A Rainy Walk to the Pond

Stadler's Pond

It's been raining now for several days, and I was again concerned that the van might get stuck if we tried to drive down the dirt road to the pond behind Stadler's nursery. But I've signed Lumi and Laddie up for a Senior Hunt Test on May 16, so I wanted to get in some water work. No other pond I know of was within driving range given my time constraints this afternoon.

To solve the problem, I parked in the last paved parking area of the nursery, brought out the dogs and a bag of ducks, and we walked the half a mile to the pond. With temps in the 50s and a steady rain, the weather presented a bit of a challenge, but we were all up to it.

At the pond, I planted a series of sight blinds in the high grass at water's edge and sent each dog alternately, using locations we hadn't previously used at this pond. Each dog ran three retrieves with a 30-yard swim and one with a 40-yard swim.

Both dogs happened to have two slow pick-ups during the session, and in each case, I called "Sit", walked around to where the dog was, replaced the bird where I had originally planted it, slipped a lead gently over the dog's head, and we walked back together. Then I sent the other dog to the same blind, while the first dog waited beside me on lead. When the other dog came back with the bird, I sent the original dog again. The timing worked out that another bird was always available.

This has proven in the past to be an effective use of the Walk Out, and the same was true today. In no case did either dog have two slow pick-ups in a row, and both finished with their best pick-ups of the day.

On the way back, we played a new pick-up game I invented on the spot. I'd put both dogs in a sit together, walk some distance toward the van, toss one duck to the left of the road and one to the right, and then walk a bit further. Then I'd turn and call one of the dog's names while pointing at one of the birds. That dog would race to the bird, pick it up, and bring it to me. Then I'd do the same with the other dog. If either dog had a slow pick-up, I'd call "sit", walk to the dog, and use a hand target to draw that dog away from the bird and back to where I'd called from. Then I'd call the other dog to pick up the same bird. Once the second dog arrived, I'd send the first dog to the other bird.

During this game, Laddie had no slow pick-ups and Lumi had only two or three, and never more than one in a row.

After we played the game for awhile, working our way closer and closer to the van, I finally told both dogs, "Get your bird," and each carried one of the ducks most of the way back to the van. Lumi has shown a significant affection for carrying ducks for some months, and the last few weeks, Laddie has begun to show the same thing.

Neither showed any interest in dropping the bird, but after a few hundred yards, I decided to put the birds back in the bag and carry them the rest of the way myself. I'd rather have them wanting more than starting to get tired of it.