Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Offline Drill

Since both dogs seem to be slipping some whistles, I decided to resume work on the Offline Drill, originally described on August 2, with a reply from Alice Woodyard as the following post.

In the current version, the Offline Drill is performed as follows:
  1. Choose a segment size. When we started this drill in August, we started with 15-yard segments. For today's drill, we used 70-yard segments.
  2. Choose a number of handling retrieves and non-handling retrieves. We've used as many as three handling retrieves and four non-handling retrieves, interspersed with one another. For today's drill, we used two handling retrieves (70 and 140 yards) followed by a single non-handling retrieve (210 yards).
  3. Choose an offset distance. For today's course, I chose an offset distance of 30 yards, meaning that each handling blind would be placed 30 yards to the left or right of the 210-yard BL.
  4. Lay out the course. Beginning with an LP at the SL, walk in a rectangle. Given today's chosen dimensions, I walked 30 yards to the left, 70 yards parallel with the imaginary BL, placed an SF and two ODs (one per dog), continued to walk another 140 yards, turned right and walked 30 yards, placed an LP marking the end of the BL, continued another 30 yards, turned right again and walked 70 yards, placed the other SF and another two ODs, walked another 140 yards bringing me even with the SL, and finally turned right one last time to walk the final 30 yards back to the SL's LP. By laying out the course in this way, I didn't leave a scent for the dogs to follow on either of the handling retrieves.
  5. Place both dogs in a Sit (with implied Stay) at the SL and walk to the end of the BL, where I call "hey-hey" and throw the bird so that the dogs can see it fall near the LP. A 210-yard walk takes a long time, so to make it more interesting for the dogs and get in some extra training, I made the walk as follows. After cueing Sit, I began to walk, and occasionally glanced back over my shoulder. If one of the dogs had stood up without moving, I called Sit. If one of the dogs had moved, I walked all the way back, repositioned the dog, and started walking again. After I'd walked some distance, perhaps 80 yards, and looked back several times, I called Here. I was careful to do this with the same physical gesture as the look backs where I didn't call Here so that the dogs wouldn't cue off my body language. Of course the dogs came running. I tossed them each a high value treat, again cued Sit, and repeated the process. In some sessions over the next few days, I'd call them only once, in others more than once. Finally, I'd get to the end of the BL, throw the bird, and repeat the same process for the trip back. As I approached the SL, I called Here and raced them to the SL before giving treats. This seemed to be a much more enjoyable approach for the dogs than just leaving them at the SL while I went out to throw the bird.
  6. Run one of the dogs thru all three retrieves: the 70-yard handling retrieve, the 140-yard handling retrieve, and the 210-yard handling retrieve. Which dog I run first is arbitrary, and I try to alternate from session to session.
  7. For each retrieve, use "blind" line mechanics: Line up the dog's spine, "dead bird", "that's it" if the dog is looking the correct direction, "nope" if not, hand over the dog's forehead once the dog is looking the right direction, "back". Of course, since we've just walked the BL, the dog has no difficulty finding the right direction in this drill.
  8. For every retrieve, send the dog straight toward the bird at the end of the BL.
  9. For the first retrieve, blow WS when the dog has gone 70 yards, then cue Over to the 70-yard OD/SF. Handle as necessary.
  10. For the second retrieve, blow WS when the dog has gone 140 yards, then cue Over to the 140-yard OD/SF. Again handle as necessary.
  11. If dog slips whistle or refuses casts, perhaps actually retrieving the bird at the LP, use Walk Out as -P: stop the dog verbally as soon as possible; walk up to the dog, take the bird if the dog has it, and gently slip on the dog's lead; if the dog has retrieved the bird, walk back to the LP and toss the bird back on the ground; walk the dog back to the SL, remove the lead, and start over with the same line mechanics. As an aside, I find it astounding what a powerful training tool the Walk Out is.
  12. After one dog has completed all three retrieves, go back to Step 5 to throw a second bird and run the other dog.
Although my dogs often behave dramatically different on the same courses, today they were carbon copies of one another. I ran Lumi first, then Laddie. In these notes, I'll refer to both as "Dog":
  • Today's course happened to have a sustained headwind as Dog was being sent out. That may have acted as a factor because dogs often do not like to run into the wind, and also because the duck's scent was being carried on that wind.
  • Dog was responsive on #1, retrieving the 70-yard OD with a single Over cast.
  • Dog sat when I blew WS for the 140-yard retrieve, but interpreted the Over as a Back.
  • Dog was unresponsive to verbal and whistle cues while running to retrieve the bird at the end of the BL.
  • Once Dog had the bird, Dog responded to a WS and waited while I walked out as described above.
  • On next send out, Dog again stopped at 140 yards. When I cued Over, Dog appeared quite confused, but accepted a series of WSCs to the 140-yard SF.
  • Dog's body language perked up noticeably upon discovering the 140-yard OD at the SF. Dog picked up the OD and raced back with it.
  • Dog showed great excitement for the non-handling 210-yard retrieve to the duck.

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