Thursday, July 3, 2008

Water Series, Land Obstacles, Handling Drill

Summary. In the morning at Cheltenham, training with no helper:
  • Series A. Water double (both dogs)
  • Series B. Delayed cheater (both dogs)
  • Series C. Delayed cheater (both dogs)
  • Series D. Land single over a mound (both dogs)
In the afternoon at Oaks Area 3, also with no helper:
  • Series E. Multiple target drill (both dogs)
Note: Oaks Area 3 is my designation for the corner between Oaks Area 1 and Oaks Area 3.

Series A. Double, first Laddie, then Lumi:
  • #1: 170-yard LWLWL cheater (duck) thrown from position of a stickman
  • #2: 70-yard LWL with 10-yard swim in middle
Series B. Delayed cheater, first Laddie, then Lumi:
  • #1 (thrown first, retrieved last): 100-yard cheater (duck), difficult angle entry, then 100-yard swim in stickpond channel
  • #2: 20-yard LWL blind (orange dummy), half land, half water
Series C. Delayed cheater, first Laddie, then Lumi:
  • #1 (thrown first, retrieved last): 100-yard LWLWL cheater (white dummy); the first water segment was 70 yards on the long leg of a right triangle, slicing the corner of a large pond and getting no further than 15 yards from the bank, with a difficult angle entry; the second water segment was a 10-yard channel crossing to a steep embankment
  • #2: 40-yard LWL blind (duck), angle entry, then 40-yard swim in a channel's S-curve
Note on Laddie's LWL Returns. Laddie had no difficulty entering the water on any of today's retrieves. On his first LWL return of the day (#2 of Series A), he had so much motivation and momentum that he used a low, leaping entry rather than an alligator entry.

Series D. 160-yard land single with a mound crossing at 80 yards and a road snaking around the mound, requiring an angle crossing of the road on both sides of the mound.

Series E. Multiple target drill. Today's version:
  • 60-yard backline, with P2 (at end of the BL) marked by a surveyors flag
  • Three white dummies at P2
  • One orange dummy at P1 and P3 (10-20 yards to the right and left, respectively, of P2) marked by surveyors flags
  • Two white dummies as diversions an easy angle-out throw to the right and left (Q1 and Q3 respectively) of the SL
  • The dogs watched the entire set-up
  • I randomly varied sending the dog from right versus left heel
  • The pick up sequence was P2-P3-P2-P1-Q1-Q3
I ran Laddie first, then Lumi. Both dogs were responsive, but Lumi was more accurate. Lumi lined P2 both times, took one WSC each for P1 and P3, and lined Q1 and Q3. Laddie also lined the first P2 and, later, Q1 and Q3, but needed several WSCs each on P1 and P3 as well as the second P2.

Notes on future versions:
  • I think it was a good idea to have three white dummies at P2, so that dog would not know whether that remained a possible target when sending to P1 or P3, but it's not necessary for the dog to pick up the third dummy, and given the heat and Lumi's limited physical soundness, I don't plan to have either dog pick up the third dummy.
  • I also think it would be better to have two orange dummies at P1 and P3, with the dog only picking up one of them, again so that the dog cannot rule out another send to that target.
  • I could set up the course for two dogs by placing five white dummies at P2 and three orange dummies at both P1 and P3.

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