June 25 day off - Time to identify the focus and rationale of our next three months of training.....leading up to hunting season in early September.
note: "the starting list"
1. continue with transition
2. begin weekly training group sessions
3. "solo" trips to field trial grounds (twice a month)
4. identify weakest links & incorporate "stuff" to solidify focus on repetitious
consistency and practice (reps)
5. more ducks (fresh)
6. marking sessions more consistent (including a very gradual increase in
distance - starting at one hundred yards....with the exception of "Ya-Ha"
singles)
7. several summer trips to the Mississippi River fish/duck camp
June 22 early morning trained at the Square Pond "grassy" area and set up a progression session (a larger "star drill") and used space technology to make diagrams - Pounce was just terrific in figuring out "on the fly" what was expected of her - lined to white staked piles (visually identified) and cast to other piles off whistle sits - had four bumpers at each pile (in short grass)
June 1 early morning very cool & continue to have great weather for single T today there were no stakes set out & each pile was moved back 10 yards back pile = 16 bumpers & over piles 3 each, with no placeboard at the apex, Pounce ran 10 backs plus, with 4 casts back from a sit at the apex & two overs on each side pile, then lined each pile from the van to pick up three bumpers which she seems to think are her "fun bumpers", she's at full speed the entire session and only one momentary miscast (took back on an over & corrected quickly)
note: HeartGard Plus for all four dogs
note: packed "stuff" for fish camp on the Mississippi River left around 2 pm - Pounce is
an experienced traveler, she went to duck camp regularly last summer/fall
note: airing loose is way easier now than last summer
June 2 early morning Pounce ran a five bumper lining drill up a small rise at fish camp, 1st left to right off left side heel & 2nd right to left off right side heel
note: working on nose & toes, sitting lined up correctly, “no-ing” off an incorrect “look”
and delivering lined up correctly for the next (good work & enthusiastic) moved
down the lane to a fresh rise” and worked on angle back casting (left & right)
from a remote sit and return deliveries on a front sit
note: Pounce does drill work with a great deal of bounce (it is fun)
We were moving down the lane to setup the last drill, when Jerry the camp owner came driving up in his “golf cart”. The last time he saw Pounce she was an out of control, wild pup.....she bounce over to him jumped around a bit and then I put her on a sit off to the side and we talked. Pounce was very solid, until a robin landed nearby. Calling her back she sat again and looked at us as we talked. Another chase after a few birds and she was back sitting gain. What a very nice thing to have happen when we were training. Jerry's “distraction” was the best part of the morning. It should be noted that Pounce was wearing her e-collar with the setting on 23 (out of a scale of 100). That's about a 2-3 on a scale of 10 (very low)
note: drove down yesterday (2 hour trip) and got the trailer setup for the summer and
left at 8:30 am, Kooly and Daisy came along and Taffey remained home (she's
almost 15 & trips are a struggle) late afternoon decided to trim a portion of the
shoreline on Thorson Pond did about 2/3's of the south side and a sizable section in the middle of the north
note: work is over at the end 2 tanks of gas on the Stihl weed whacker
June 3 no time to work in the morning upper 70's in the afternoon, Pounce did a session of water in the late afternoon – the purpose was to teach water marks in the “send back” mode = her send back expectation on land is excellent. step #1 throw three splash singles of 25 yards with the line being a placeboard with a white bucket on a stake = rationale she returns to it three times step# 2 walk around the pond to the opposite side (35 yard wide pond) step #3 was the challenge – send her into the water and back to the line on the place command = assumption she has a strong expectation to return to the line on land and it will carry over to water (a stretch, but she is smart)
note: with coaxing and patience with no pressure just quiet insistence, she began the
first “swim back” once underway, she picked up the pace and headed for the
“line” and her retrieve reward in the middle of the pond, #2 close to the
opposite back, #3 slightly up on\y the bank (five yards deep grass), #4 at (fifteen
yards up from the bank and #5 into the ankle HIGH corn field on the opposite
side of the gunner, followed by two umpers into the water and a couple on land
to shake off the excess water
note: this was a very cool session – Pounce is a quick study
note: then Pounce had a “ring side seat” in her crate van to watch Daisy and Kooly run
send back singles in tandem with honoring and two retrieves “out of order”
June 4 ran single T (ten at the back pile and two at each over)
June 5 day off
June 6 afternoon Pounce ran single T – ten bumpers at the back pile and two at each over – worked in two left & two right backs and one of each overs, threw a bumper to the back pile (none left) and went back to the van, Pounce is now anticipating running to each pile for the last bumper, the routine has been to line each of the two overs and then the back pile bumper which is 100 yards away from the van AND NOT visible, this was the first time I threw a bumper to the back pile (none left).....Pounce lined the visible left over bumper, came back and stared down the right over and took off on the “back” command and about half way there suddenly veered toward to the back pile bumper (not visible, but was an identifying toss)...I decided not to handle or make a big deal out of it, she's got a good memory and after delivery she went straight to the visible/gimme = fun session
note: Then the two older dogs worked a session of seven “send back tandem singles"
giving a Pounce a short break. Pounce repeated the “send backs”/water marking session with five retrieves
June 7 day off...can't train in the morning & too hot in the afternoon
June 8 Monday temp. low 70's partly cloudy & humid - Pounce worked on single T with ten bumpers at the back pile 7 three at each over ran four backs with no sits, put a placeboard at apex and ran a “longer” version of 3 handed casting with “send backs” to tighten up the whistle sit, then did three overs to each side pile (six casts) and four back turning right and left (each twice) then with no bumpers left at the back pile, two were thrown (after walking out to the apex) and Pounce ran the back pile "full bore" to finish
note: she was fast at the finish, breathing heavily and full of zip
note: the van was parked in the shade and she took a break while Daisy and Kooly ran
five “send back” singles in tandem
drove down Thorson Pond and placed three 3” white bumpers up on the south bank and drove around to the north bank (bumpers were easy to see), Pounce got wet with a few short throws, then we “lined up” for the bumpers across the pond, into the water she went, the vegetation near the shoreline distracted her (biting at and eating it), however, this distraction quickly wore off and she lined up and retrieved all three bumpers......after some work on Hillmann's power cast standard, a few more weeks on single T and a few sessions of low level “stim”, water force, it will be swim-by time
June 9 morning – Pounce worked single T – no flags, 14 bumpers at the back pile and three at
each over, left one at each pile to line from the van (as in previous sessions) drove along the corn field to Thorson Pond where the older dogs ran three ”stand alone send back” water singles in tandem giving Pounce a breather, set three bumpers up on the far side and “sent” Pounce for them....they were visible and then ran three in and out singles in send back
mode....then the day became way to warm to train anymore
note: mowed about 2/3's of the yard = HOT!
June 10 trained early in the yard (easy session)....another warm day
note: older dogs = day off
June 11 morning Pounce ran one set of Hillmann's seven bumper lining drill and it started raining, went inside and came out later, ran the drill rain again with another shower shutting us down again...both times she was sharp...afternoon – drove to Roscoe Riverside Park DTA to run several singles in the tall cover…pleasant surprise, it was mowed and raked into windrows for baling which makes for an outstanding opportunity for a unique marking setup
note: Pounce ran eight stand alone singles with “send backs” starting at about 50 yards
with the last around 125+ yards (most were angle backs with a few flat throws) – wow! straight, very fast and accurate with a 3” black and white DT bumper
note: Pounce is the best marking pup (at this age) that I’ve ever had
June 12 morning = yard work...Pounce ran Hillmann’s seven bumper lining drill four times (two from each heeling side) – close so that only two bumpers at a time were in the “picture” – did well responding to the push/pull sequences
note: afterwards...setup a front finish, angle back casting drill and that went well,
afternoon field work doing 8 more marks in the “hay” field (while it was still in
windrows) & did four simple doubles from the line (after the 2 older dogs worked)
note: Daisy & Kooly ran five singles in tandem to provide Pounce with a short break
before her doubles
June 13 afternoon – Pounce trained in a different area of the windrows at Riverside Park and took some pictures of the areas
note: ran four easier singles than the lasts two sessions and then “checked” to see if
Pounce could count to 3 – the windrows hid the bumpers from view and the last
bumper to be retrieved was buried, threw them left to right at across about 180°
and picked them up right/left/middle…she came back from the “go” bumper and
immediately looked/locked on each memory
June 26 morning, my turn to take care of Lylah (autistic Granddaughter), did mange to locate the "chain gang" setup and Pounce will soon be right between Daisy and Kooly when there is shade and/or cool "temps"
note: located chain and put one new snap on it...good to go, three collars
were adjusted for a snug fit so that none could opt out of the "gang"
and Pounce will be placed right in the middle ("a rose between two
thorns")
The following link is a page dedicated to describing the session.
Took the older dogs home and drove to the Sand Pond DTA with Pounce. It's been several years since last training there. Touched bases with the persons in charge and we renewed the permission ID. Wow! It has changed a great deal with more tall weeds and less water. Created a Google photo which is close to accurate and can measure distances. The less than five minute drive is a huge plus. The following link "describes" the session (plus a few others). Pounce was on "cloud nine" with all of the exploring!
June 29 lazy morning and afternoon, resting up from yesterday's activity, this evening will be a quick trip to the Square Pond DTA and a brief, fun session (2nd time) of Hillmann's "Power Cast"
note: this went so well we moved over to the pond and did four "power casts"
through a waist high wall of shore weeds to make retrieves (right and
left overs) moving over to the long, mowed erosion strip, a "stand alone
send back" setup with "placeboard" and marker was prepared, after
showing Pounce a mallard, she did five increasingly longer retrieves with
a primer report for each when in the air.....running past and through the
old falls - she's a keeper
June 30 mid-day Pounce ran the Square Pond "star drill" see June 21
note: on a few occasions it looked like she lost her focus (due for heat cycle
anytime - no physical hints) a few loopy sits, too
Daisy & Kooly trained which gave Pounce a breather, drove down to the pond for four splash retrieves....those went well, then my better judgment left, she was placed on a remote line (placeboard) and I walked to the end of the pond so as to be able to throw a mark behind the high cover on the other side. Returning to line I could see she was focused and her body was language saying "I saw it." She swam over on line, entered "the wall" and disappeared, went to the left and came through without a bumper. To compound the situation, she came back and begin looking in the direction of the mark. So I decided to send her (not a very wise choice), but she was "locked on the line". So I sent her. Back she swims....with a good amount of drive and again disappears into the wall.....right on line. Then she reappears with the bumper.
Copyright © kwickLabsii. All rights reserved
June 24 mid morning, Pounce trained at the Roscoe Riverside Park DTA and did two "stretch" singles. The first was 222 yards and second at 181 yards. Three remote wingers were setup in a pod to throw 3" DT Bumpers (black & white) using a "fire drill" approach. One to start the retrieve with the second and third released while Pounce was "en route". A park mower began working in the middle of training. We finessed workimg around that "distraction". After her two "stretch mark" sessions (pun intended), the older dogs ran three singles which gave Pounce a break before she ran the same setup.
note: she was a "bit different" today - impending heat cycle?
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June 27 late afternoon - did a DVD review this morning and visualized the lesson
Pounce worked her first session of Hillmann's "Power Cast" - wow! describes it best (and still smiling), afterwards went to the pond to cool off a bit and threw two, from the line water/land doubles with the land through challenging, tall cover conditions....she made both look simple.
June 28 late morning - trained at Roscoe Riverside Park DTA and all the hay bales have been removed = short grass....set up two Y-drill configurations to throw angle back and angle in singles as a double.......to determine where Pounce's skill level is at they were done as walk-backs and the "angle in" was the "go bird" (#1 at 60 yards and #2 was at 73 yards)
note: the first went well with only a slight hesitation to drive longer past the
stickmen station to the mark....on the second she got lost in gunner
stickmen suction....not surprised it was a "measuring" session....ran it
again and did the long mark as the go bird and that clarified the situation
note: Pounce was excellent with her first ever "walk back" attempts.
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June 23 early morning. Pounce worked the "Mini-Star Drill for the second time and kept at it the entire session - could see her thinking and did well, stopped back at the house to pick up the camera...headed for the hay windrows field at Riverside park because there was a good chance the "windrows" would be baled.....huge round ones! Pounce ran four "send back/stand alone" singles - very cool morning! The second photo reveals "the
"stretch, fire drill single" with remote wingers scheduled for the 24th.
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June 14 & 15 two days off - other things to do and rain
June 16 morning - Pounce did "yard work" - set up Hillmann's seven bumper lining drill = ran it twice - right side and then left side heel/delivery/sends = sharp and responsive (focus on practice and consistency in a fun, upbeat mode)
note: easy day
note: on the other hand, today was our 53rd anniversary
June 17 started the morning around 8 pm...first up was a solid, challenging session of single T - sixteen bumpers at the back pile and four at each over, picked up all except the last one at each pile, Pounce always lines these from the van "it's a fun, big deal" for her (and she "fogs" them....fast), second drove down to the pond (after Daisy & Kooly ran 5 "send back/stand alone" singles in tandem) and third worked on water entries, fourth the "shake" command and a solid introduction to Hillmann's "power cast", fifth did a 100+ yard walkout blind up a newly mowed erosion strip and last (sixth) ran her second, walkout blind across the grass windrows at Roscoe Riverside Park DTA - no issues = all simple stuff!!!
June 18 cool morning, easy day - did two runs of a 7 bumper Zig-Zag lining drill working from both sides (heel/deliver), focused on lining up correctly, "nose & toes", deliveries and push/pull", then finished with a two bumper "push/pull", "no'ing off" drill...bumpers returned to a distance of 5 and 10 yards with a tight angle, worked on both sides and easily kept in "drive" = sharp, "up beat" and having fun
note: consistent, repetitive practice (in the yard)
June 19 day off
June 20 out early, cool morning in 50's left house at 6:30 am and trained at the
Square Pond DTA (grassy area) - Pounce ran her single T with 12 bumpers at the back pile and 3 at each over- picked up 15 bumpers (11 at the back and 2 from each over) then lined the last bumper at each location from the van (almost).....the last bumper was at the back pile and Pounce started for it then veered to the right over (which she had already picked up), whistle "sit`" - good and took a left "over" - good, then whistle "sit" - good and took a "back" - good and nailed the back bumper....she handled!
note: taking stock of Pounce's skill set on single T, there's one skill left to deal with..she's very fast to the back pile and a quick, solid sit is just not there (slight loop to the right), need to think about how
June 21 "restricted to yard" (my time supervising our autistic Granddaughter...setup a "new" lesson to work on tighter sits and as an intro to Hillmann's field Star Drill - the "Mini-Star Yard Drill Intro" - Pounce was quick to adapt and was really into it right from the start - excellent session with many "reps" of setting up at the line, snappier sits after the send (not as much time to reach top speed), and many many, close-up looks at angle casts - working on key skills. Consistent, precise, seamless practice is the key to working a program and it is going well.
Pounce - 12 months old