Training itch and trialing plans

[TylerS]

Maybe it's because all these Polar Vortexes have given me a five-alarm case of cabin fever, or maybe it's because the first 40-degree temps actually gave me the shakes of a meth head coming off a hard bender. Either way, I'm already starting dog training for the year! Youngest pup is getting a head start on force fetching, and the almost four-year-old titled dog might just learn some new tricks along the way, too.

I might try some new testing/trial venues this year. There's a NSTRA event at the beginning of May an hour from Fargo that looks like fun. Never ran NSTRA before, but I'm looking forward to getting the dogs out on some birds and see how they stack up to the competition.

Other than that, going to spend a lot of days at the local retriever club working on UT training the young pup after his FF is through.

So how about anyone else? Getting the itch to train? Any big plans or goals for this year?

[Todd Caswell]

Iv'e got two dogs that need will be running the qualifying stake this year and both need to finish there Master, and will run a couple HRC Finished tests with them as well, 9 monthe old puppy that is FF and CC and will start his yard program as soon as this white stuff goes away at least a little. I won't run him until next summer when he's ready to run a master test.

Tyler I have a question for you , do you put your dogs through a similar basics and yard program ( retriever ) FF,CC, walking fetch, mini T, double T, water force, swimby, pattern blinds, blind drills, cold blinds?? Ju7st wondering, I know Bill Autry had a versitle dog ( his daughters) at our HRC test a couple summers ago running a finished test, and I talked to him after the test and he told me he basically trained it like a retriever putting it through the same basics and yard program, he did tell me it took to the training fine but her said it would never run a big land or water blind like a retriever can do but for the HT game he would do just fine and later that summer the dog ended up passing 6/8 finished tests. Looked like a wire hair but wasn't can't remember what it was began with a "B" I'll post a picture.

[Todd Caswell]

Just got word from Polly she is a " Spinone" a interesting dog for sure not a ton of style but certainly got the job done..

[SAX]

Dang right I've got the training itch.....Due to the weather I havent got as far with training as I wanted over the winter. I finished up FTP and am now moved on to T/TT. Yesterday I brought my pup to the church parking lot we have been working in to do some training and I could notice something was a little off, she seemed hesitant. So I stopped after her first send, layed her on the tail gate and looked at her paws, sure enough the front two were both chewed up from the parking lot. So I will be shutting it down until we get some grass to work on. I called the vet and they said put some neosporn on her pads and that they should heel up pretty quick, which is good news I guess.

I am just getting into the retiever games and am hoping to run juniors this spring/summer to get my feet wet. We will see where that takes me.

[TylerS]

Tyler I have a question for you , do you put your dogs through a similar basics and yard program (retriever) FF,CC, walking fetch, mini T, double T, water force, swimby, pattern blinds, blind drills, cold blinds??

Umm...maybe???

I honestly don't know what all those are. Here's what I did (and what worked) from my first dog:

1) Followed the NAVHDA Green Bible ("The Training and Care of the Versatile Hunting Dog" by Sigbot Winterhelt and Edward D. Bailey): Basic FF on the training table, done correspondingly with woah training. Begin with holding bumpers, then overlay with ear pinch and, eventually, e-collar. Get dog to pick bumpers up by pointing, then gradually set them further away until it can walk the length of the table and, eventually, down the ramp and back up.

2) Graduate from table to ground. Drive to pile. Ladder drills. Baseball diamond. Fetching objects out of sight (eventually I'd get to the point where I wouldn't even seed the area I was training in, I'd send Remy on a fetch and make him stay out there until he brought me back anything...sticks, bottles, golf balls, plastic Dorrito bags, half mutilated squirrel carcasses...whatever he could find).

3) Fetching in water: Same incremental process. Close to shore, further out, other shoreline. Drive to flag. Drive to seeded bank.

At that point I consider the dog FF'd. I'm not sure if that's the right process, but it's the process I used on Remy and it's the process I'm going to try and emulate with Blitz. Always looking for new ways to skin a cat, though!

[TylerS]

Dang right I've got the training itch.....Due to the weather I havent got as far with training as I wanted over the winter. I finished up FTP and am now moved on to T/TT. Yesterday I brought my pup to the church parking lot we have been working in to do some training and I could notice something was a little off, she seemed hesitant. So I stopped after her first send, layed her on the tail gate and looked at her paws, sure enough the front two were both chewed up from the parking lot. So I will be shutting it down until we get some grass to work on. I called the vet and they said put some neosporn on her pads and that they should heel up pretty quick, which is good news I guess.

I am just getting into the retiever games and am hoping to run juniors this spring/summer to get my feet wet. We will see where that takes me.

Glad I'm not the only one! Going to be near 50 today. Muddy as a pig wallow, but I can smell spring in the air. It's not far off now. I'm getting giddy!

[Todd Caswell]

Sounds similar Tyler, I'll be judging the Q and Derby for your retriever clubs spring trial, if you in the area stop out and say hi..

If your interested in the process and programs we use for retrievers check out the "fowldogs" video series think you would enjoy it and be helpful in your training.

[TylerS]

Sounds similar Tyler, I'll be judging the Q and Derby for your retriever clubs spring trial, if you in the area stop out and say hi..

If your interested in the process and programs we use for retrievers check out the "fowldogs" video series think you would enjoy it and be helpful in your training.

Hey sounds great! I'll have to look you up. Were you out there last spring? I worked one of the areas. I can't remember which. We didn't have a ton of dogs running, but it still went until darn near dark.

I'll look into those fowldogs videos. Thanks for the tip. I can use all the help I can get.