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Nov 5...Sunday...upper 40's...scouted for geese (none on the pond). The decision to not hunt any geese this fall was easier than expected. This afternoon, Pounce and Gigi will have a day off.
Nov 6...Monday...high of 64°F...The long range plan for spring is to buy two remote wingers/electronics and run Gigi in a few Senior AKC tests before the summer heat sets in. As for today, after dragging my heels, it was getting dark quickly. Therefore, a five minute drive had Pounce and Gigi running four stand alone/send back singles (near dusk in the grassy area south of Thorson pond).
Nov 7...Tuesday...high of 55°F...Gigi ran a handling/lining drill and Pounce ran six singles in the stand alone sendback mode. At first, Gigi struggled with her straight backs, but did fine with the angle-backs.
"I'm beginning to learn that 95% OB
is not enough...and 85% is much
worse......but 75% is pretty good."
KwickLabs Sept., 2006
Nov 22...Wednesday...high of 43°F and sunny...Now that Gigi has been on the Dr's Choice Fido-Vite Sportz DogSupplement for awhile, there has been a steady improvement in her diarrhea issue and this is encouraging. The long range plan is to have her run AKC Senior tests in the late spring.
Nov 23...Thursday...high of 43°F and sunny over the next several days...It will be colder....but no snow. A three panel blind construction is next...no hurry.
Nov 24-30...the end of this month...work on December's journal construction
Nov 10...Friday...too cool for me...stayed in the house...kept the recliner warm
Nov 11...Saturday...high 48°F...the indoor exercise room is visited every day (Gigi and Pounce - day off).
Nov 12-18...Sunday-Saturday...weather decently warm for this time of the year. Mulching the yard oak leaves was finished Saturday (much later than normal). Gigi will working on a plan using Carol Cassity's basics approach. I have her training manual. Pounce is retired and will simply do some exercises once
in awhile. Late on Saturday afternoon, I drove by Thorson pond and a good sized flock of geese were
loafing on the north side. I was reminded of my age and health issues and pushed aside any ideas reminding them that it still goose season. Open water this late in November is very unusual.
Nov 19-20...Sunday-Monday...By the end of this week, we will be in the low thirties and Thorson Pond will soon begin to freeze over. The next few weeks will be spent building three new holding blinds. The garage will be warm enough to make that work easy. The holding blinds will be setup in the yard and Gigi will begin working on Carol Cassity's "Building a Retriever" Drills and More.
Nov 21...Tuesday...high of 41°F...warmer tomorrow...I finished the first holding blind and will make at least four more. However, I decided to put the blind out in the front yard this morning. The lawn in our front yard does not have much soil over a rock filled base. Getting the blind stakes into firm footing was a struggle, but eventually they were in and then Pounce and Gigi came out "to pose". The two panel blind is not ideal. Additional blinds will be made and they will be three and four panels. The garage is a cold place to work on blinds...no hurry this winter.
Afterwards, I remembered a somewhat similar Carol Cassity drill called "The Renagade" which can be found in the following link to many drills. There are several variations of Cassity's drill.
"view from afar"
Nov 8...Wednesday...high 52°F...cloudy...It was a day off for dogs and a doctor appointment for me. He cleared up two issues. The first was the groin blood transfusions resulted in what appeared to be bruising and this is gradually improving. Also, there are bone spures in one heel. The pain cleared up some with a pair of cusion loafers (more comfortable).
Nov 9...Thursday/Friday...two days off...too cold (in the 30's)...ordered some goose and mallard decoys (plus a large bag) for distractions in training setups. In early spring, we will need two remote wingers.
The van is not very useful in snow covered fields. Getting stuck is a regular issue if care is not taken in choosing a parking space. Training will be mostly "when and if". Riverside Park is usually plowed (if I can get out of the driveway). Gigi and Pounce are getting Dr's Choice Fido-Vite SportzDog supplrment.
Nov 9...Saturday...high 52°F...train My remote wingers and electronics were getting old. I gave them away and will buy two new wingers with remotes in the spring IF Gigi's health issues are solved. The fact that I am 83 years old keeps me wondering...should I be doing this? Then again I could just sit in my recliner all day.
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Nov. 1-2...Wednesday/Thursday...high of 50°F...snow gone, yard full of leaves
Nov. 3-4...Friday/Saturday...highs in the low 50's any pleasant. Pounce and Gigi trained today doing a simple two pile lining and handling drill at the Riverside Park DTA, After a short drive to the Kelly Myer Field DTA, Gigi worked on her tight whistle sits in the "fence drill". Both are sleeping well this evening and I did some more exercise on the "Snode" machine. Scouted Thorson Pond for geese from a long ways off and there was a big bunch (18) sitting in the middle.