Monday, December 3, 2007

Lumi Test 1.4

Test: Three singles:
  1. 60 yards (dummy)
  2. 180 yards (dummy)
  3. 120 yards (dummy)
Low, spiky cover, with several strips of high grass diagonally across every mark; we ran from a mulch mound to provide visibility of the marks

Wind 35-50 MPH (the marks were downwind from the start line), temperature 35-40° F

Location: Rover's Content

Pass:
No

Blind: N/A

Notes: On #2, Lumi began by taking a sharp right and into the woods behind us. I called her back to heel, then sent her to the mark and she ran straight out. Since Laddie did exactly the same thing (see next article), I guess something tempting was back there.

On #3, Lumi overran the mark and continued straight to the barn. Again, Laddie did exactly the same thing on that mark when his turn came. It's possible that a training group was throwing birds near the barn yesterday or the day before, while the dummy we were using had no scent. In addition, pigeons are kept in a pen in that barn. I think in the future we'll avoid running marks in that part of the facility until the dogs are ready for that much distraction.

I gave Lumi no guidance on #3, and within about a minute, she found the dummy and ran back most of the way with it. But at 30 yards from the start line, she stopped and sat down with the dummy in her mouth, and had to be called repeatedly before she would come. Some possible explanations: the ground hurt her feet; the mound bothered her; the cold, stiff headwind bothered her.

I couldn't pass Lumi on this series because of the hunting on #3 and the stall on the return of #3. Although she didn't pass, she ran a nice series, picking up every mark uncued and running with enthusiasm and speed. Her performance on the 180 yarder, considering the long wait as I walked out to throw and then walked back to send her, was especially nice.

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