took this photo of Devon this week at a place we train. I've always thought this rock with the blue sky would give a lovely backdrop. Devon is such a pretty dog.

Page turned 7 months old on Thursday. She's starting to fill out (but has a long way to go), and she's about the same height as Devon. I think she might be entering another fear period. On Wednesday she shied away from a decoy in water that moved with the wind as she approached it. This was completely new for Page, who has always been bold or ignored decoys in the past. She worked through it and retrieved bumpers around this decoy, but she "forgot" how to get back into the water after she retrieved her bumper probably due to the decoy concern.

After some land retrieves, Page easily went in and out of the pond at another location and retrieved in and around lilies and other decoys. A friend told me later her dog didn't like that particular decoy either. She said it was lighter than the other decoys and had a pointy head and tail. Who knew dogs were so particular about decoys?

Page also accomplished retrieving a real duck out of water. It was hand thrown by me, so pretty short retrieves. Next week we'll work someone else throwing a duck in water and up on the opposite shore. I don't think this will be too hard for her. What has been our biggest challenge with real birds is Page taking a victory lap with them and not wanting to retrieve to hand immediately.

Yesterday Page got a nice TD track. After tracking, she and Devon got a massage by good friend Sheree. Both girls thoroughly enjoyed their treatment and thought if they continued to hang out on the massage table they might get more. Sheree said both girls were powerfully build and had incredible muscles. Not surprising with all the field and tracking they do!

After a busy day of training and errands, Devon again spent time as library dog last night. The library was packed last night, and there were kids everywhere! Devon was in her glory being petted and surrounded by kids. But as the evening went by, three times she laid her head next to or on the lap of a reading child and let out a big contented sigh! Life sure is exhausting for a "girl on the go!"

From "Tweet means sit" to another SH leg!

We had a rollercoaster weekend, that started on a very weak note and ended with our second orange ribbon. Fair warning, this post is going to be long, but I hope worth the read!

Saturday

The land series was interesting. We had a live flier "go" bird at around 100 yards at the base of a hill. This was a ripping good mark for the dogs. The memory bird was to the right, gunner completely hidden in a treeline. The mark landed up a hill and through a line of cover. You had to position your dog just right so he/she could see the bird land between a gap in the cover. If you didn't position your dog correctly, they'd see the arc of the mark, but not the fall. The double didn't promote switching since there was a woods between the marks.

The interesting thing about the "scenario" they give you for the test, is that they created a "remote send." They had you bring your dog to the line, put him/her on a stay, then step away from your dog about 6-8 feet. You were supposed to be taking a photo of your dog, but the birds started coming in and gunners started to shoot so you had to stop your photo session.

Devon did an outstanding job on the marks in this series. As I expected, when I walked her up and sat her then stepped away, she turned and looked at me like, "What the heck are you doing?" But I had signaled for the birds, and as soon as the judge started her duck call, Devon was all about the marks.

She took a direct line to the flier, stopped and put her head down where the mark should have been then pulled her head up. As it flashed through my mind that she should have been right on top of the bird, she took one more step forward and came up with it. The same thing must have been going through the judge's head, because she said, "I thought she took a direct line to the bird!" Yep! That's my girl!

She still had suction from the go bird down the hill when I lined her up for her memory bird; because of the separation and the cover the memory bird was tough. I usually hang onto the first bird until I send Devon for the memory bird and then hand it to the judge. However, I handed off the bird to give Devon more time to focus. This helped because when I lined her up for the memory bird, she locked in the second time. She only had a 5 ft. very short hunt for the memory bird.

We had a walk up to the land blind. Although short, the blind was challenging. It was up a hill into the same field as the memory bird but on the opposite side of the field. There was the same cover line to break at the top of the hill into the field. There was also a very obvious path 2 ft. to the left of the blind where the blind planter was going in and out of the field.

Because of the position on the blind, the gallery was only able to watch the test dog run the blind to figure out strategy. As I suspected from my previous encounter with an obvious path near a blind, the test dog sucked into this path and followed it a few feet before coming back out. This was going to be tough.

As I said later, the good news is Devon one whistled this blind. The bad news is I blew 6-7 whistles. I'm really not sure what possessed my usually compliant dog to suddenly decide she was on a duck hunt alone. She was ignoring my whistles because she was hunting up the bird. She got into the path once, but rejected it quickly, which did please me. One friend in the gallery said she didn't know if Devon could hear my whistles because they were soft, but I thought they were very loud and only soft to the gallery because of positioning.

In the end, I'll never know. Devon and I did have several conversations about "tweet means sit," but I'm not sure she was paying too much attention to me. I was convinced we'd be dropped because of the whistle refusals, but another friend said the judges discussed me before bringing the next dog to the line and they kept pointing down the field to the flier she'd lined. I held my breath for call backs, and Devon made it to water. In all 36 of 43 dogs went to water.

The water series was in a stick pond. As a young dog Devon didn't have natural water courage, but she's developed into a good water dog. I wasn't sure how she'd feel about this pond. The set up was very difficult. A longer memory bird in "open" water (with lots of underwater debris) and a short 20 yard breaky bird that dropped right in front of them.

Due to the limitations of the pond, we had to walk along a "path" which was through grass and log/stick debris in ankle deep water to send them to the blind. Handling movement was severely restricted by the land that closed in around you and the inches of muck that sucked you into the water at your feet. The honor was on a wooden pallet they placed along the shore. This pallet had open slats and moved. I knew Devon wouldn't like getting on that pallet.

We didn't start the water series until 3:30 p.m. The teen-aged gunners were losing focus rapidly. They had to be rounded up and "talked to" at least three times during this series. Things weren't starting off well, and we were around 25th in the running order.

I learned a valuable lesson about studying where I should stand at the line and watching where other handlers were standing for success. I sat Devon too far back on the shore because I was avoiding mud along the bank, and she didn't get a good look at the memory bird. Devon went for the go bird, and from body posture alone, you could tell she didn't like this pond. She was only in the mucky part so she had worse things to come!

I sent her for the memory bird, and she went but was very weak. She got 8 ft. out into the water and the gunners directly behind her (next to the line) shot off the diversion shot way too early (it was supposed to come as she was swimming in with the memory bird). Devon whipped around like someone shot at her! When she got no direction from me, she turned and swam out 90 degrees away from the bird into open water. To her credit, she was swimming in the direction of the shot.

I whistled her and tried to handle left to the memory bird, but she was clearly very confused. The judges saw it right away and told me to call her in and gave me a no bird which meant I got a "do-over." It took some doing calling her in since she knew there was a bird out there. Finally getting a bird and showing it to her on shore did the trick. The look on her face was priceless; it was, "HEY! How did you find my bird? How did it get up there?"

I took her back to the truck telling her she was a good girl and giving her some kibble as usual. However, she did know something went "wrong" out there. I was supposed to go 2 dogs back, but the Marshall was a young girl and allowed others to push in ahead of me so we ran 6 dogs later. Devon was more subdued on the line, which I thought wasn't a bad thing.

We went to the line after 6:30 p.m. (the test had started at 8:30 a.m. that morning). I lined her up much better the second time and she got a great look at the memory bird. I also got the "$50 bird" which was belly (light side) up with one orange foot sticking straight up on the air and it had a shaft of fading sunlight shining down on it. The sunlight played a factor on the line, because as the go bird winger went off, the shadow was right on top of Devon on the line. Devon hates moving shadows, so she ducked (but never moved her rear end) like the bird was going to come down on her.

Devon went back out into the pond she clearly hated after the go bird. It was a very good thing her go bird was short, because it was sinking fast. It was so water-logged, Devon had a difficult time managing it and walking through the sucking muck. She had to drag the bird in by the neck and just before shore lost it. It sank immediately and she went under past her eyes (and blowing bubbles) after it to bring it back to me at the line.

She lined up for the memory bird, got a good look at it with the sun spotlight shining on it, and I sent her on a firm "BACK." I usually send Devon to marks on her name and to blinds on a "back." However, I wanted her to be very clear that she had to go for this bird no matter how she felt about the stick pond. Devon made me very, very proud. She swam straight to this bird, over lots of debris that pulled her under. She got the bird and came right in. I heard the judges comment that she obviously didn't want to be out in that pond, but she was retrieving her birds anyway. The tone of their voices made it quite clear they were very impressed with her determination and perseverance.

On the blind, Devon again gutted it out and went for the bird. However, we were both tired and the conditions were very, very tough. I knew she had to be perfect on this blind to pass. She got two-thirds of the way out to the bird and took several handles really well. At 60 percent of the way there, it looked like she was walking on the top of a fence. She was wavering between going left and going right. Left would have taken her to the bird, and right would get her into trouble quickly. I let her go to carry as much momentum as she could get in that terrible pond.

Then she made her decision and headed right which was cleaner water and closer to shore. I blew a whistle and she ignored it. She got out of sight, and I called her in. I figured I might be able to handle her back if I could get her back in sight. However, when she came in sight I knew we were done. The look on her face said, "Mom, you told me to come in, and I'm coming in! You opened the door, and I'm charging right through it! I'm done with this pond!" I continued to call her in, and the judge came down the path to tell me she was sorry. I smiled and told her I knew she had failed and was calling her in.

As I was leashing Devon up for the honor, the judge smiled at me and said she thought my dog was going to get that blind. That was a really nice thing to hear from the judges, because I did, too. My friend was working behind these two judges and she told me later they really wanted the dogs to pass. It's really nice to hear that and makes you want to test under those types of judges again.

As I suspected, Devon didn't like the wooden pallet for the honor. It was a good thing she was on leash, or I'm not sure I would have gotten her on it. By the time we honored, we were about the 30th dog to run. The pallet was half sunken in the mud and water and moving. Devon reared up on her leash when I asked her to get on it but did comply.

Devon got lots of hugs and treats for this series. It wasn't a pass, but she worked incredibly hard for me out there and got three-fourths of the way through a very difficult test. I heard later that 22 out of 43 dogs passed on Saturday. Devon was exhausted when we reached the hotel. After my dinner (she and Page were fed at the test site), she curled up next to me with her head on my chest. She fell she was so sound asleep she was snoring!

Sunday

What a test this proved to be! Each time I show up for a Senior test, they seem to keep getting harder! I arrived at the test grounds early, and even though I was dog 27 of 50 (three dogs eventually scratched) I ran 5th.

This was a long walk up, with the judge walking beside you also carrying a gun. The memory bird was an angle in at the base of a hill 3 ft. from the main driveway in and out of the property. The go bird was 90 degrees to the left in the middle of a hill. The memory bird proved to be quite a challenge, especially for the first 20 dogs because of lack of scent. I got some tips from a pro who was analyzing the test before he ran it, and they worked really well.

As soon as I cleared the judging tent, I turned Devon so she was walking straight at the memory bird. This way she'd get the best "picture" of it as it went down. She marked the go bird by turning her head and upper body 90 degrees to the left. Devon is an fantastic marker, and she lined the go bird despite not physically facing it.

I took my time lining her up for the memory bird, and I sent her on her name, but with a big voice. In hind-sight, my big voice probably drove her past the bird. She took a great line about 3 ft. to the right, but never caught the scent and kept driving. She was in very good company. Most dogs wanted to work behind the gunning station since they are used to angle back or flat birds. They also wanted to charge the hill, since that's also what they're used to seeing in training and tests.

The advice I got was to get on the whistle quickly before they got up the hill and it was a big handle. I was a little too slow on my whistle, and she got behind the gunning station. When she sat, she was to the left and behind the gunning station and the mark was to the right and in front of the gunning station.

I gave her a come in whistle, but I was nervous and it came out a muddle like one big sit whistle. I'm sure she thought, "OK mom, I got it! I'm sitting!" I gave myself an mental kick in the pants and blew the whistle again, this time truly communicating with my dog. Devon got it immediately and came in. I sat her and gave her a big right over, which she took to find the bird.

Devon came in with her mark to applause from the gallery. As the 5th dog to run, even with the handle she had done one of the best jobs of the series so far. Devon knew those cheers were for her, and she was proud of herself. One of the judges smiled at her as she walked off the line and said, "Hey there Fluffy Butt!" Ahh, the joys of having a Golden with cream-colored feathering at a hunt test.

Again 36 dogs made it to call backs. The second series was a water double with back-to-back land and water blinds, plus an honor. It's safe to call this series "meaty." The double was a "mom and pop" double where both marks come from the same gunning station. The memory bird landed on the opposite bank which was 5 ft. up from water level, through cover, over a roadway and in cover on the opposite side. The go bird splashed on the edge of the water. We had to run from a grassy area littered with goose decoys.

I had no handles left on the marks, which was the case for several handlers. I knew that memory bird was very tough, as it failed several dogs. I walked up to the area of the line and picked out the right spot to line Devon up for her marks. I even walked it a couple of times like agility!

As we walked to the line, I was greeted by the judge who said, "OOOHH! It's Fluffy Butt!" Devon held up her end of the bargain, lining her go bird and taking a line only 3 ft. off her memory bird. She got 5 ft. past it, then winded it and did a 180 to picked it up. Ok, we were headed for the blinds!

The land blind was long, with a factor of the pond to the left, a roadway to cross and a hill to charge. Devon went right off the line, at least taking the suction of the pond out of her way. I let her get past the road before sitting her, then gave her a firm whistle and a big left over which she took well. I gave her a left silent back when she got close to the line, and she took that nicely. She started to fade the hill, so I gave her another whistle, but just then she winded the bird. She ignored my whistle but got the bird. We're going to have to work on that at some point, but it was only one whistle refusal on that blind so we were still in the game!

Onto the water blind, which was the biggest challenge yet. They had to swim past one point of land with a cove behind it filled with decoys (if they got into that cove they were done) then to another point of land and the bird was on the backside of the second point of land right at the water's edge. The blind had suction from the go bird of the double which landed on the opposite side of the pond from the blind.

Most of us that got as far as the blinds, chose to run the land blind first, which is what I did. It gave the dogs even more time to have the mark fade from their memory. I couldn't believe we had made it as far as running the water mark. I was really proud that we'd made it that far, and now I was determined to give that blind the best we had to give.

I lined Devon up and sent her, but the devil flared left along the bank. I sat her and we looked at each other for about 3 seconds. I was going to get her into the water! I gave her a strong over and she took it into the water. She was swimming to the land which was the first point, and I tried one left over cast. She scalloped it (took it but returned to her original line because of suction) and I decided to let her get to land but then give her an immediate whistle.

It took me two tries, but once she got on the point, I was able to give her a left over and get her back in the water. She swam to the second point, and again pulled up onto the land to the right of blind. I stopped her and gave her a left over since she was parallel to the bird now, just up on the higher bank. She refused this cast and went back toward the blind planters station.

Now I was annoyed. I was not going to get this close to that blind and have us fail this test! She got a big sit whistle which she wisely chose to take. She got a left over back into the water, which she again took. Now I had to whistle her in, because she was behind the blind. She took this but swam left of the bird. I stopped her and gave her a right over back to shore where she should have been able to see the bird when she took the cast. I'm sure she was thinking, "Mom, you just told me to get in the water when I was up on that shore!" But when she turned and saw the bird, she was a very happy camper.

As she came in with her water blind, I counted up cast refusals. I counted two, and I was trying hard to keep myself from dancing a merry jig right there on the bank. I was just sure we'd done it. The judge came up behind me for the bird, and I held my breath. Would we honor off lead, signaling we were still in the game, or on lead clearly saying we were out? We honored off leash.

After the honor, I heeled Devon back behind the line. She decided she wanted to roll to dry off before she reached the blind where we could put the leash on. I gave her a quiet but firm heel -- I didn't want to lose this ribbon now! The judges stayed in their tent and let me leash up and walk to the gallery -- the biggest sign we had passed! The judges were good about alerting handlers who had failed that they could go home.

So at 7:40 p.m., Devon and I picked up her second orange passing ribbon. Only 19 of the 47 dogs who ran passed this test. I'm not sure if I've ever been more proud of this dog or me. This was an incredibly tough test, and we stepped up to the challenge.

I asked to see Devon's score sheet after the test. She had a 9 out of 10 on her land blind with only the one whistle refusal I noted. She had three cast refusals and three whistle refusals on water for a 4 out of 10, but it got us through. All of her other scores were 9s or 10s, with one very low score on marking because of the one handle on land and one 7 for trainability on the walk up. I'm pretty proud of those scores, since we're a brand new team to this game.

I took two big lessons home this weekend. First, continue to work the test one duck at a time. The second lesson comes from the first: stay fully focused on the goal at the moment. My handles worked on Sunday because I was focused on staying connected with Devon and committed to getting her to the bird. I didn't feel that connection on Saturday, and I'm not sure why. I do know what that connection feels like and that it produces results, so I'm going to work hard to make that connection at next weekend's tests.

Training this week

Both girls have had some good training sessions this week. Page did a couple of TD tracks, and she just looks awesome. I can't wait to test her.

Page's marking has also continued to improve. She's retrieving real ducks on marks. Today she had a hill to fight on a long mark, and she let it push her off her line. We repeated the mark to give her a second throw to help her learn to fight the factor. Amazingly, she didn't need the second throw. She fought the factor herself and took a straight line to the bumper.

Page's water marks are beautiful. She even did a mark high on the opposite bank with ease. On both land and water, she's working really hard to bring the duck into my side and sit. It's almost like you can see the wheels turning in her head as she comes in and she's saying to herself, "Must go to Mom's side and sit; must go to Mom's side and sit..." I'm glad to see her effort, because I know it will degrade a bit at a test.

Devon has had as many marks this week as drills. That concerned me until today. Before running set-ups, I did three land blinds in a completely new area. We had several whistles on the long, harder blind when she was distracted with other things out in the field. I didn't give her birds, which she found disappointing.

However, she handled like a dream on the other two blinds. This was the best blind session we've ever had. I threw marks for her to wipe out the blinds. Even so she ran them again to near perfection, even lining the longest one with a flock of birds taking off behind the blind to distract her.

Last weekend's test really took our game to a new, higher level. We're handling as a team now, and I'm thrilled with where we are. This weekend we're off to another hunt test, with Senior both days. The entry is very high, so I expect land to be tough and judging to be tight. They can't carry too many dogs to water, or we will run out of daylight. I'm not worried. We'll work these tests one duck at a time just like we did last weekend!

Lessons learned at our first hunt test (part 2)

Here's some of the random things I learned this weekend. I feel like I had "book" knowledge until this weekend, and now I have the practical experience to go along with it!

• Scalloping isn't a cast refusal. If they take the cast for a few steps then get sucked back on their bad line, you just need to tell them again. A cast refusal is literally turning the wrong way or refusing to sit.
• You can receive a mark back into the holding blind so the bird boy can plant a bird.
• If you've received the bird in the holding blind and they're planting a bird AND you have a very wired dog, leave the bird in her mouth. She's not going to be thinking about going out and getting another duck when she has one in her mouth.
• You cannot repeat verbal casts; you can only give a verbal cast once. In training, learn to break this habit.
• The judges don't judge the return from the mark.
• Don't point out mistakes with your dog. Devon took a huge looping return on a mark and did a fly by of the blind planter. I didn't expect this and still don't know why she did it. I whistled her several times, then gave her big voice "HERE!" commands. Someone in the gallery who is a judge said I was pointing out a weakness where the judges could mark me down in trainability. I should have just continued to whistle her and not call so much attention to it.
• You can only send the dog once on a blind. If the dog no-gos, you can step back and handle the dog from there.

And the biggest lesson: hunt test folks are generally really great people. I didn't travel with anyone this weekend and only knew a few folks at the test mostly in other stakes. I had a great time chatting with the other handlers during the test and made some really good friends. We were all rooting for each other, and it was really nice to get smiles and cheers from the gallery.

Our first Senior Hunt Test weekend was a success (part 1)

Wow, if I could have scripted this weekend, I wouldn't have done much better than how it turned out. Ok, a "perfect" weekend would have been two Senior Hunter passes, but I was way more realistic than that!

The short version is we came out with one orange qualifying ribbon on Sunday. I couldn't be more proud of us for that! But, this blog is about the journey, so this post is about the long version of the story!

I had several goals for this weekend. The biggest and #1 goal was for us to look like we belonged in Senior. I've been around the dog training world long enough to know when a team isn't ready for whatever level they're competing in. It's ugly, and you hear comments like, "Nice dog ... too bad about the handler." I didn't want us to be THAT team.

My next goal was to make it to water on the first day. In Junior and Senior tests, you usually have a land "series" and a water "series." You have to pass the first series, usually land, to get invited to continue to play the game. I didn't really expect to pass our first test, but I wanted to play the game as long as we could. I didn't want to go out early.

From there, my goal was to pass. I really wanted to finish the weekend with one pass, but I would not have been disappointed if we didn't have a pass if the other two goals were met.

In addition to those three big picture goals, I also had some training goals I wanted to meet during these tests. First was a goal for me: I wanted to handle slowly and deliberately. I wanted to be confident at the line, give Devon lots of time to lock into her blinds, and take my time handling.

The second training goal was much harder. I didn't think going into this weekend that Devon truly understood the concept of blinds. I know she understood handling, and I think she was getting to understand there were sometimes birds at blinds. But I didn't really think she "got" the whole picture. I think she thought blinds were just more drills and not about finding birds.

My goal was that Devon come out of the weekend better understanding that there were two ways to get birds. First there are marks where she sees them fall from the sky. Then there are blinds where I show her how to get to a bird she doesn't know is there.

I think you can kind of call this goal "understanding the test." I know last year during her first day of her first Junior test, she learned about waiting in holding blinds and walking up to the lines and watching the marks fall. The next day and in all future tests she was calm and quiet in the holding blinds until we got to the last blind, and then she was ready to go. She learned how tests worked, and understanding the concepts of blinds was part of understanding the test.

So, with those goals in mind, I'll tell you how we met all of them successfully! First and absolutely most importantly, I kept my head in the right place this weekend. I viewed the whole thing as one big training session. I "worked the test" from the time I took Devon out to potty before going to the hold blinds to walking off the line. I relaxed my shoulders, took deep breaths and just focused on working my dog.

The result was only a few nerves on land on Saturday, which went away the minute I released her for her first mark. I didn't have a single set of nerves the rest of the weekend. It's amazing how you can really think better without being nervous. As a trainer, this is a fantastic place to be. I'm that way with agility and all my other sports, so it's nice to get to this place so quickly in field work.

When I lined Devon up for a very tough blind, I took all the time I needed to get her to lock. Once sent, when I had to handle her, I acted like I was in slow motion which helped my handling be smooth. Devon got the blind in three whistles, allowing us to pass land and go onto water (another goal met for our first test!).

My first test taught me that there are advantages anywhere in the running order. Lots of trialing in other dog sports has taught me that's the way competing works. Sometimes you get a bad break, and that's the way it is. On land on Saturday, the advantage was for the later running dogs. On water, the advantage was for the earlier dogs.

The gunner on the memory bird on water was getting tired and his throws weren't going in the right place. Instead of landing in open water, the birds were dropping deep in the lily pads. Devon couldn't find her memory bird, and I waited a bit too long to handle her and she got into trouble. (This was ultimately another lesson learned for me. When you have a handle on a mark left and the last mark is bad, pull that handle out early and use it!)

Even though we had too many cast refusals on that handle, Devon eventually got the bird. She did fight me on the handles, because marking has always been "her job" to figure out. By eventually getting the "prize" of the now wet by still very fluffy duck, I hoped Devon had a light bulb moment that maybe Mom knew where those ducks were hiding. This was exactly the kind of "teachable moment" I figured only a test could give us and I hoped she learned from it to get my training goal. When she came back with the bird, I told her she was brilliant and never let her guess we had just failed the test.

As we were waiting to run water, I mentioned to the marshal that this was our first Senior test and Devon was my first field dog. The marshal was shocked. She said she actually thought I did the best job of any handler on land lining my dog up for the blind. She complimented me on my patience in lining and waiting until Devon was really sure before sending her. Hummm, sounds like I met another goal! We didn't have "NEWBIE" written on our foreheads!

I thought Sunday's land test was harder than Saturday's test. This put me in a good frame of mind to continue in my "work the test" attitude. I admit, I wanted to walk away with a pass on Sunday. But the goal of working the test and coming out a better team overshadowed my desire for an orange ribbon -- really, I must be maturing!

Devon was more wired than the day before. She loves this game! She tried to come out of the holding blind three times after she heard the diversion shot that signaled the bird boy to plant the blind. I'll get to a solution to that in my next post, because I learned one. However, at the time, it really frazzled me.

On route to the land blind, the dogs had to go through suction in both directions from drag back scent from the marks and the line where we received the birds. I thought Devon was locked, but when I sent her she went 6 ft. then stopped. I had a clear enough mind to whistle her and give her a back.

That cast drove her into the scent area, and she pulled left. I gave her three right overs, which she took for a couple of steps then sucked back left. I now know this is "scalloping" and not a true cast refusal because she did take my cast initially. However, this is usually where I get frustrated with her and we start to spiral out of control and down the drain. I was NOT going to allow us to spiral out of control on this one. I was going to handle her to the bird.

At that point I whistled her for a sit, and I let her sit there and we stared at each other for about three seconds. I wanted to break the pattern. I thought, "I don't care if we fail this test right here right now. We ARE getting this bird!" Then I gave Devon an over with a big voice "over!" It worked. I broke her out of the suction to the left and she worked back to the line.

When she got close, I gave her another whistle to sit. I again let her sit there and look at me for 2-3 seconds before giving her a big right "BACK!" She hesitated for only a split second, long enough to tell me with her eye contact and body language, "GOT it, Mom!" She drove straight back and got the blind!

It was right there that I knew Devon learned the lessons she needed to from the handling the day before. She figured out the test and learned that once I blow that whistle, I know more about where the bird is than she does. We were also rewarded by going to the next series!

On water, Devon did a lovely job on her marks (although she did cheat the bank coming back from the memory bird). All we had to do was get that water blind, and our orange ribbon was in sight. However, just when I think these things, everything goes down hill.

Devon had a hard time locking on the blind. She finally locked and I sent her, only to have her "lie" to me. The stinker bolted to my right in front of me staying on land going down the path. Sorry girl, you have to get in the water! So she got two immediate whistles pushing her into the water. She did go and picked the hardest route in over a tree branch.

Once in the water, I gave her another over and she finally locked on a decoy on the opposite bank and started swimming. She was swimming a line to the right of the blind (pesky decoys), but she was swimming. I let her get momentum, then once again stopped her, waited for a 3 count, then gave her a big "over!" It worked again! The look on her face told me she had it, and she swam right to the blind and the bird.

So all my training goals were accomplished. We ran in both the land and the water series both days. We got our first Senior pass. We didn't look like newbies but hung with the big dogs (ok, the medium dogs). I worked the test and stayed calm and relaxed. And best of all, Devon learned the concept behind handling to get the birds. Oh yeah, and we got our first pass!

Today we worked some discipline casting, and Devon has never casted so well. I'm working on silent casting, so I can use my voice only when I really need it for impact. She just did everything perfectly. We've really come to a new level in our teamwork and training, and I'm so glad I kept my head and worked us to that level. We need three more passes, and we have six more tests this fall. Here's hoping I can add some more letters after Devon's name this year!

Field training: land set-ups

Devon has been concentrating solely on field work these days (along with her weekly agility class). Page is also doing field training, but more focused on her table work for force fetch.

During the week we do mostly drills, but both girls have enjoyed weekly set-ups with a field training group. This week because Agile Gold came to visit, I was able to get stuff on video. Sorry about the quality of the video. It was set on manual and overexposed, but I think you can see it well enough.

Here is the second land set-up that Devon ran. It was a simple double, but I was very pleased with her marking.

Devon's land blind was also very nice. I'll have to confess this was the second time she'd been to this blind, but this time it was from a different and longer line. I was pleased she lined it; she got it the first time on two whistles.

Page is doing a really great job for not even being 6 months old! Here is the first set-up we did with Page running. On the first mark she's looking over her shoulder coming back because the bumper had a long rope and it was hitting her in the butt! You can see we don't have a return to hand, but we're working on that.

The second mark is the longest she's ever done at about 100 yards. She pulled up about 15-20 yards too early and needed help. We reran the mark and I think she was much better the second time. Of course, that big bumper is REALLY heavy and she thought about taking it back to Janet who was the gunner sitting closer. I'm glad she figured out to come back to me!

It was really fun to get these video clips. I can't wait to see how much progress each girl makes in the coming weeks and months!

Devon and blinds

After the break throughs from last week, I was anxious to get to more blinds this week. On Sunday, I gave Devon her first truly cold blinds. We were at a fellow Golden Retriever club member's home, and there was a lovely tree standing alone 80+ yards out in a field. A perfect target! We put orange bumpers under it and a bird house about 60 yards away on another line.

Devon was incredible! She lined both of these cold blinds the first try! I was jumping up and down I was so excited and proud of Devon!

Of course, I couldn't just let the training session go with a perfect blind. I asked Steve to take a white bumper and throw a "wipe out" mark across the line of the blind. He did and Devon retrieved it. They aren't called "wipe out" marks for nothing! Sure enough, the mark completely wiped out Devon's memory of the line of the blind and caused suction when I sent her.

On both blinds, the second time I had to handle Devon to the blinds. Once she handled, she lined them the third time out without the wipe out mark. I was really pleased with this session.

On Monday, I went to another location where I could set out blinds at a distance. I set one at 125 yards, one at 140 yards and a third at 130 yards. I marked all three with a black post with bright pink streamers. I know from experience I can see these posts and Devon cannot until she's right up on them. However, they gave me a good target to send to.

Before I got Devon out, I got my "fairway" to each blind, so I knew how far to let her drift. I lined her up for the 125 yard blind, sent her, and she went out in a straight direct line just as she had the night before. I was thrilled! She definitely has learned what she's to do on blinds!

She ran straight for 90 yards before she broke down and drifted left and I had to whistle sit her. She turned and sat like a dream. Awesome, one over and one back and she'd have it. I carefully put my over cast out and yelled "over" and walked to my right. Devon sat like a beautiful statue and watched me walk. Nothing. No movement at all. HUH? I've never seen that!

So I repeated my over command and again nothing. Three times and I knew I'd have to do something different. I'm not sure if she had never handled that far away from me, or what. I walked up closer, about 30 yards, and said, "Devon! Over!" Well, on her name, Devon came it. Darn it!

So I had to resend her to the blind because she wouldn't sit on her way in. This time it wasn't quite as pretty, but she handled to it. The next time she lined it. Good girl!

The other two blinds were much harder because of the suction from the previous blind. The middle blind she got on several handles the first time, two handles the second time and lined it the third time. We had quite the battle on the first send because of the suction from the first blind.

The third blind was a repeat of the middle one with extreme suction from the previous blind. On the third send, I got her to two whistle the third blind and I knew that was the best I would get.

Overall, I was pleased with Devon's blind work this week. She's really getting her job and we're starting to handle pretty well as a team. I think I'm going to stop marking the blinds with sticks and just do cold blinds the next time we train. I do think the blind markers made the suction worse because once she knew they were there, she looked for them.

Update on Devon's field training

This week I've given Devon a variety of field drills and blinds. Not only am I really pleased with how she's doing, I am seeing lots of break throughs for both of us. I am starting to see this goal of running Senior tests take shape!

We started the week with a double T in a large field. It went really well, so I threw in some discipline casting only on a back. Unfortunately the stress of something new and the distraction of kids screaming on the nearby playground frazzled Devon a little. She started pulling up short on her back pile, leading me to give her a couple of corrections.

It was also getting very warm, and ultimately I let Devon end with a successful (but not entirely "clean") run to the back pile. I realized she was getting truly hot and there was nothing to be accomplished by beating this issue into the ground. I again go back to the fact that Devon is an honest dog who gives me everything she has each time we train. I just pushed things a little too far on Monday, so I learned and we ended avoiding a no-win battle.

On Wednesday, I changed things up and gave Devon a wagon wheel. I kept the piles tight at only 8 yards apart. Devon did a very good job on the piles she could see. However, there was one pile she couldn't see; because of the cover I could only see the top half of the orange cone which identified it.

Devon sucked right to the pile next to it. However, she stopped when I gave her a whistle. I tried an "angle back" because this situation set up the "split cast" drill Mitch showed us at his seminar. Although I had never done this with Devon, she read it beautifully and turned right to the hidden pile. I tempted fate and sent Devon there a second time. She did the same thing, and she took the same cast correctly. Although it worked, I'm not going to test that one again until I talk with Mitch!

Thursday we had a really great session. I decided to break down the discipline casting on a back pile only. Devon learns best when you break things down for her, and I didn't want her double T and all handling to fall apart because of the discipline casting. I set out a 60 yard back pile and just worked discipline casting back to it. This worked like a charm and she handled it confidently. I threw in a couple of over casts even though there were no buckets, and she also did those well.

I also set up three blinds for Devon in the fields. The first blind was to a large round hay bale that we had used as a blind for marks the previous week. It was set at 60 yards, and Devon lined this blind on the first attempt.

The second blind was at a tree 80 yards away. When I walked up and asked her where her dead bird was, Devon's head flicked right and left but never straight out. Immediately I realized what I did . I set this blind between and behind two large round hay bales. The previous blind and two blinds we ran last week were to large round hay bales. She would have to push in between these two pieces of suction to get the blind. Wow, did I ever set up a challenge!

I knew she was pulling right, but I sent her anyway when she gave me something that wasn't a dead lock on the hay bales. She indeed sucked right immediately. I let her have some momentum, and then blew my sit whistle. She sat. I gave her an over cast, and while she looked confused, she took it.

Once on the correct line, I sat her and gave her a left back ... she turned left, but then sucked right again. We repeated what I just did and I walked up. Once back on the line I gave her a left back ... and she went left over - must be at the other hay bale!

I kept working this, walking closer to her until I was right in front of her for the left back. Finally, even though she didn't really believe it, she took the left back and held the line! Oh happy day! When she found that blind, she was surprised and I was excited!

I tried this blind again, and this time she really fought me to the hay bale. I let her get closer before I gave her the sit whistle, and she blew it off to hunt the hay bale. That earned her a correct of me walking out and firmly insisting using the tab on her collar that she get her butt back to where I told her to sit the first time. She also decided she didn't want to sit after my left over, again earning me walking back out and putting her where she needed to be. This was all the correction she needed, and she pushed back to the blind.

On the third time, we had several whistles, but she did eventually push back to the blind. At this point, I gave her a break, got her some water and worked Page. I then reloaded the blind with 6 bumpers. I wanted to get this one better. We had such success with her learning to push back, but she was still fighting the factors a lot.

After a water break, Devon came out strong. She nailed the blind in two whistles: she pulled right, but sat and took the over cast; then she nailed the left back to the pile. She got great praise and a fun bumper for that one. She repeated it on the next time, and I ended that blind with a success. I wasn't going to get her to line this blind with all the suction to the right, so two whistles and her obeying my casts was good enough!

The third blind proved challenging because of suction again to the right with trees and on the left with a house. I walked up during my handling and we worked through it. Then she lined it the next two times.

Even though these blinds weren't "perfect," I think we both learned a lot. Devon learned to trust me, that I knew where the blind was and she'd get her bumper if she followed my casts. I learned how it felt to give her momentum off the line, but how and when to whistle her and cast her. I also learned how to read the "fairway" and how she really would get the blind if I let her go on it versus trying to make her perfect right now.

This morning, we again revisited the double T. I didn't want her overs to get sloppy with the handling we'd done on the blinds. I think the double T will be a staple in our maintenance plan throughout her career to keep those over casts strong. The cover in the field was getting pretty tall, and I realized as I set the drill the farther left over pile was hard to see and the nearer left over pile would be impossible for her to see until she was almost on it. Devon did an absolutely fantastic job with this double T. She ran it to perfection! She didn't miss a cast or a whistle. It was amazing! And even when she couldn't see the over piles, she took the cast correctly until she saw the piles.

Because Devon did so well, I decided to throw in more discipline casting. I walked up on her to do it, using only the back over pile so it was really a "T" drill. She acted really confused, but she did a great job of obeying my casts. I had to give her a couple of back casts when she wanted to pull up early a few times. She reverted back to her old habit of coming in on the overs, so I had to correct that and identify the over pile for her once. However, all in all I'd say it was a really good job for only her second try at discipline casting. Mitch warned me it would be rough, and it was. But she generally did a really good job.

As I said at the beginning of the post, I'm really pleased with our work this week. I think Devon and I have reached a new level of teamwork. I know I learned so much this week about how factors work on Devon on blinds and how to overcome them. Devon learned that I really do know where those bumpers (or birdies) are, and if she does what I say, she'll get them. Seeing her finally push thru that wall of suction on her left back will be sight I don't think I'll ever forget. It was the picture of success for us this week!

Double T

Even though Devon's ready for it, Double T is hard and a big jump. Devon's handling weakness is coming in on "over," so when you add two over piles she wants to come in to the nearest one.

Steve cut a Double T into some cover in the back of his yard, so we gave it a try on Wednesday. A lot of trainers teach the T drill and Double T with mowed paths so the dogs can easily see alleyways to the buckets and piles. I think this is a great way to teach if you can, because it gives the dog a defined path to run and probably prevents some of the coming in and "banana" shaped overs I get.

Devon has been taught T drills on short cut grass at schools and soccer fields, so her first time on this mowed Double T was interesting! She was determined to come in on her first overs, even if it meant jumping the cover to do it. As in the past, her right over is more difficult than left over.

We hacked through it and were successful, but it wasn't pretty! At one point I looked at Janet, who is just starting down the transition road with Zoe, and said, "Isn't transition fun?" She didn't think it looked like fun at all! Transition may be a test of patience, but at least it isn't as dull as pile work!

On Wednesday, I gave Devon a break from handling drills to do some sight blinds. I was pleased she worked through the shorter, 60-yard blind. After seemingly indicating and lining the longer blind when sent from 130 yards, Devon broke off her line for some cover that was close by. I'm getting better at anticipating suction, because I knew this would be enticing. I gave Devon a whistle and she sat. When I gave her an over out of the cover, she didn't take it. When I resat her she did sit, but when I called her in she blew me off again and earned a correction for it. She was diving into an unknown woods line, and I'd seen evidence of coyotes in the area. That correction was for her safety, and she obeyed it.

I set Devon up closer to the blind at 100 yards and taught it to her in two, 50-yard pieces. Once taught, Devon lined it twice. I thought we got out of that training session on a positive note!

On Friday, we ended up with an impromptu field training group, complete with carry out Chinese lunch! How many people can boast that during field training? We got together with the Ripleys for drill sessions in a new location at my parents' old home. At the last minute, Beth joined us with Reba and Denver. Lysiane from the Westie Report decided to hang out and watch the retrievers, too, after a tracking session. It was fun to have an outside perspective on what we were doing and explain how we train the retrievers to reliably do their work so far away from us.

Drills may not be fun, but when they're done well they are worth it and take your training to a higher level. Archie was very successful on his proximity pile with ducks. Zoe did a lovely walking fetch, as did Reba. Zoe did a fantastic job with only her second session on pile work! We were all excited for Janet! Denver, who is in the middle of force fetch, did some progressive marks.

Devon got to do a small Double T in short grass. At first I worked just the back part of the T, getting her confident there first. As I expected, we had problems on the first right over because she wanted to come in to the nearer over pile. I identified the over pile on two different times for her before she was running it well.

When I backed up and added in the second set of over piles, things went really well. I did have to stop Devon on her first right over, identify the correct over pile and resend her. But she got it clean the next time, and she got both left piles clean on the first try.

The other good thing about this drill was Devon's focus. She had four people watching her and talking off to the side, but she worked through that. And as she started her full Double T, two guys brought in a hay trailer for unloading into the barn in the other field. This was a lot of distraction for her to work through, and I was really proud of her for doing so well with it.

My mom was a great "host" and offered to run into town and get carryout Chinese food. How many training groups get food delivered into the field? What a great Mom I have!

After a lunch break, we did a "Mom and Pop" double mark concept. We used a big round bale of hay as our blind. Zoe just nailed the marks, and Archie and Reba ran them as singles and did a very nice job. Devon struggled on her memory bird and wanted to search the first fall location. I reran the memory bird as a single, and she lined it the next time as a double.

Later Zoe and Devon ran it again as a walk-up. Zoe again did a fantastic job. Devon again struggled with her memory bird. This time I tried to handle her to the mark, but it was a disaster. I finally called her in because she was so confused and she wasn't handling.

The only good thing was she came in knowing there was a duck out there. I've been worried if I have to pick her up at a test I couldn't call her in from the field when she knows there's a mark down. I don't want to have to do that, but I want to have the tool if I do have to.

After re-running the memory bird as a single, Devon nailed it on the double again, and I ended the session with that success. I think Devon's struggle was how close the Mom and Pop double marks were, so that's a concept we'll be running a couple of more times in the future!

This week's field sessions have gone very well. I'm really proud of the hard work Devon gives me, and I'm looking forward to seeing how we progress in the next two months!

Gamekeepers Retrievers Field Seminar

Last weekend we spent four days in Ohio doing field training. Friday through Sunday was the Gamekeepers Retrievers Field Seminar. I am a private lesson student of Mitch White, and I offered to help Mitch as his field slave/bird boy for the weekend. I was lucky that he accepted my help; I felt I got more out of the weekend than I helped!

This seminar had more of the basics in it than the last two I've attended, likely due to the mix of participants. Because Page will be starting on the Gamekeepers' Program as soon as her teeth are set, this was perfect for me. I was able to see the basics at all stages and be reminded what I was looking for before the dogs moved on.

On Monday, I had my lesson with Mitch. After 3 years of working with him, I know what to expect. I tell Mitch where I think we are, and he puts Devon and I to the test! The longer I train and the more I learn, I'm getting much closer to accurately knowing where I think we are. This time I was rewarded because we were exactly where I told Mitch we were!

I told Mitch of our good double T session, followed by Devon's "overs" completely falling apart. I told him that I took a step back and for the last 2 weeks I'd been concentrating on "overs" with her. So he put us to the test with a T drill in his field with factors like hills and breaking through cover.

After Devon got her silliness out, she did great on this drill. Devon had been in a crate in the SUV for 3 days, so in her first freedom in the big field working wasn't high on her priority list! But she got down to work and had some BEAUTIFUL over casts! I was so pumped I was cheering and super excited! Two weeks of hard work paid off in that field! Mitch agreed and said she was ready for double T, and she was getting bored with just the T work.

Next up, we did a wagon wheel drill. The piles were pretty close together, so it was tough. However, once again Devon was ready for the challenge and did a great job. She only failed once and she fought hard to stay on her line two other times.

Next, we did five concept mark/blind combinations. Mitch set a white bucket (sight blind) about 60 yards out, identified the pile for Devon and I sent her. Then he sat on a stool about halfway along the blind line and 15 yards to the right. From here, Mitch threw a mark about 50 yards down a hill to the right of the blind. Devon picked up the mark and lined the blind. Her next mark was thrown right on the line of the blind. She again got her mark and lined her blind. The third mark was 25 yards to the left of the blind line, so after she retrieved the mark she had to run the blind under the arc of the mark. Mitch was pleased she lined each of the blinds without sucking into the influence of him as the gunner or the marks. He said these were all Senior level concepts.

Then, he gave me two Master level concepts. The first was a "poison bird" mark thrown to the right of the blind. A poison bird mark is a thrown mark that the dog is lined up for and sees fall; however, you have to pull them off that mark, leaving it out there, and send them to a blind instead. Devon just nailed this without any influence, and she pulled off the mark to the blind and lined the blind easily.

The last concept was a diversion mark thrown short and to the right as I sent Devon to the blind. I whistle sat her on the throw, which she did and she only pulled 2 ft. off the line with the throw before I got the whistle out and she sat. An easy left back gave her the blind and then she got to pick up the diversion throw. I was so proud of her, and I could tell Mitch was, too. He was all smiles and thumbs up!

We ended Devon's lesson with some double marks, which she marked beautifully. I was a little worried, because the one time this season we've done marks, Devon was all over the place in her hunt.

After running two doubles, Mitch set Devon up so I'd have to handle to a mark. This was the toughest thing for us in the lesson. She didn't want to sit on the whistle and stop the hunt, but once I got her sat, she handled with only two overs (yippee!!) to the mark. I could have done it in one over, but Mitch wanted me to sit her again, and she was much better the second time she was asked for a sit.

Our homework is 3 weeks of double T and discipline casting plus lining drills and double marks, then I get to go back to Ohio and start swim by and my water work. Mitch seems confident Devon will be ready for Senior the first of September as long as we keep progressing as we are. We have 2 months of hard work ahead of us, but I'm really motivated to do it!

Page's weekend

Page didn't have quite as much fun as Devon did, but she made the most of her limited time (which is just her style)! Mitch and Maria had a litter of pups a day younger than Page. They kept Purdey, a cute and bold little girl, and they were puppy sitting her brother Drake. Both pups had been in the expen all day Friday and Saturday morning when Maria told me I could put Page in with them so they could play. Great idea since she woke me up barking at 2:30 a.m.!

Purdey and Page were BFFs upon first meeting, complimenting each other's coats and the way their fur curled. However, Drake was a different story! This little boy had been getting away with murder at his home, and Purdey had been on him all weekend. Drake thought he could push this little gold dog around since he had a good 10 pounds on her, but he had another thing coming!

Page is a bold, confident girl, and she's no pushover! When Drake started pushing her around, she showed him all her teeth and took him down! Maria said, "Deb, I hope you're watching this!" and Mitch said, "I like this girl!"

Drake was a slow learner. He tried to put his chin over Page's shoulders and then got more pushy with a paw across her shoulders, and out came Page's teeth and she again took him across the expen and down. I'm sure Page was thinking black dogs are really dumb when he tried to hump her a few minutes later. She dashed his hopes and his bad manners by sinking in her teeth and making him squeal before she again put him down.

Finally, after telling him three times, he got the message and was respectful. After that, Page had no problems playing with him. It looked to me like Page was going to uphold the honor and reputation of those Gaylan's girls!

On Sunday, Page got to swim in the Happy Heeling pond and got introduced to decoys. I didn't think Page would be worried about decoys, and I was right. After sniffing a couple on land, she was too busy retrieving to worry about them in water. When she finally did approach them, she did the traditional butt or "tail" sniff of one, then she went "nose to bill" with another smaller duck before deciding they weren't worth her time. Did I mention Page is quite bold?

As soon as Page's adult teeth are set, she'll start on the Gamekeepers' Program just like her big sister Devon did. However, this time I know what I'm doing, so like the tracking it should go much smoother! And Page is a very different dog from Devon, so I'm sure I'll face new challenges along the way!