Training with Field Trial Group

Cheltenham

Lumi, Laddie, and I trained with Charlie's group again today. We only had three other dogs, and the ponds and channels were frozen, so we were all able to run two land series, at two locations on the property, quite quickly.

All retrieves were with training dummies, and all blinds were marked with LPs.

SERIES A. Delayed, interrupted, converging land double with three blinds

Laddie, running as #2 dog, ran the same series as Charlie & Milly's three dogs, while Lumi, running as #4 dog, ran a shortened version.

The full version was as follows. (Note that I did not measure the distances, nor make a note of my estimates at that time, and my estimates as I write this from memory may be inaccurate.)

When we first came to the SL, the dog ran a blind to the far left at 90 yards. Then the converging double was thrown: The first throw was on the right, right to left and angled back with the fall at 150 yards. The second throw was on the left, inside the first blind, thrown left to right into high cover and a depression at 110 yards. After both throws, the dog ran a blind to the far right at 80 yards, then picked up both marks, the shorter mark on the left first. Finally, the dog ran a blind at 180 yards under the arc of the left mark.

Lumi's version used the same stations, but we moved up for the first blind, then moved sideways for the double and the second blind, and Lumi did not run the long blind.

SERIES B. Delayed land double with three blinds

Laddie, again running as #2 dog, again ran the same series as the other dogs, while Lumi again ran a shortened version.

The full version (note again that I'm not confident in my distance estimates):

When we first came to the line, the dog ran a 190-yard blind down the center of the course. Next came a double thrown in an unusual sequence, short/long: The first throw was on the left, thrown right to left at 40 yards. The second throw was on the right, thrown right to left at 130 yards. The dog was sent to the long mark first, then to the unusually short mark. After the dog picked up both marks, the dog ran a blind at 110 yards under the arc of the left mark. Finally, the dog ran a blind at 150 yards under the arc of the right mark.

The line to the first blind in the center was supposed to go over a ridge, which is how Laddie ran it. Some of the other dogs veered right into a swale, then veered back to the left after getting past the ridge. The line to the second blind, besides being under the arc of the short mark's throw, had as a second diversion an LP with a ribbon tied to it 10 yards to the left of the blind. I was able to keep Laddie from going to that LP first, but some of the other dogs went to that LP first, then had to be cast to the right to the blind. The line to the third blind, besides being under the arc of the longer mark's throw, was past a mulch mound and thru a stand of trees. Laddie ended up running on the wrong side of the thrower and the mulch mound, and had to be cast to the left to the blind.

NOTES ON PERFORMANCE

Laddie's had excellent accuracy on all his marks, except that he needed to hunt on the short mark in the depression in the first series, as did most or all of the other dogs. I felt he handled well on all blinds, though it may not have been to Master Hunt Test or Field Trial standards, I'm not sure about that. He ran with his usual stylish exuberance.

Laddie's greatest weakness at this time seems to be his returns, and on the last retrieve of Series A, he diverted toward the frozen pond whose shoreline runs parallel with that retrieve on his return. He has done the same thing on that field, once in a Super Singles competition resulting in his being disqualified, and once, with the retrieve in the opposite direction, during group training, resulting in great annoyance to the other members of the group.

Lumi seemed uncomfortable the entire day. It could have been her hips, her wrist, or her back. In addition, it could also have been her feet, which at times seem to be more sensitive to ground surface than other retrievers. Though she ran three of the marks with excellent accuracy, she needed help on the short mark in the depression in Series A.

I was pleased to see that neither dog had any difficulty running a blind either before the doubles had been thrown, nor after the doubles had been thrown but before they'd been picked up. They also both had good memory for all marks despite the complexity of the sequences, with the exception of the short mark in Series A, which four of the five dogs need a hunt for.