Nov 4-6 prepared for & traveled to duck camp......hunted the 5-6th, Daisy 1st then Kooly with Pounce just
laying around taking it easy.....home Friday evening
note: shot four ringnecks out of the Migrator - tough, layout pass shooting
Nov 7-8 worked on leaves at "base camp" again....no end in sight....left for duck camp Sunday afternoon
Nov 9-10 hunted both days at duck camp with Mike D. ....wonderful change of pace from hunting alone
note: Daisy (and I) had some issues with her first retrieve out of an unfamiliar boat setup, it
caught me off guard and quickly went down hill, eventually got things sorted out and the
next three retrieves had her back on an even keel (I need not see this coming)
Nov 1-3 worked on yard doing leaves plus Daisy had her turn at the "goose pond" with half a limit
Nov 11-12 two days off after a cold couple of days at duck camp plus the upcoming weather at duck camp was extremely nasty....rain with 50+ mph wind gusts on Wednesday........blew water out of trailer lines and put anti-freeze in drains before leaving Tuesday......good thing!
note: between duck hunting and yard work (leaves) the first two weeks of the November journal
entries "fell by the wayside" which was the first time in years.....an attempt to fill in the gaps
will continue (finally up to date Nov 22)
note: during this time Pounce has done very little.......she's in heat for the first time and expressing
rather needy, anxious behaviors....nothing outlandish, but enough to avoid confronting or
creating any "situations".....and there are "lots of other things" that must be completed
Nov 13 unpacked boat and trailer "stuff" and began working on leaves (dogs given vacation time)
note: worst duck hunting season.....ever
Nov 14-18mental vacation......dogs got some exercise, but it was mostly a forgettable time slot, did mostly "real" yard work - leaves took two+ days and weather predicted it better be finished
note: dogs ran three easy singles in the "hay field"
Nov 19went to duck camp to finish winterizing trailer and store it for the winter, "septic guy" came and cleaned/emptied the system.......moved to storage site earlier in the season than ever..... storm coming
and weather does not look very good for hunting in the next few weeks with freeze-out likely
note: the last two years have been more difficult dealing with cold weather......getting older
Nov 20 first snow of the year - nine inches!!!! buried & it took two hours of snow thrower work to clear the driveway, came in to dry off and rest ....Daisy began getting sick...vomit in crate (mucus, partially digested food and fluid...lots of it)....moved her to spare crate to clean up, while doing so the clean crate was "treated" the same way......not good.....cleaned up again and now she is coughing up more fluids with slimy drool hanging from both jowls while arching her back and stretching.......went to computer for symptoms "threw up food" - not bloat, passed solid waste (straining some) - not blockage.....(toxic?) then called vet for immediate travel.......freeway most of the way (can't see side of the road) with trucks and cars in the ditches plus only able to drive about half the speed limit......make it and Daisy is diagnosed with pancreatic attack (not sure why).....treated, stabilized and left overnight
note: after getting back from the "vet", the driveway needed to be worked on.....again
note: best thing about this time slot was "parking the duck trailer in storage" BEFORE the snow
Nov 21 picked up Daisy and the only sign of her "episode" was a small, white leg bandage on the overnight IV sight and a $530 hit on my credit card....a week of special food and pills are the immediate schedule....she looks and acts like nothing happened (the special canned food smells not very good.....but she likes it)
note: covered and shut down the indoor swimming pool for the winter, room kept at sixty degrees
(Modine heater).....can't afford additional energy expenses.....start back up in March
Nov 22 five degrees this morning, nine inches of snow in the airing yard, the driveway is in good shape and
Daisy is doing well
note: the original plan to run Pounce in a Derby (or two) next spring is now on hold, competing
against pups trained all winter in the south is unrealistic.....when she is ready to run Master AKC hunt tests.....might run one Senior first to "test the waters" (mid-summer)
note: Pounce "ages out" June 5th
note: the next three months the plan includes one or two AKC OB classes.....working around
other dogs and people with something regular to do in the cold winter
Nov 23-27 spent time "catching up" with neglected "stuff" that piled up during hunting season plus making sure Daisy stayed on her dietary schedule following the pancreatic episode and waiting for the deep snow to melt away......December is predicted to be unusually warm which means Pounce will be training regularly
Nov 28 Pounce worked her first session of diversion concepts and demonstrated her uncanny ability to "get the picture" immediately....identified a pile of orange bumpers at 125 yards, "fogged" it twice, walked out sixty yards and tossed a mark perpendicular to the line, went back to the line & no'd her off the mark and switched
heeling sides, lined the pile, retrieved to opposite side to pick up the mark....looked right at the AOF, cued "mark"......Pounce was self-focused, ready and knew exactly where it was (not visible from the line)......could
not stop from smiling as she continues to do new "stuff" almost correctly with ease and speed from the "get go".....however, need to deal with loopy sit
note: used the hay field four minutes from home as sunset was fast approaching
Nov 29 mid-morning did an extended session of off lead OB - heeling/sitting (both sides), backward heeling (straight line and pivoting) - both sides, down, extended down & sit....attentive, upbeat and fun, moved to back yard and worked on Pounce's "issue" doing a new drill - "ELSD" - Eliminating Loopy Sit Drill
note: Pounce will be taking two AKC OB classes later this winter
at dusk Pounce did four walking singles in a deep, large drainage ditch with steep walls.....sharp!
note: used orange bumper with all AOF's thrown up over edge of the rise/wall
Thorson Pond - 16 months old
mark #2 = 120 yards
Nov 30 43 degrees, light drizzle and 12 mph breeze from the east, did some OB work with thawed mallards
on the ground & finished the yard work with the "ELSD" (see Nov 29 journal entry) using mallards, drove to the Square Pond DTA and ran three cold blinds (mallards) in the south western corner of the harvested corn field with tall stalks, down/up terrain, grassy erosion strips, multiple "angle entry/exits", terrain falling off to the left and wind pushing the same way
note: did follow her out "a bit" on each blind
note: these will become a set of winter "three-peats"
after returning to "base camp", Pounce worked a solid, lengthy, on lead "yard" session of OB (still drizzling)