Today I again set up three stickmen in a line with 20-yard spacing to work with Laddie on in-line triples (ILTs). Each SL was at an LP placed 90° from the line of stickmen, forming an L-shape. Every throw was a WB thrown seven yards in line with the bumpers, all thrown in the same direction, all thrown with a gunshot as Laddie waited at the SL. We ran six series at gradually increasing distances from the closest stickman: 30-40-50-60-70-80.
Laddie did a great job on every series except one, the first time we ran the 80-yard distance. In that series, Laddie veered outside the longest gun when sent on the middle mark. I blew WS, called him in, placed him in a new sit/stay at the SL, and re-threw the series. When I re-ran the same series, Laddie nailed every mark.
Lining toward the Gun
On a set-up as tight as today's last couple of series, I've found that it seems to be preferable to line Laddie toward the gun itself (in this case, the stickmen), rather than toward the falls as we have always done in the past. Running Laddie toward the guns apparently reduces confusion about his target. When I take that approach, he takes an initial line toward the stickman, then veers the small angle to get online toward the fall. I don't know if that approach is customary with more experienced trainer/handlers, but it seems to produce better results for a series like this than lining Laddie toward the fall.
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