Offline Drill, Honoring

AM: Oaks Area 1

SERIES A. Offline drill, 70-yard segments (Lumi only)

SERIES B. Continuation of "Ready to play?" honoring game (Lumi only)

In this second session, I moved to 30 yards from the van, and started to add a little delay between "Ready to play?" (RTP) and Here. We did three reps. Lumi remembered RTP from last night and downed the first time I cued it, displaying a high level of excitement and anticipation.

AM (continued): Oaks Area 2

SERIES C. Offline drill, 50-yard segments (Lumi only)

SERIES D. Continuation of "Ready to play?" honoring game (Lumi only)

In this third session, I cued RTP a few yards from the SL for Series C, 50 yards from the van. We did three reps. For the third rep, instead of Lumi having to run all the way to the van to get the bird, I left a bird a few yards from where she was downing, and as soon as I said Here and gave her a treat, I sent her to the bird cueing "Get your bird" (GYB). She then carried the bird to the van, which seems to be of high value to her, though hopefully not as high value as the happy throws we used last night and in Series B today.

I say "hopefully" because GYB was not a sufficiently high-value reward for Lumi to look forward to in yesterday's honoring of a flyer to prevent her from breaking. So my hope is that happy throws will add appreciably to the reinforcement value for not breaking.

AM (continue): Neighborhood

SERIES E. First "Ready to play?" session with Laddie, using a sit rather than a down. In this session, I wanted to establish a clear sequence in Laddie's mind: RTP (cueing "sit") - Here - treat - play.

Laddie already sits so readily that it was hard to tell whether he was taking RTP as a cue for "sit", and his excitement level is always so high that it was hard to tell whether he was learning to anticipate that RTP predicted "Here", high-value treats, and exciting games.

Another difference with Laddie was that when I experimented with throwing a duck for him, versus throwing a dummy and playing tug, he was much more excited with the latter.

It's important in my training plan that Laddie connect up RTP with what it predicts, so that he will be focused on receiving the Here cue and not be looking around for other reinforcers, or even be vulnerable to other reinforcers, in particular, marks being thrown for the dog he's honoring. I don't think he's at that stage where he has learned the associations yet, so I think we need at least one more session of small time intervals between each of the steps RTP - Here - treat - play.

Hunt Test Training, Offline Drill, Honoring

AM: Cheltenham

CONDITIONS. Temps in 40s and 50s, winds gusting to 50 MPH, rainy at first, clearing by late morning. Both dogs seemed highly energized and distracted by the conditions.

SERIES A. Bob Hux's first land series: Two marks and a blind (both dogs)

Lumi again honored from a down, but handler she was honoring for ran the two marks as singles, and was using a very long delay before sending his dog, as well as calling the dog back from creeping. Lumi held honoring the dead bird but broke on the flyer. I chased her down, took the bird away, walked her back on lead, and had her honor on lead for the next try. She again tried to break, but couldn't because of the lead.

From this, I learned (a) that Lumi is not yet reliable honoring a flyer, even on lead, and (b) that Lumi does not appear to be lead-wise. The value of (b) is that if I have her honor on lead in the future and she doesn't attempt to break, I can take that to mean that she was really exercising self-control, rather than that she was steady only because of the lead.

SERIES B. Bob's second land series: Different orientation and placements, again two marks and a blind (both dogs)

SERIES C. Offline drill, 50-yard segments, thru several diagonal strips of high cover, with OD/LP at each offline blind, and LP/duck for the non-handling blind at the end of the 150-yard BL (both dogs)

SERIES D. Same dimensions as Series C, but different orientation and placements (both dogs)

PM: Neighborhood

Lumi only: Began a new training plan I've come up with to work on Lumi's honoring.

We drove to an area of the neighborhood with a lawn that belongs to the community, and worked 15 yards from the van. Conditions were dark, windy, temps in the 40s.

The goals of this first session:

• "Ready to play?" to become a cue to lie down.
• Lumi learning that RTP predicts "Here" followed by high-value rewards.

I placed a duck on the hood of the van, set up with Lumi a few yards away facing away from the van, cued RTP followed immediately by a hand cue for "down". When she was down, I stepped behind her right hip, facing away from her, then immediately cued Here and sprinted toward the van. As she leapt up and quickly caught me, I lowered my hand beside my leg to feed her a chunk of chicken, while we continued to run to the van. At the van, I grabbed the bird and threw it and Lumi chased it and brought it straight to me. I threw it a total of 3-4 times, each time running around and playing chase games with her. Then I put the bird back on the hood and we went back to the same place and repeated the game.

Lumi took about five reps before she figured out that RTP meant "down", but judging by her body language, she seemed to learn after the first rep that once she was down, good things were in store.

Offline Drill, Blinds

AM: Oaks Area 1

SERIES A. Offline drill, same course dimensions as previous days.

Lumi: One Over at 70 yards, one Over at 140 yards.

Laddie: One Over at 70 yards, one Over at 140 yards.

SERIES B. Double blind, 70 yards (OD/SF) and 130 yards (OD/no marker). 90° angle between the blinds, with a 20-yard DM (duck) between the two, thrown first, retrieved last.

PM: Brook Knoll

SERIES C. Offline drill, same course dimensions as Series A, but Brook Knoll has shorter cover and better footing.

Lumi: One Over at 70 yards, one Over at 140 yards.

Laddie: One Over at 70 yards, four casts at 140 yards. No slipped whistles. Casts were reasonably accurate but Lumi had difficulty spotting the flag, possibly because she was looking into the sun low on the horizon. I'm not sure why she would have had more trouble with it than Laddie. Possibly because she had a problem with her eye-sight, possibly because the sun was a bit lower in the sky for her, or possibly because she was distracted by something.

Offline Drill

This morning, we trained at Oaks Area 1 with temps in the 40s and a steady rain:

• Offline drill, same course dimensions as previous days.

Laddie: Needed only one Over for the 70-yard cast, one Over for the 140-yard cast.

Lumi: As usual, needed only one Over for the 70-yard cast. On the 140-yard cast, she took the Over correctly, but not spotting the SF, she required additional handling to the blind. She did not seem to have difficulty with the presence of the bird waiting at the LP, she was just having difficulty getting the correct angle to the SF.

Series A. Oaks Area 2

Offline drill, same course design as described in Wednesday's post.

Lumi: One Over for the 70-yard retrieve, two Overs for the 140-yard retrieve.

Laddie: One Over for the 70-yard retrieve. The first time sent on the 140-yard retrieve, he sat when whistled, but refused Over and retrieved the bird. He then sat and waited when I came to pick him up (Walk Out). Next send-out, one Over.

Series B. Oaks Area 2

Same course as Series A, but run in the opposite direction.

Laddie: Two Overs for the 70-yard retrieve, one Over for the 140-yard retrieve.

Lumi: One Over for the 70-yard retrieve, one Over for the 140-yard retrieve.

I was pleased with this afternoon's work. Both dogs stopped on whistle and accepted a single Over cast to an SF 30 yards to the side, where the OD waited. That means that the WS and cast were more powerful than:

• The fact that the dog had seen the bird thrown and had not seen the OD placed
• The fact that the dog was running at an all-out sprint toward the bird
• The fact that the dog was 140 yards from me and only 70 yards from the bird
  
• The scent of the bird
• The sight of the lining pole where the bird had been thrown
• The fact that the dog had been sent toward the bird and I was now cueing the dog to go in a different direction than I had lined the dog up on
  
• The fact that the scent trail to the bird was stronger than one to the OD

That's a good many factors for the dogs to overcome, and I think it might be helpful preparation for an event. For example, I could imagine even in a Senior-level Hunt Test that the dog might pick up a diversionary scent or sight, or might misconstrue my original send-out, or might veer off line and require a course correction when the dog was certain, though wrong, about which way to go.

Offline Drill, Blinds

Series A. Oaks Area 1

Offline drill, same course design as described in yesterday's post. Today, I set up two separate courses with the same SL, one for Laddie running first, one for Lumi running second.

Both dogs were responsive to every WS.

Lumi refused some Overs on the 140-yard offline retrieve but did not try to retrieve the bird, so I did not use a Walk Out.

Laddie was worse on the 140-yard retrieve than Lumi but continued to sit on the WS, so I didn't use a Walk Out with him either.

Series B. Oaks Area 3

Double blind, 50-120 yards, OD with no markers, with 40-yard DM thrown first, retrieved last.

Series C. Oaks Area 1

Same course as Series A, but dogs switched courses and Lumi ran first.

Lumi slipped on whistle on the 140-yard retrieve and I picked her up (Walk Out). Aside from that, excellent work.

Laddie did not slip any whistle, and needed only two Overs on the 140-yard retrieve. Great job.

Series D. Oaks Area 1

Double blind, 70-120 yards, OD/SF, 50-yard DM thrown first, retrieved last.

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.
  

Blinds

AM: Oaks Area 3

SERIES A. Triple land blind with DM, left to right within 120° angle:

• #3: 130-yard blind, OD, no marker
• #2: 100-yard blind, OD, no marker
• #1: 50-yard blind, OD, no marker
• Thrown before #1, picked up after #3: 40-yard poorman mark, duck

Like all three Oaks areas, the terrain here is thick, clumpy grass and uneven footing, with many distracting scents from resident wildlife. In addition, Area 3 has several stands of trees, unmaintained hedges, and ridges dotting and crisscrossing the field.

For Series A, I ran Lumi first, then Laddie.

AM continued: Oaks Area 2

SERIES B. Triple land blind with DMs, left to right within 120° angle:

• Thrown before #1, picked up after #1: 40-yard poorman mark, duck
• #1: 100-yard blind, OD/SF
• #3: 170-yard blind, OD/SF
• #2: 120-yard blind, OD/SF
• Thrown before #2, picked up after #3: 50-yard poorman mark, duck

Oaks Area 2 has similar terrain to the area we used for Series A, but it's flatter and has no trees in the main area of the field. An additional difficulty factor in Oaks Area 2 is the mowing tractor's tracks, which tend to suck the dogs along those tracks. I always try to set up blinds at diagonals to the tracks, neither in line with them nor straight across them.

For Series B, I ran Laddie first, then Lumi.

PM: Fair Hill

Triple land blind, 60-130-130 yards. ODs, no markers. I ran Laddie first, then Lumi.

Running Two Dogs on Same Course. Although running two dogs on the same course gives the second dog the advantage of being able to scent the first dog's tracks, and possibly even see them in the disturbed grass, I've decided that it's appropriate to run both dogs on the same course, at least at times, for these reasons:

• In an event , the probability is low that a particular dog will be the first dog to run. Therefore, dogs need to be able to run blinds that other dogs have already run.
• With multiple blinds down, the dog has several scent trails in front of her. One training challenge is being able to pull the dog off one of those trails, when the dog veers to the wrong one, and get the dog going in the correct direction, even though no scent trail may exist from that position.
  

Water and Land Blinds

AM: Cheltenham

[To be completed later]

PM: Sundown Road Park

SERIES H. Left to right within a 90° angle:

• 40-yard DM, duck, thrown before #1 and retrieved after #3
• #1: 80-yard blind, OD at edge of woods
• #2: 150-yard blind, OD at edge of woods, distracting bird houses on white poles to the right
• #3: 180-yard blind, OD at edge of woods

The well-maintained lawn and open ball field provide few challenges at this venue, but for this series, we used a DM and relatively long distances compared to the land blinds we're likely to encounter in Senior tests. In addition, a creek and scents in the adjoining woods do seem to create some suction.

With Renee videotaping and Gabriel, her Golden, watching beside her, I ran Laddie first, then Lumi.

Click here for Laddie's video of Series H and Lumi's video of Series H.

Blinds, Drills

AM: Brooke Knoll

SERIES A. Left to right within a 90° angle:

• #1: 70-yard blind, OD/SF
• #3: 180-yard blind, OD/SF
• #2: 120-yard blind, OD/SF

Both dogs waited in van while I set up the course, and each dog waited in the van while the other dog ran.

After setting the dogs up on each blind, I threw a duck 15 yards out, on a line 30° to the left of the line to #1. I then ran the dog on the blind, and when the dog returned, I sent the dog to retrieve the duck. I used a different duck for each dog.

As further reinforcement for the dogs' performance, and to encourage fast pick-ups and returns, I tossed each dog a high-value treat (a bite of fried chicken) after each blind.

Laddie. A little distracted by bird, but handled well.

Lumi. More stubbornly distracted by the bird, but remained responsive.

SERIES B. Pick-up speed drill: a short poorman double with ducks.

Laddie. Great on short bird, but dawdled a bit on the long bird. I wasn't expecting that from Laddie and didn't react quickly enough. next time, I'll use a walk-out and then resend him.

Lumi. Great job on both birds.

Hunt Test Training, Water Retrieves, Blinds

AM to Afternoon: Cheltenham

SERIES A. Bob Hux's land series: Three marks that I ran as singles for both dogs, the flyer last, then a blind tight to the right of the rightmost mark. Lines were thru diagonal strips of cover.

I ran both dogs on slip cords for the flyer mark and to honor. Lumi, who honored from a down, did not attempt to break at the line or honoring. Laddie tried to break on both his own flyer and when honoring.

I've followed the practice with Lumi for some time of giving her a duck to carry as we returned to the van, and that seems to have become increasingly valuable to her. I've started doing it with Laddie as well, and he also seems to be looking forward to it more and more.

SERIES B. Bob's water series, two retrieves across an inlet of the property's large pond, each with a 25-yard swim.

Rather than running Lumi from water's edge as most of the other dogs had run, I ran her from a mound 80 yards from water's edge, creating diagonal swims to both marks, and positioned so that a tree obstructed Lumi's view of the short mark. Lumi had no difficulty with this series.

For Laddie, I asked for an LWL where I could quickly get to him if he dawdled on the return. He did, and I immediately ran to him and picked him up, then asked for the throw again. Again I had to pick him up.

SERIES D. After group training, one of the other trainers threw four LWLs for Laddie across a 10-yard channel next to a footbridge:

1. Canvas dummy: After picking up the dummy, Laddie entered the water quickly, hugged the shore for a few feet, then pushed out and swam back.
2. Duck: Laddie stalled. I picked him up.
3. Canvas dummy: Same as (1).
4. Duck: Laddie picked up the duck and returned with little delay.

It seems clear that Laddie still has great problems on LWLs with throwers, despite how much progress he's made on LWLs when we train alone.

SERIES E. LWL sight blind with 70-yard swim. Laddie only. He picked up the bird and returned with minimal delay.

SERIES F. LWL sight blind with 90-yard swim. Laddie only. Best LWL I ever remember Laddie running. He didn't even shake off, just picked up the dummy and came straight back into the water.

SERIES G. A series of land blinds from the same SL, all blinds thru rolling terrain dotted with trees and crisscrossed with strips of high cover:

• #1: 160-yard blind, OD with no marker (Lumi)
• #2: 180-yard blind, OD with no marker (Lumi)
• #3: 270-yard blind, duck with no marker (Laddie)
• #4: 270-yard blind, duck with no marker (Lumi)

Lumi did a good job on her three blinds.

Laddie ran with his usual exuberance, but slipped the first whistle on his blind. I called him back and re-sent him. This time he ran it with a single WSC, on which he was responsive and accurate.

PM: Neighborhood Lacrosse Field

I set up four blinds in a 150° angle:

• A: 30-yard
• B: 70-yard
• C: 70-yard
• D: 30-yard

All blinds were OD, with no markers nor prominent landscape features.

I placed a bag of birds 60 yards from the SL, midway between the lines to B and C.

Laddie: A, then C. Laddie lined A, then handled easily to C. He seemed to pay no attention to the bag of birds.

Lumi: D, then B. Lumi lined D, then took a line toward the bag of birds but handled easily to B.

Since the bag of birds did not seem to be much of a problem, next session I'll try using a poison bird.

Land-water-land Retrieves, Drills, Blinds

AM: Twin Ponds

Series A. LWLWL blind with duck (Laddie, then Lumi), along a bank and with an L-shaped peninsula also inviting bank running on the other side. Both dogs required some handling and did fine.

Log-climbing drill. Laddie had no difficulty climbing the log both directions on a short water retrieve. Lumi reluctantly climbed over on the way out, but ignored my cues and swam around the log on the way back. I tried twice more and she did the same thing. After the third time, I silently and gently slipped on her lead and walked her to the van. Lumi is almost never on lead, so this unusual procedure hopefully helped serve as a n0-reward-marker. Lumi then spent about 15 minutes in the van while I worked alone with Laddie.

Series B. LWL poorman mark with duck thrown onto small island, the SL on a mound (Laddie only)

Series C. LWL blind with 70-yard swim (Laddie only)

Series D. LWL blind with 70-yard swim (Lumi, then Laddie)

Log-climbing drill. This time Lumi climbed over the log both on the swim out and again on the return. Yay!

Series E. LWL blind with 110-yard swim (Laddie, then Lumi). The longest LWL that Laddie has ever run. After picking up the bird, Laddie tried three times to run the bank, but each time responded to a WS and cast back toward the blind. Finally, he responded to a come-in whistle by coming down the steep embankment and entering the water with the duck, then swam back.

Lumi has swum much longer distances and seems to have little or no trouble entering the water after a return (though she did when she was younger), but she had a different problem on Series E that Laddie didn't have. The line to the blind crossed two logs, and Lumi would not take a cast over either one in either direction, whereas Laddie had climbed over both logs in both directions. I decided not to call her back in this case and let her skirt the logs, with the intention of continuing to work with her on the shorter log-climbing drill for several sessions as habituation before again trying her out on a repeat of today's Series E.

Log-climbing drill. Lumi again climbed over the log in both directions like a good girl.

Midday: Laytonsville Park

I often let the dogs run around outside while I'm setting up courses, and I often have one dog honor while the other dog runs. For today's blinds, I decided to keep both dogs in the van while I set up, and then to keep each dog in the van while the other ran.

Series F. Triple blind, 160-60-220 yards, ODs with no markers (Lumi only)

Series G. Triple blind, 150-70-220 yards, ODs with no markers (Laddie only)

Series F and G were run from the same SL and the lines to the blinds were interspersed, left to right as F1-G1-F2-G2-F3-G3.

The terrain was well-maintained lawn and the wind was calm, but a few factors were in play:

• The lines to F1/G1 threaded among a softball fence, spectator benches, picnic tables and grills, and a dozen shade trees.
• The line to F2 crossed the visual barrier of the softball infield and skirted the other end of the softball fence.
• The lines to F3/G3 included a 10' elevation drop down a grassy embankment, and ran past a variety of poles and goal posts.

Both dogs handled well. Laddie showed zero suction toward the lines Lumi had run, showing good progress from yesterday morning's blinds at Cheltenham when I first began experimenting with running Laddie on a different but nearby triple blind from one that Lumi had just run. Today's was the first time I interspersed the lines, which I expected to be more difficult for the second dog (Laddie in this case), but he had no apparent difficulty with it.

PM: Oaks Area 2

Series H. Triple blind: 80-150-170 yards, ODs with no markers (Laddie only)

Series I. Triple blind: 80-140-170 yards, ODs with no markers (Lumi only)

Series H and I were run from the same SL and the lines to the blinds were interspersed, left to right as H1-I1-H3-I3-H2-I2.

Laddie lined H1 and handled well on the others.

Lumi had difficulty with all three blinds. Before taking the dogs out of the van, I had discarded two ducks in the woods to the left of the field we were running on. Although the wind was calm, Lumi apparently found the scent irresistible and repeatedly veered toward it, at times turning nearly 180°. However, she was responsive on her WSs and took at least a few steps in the direction cast each time before once again veering.

Seeing Lumi's difficulty with this situation reminds me of her unsatisfactory handling in the land blind she ran on the last Senior test she took. The line to the blind went past a mound, and the blind setter was positioned behind that mound. Lumi exhibited similar body language that day, trying to veer around toward the mound, though on that occasion she became unresponsive to cues, unlike today. Today's responsiveness may represent improvement, or it may be that the event conditions raised Lumi's general distraction level too high to cope with the added distraction of scenting the blind setter's cache of birds.

I guess it's time to begin running blinds with poison birds planted in the field on our blinds, meaning that the birds are there as distractions and are not to be retrieved. I believe dealing with poison birds is considered an advanced skill not required for a Senior-level dog, but given the difficulty Lumi had in that test, it may be that in Lumi's case we can't wait to begin that distraction-proofing, and if I do it with Lumi, I'll do it with Laddie as well.

However, I want to rely only on handling to keep the dog away from the bird. I don't want to train the dogs not to pick up a bird they've arrived at, even if I didn't intend for them to get to it, so if the dog does manage to get to a poison bird, even though it's by refusing casts, I think I should let the dog retrieve that bird. Of course, in follow-up sessions, I'd place the poison bird further out of the way. Or perhaps I'll place the birds in bags.

In addition, if the bird is not in a bag, I think that I'll follow the practice of sending the dog to pick up the bird after completing the blinds, although I don't think that happens in competition when a poison bird is used.

Land-water-land Marks, Blinds

Summary

Laddie: No marooning today.
Both dogs: No slipped whistles, no refused casts.

AM: Cheltenham

Series A. LWL, 70-yard swim, duck. Laddie ran first, then Lumi.

Series B. LWL, 30-yard swim thru stick pond, duck. Lumi ran first, then Laddie.

Series C. LWL, 40-yard swim thru narrow channel between island and clump of reeds, duck. Laddie ran first, then Lumi.

Series D. LWL, 90-yard swim, duck. Lumi ran first, then Laddie.

Series E. Triple blind, 50-70-200 yards, OD, no markers (I noted placement with respect to nearby trees). Lumi only.

Series F. Triple blind, 40-140-190 yards, OD, no markers (again I noted placement with respect to nearby trees), same SL as Series E. Laddie only. Laddie seemed to be sucked toward the lines that Lumi had run in Series E, but responded to my WSs and casts.

Series G. LWL, 60-yard water blind including 20-yard swim. Laddie ran first, then Lumi.

Midday: Oaks Area 3

Series H. Triple blind, 80-60-60 yards, OD with no markers, the course dotted with trees and unmaintained shrubbery (Lumi only)

Series I. Triple blind, 40-60-60 yards, OD with no markers, same SL and same general area but all Series I blinds to the right of the Series H blinds (Laddie only)

Both dogs performed well. Laddie seemed drawn to the left, where Lumi had run, but responded well to every WS and every cast. Lumi's motivation was 6 on a scale of 10, Laddie was his usual over-the-top exuberant self.

Midday: Oaks Area 2

Series J. 180-yard blind, duck with no marker (Lumi only)

Series K. 160-yard blind, duck with no marker, same SL as Series J but line to the left of the Series J blind (Laddie only)

The course was mostly open field, but both ducks were placed in parts of the field where trees grow, though not in front of any tree. I placed the birds at least 20 yards off to the side of the closest tree because I don't want the dogs learning they'll always find blinds in front of a tree whenever they're running in the general direction of that tree.

The fields at Oaks are considerably more difficult than the ball fields we sometimes train at. The grass here is thick and inconsistently maintained, it's covered in thick cuttings from previous mowings, prominent tracks from the mowing tractor tend to draw the dogs in the direction of the tracks, the footing is uneven and includes shallow standing water in places, and perhaps most significantly, the field is home to deer, birds, groundhogs, rodents, and other wildlife, resulting in what is apparently a highly distracting environment for the dogs.

Both dogs performed well. Laddie, again running after Lumi, seemed to experience some suction toward Lumi's line, but noticeably less than he had in Series F or I.

Blinds

AM: Oaks Area 2

Triple blind, 160-170-180 yards, ODs, no markers. #1 and #3 were in front of trees that were set back from other nearby trees, and #2 was midway between two trees that were separated by 40 yards. The terrain was low, dense cover with uneven footing, had a thick, dry layer of high mowed grass from maintenance several days ago, and was prominently channeled by tracks from the mowing tractor that had been used. All of the lines to the blinds were at diagonals to the channels, #3 being at the smallest angle, creating the most suction to stay in the channel rather than run diagonally traversing the channels. #3 was identical to a blind that Laddie had fallen apart on several days ago, possibly because of the tracks that I hadn't recognized as a factor at the time. Lumi had run that blind well that day. We've never set up either of today's other blinds before.

Today, Laddie ran first, then Lumi, while the other dog honored, lying in the shade of a tree near our SL.

Because of factors such as distance, trees, a fenced parking area to the right of the line to #3, and tractor tracks, neither dog was able to line any of today's blinds, which is what I wanted, since I wanted the dogs to practice handling. Both dogs performed well. They lined well on their send-outs, they were responsive to WSs at both shorter and longer distances, their casting accuracy varied from OK to excellent, they generally maintained the line of their casts well, and their motivation remained high the entire time.

Summary of Recent Blinds

Wondering if some pattern might emerge, I prepared this summary of both dogs performance on blinds over the last week:

SAT 9-27:

• 130-210-250 (with marks): Both dogs did fine on the 130, and Lumi did fine on the 210. Laddie did poorly on the 210, Lumi did poorly on the 250.
• 180: Laddie did poorly, Lumi did fine.
• 100: I only ran Laddie on this one, and he lined it.
  

SUN 9-28:

• 60-180-210: Both dogs did fine.
• 60-90-130: Laddie did well, though he slipped one whistle. Lumi did well and lined the 130.

MON 9-29:

• 40-150-190: Laddie did great. Lumi did fine on the 40, but did poorly on the 150 and very poorly on the 190.
• 110-140: Both dogs did fine.

TUE 9-30:

• Pinball drill (crankshaft): 130x50. Both dogs did fine.

WED 10-1:

• 80-yard (at end of land series): Lumi lined it. Laddie handled well to it but after picking up the bird headed for the pond behind him at first instead of returning to me immediately.
• Difficult 100-yard water blind: Lumi did well.
• 100-yard water blind with 20 yard swim: Laddie lined the blind but marooned on the return.
• 90-130-150: Both dogs did fine. Laddie lined the 90, Lumi lined the 90 and the 150.

THU 10-2:

• Pinball drill (crankshaft): 210x100. Both dogs did fine.
• 140-160-170 (with marks): Laddie either lined or needed only one cast for all three blinds, same for Lumi on the 140 and 160. On the 170, Lumi went into zigzag pattern, repeatedly interpreting Back casts as angle-backs.

FRI 10-3:

• 60-160-230: Both dogs handled well, except that Lumi slipped a whistle on the 230 the first time I sent her. I walked out, then resent her, and she handled well the second time out.
• Pinball drill (crankshaft): 200x60. Lumi did fine. Laddie fell apart.
• Pinball drill (crankshaft): 100-30. This was just for Laddie, who again fell apart.

Tabulation

• Lumi: 29 blinds, three breakdowns, one long zigzag, good job on other 25
  
• Laddie: 30 blinds, four breakdowns plus one poor return and one maroon, good job on other 24
  

Blinds, Drills

AM: Oaks Areas 1 and 3

Series A. Triple blind with OD, no markers. Left to right within a 90° angle:

• #2: 160-yard blind, concealed until close in low, thick cover atop a ridge, with a tree 10 yards to the left and a hedge 10 yards to the right
• #3: 230-yard blind, with a fence line along the left angling slightly in toward the line to the blind, and a tree 10 yards to the left
• #1: 60-yard blind, concealed until close in low, thick cover in an open field

I managed to make these blinds sufficiently difficult that neither dog was able to line any of them, giving both dogs an opportunity to practice handling.

Laddie handled well on all three blinds.

Lumi handled well on #1 and #2, then started well on #3 but slipped a whistle at 170 yards, resulting in me walking out. When I then sent her again, she handled well all the way to the blind.

Series B. Pick-up speed drill: short poorman double with ducks. Laddie was excellent on both birds. Lumi was slow on first pick-up, resulting in me walking out. She was then excellent on both birds.

PM: Neighborhood Lacrosse Field

Series C. Pinball drill in the shape of a crankshaft, 200x60 yards, five SFs with an OD on the last one. Lumi, running first, did fine. Laddie, however, was uncharacteristically and inexplicably erratic. His motivation seemed high, but he overran his WSs repeatedly, then took inaccurate casts. When his casting didn't improve after 4-5 WSCs, I called him in, put him on lead, and walked him around the field to pick up the flags and dummy, and then to the van. I left him there while running Lumi on Series D.

Series D. Pick-up speed drill, a short poorman double with ducks. Lumi's pick-up on both was excellent.

Series E. I set-up a second crankshaft shape on a different part of the field, this time shorter, and tried Laddie on it again. He heeled well as we approached the SL and seemed anxious to perform, but he overran the first flag before sitting, then refused a cast (that is, went a different direction). I called him back to give him one last chance, and he immediately took a WIL. I called him back, slipped on his leash, walked him around the field to pick up the flags and dummy, and terminated the session.

The contrast between this evening's behavior and this morning's is so stark that I'm mystified. When we returned home, I tethered him to my belt to see if we can get better into sync.

Handling Drill, Marks and Blinds

AM: Oak Area 2

Pinball drill in the shape of a crankshaft (Back from heel, WS-Over, WS-Back, WS-Over, WS-Back). Set-up was within a 210x100 yard rectangle. Both dogs did fine.

PM: Brook Knoll

Left to right within a 60° angle:

• #4: 160-yard blind, OD/SF
• #3: 60-yard mark, WD/RL/SM
• #5: 170-yard blind, OD/SF
• #2: 120-yard mark, WD/RL/SM
• #1: 140-yard blind, OD/SF

Laddie ran first, Lumi second, the other dog honoring unattended.

After each dog ran #1, I set the dog up as though we were going to run #2 and #3 as a double, showing the dog #3 first, then showing the dog #2, and finally firing #2. Both dogs kept their focus on #2 until sent, as I wanted them to do, rather than turning to #3 in anticipation that we were running a double.

In general, the blinds in this set-up were too easy for both dogs. They seemed able to see or otherwise sense the placements, and either line them or get on line to them after a single cast.

The exception was Lumi on #5, where she interpreted left or right Back as left or right angle-back repeatedly, zigzagging a few yards at a time back and forth over the line to the blind. Each time she crossed the line, I'd whistle so that she wouldn't go too far the wrong direction. Eventually, it dawned on her to do a straight back and then she completed the blind. Even during that sequence, she responded on every WS and made an effort to respond on every cast, and her motivation seemed to remain good.

My hope is that after Lumi has experienced zigzagging some number of times, she'll recognize the pattern and will use that information, in addition to the fact that I'm cueing a straight back, to cast in the correct direction.

Hunt Test Training, Blinds, Marks

Summary

In the morning, we trained at Cheltenham with Bob Hux and others in Hunt Test-style set-ups:

• Series A. Bob's land series (both dogs)
• Series B. Bob's water series (both dogs)
• Series C. Bob's water blind (Lumi)
• Series D. Lindsay's water blind (Laddie)

In the afternoon, we trained at Oaks Area 3:

• Series E. Triple blind, 90-130-150 yards, OD, no markers (both dogs)
• Series F. Poorman triple, ducks (both dogs)

Notes on Series A

• We ran Series A as three singles, duck-duck-flyer, followed by a blind.
• Lumi's bad news: She swung her head toward the flyer before I sent her on #1, and she broke on the flyer even though she's been steady on her own flyers for several months. She then slipped a whistle on the blind and I brought her back to heel. When I sent her again, she lined the blind, so I don't know whether she would have responded better on a whistle after losing the previous chance to retrieve or not.
  
• Lumi's good news: Great marking as usual, and it's always nice to see her line a blind. Her pick-up speed is improving, perhaps because of our private practice on that. She was steady honoring the next dog for all three singles, including a flyer. As Alice suggested a couple of weeks ago, I'm now having Lumi honor from a down. It seems much easier for her.
• Laddie's bad news: He broke on the flyer. On the blind, when he picked up the duck, he headed backwards toward the pond behind him instead of coming toward me. When I started out toward him, he turned around and came in. He also tried to break honoring the flyer for the next dog, but I had him on a short but hopefully barely perceptible lead.
• Laddie's good news: Great enthusiasm on every retrieve, great marking, steady on the two dead birds, great handling on the blind.

Based on today's land series alone, I don't plan to run either dog in any Hunt Tests at this time. They'd both be running at Senior level and it's apparent that all sorts of things could go wrong. That means the closing dates will pass for the next two tests this season. It seems unlikely either will progress fast enough to take another Hunt Test this year.

Notes on Series B

• Each dog ran a different version of this series, varying in difficulty according to the dog's level.
• Lumi did well on a particularly difficult version.
• Laddie marooned on both marks. On the first one, he almost left the bird behind but finally responded to "fetch" and brought it. On the second one, he finally came without the bird and another dog had to go out to the island to retrieve it. Neither of these LWL retrieves was as difficult as the ones I've been setting up for Laddie for quite some time. Something about training with other teams around apparently causes a dramatic drop in his ability to perform LWL retrieves.

Notes on Series C and D

• Bob confirmed that Series C was more difficult than any Senior water blind he'd ever seen. Lumi ran it nicely, lining most of the way across the water, veering off at the end of the swim, then taking two casts nicely to the bird and returning well.
• I felt that the long swim for Series C created too much risk that Laddie would maroon, even though he might handle well to the blind. So I set up a similarly long blind but with most of it on land and a shorter swim. Unfortunately, he still marooned, and when I started around the pond to pick him up, he swam to me without the bird. I consider it even worse than marooning, if that's possible, that he's willing to come without the bird. In any case, when I got around to the other side, I picked the bird up and threw it a little ways up the hill, then walked Laddie back to the original start line and sent him again. This time he picked the bird up and immediately returned, not hesitating to enter the water with the bird at all.

Notes on Series E and F

• All three blinds were placed in low, thick cover away from any natural or artificial markers. Neither dog had any difficulty with any of them. Both dogs lined the short one, and Lumi also lined the long one.
• Both dogs ran the poorman triple with enthusiasm and good, fast pick-ups.
  

Drills

AM: Oaks Area 2

With limited time, I decided to set up a drill to help the dogs get comfortable with straight Back cues, an area that seems to have confused both of them at times lately. I set up a pinball drill in the shape of a crankshaft, with five SFs and an OD at the last one, which was 130 yards from the SL. Both dogs did fine.

The advantage to drills like this is that no matter how well the dog lines, the dog still needs to handle well to complete the retrieve.

One possible disadvantage is that it might be demotivating to be sent the wrong direction, but I haven't seen that with either dog. In fact, I think it's a valuable lesson, because sometimes the dog thinks the direction chosen is the correct one even if it's not the one I intend, so the dogs need to learn to stay in control even if they're certain they know where they're going.

The other disadvantage is more certain, and that is that the dogs always spot the target that I'm handling them to almost immediately, which presumably teaches them only to handle toward a visible target. It's unfortunate that the SFs are not less visible to them. I think I can address that problem by stretching out the distances and plan to do that next time we work on this.

Blinds, Water Retrieves

AM: Twin Ponds

Series A. Triple land blind, 40-150-190 yards. Laddie, running first, did great. Lumi did fine on the short blind, but had considerable trouble on #2, and a great deal of trouble on #3.

It's difficult to know what to do. After two frustrating sessions of land blinds recently, Lumi needs an opportunity to rebuild her motivation for this skill. Somehow I need to find a way to make the set-ups easy enough for her to do well and have fun, but not so easy that she can line every blind.

Maybe it's also time to start running Lumi and Laddie differently on blinds, with Laddie running longer distances and then moving up the start line for Lumi.

Series B. This was a dozen or so water retrieves run from different points around the lower pond. Since we were training alone, none were marks thrown by a thrower, but none were strictly blinds either, since all were reasonably visible from each start line. They exercised a number of elements in various combinations:

• A number of the retrieves were LWL or LWLWL, giving Laddie an opportunity to work on his weakness of retrieving both ducks and dummies in which he needs to make the transition from land into wide spans of water on his returns. Though his pick-ups and impulse to return were not as crisp as I want them to be, he didn't maroon on any of these retrieves, nor even delay any significant amount of time. Since Lumi was also a bit slow on her pick-ups and turns back toward the water, both dogs need work on that.
• A number of retrieves required going between outcroppings of deadwood or vegetation in the stickpond, and also thru a cluster of decoys. A few retrieves required climbing over a floating log to get to the dummy and climbing back over on the return. Lumi has never climbed over a floating log before, always negotiating around them in the past, so I think it was good training for her, hopefully helping her feel more in control of them and more comfortable around them in the future. Laddie seemed to enjoy these retrieves, and in some cases intentionally detouring a little so that he could navigate thru tighter spaces.
• Several of the retrieves were "cheaters", requiring the dog to swim straight and stay in the water rather than veer left or right a few yards to reach land and run the bank. Both dogs performed well without handling on some of those, and both dogs responded to handling when needed to handle them away from shore and keep them swimming in the channel. However, neither dog is yet consistent enough responding to WSs in water, so that's something we need to work on.

PM: Oaks Area 2

Series C. Double blind, 110-140 yards, OD, no markers. Both dogs did well. I guess the best thing for Lumi is to try it at the original distance first, be quick to move up if she has trouble.

Series D. Pick-up speed drill with ducks. Both dogs did well. I'm not sure I can expect this drill on land to carry over to water series, but I don't think it hurts.

Water and Land Retrieves

AM: Cheltenham

In a soaking rain, the dogs ran a dozen or so retrieves designed to develop their comfort level with trouble spots. For Laddie, the focus was on LWL retrieves with relatively long swims, 70 and 90 yards. For Lumi, the focus was on swimming thru various segments of the property's stickpond. Both dogs also ran a triple land blind of 60-180-210 yards.

Midday: Oaks Area 2

With the sun out, the dogs ran another triple land blind, this time of 60-90-130 yards. I anticipated that they'd have difficulty with the terrain since they had trouble in this same location yesterday, but at these shorter distances, both dogs did reasonably well. Laddie slipped one whistle, resulting in a walk-out, but handled well the rest of the time. Lumi, in addition to handling well on the first two blinds, lined the long one.

Marks and Blinds

AM: Oaks Area 2

[Fortunately, the three Oaks areas have been mowed. The terrain is now low cover, uneven footing covered in the cut grass. Apparently this field is occupied by an unusual amount of wildlife, because both dogs have always acted highly distracted when we train here, including today.]

Series A. Left to right within a 90° angle:

• #1: 130-yard blind, OD/SF
  
• #2 (memory-bird of double): 100-yard poorman mark, duck thrown left to right from a stickman
  
• #5: 250-yard blind, OD in front of large boulder; line to blind had a stand of trees on the left, and a fenced parking area plus a stand of trees on the right
• #4: 210-yard blind, OD in front of a tree set back from trees flanking both sides
  
• #3 (go-bird of double): 60-yard poorman mark, duck thrown right to left from a stickman over the line to #4

Both dogs did fine on the #1 and the marks.

Laddie fell apart on #4. On the first send out, after much handling, he spotted #5 and retrieved it. When I sent him back out, it took dozens of WSCs to direct him to #4. He was nearly 100% reliable on his WSs, with two walk-outs when he didn't sit. But he repeatedly interpreted left and right backs as left and right overs or angle backs. I tried many variations but never found one that he would cast him correctly. Eventually, I walked up 100 yards and was able to handle him to the blind from there.

Lumi did fine on #1 and the two marks. On #4, she was responsive on every WS and required only 3-4 angle-backs which she interpreted correctly though a little off on the angles. Lumi fell apart on #5 as Laddie had on #4, again requiring dozens of WSCs before she got on the correct line. In Lumi's case, she was also nearly 100% reliable on her WSs, but she had her mind set on a target to the left. Every time I'd cast, she'd start in the direction I cast her, then veer around toward the left. I used quick whistles the moment she'd veered, and I tried partial come-ins, complete come-ins, using Over instead of an angle-back, and so forth, but she made little headway on the correct line before she'd veer again. It took many casts before she finally got on the correct line and stayed there.

Series B. Because both dogs had had problems with blinds in this highly distracting field, I placed another OD for each of them in front of one tree in a line of them, and ran the dogs to that blind from 180 yards away on the other side of the field. The dogs were running approximately the opposite direction as they had for #5 in Series A.

I tried Laddie first and again he fell apart. After about three poor WILs each accompanied by poor responses to my casts (though good WSs), I put him in the van and ran Lumi.

Lumi did fine on this blind, taking two WSCs responsively and accurately.

I then took Laddie back out of the van and walked up 80 yards toward the blind. When I sent him, he lined it. While that's always nice to see, we still didn't get any high-quality practice casting at distance in this particular session.

Drills, Marks and Blinds

AM: Neighborhood Lacrosse Field

Series A. Pinball drill, with five SFs in the shape of a backwards question mark, an OD at the last one. Course was in a 150x150 yard square. Both dogs did well, with great enthusiasm.

Series B. Pick-up speed drill with ducks. Lumi was a little slow on first pick-up, resulting on me walking out. Excellent performance on next two pick-ups. Laddie had fast, enthusiastic pick-ups on all three throws

PM: Nearby Estate

[Owners have generously given permission for me to train the dogs on their property.]

Series C. Left to right within a 90° angle:

• #3 (go-bird of double): 40-yard mark, duck thrown right to left from line to #1, with pistol shot
  
• #1: 80-yard blind to tree line of woods, OD, no marker
• #2: (memory-bird of double): 80-yard mark, duck thrown right to left from line to #5, with pistol shot
  
• #5: 170-yard blind down steep hill to tree line of woods, OD, no marker
• #4: 130-yard down side of steep hill to tree line of woods, OD, no marker

I ran Laddie first, then Lumi. Both dogs had solid performances. For example, Lumi had speedy pick-ups on the marks and was responsive on all WSCs. Her casts are not always as accurate as Laddie's, but they're serviceable and improving.

The woods behind #5 have a creek where Laddie likes to cool off. During his series, he picked up #5 and turned toward the creek, but came running when I called "here". As soon as he came to heel and delivered the dummy, I ran with him toward the creek and called "Yay! Go play!", and off he went for a swim. I sat on the hillside listening to him splashing, and soon saw him running out of the woods and back up the hill to me uncued. That was good to see.

Drills

AM: Neighborhood Lacrosse Field

Series . Pinball drill, with five SFs in the shape of a backwards question mark, an OD at the last one. Course was in a 150x150 yard square. Both dogs did well, with great enthusiasm.

Series B. Pick-up speed drill with ducks. Lumi was a little slow on first pick-up, resulting on me walking out. Excellent performance on next two pick-ups. Laddie had fast, enthusiastic pick-ups on all three throws.

Land-water-land Marks, Blinds

Park Heights

Often on Thursdays, the dogs and I train with Bob Hux and one of his Hunt Test groups on a field training property near Baltimore. Today, we went to that property planning to train with the group, but as it turned out, we were the only ones there. I used the time to focus on areas of particular concern with Lumi and Laddie.

Series A. 80-yard poorman mark with a 70-yard swim across a pond. I set up a stickman, left both the dogs at a lining pole marking our start line, walked around the pond to the stickman to fire a pistol and throw a duck, and walked back to run one of the dogs. I ran Lumi first, then Laddie. In Lumi's case, I was concerned with pick-up speed, and she did nicely. In Laddie's case, I was concerned with his not marooning, and he didn't maroon.

Series B. Triple blind, 80-80-140 yards, OD/SF. The line to #1 passed close to a tree on the right, then across a ditch filled with thick, prickly cover. #2 was through medium cover, and #3 was through medium cover and up a hill. All three were in open meadow with no nearby landmarks.

Drills, Marks and Blinds

AM: Sundown Road Park

Series A. Pinball drill, six SFs in question mark pattern in rectangle 120x80 yards, OD at last SF. Both dogs handled well.

Series B. Speed drill for Lumi picking up birds. Progress during session, but Lumi apparently needs more sessions before she will perform well on first pick-up of session.

PM: Glenwood Middle School

Series C. With new training partner Chris throwing, left to right within 120°:

• #4: 140-yard blind, SF/OD, with line to blind passing close to a building and trees on the right, and across a road-width strip of land covered in straw that dogs were reluctant to cross
• #2: 120-yard mark, RL/SM/WD
• #5: 180-yard blind, SF/OD, very tight to #2 on left, past chain-link fence on right
• #3: 40-yard mark, duck thrown by Chris, location marked by chair and whichever dog wasn't running on lead with Chris
  
• #1: 60-yard blind, SF/OD

For both dogs, we proceeded as follows:

1. Dog ran #1.
2. I showed dog #3 with Chris standing to wave, then sitting.
3. I lined dog up on #2, launched the dummy, and sent dog. The goal was for dog to stay focused on #2 even though dog was aware of Chris, other dog, and ducks at #3.
   
4. Chris threw duck for #3 and dog ran that mark.
5. Dog ran #4.
6. Dog ran #5.
   

Laddie put on a clinic. He lined #1, did not swing his head on #2, nailed both marks with huge enthusiasm from beginning to end, took one perfect left angle-back at diagonal across straw path to #4, and lined #5.

Lumi needed more handling on the blinds, but she handled well on her WSs and her casts. She swung her head on #2, then veered toward #3 even though it hadn't been thrown when I sent her to pick up #2. I called her back to heel and sent her again, and this time she nailed #2. On #3, she had a slow pick-up so I walked out to bring her back to the SL without the bird, then sent her again and she had an excellent pick-up.

I didn't feel Laddie needed more work and it was almost dark, but I wanted to work on Lumi's head-swinging and pick-up speed a bit more. I moved the chair to the other side of the line to #2 and repeated the singles, again having Chris stand and wave, then sit, then sent the dog to the long mark, and finally had Chris throw so the dog could run the short mark. We did that sequence twice, and both times, Lumi kept her focus on #2 rather than swinging her head.

I also gave Lumi a few short poorman marks with a duck to work on her pick-up speed, walking out and not letting her retrieve if she played with the bird instead of picking it up immediately. When she was performing well on those short throws, we ran the marks and she had excellent pick-ups on those as well.

Lumi makes progress on her pick-up speed each session, but reverts by the next session. We'll know we're making real progress when even her first pick-up of the session is fast repeatedly, especially in group training and hopefully, eventually in events.

Hunt Test Training

Today the dogs and I trained, as we usually do on Tuesdays, with Bob Hux's Hunt Test training group at Cheltenham morning. We had a land series, a water series, and then a difficult water blind to try.

Land Series. The land series, left to right within 180°:

• #3 (go-bird of a double): 100-yard mark, flyer duck, with fall in high cover
  
• #2 (memory-bird of a double): 40-yard mark, duck, with fall in open area inside of high cover
  
• #4: 100-yard blind, LP/duck, diagonally thru several strips of high cover
• #1: 150-yard blind, LP/OD, over a road and thru variable cover
  

#2 and #3 were within a 30° angle;. #4 was 60° further to the right. #1 was another 90° to the right, the opposite direction of the flyer.

LUMI

Lumi was the first dog to run. The first time I sent her on #1, she kept veering to her left, apparently convinced that I was sending her the wrong direction since all the action, especially the flyers, were to our left. I finally called her back to heel and re-sent her. This time she handled the blind easily.

I should have run this series as singles, since Lumi isn't likely ever to have trouble turning to a flyer when it's thrown as the go-bird in a double. As has happened before, the problem she has instead is taking her eye off the memory-bird too soon. In this case, the flyer circled around Bob before he could take a good shot at it, and when it went soaring off, Lumi broke and went after it. I'm afraid I don't remember what happened at that point, other than eventually we got back to the SL to try the series again.

The second time we ran it, Lumi turned her head after #2 was thrown, so even though I planned to run it as a double, I sent her immediately. With some confusion — I may have had to call her to heel and send her again — she got going the right direction and pinned the mark. Then she finally got to retrieve the flyer.

Her only problem on the marks was taking too long to pick up the birds. Considering the work we've been putting in on that skill, that was disappointing.

She had no trouble handling on #4.

Next came the honor, the one weakness in Lumi's skill set that I've felt is preventing us from having any chance of Lumi qualifying in a Senior test. I'd prearranged for the team behind us to be one that was getting a flyer. After Lumi completed #4, we took a position to the side of the new team's SL and, following a recent suggestion from Alice Woodyard, I had Lumi down as soon we took our place.

This was one of the most remarkable turn-arounds in Lumi's training history. It was as if a switch had been thrown. I didn't want to rely on having to talk to Lumi while she was honoring, even though it's permitted in Hunt Tests, and there was no need to. I simply stood at her flank as she lay there and watched her. Completely relaxed, she watched the birds thrown and the other dog sent as though from a gallery. She showed no hint of breaking.

The contrast from her previous efforts at honoring, when I asked her to honor from a sit and she was always on the verge of breaking when honoring a flyer and usually did, was dramatic. If honoring from a down always works this well, Lumi is now ready to honor in competition.

[Although Laddie also ran the land series, and both dogs ran a subsequent water series that Bob set up for the group, I didn't have time to record the details at the time and was unable to remember them later. I do recall that, despite the excellent practice LWL retrieves Laddie has performed lately, he marooned on the long mark in today's water series.]

Marks and Blinds, Marks

AM: Neighborhood Lacrosse Field. Left to right within a tight, 60° angle:

• #4: 120-yard blind, OD/SF
• #2: 100-yard mark, memory-bird of double, SM/RL/WD
• #5: 150-yard blind, OD/SF
• #3: 60-yard mark, go-bird of double, SM/RL/WD
• #1: 80-yard blind, OD/SF

Laddie: Great job.

Lumi: Good job, but low energy and seemed to forget memory-bird #2, required handling.

PM: Oaks Area 3. Three poorman doubles with ducks, ranging 10 to 80 yards, in cover varying from ankle to waist high with uneven footing.

Excellent, high-spirited work by both dogs, including Lumi's new, speedy pick-ups. Both dogs worked well without whistle or "here" cues.

Land and Water Marks and Blinds, Drills

AM: Cheltenham

General notes

• Laddie: Great progress on LWL, no marooning, only a slight stall one time, on the relatively big water Series B (see below)
• Lumi: Great progress on speedy pick-ups
  
• Both dogs: Excellent session
  

Series A. While the dogs aired in the pre-dawn light, I set up the following series, left to right within a 45° angle:

• #2: 250-yard poorman mark, to a duck thrown from a stickman; the line to the fall consisted of a long run thru variable cover includes several strips of chest high grass, over a road and a ditch, ending with a 35-yard swim across a pond edged with high cover and climbing onto the peninsula where the stickman and duck awaited
• #1: 40-yard blind, OD/SF

We ran Series A from a mound. Laddie ran first, then Lumi. Both dogs lined #1, then did great on #2. On #2, both dogs veered left, since that's the way I had walked and returned when throwing their ducks, and both dogs responded well to a WS at 170 yards and a right angle back toward the correct entry to the pond.

Series B. A 90-yard swim to a duck and LP. Again, Laddie ran (swam) first, then Lumi. I had intended this as a sight blind, primarily to exercise Laddie's LWL return across big water, but the line across the pond was unintentionally directed into the sun, so both dogs needed one WSC to get them re-directed toward the point.

Series C. Offline drill with 40-yard segments:

• #1: 40 yards Back, WS, left Over 30 yards to SF/OD
  
• #2: 80 yards Back, WS, right Over 30 yards to OD behind a tree
• #3: 120 yards Back, WS, left Over 30 yards to SF/OD

A tree was 160 yards away at the end of the backline, but because of the thick, high cover, I decided not to run any non-handling retrieves with either dog.

Laddie slipped one whistle, I responded with a walk-out. He had great responses after that.

Lumi did excellent work on Series C with no need for any walk-outs.

Series D. Short poorman double:

• #1: a duck thrown across a ditch
• #2: a duck thrown right in front of the mound we were running from

For Laddie, this was an LWL test and he did great. For Lumi, this was pick-up speed test and she did great.

Series E. Somewhat longer poorman double:

• #1: a duck thrown across a ditch, the line to the fall between a tree on the right and a mound on the left
• #2: a duck thrown 20 yards in front of the dog

Series E had the same objectives as Series D for both dogs, and both dogs did as well, except that on Lumi's go-bird, I raised the bar on acceptable delay and stopped her after just a moment of fidgeting. I walked out, took the bird, placed it back at the fall, brought her to heel at the SL and reran her. Great pick-ups after that on both birds.

PM: Sundown Park

Series F. On a sunny day with no wind and temps in the 80s, I wanted to give each dog a little more work without exerting them too much. I set up a pin-ball drill in the shape of a backwards question mark, with five markers (two LPs, three SFs) and an OD at the last marker. The set-up required the following casts:

• 70 yards back from heel
• 30 yards left angle-in
• 60 yards right angle-back
• 50 yards right over
• 60 yards right angle-in
• 40 yards come-in with OD

Both dogs did great.

Blinds, Marks, Marks and Blinds

AM: Sundown Park Road

Series A. Triple blind, 120-160-180 yards, all OD, no markers. Blinds at a ball field are too easy for both dogs.

Series B. Poorman double, 120-80 yards, birds thrown from stickmen.

After that, I worked on Lumi's bird pick-up speed with poorman doubles of increasing distances, starting at just 20-15 feet. I had Laddie run them, too, but his pick-ups were already excellent.

Lumi's pick-up speed would improve in one context, but revert to being too slow when I changed location and distance, so we need more work on that.

PM: Brook Knoll

Series C: Planned as follows, left to right within 75°:

• #4: 130-yard blind, SF/OD
• #2 (memory-bird of poorman double): 80-yard mark, duck, thrown left to right from stickman
  
• #1: 90-yard blind, SF/OD
• #3 (go-bird of poorman double): 40-yard mark, duck, thrown right to left from stickman
  
• #5: 230-yard blind, SF/OD

I ran Lumi first, but modified the sequence:

• After #1, I threw a short poorman mark with a duck to the side, giving Lumi an opportunity to rehearse a fast pick-up. I call this an alternation drill.
  
• I threw #3 as a single. When Lumi picked the bird up and then put it down again to start rearranging it in her mouth, I called out "nope" and walked out to slip on her lead. I tossed the duck back where it had been and walked Lumi back to the SL.
• I took off Lumi's lead and sent her again. This time she picked the duck up and brought it straight back, to great celebration.
• I threw #2 as a single, and she brought it straight back.
• I sent her to #4, and she handled well to it.
• Finally, rather than running her on #5, I threw #2-#3 as a double. She picked up and returned promptly with each bird. Good progress.

I ran Laddie next in the original planned sequence. He did great. I wasn't perfectly happy on #5 with the last WS at 230 yards, when he was 20 yards to the left of the blind. I'd have preferred that he sat and waited for me to cast him to the right. Instead, he swerved right as soon as I whistled and ran straight to the blind. But I guess I need to accept either dog slipping a whistle if the dog is able to go straight to the blind when it happens.

Offline Drill

AM: Oaks Area 3

Offline drill, with dog sent along same backline on every send-out:

#1: Back 120 yards to LP, WD
#2: Back 30 yards, WS, left Over 25 yards to LP, OD
#3: Back 60 yards, WS, right Over 30 yards to LP, OD
#4: Back 90 yards, WS, left Over 30 yards to LP, OD
#5: Back 120 yards to LP, WD

Conditions: Thick, waist-high cover, dogs barely visible, uneven footing, tough going. Only the LP for #1/#5, at the end of the backline, was outside the area of high cover and in low cover.

Laddie: Great send-out but a little hesitant returning on #1, spectacular handling on #2/#3/#4, he popped once on first send-out to #5, I called him to heel and sent him again, he ran to #5, then would not re-enter high cover to return and deliver. I put him in the van.

Lumi: I decided to skip #1 with Lumi. She did great on #2-#5.

Blinds, Marks and Blinds

AM: Sundown Road Park

Series A: Triple blind, 40-160-180 yards. OD, no markers. Too easy for both dogs.

Series B: Target drill: Back 60 yards to SF, Right Back 30 yards to SF, Left Over 50 yards to SF, OD. Both dogs were responsive on all WS and casts, though Laddie tended to overrun the targets.

PM: Fair Hill

Series C: Left to right within a 90∠:

#1: 60-yard blind, SF/OD on small, steep hill rising right to left
#2: 50-yard mark, RL/WD/SM
#5: 160-yard blind, SF/OD on small, steep hill rising front to back at edge of woods; line to the blind passed closely to the right of a grassy mound that acted as suction for both dogs
#3: 120-yard mark, RL/WD/SM
#4: 180-yard blind, SF/OD; line to the blind passed closely to the right of the #3 RLs

We ran from the top of a dirt mound. The area in front of us for the first 100 yards was calf-high cover with prickly weeds that significantly disturbed and slowed Lumi, though Laddie ran right thru it. Beyond that area was dusty, packed dirt with short, thin grass, virtually no weeds. The hill where #5 was planted was covered in thick grass.

Laddie did extremely well, lining #1, running #4 with one cast, and running #5 with two casts. He was slow sitting on one cast for #5 so I did a walk-out even though he sat by the time I'd taken a couple of steps. He then ran the identical path but this time sat promptly.

Although Laddie made it look easy, and Lumi had no trouble with the marks, her performance on #1 was poor, and completely unsatisfactory on #4 and #5. She had at least 20 WSs, and while she only slipped one of those, resulting in a walk-out, her casting was dreadful.

Lumi's WSs and casts were excellent as of 2-3 weeks ago, but now her casts seem to have deteriorated for some reason. I had hoped that running cold blinds would tend to correct the problem, since taking a wrong cast would not seem to be self-reinforcing. However, it seems that running cold blinds is not resulting in returning Lumi to her previous form, and that we need to run some drills that focus on casting. I think we'll go back to the offline drill for a few sessions to get some improvement, and then see if that carries over to cold blinds.

Pinball Drill

I remember that Alice Woodyard suggested we never return to the double-T, and I seem to recall that Mike Lardy says the same thing on his video. I don't remember the rationale any more, possibly that that drill involves returning to old marks, something a more advanced dog should not be encouraged to do.

However, this morning I had a very small time window and I wanted to give both dogs some handling practice, focusing what little time we had on handling rather than retrieving. So I used a variation of the pinball drill, but not just angle-backs. I placed a surveyors flag (SF) 50 yards from a start line, and then surrounded that SF with four more SFs about 20 yards distant at the diagonals for angle-in and angle-back casts.

I then sent each dog from heel to the center flag, and then handled the dog to each of the other four flags, making a square. That let us practice several different kinds of casts in a short amount of time, and the dogs both seemed to be motivated, though confused that they could never find anything to retrieve.

I'm thinking that if we always use a different location and/or orientation, we run a variety of patterns, we increase the distances to the point that the SFs aren't visible until the dog gets close (so that they don't think the lesson is "look for the flag"), and if the dogs keep up their motivation even though they don't get to retrieve, this could be a good drill when time is too limited to run a multiple blind or mark-and-blind series.

Water Marks, Land Blinds

Twin Ponds. (Daybreak) A variety of LWL retrieves for both dogs, all with cheating challenges, some more difficult than the one Laddie marooned on at yesterday's WC.

Small Park off Norbeck Road. (Later in the morning) A double-blind, 160-210 yards, and a single blind, 240 yards. I seem to find it difficult to set up sufficiently challenging blinds in nearby locations. Laddie lined the 160-yard one, Lumi lined the 210-yard one. Both dogs were responsive to WS and casting even at 200+ yards.

Lumi Earns WCX

Today, Lumi earned her Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) Working Certificate Excellent (WCX).

For those not familiar with the WCX, it consists of a land series and a water series. The dog runs off lead in both, and therefore must be steady at the line for both series, and when honoring on the water series. The land series is a triple mark with upland birds, in this case pheasants. The last bird thrown, the go-bird, is a flyer, a real test for the dog's steadiness. The water series is a double mark with ducks, after which the dog honors the next dog.

Typically, some of the dogs entered pass and some do not. In today's test, in a driving rain with winds gusting to 40 MPH, nine dogs were entered and four passed both series. Lumi had outstanding marks on all five throws, never requiring a hunt, and was rock steady at the line for both series. Of the skills required for the WCX, Lumi had the most difficulty with honoring.

In this test, I think I might have helped a little. Our line mechanics involves me showing Lumi each gun station in reverse order of throwing before calling for the first throw, a procedure legal in Field Trials and the WC/WCX though not legal in Hunt Tests. After I showed Lumi the station for the go-bird, I turned toward the middle station but Lumi immediately swung her head to the first station. I patted my leg, put out an open hand to point, and turned my body several times, but she kept swinging her head back and forth between the left and right stations, never glancing at the middle station. I remember a judge once saying about the moment when you come to the line to set the dog up, "This is your time." I didn't want Lumi to have to wait for the gunshot to suddenly realize there was another station, especially given that only a second later they'd throw the flyer, and she'd need to turn her focus to that.

It finally occurred to me to have her switch positions, so I swung her around to heel position on the other side. I wasn't going to run her from there, but I thought it might break her rhythm on that head swinging, and fortunately it did. Immediately she spotted the middle station, her ears pricking up as if to say, "Hey, lookee there, another thrower!" Now she knew about all three of them. I turned to face the first station and called for the throw.

When Lumi ran, I had her pick up the go-bird first, then the first bird, and finally the middle bird. The Pro we train with had explained to me that that sequence minimizes the chances for the dog returning to an old fall on the latter two send-outs. Lumi's never run a competitive triple before and the strategy worked. She nailed all three marks.

Laddie also took a test today, for the Working Certificate (WC). For that test, the dogs are allowed to be on a slip cord until the judge releases them, so they are not required to be steady. They also are not required to honor another dog. The land and water series each consist of two single marks. In today's tests, the WC marks for both land and water were significantly shorter than the WCX marks.

Laddie had no difficulty with the land series, and even managed to return with the bird from the first water mark, which was thrown into light cover on the shoreline. But on the second water mark, which was thrown in the water a yard from shore, he picked up the bird and kept swimming, then marooned on the far shore.

Laddie has run that exact mark, as well as more difficult ones nearby and elsewhere, with me throwing the bird, then walking back to his side to send him. I'm not sure why he marooned in this situation, but clearly LWL retrieves remain a problem for him.

After giving Laddie ample time to respond to my whistles and calls, the judge had the thrower pick up the bird and throw it into the water. Laddie swam out to get the bird, almost turned back, but then responded to my whistle and brought the bird to me.

In retrospect, I handled Laddie all wrong in this situation. First of all, I should not have called him repeatedly. Even worse, I should not have reinforced his refused recall with the opportunity to get the bird. Instead, I should have taken this opportunity for a walk-out, by taking the foot bridge over to Laddie, putting on his leash, and walking him to the van. Not only would that have provided potential negative punishment for his marooning, but it would have done so in the context of a competitive event. A rare opportunity missed.

Nonetheless, Lumi's sterling performance made the difficult weather conditions worth every moment. Given the prevalence of ecollars in field training, especially with the more advanced dogs, I would guess that few 2Q dogs have ever earned a WCX. Lumi may be one of the first.

Marks and Blinds

Sundown Park in Morning

Conditions: Thick mist, #4-5 not visible from SL, #2 barely visible.

Left to right in 90 degree angle:

• #4: 130-yard blind (OD/SF)
• #3 (2 of 2): 110-yard mark (WD/RL)
• #5: 150-yard blind (OD/SF)
• #2 (1 of 2): 90-yard mark (WD/RL)
• #1: 110-yard blind (OD/SF)
  

Both dogs did a great job, nailing marks and handling with excellent responsiveness

Brook Knoll in Afternoon

Triple blind (both dogs): 70-110-150 yards

Laddie had one slipped whistle, which I responded to with a walk-out. Great job before and after.

Lumi did great, including lining #1 and #3.

Offline Drill, Blinds, WC/WCX Prep, Steadiness Drill

Park Heights in Morning

• Offline drill (Laddie): 20-yard segments, two OD/SF, three WD/LP (great job)
• Double blind (Lumi): 100-200 yards, OD/SF (great job)
• Triple blind (Laddie): 60-80-100 yards: He lined all of them, so no opportunity to see how his handling was coming
• WCX-style land triple (both dogs) set up by Bob Hux
• WCX-style water double (Lumi) set up by Bob Hux
• Two LWL singles (Laddie): Good pickup and return on #1; Laddie played with duck as he entered water on #2, but eventually completed return
• Steadiness drill: Lumi, Laddie, and another trainer's Golden: A third trainer generated excitement and threw while all dogs stood waiting, then one dog was sent
  

Lacrosse Field in Afternoon

• Offline drill (Laddie): 30-yard segments, two OD/SF, three WD/LP (another great job)

Offline Drill

Lacrosse Field in Afternoon

Offline drill (Laddie): 15-yard segments, three OD/SF, one WD/LP.

Notes

DATE: 9-4-2008
TO: DogTrek and PositiveGunDogs
SUBJECT: Not one size fits all

In most of the drills that I've done with Lumi and Laddie, I've pretty much used the same version of the drill for both dogs.

But the last couple of days, I decided to start Laddie on a drill I previously designed and refined for Lumi to address the same problem, which was the dog becoming increasingly inclined to slip whistles and follow his/her own instincts for how to complete the retrieve. In Lumi's case, I later used the near miraculous walk-out technique to put on the finishing touches, but after a couple of sessions with Laddie, I felt that he didn't really understand the game well enough for the walk-out to work. If the dog doesn't know how to make walk-out stop happening, the risk is that he/she will begin to think that the walk-out itself is actually part of the game. Obviously I didn't want that to happen with Laddie.

So for Laddie, I thought I'd run him on the offline drill I described some time ago. Basically, you send the dog toward a well understood target, then stop the dog on the way out and cast him/her left or right to a target he/she hadn't previously noticed. Over a series of sessions, you increase the distances.

With Lumi, I started at 15-yard segments, with three orange dummies placed alternately to the left or right of the back line, and a white dummy placed at a lining pole at the end of the back line. On every send out, I'd send her straight down the back line toward the white dummy, but the first three times, I'd stop her with a whistle and cast her "over" to one of the orange dummies. Thus Lumi ran out 15 yards then one direction to retrieve the first orange dummy, 30 yards then the other direction for the second retrieve, 45 yards and the first direction for the third retrieve, and finally 60 yards without stopping to pick up the white dummy. Over several days, the segments increased 5 yards at a time until we got to 40 yard segments and a 160-yard back line. By that time, Lumi understood the game and its lesson -- stop when I whistle even if you think you know where you're going -- and we were able to go back to running real blinds.

Since that proved to be a useful drill for Lumi, I thought it would be good for Laddie's comprehension at this stage, too. Yesterday afternoon, I tried him with those initial 15-yard segments. It was an eye-opener.

First of all, Laddie's so fast that when I whistled at 15 yards, even though he responded quickly, he was already even with the next orange dummy. To get him to stop at 15 yards, I'd have to whistle almost as soon as I sent him.

But that wasn't the main problem. The main problem was that I have tremendous admiration for this dog's exuberance. When he runs, he runs with all his heart. Do I really want him slowing down because I might whistle him after only 15 or 30 yards? What's that going to do to his 300 yard blinds, and what's that going to do to his marks when I don't want him stopping at all?

Yet I can't just stretch out the drill, because like any dog (I assume), Laddie's responsiveness is best when he's closest, so that's where I need to rehearse him and then add distance gradually.

I had to face the fact that Lumi's version of the offline drill wasn't right for Laddie, and decided I needed a different version for him, though the lesson -- stop when I whistle -- was the same.

That's really all I wanted to say: one size sometimes doesn't fit all.

For curiosity, here's the version I came up with for Laddie:

* One orange dummy to one side, one to the other side, and three white dummies at the lining pole at the end of the back line.
* Send Laddie the same direction every time: to the end first (no stop), then handle him on the short orange dummy, then again all the way to the end, then handle him to the longer orange dummy, and finally all the way to the end again.

We ran the drill this morning with 20-yard segments (60-yards total), and Laddie did great, but still tended to overrun a bit. This evening we ran it with 30-yard segments (90-yards total) and he did even better. Great responsiveness on both the sits and the casts, and at those distances, not too much out of position on his overruns. Both times, the best part might have been watching his joy on those three non-handling blinds, his ears blowing back as he hammered the turf, and feeling that I wasn't inadvertently training him not to give his all.

This would not have been a good version of the drill for Lumi. For her, all those long runs would have been tedious, possibly painful, and pointless. Once she understood the offline drill, I think she appreciated the way it started with short, easy retrieves, and didn't wear her out running her all the way to the end repeatedly.

Yet for Laddie, that's where the fun is.

Lindsay, with Lumi & Laddie (Goldens)
Laytonsville, Maryland