Lumi and Laddie Test 2.7

Test: Triple:

1. 140 yards (dummy)
2. 240 yards (dead duck)
3. 80 yards (dummy)

Configuration — pyramid:

• #2 thrown 30° to the left of #1
  
• #3 thrown 30° to the left of #2

Poor man marks, gunshots for all three marks

Retrieval order: #3-#2-#1

Low, clumpy grass, hilly, pools of rain water, several strips of high cover between start line and all marks; a shallow water crossing to #2

Overcast, wind 5 MPH, 45°F

Location: Rover's Content, Cheltenham, MD

Pass: No (neither dog)

Blind: 200 yard cold blind, orange dummy, 30° left of #1

Notes: Both dogs performed similarly. In each case, they ran #3 and #2 without needing to hunt and picked up both articles without hesitation. Both dogs stalled on their returns at the water crossing on #2, but neither dog attempted to chew the duck, both responded to a single recall cue when they stalled, and neither dog slowed in the final 200 yards after they crossed the steam.

Although I would have passed them despite requiring a cue to return thru the water, neither dog passed because of #1, which they ran last. Both of them forgot where the fall was, and since we didn't have a thrower to help them, I had to handle them to the fall. Both have had success with triples in the past, but that was on low cover where the falls were all visible from the start line. Having all the falls behind high cover in hilly terrain apparently made remembering them more difficult.

I was pleased neither dog had difficulty getting to #2, which was the duck thrown as the first memory mark retrieved, at 240 yards the longest mark of today's series, and arguably the most difficult mark in our Test Series so far, with hills, several cover changes, and a shallow water crossing.

On the blind, both dogs were drawn to the left of the blind, that is, not toward old falls from today's marks but apparently toward some other target. Although their handling was not crisp — that is, they both ignored whistle sits once they were about 150 yards out — both were successful with the blind. Though not the longest they've ever run, it may have been the most difficult because of the terrain and cover changes.

After the test series and blind, each dog also did two more retrieves: a 140-yard poor man mark with the duck, starting at the top of a mulch mound, crossing several strips of high cover, and with the fall in high cover; and a 30-yard cold blind to an orange dummy diagonally through a wide strip of high cover to finish the day. Both dogs performed well on both of those retrieves, with the exception that Lumi trotted rather than cantered on her return from the mark back to the mound.

Today, I continued my practice of cueing a sit when Lumi's gait drops to a trot, then calling an enthusiastic recall to get her back into a canter or gallop. But thinking about it on the way home, I've decided not to do that any more. In the first place, I think I've inadvertently risked punishing her return rather than just the slow gait by cueing the sit, which might have the disastrous effectt of leading to more reluctant returns in the future, and in the second place, what I've been doing doesn't seem to have trained her to maintain the fast gait any more consistently than before I began doing it

Instead, I think I'll try to find something for Lumi to really look forward to when she gets back to the start line. For Laddie, that something is the chance for another retrieve, but that doesn't seem to be enough for Lumi, so we'll experiment with some other rewards.

Although neither dog passed today's test, our work today was rewarding to me because of both dogs' pick-ups of all the articles. The primary problem that the Test Series was designed to address — both dogs at times stalling to spend some alone time with retrieved ducks — didn't show up at all.