First session was yard work. For Laddie, that meant three blinds with poison bird, one thrown to the outside, the other under the arc. Pro wants me to improve my line communication with Laddie to the point that he would jump over a thrown flyer if I indicated that I was sending him on a blind, but pick it up if I indicated a mark.
Second session was two setups. Pro said first one, a water double, too easy for Laddie. Laddie ran second one twice, first as two water singles, the second time as a water triple.
Laddie had no difficulty with the easy go-bird added to create the triple, and he nailed the shorter of the two main marks both times, one of the few dogs to do so.
The longer mark included perhaps the longest swim Laddie has ever made. The line was a diagonal channel crossing, over a point of land with a steep embankment, a long swim diagonally across a pond, an exit thru thick, high cover up a steep embankment, to the mark on open ground in front of an attractive wooded hillside.
Both times Laddie tried to swim around the point, which I have allowed him to do for years, but pro (actually two pros) want Laddie to go over the point when that's the line to the mark, do I handled him both times, though in retrospect it might have been better to call him back and resend him. The first time, he took a line that eventually crossed to the wrong side of the line to the gun and I cast him a couple of times until he was on a good line.
The second time he did something he's never done before: as he crossed the point, he stopped for some time to sniff the grass. At last the pro had the gunner call hey-hey and Laddie completed the mark without further help.
An additional note: The pros do not want me to let Laddie run around water on his returns any more, so I've been handling him straight back to me on all retrieves since Wednesday.
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