Retrieving & Field Training Talk

[poocow]

Can you buy training bumpers from anywhere in Oz? Or do we have to buy them from the US?

Two local options are: http://www.specdog.com.au or http://www.sportingo...ome.php?cat=279

Thank you

[poocow]

Can you buy training bumpers from anywhere in Oz? Or do we have to buy them from the US?

Two local options are: http://www.specdog.com.au or http://www.sportingo...ome.php?cat=279

Thank you

Could I also get some US recommendations?

[rubyroo]

USA options, cabelas, huntem up, lion country supply and also eBay USA. I would like to support the local guys here, but they are just way too expensive compared to what you can get overseas.

[The Spotted Devil]

Since our last weekend of trialling I've been concentrating on confidence building single marks with the bumper boy. However, it's been HOT, I've been busy, the BB has been a bit temperamental and, to top it off, Em had a grass seed in her paw! I finally got rid of the latter (yay!) and we got the dogs to the water tonight. Zig had an awesome time being an idiot and Em had an absolute hoot. First set up was a memory mark (water) and hot blind (across water). She nailed that so I added in a second memory mark (land) to go up first - so a double memory mark and blind. Blind was easy but she wanted the easy land mark. I took my time lining her though and she picked up the water mark no problem followed by the land mark. Was going to run a double fall on a hot blind (land) but the BB didn't go off so it ended up being a hot blind and a single mark. Easy. In between letting Zig run riot Em did a heap more easy water retrieves for fitness - occasionally I stopped her in the water and sent her back or threw a 2 bird or sent her for a blind when Mr TSD tossed Zig's toy too far. Finished off with some fun handling drills on land to encourage steadiness until I signal left/right or angle backs - she gets so excited and has a tendency to pre-empt. She nearly took the bait on several occasions but I only managed to trick her into fully breaking once lol. I really concentrated on slowing my handling down....on advice from one of my mentors I have been purposely sending her quite quickly on blinds (training and trialling) just to make the most of her forward momentum but tonight I held her for a bit longer and it now feels like the right thing to do - getting her straight, focused and concentrating.

[The Spotted Devil]

Lots of single marks this week - I think Em's starting to get her groove back. Little rascal cheated some cover on the way back to me yesterday (very, very tempting) so I stopped and handled her back to where she picked it up (with the dummy in her mouth) and ensured she ran back the correct way...it was like a land version of a "swim by". Today I was short on time so took the dogs to the oval for training and a gallop. Left Em in the car and set up a 3 leg lining drill with 2 dummies each at the far end of the oval and either side. She was super excited and worked really, really well. I took my time lining her for each blind - she did anticipate once or twice - but taking my time is definitely improving her line and she picked up one from each pile without a command. Used the remaining dummies for some handling work and tossed a few distracting dummies around her - just set her up and sent left, right and back as necessary. I'm really trying to take my time before sending, extend the distance from me to her and use signals only for right/left and angle back (as the voice command tends to drive her back hard).

[The Spotted Devil]

A great weekend away - bombed out on Saturday in the first run (simply too hard) but had a great day placing blinds and on the thrower followed by some good training. Em was firing today - a few blips from both of us but she handled really well and finished her second AA trial. 12 dogs started (very small field plus several scratchings), 8 finished and Em placed 6th. More on the runs when I've unpacked and had a LONG shower :)

[The Spotted Devil]

The property for the weekend trials has a lot of trees so it's difficult for judges to set runs. There was quite a bit of water in the form of large lagoons with lots of reeds and lilly pads. On the upside, the property is owned by a very nice winery so I stopped at the cellar door sales on the way out!

Saturday: dry, sunny day with enough breeze in the shade to leave you a little chilly.

Run 1: Double mark. Watch the short mark, watch the long mark. Pick up the long mark then the short mark. This sounds pretty straightforward but it was on the more difficult side of an All Age run and the long mark confused a number of dogs, including Em. The mark was well sighted but a very tight arc, which can be confuse judgement of depth. The line was through heavy cover so there wasn't an opportunity to help the dog out (fair enough - it's a mark!) unless they were way out of the area up on the road. Em saw both marks really well and she took off like a bullet towards the long mark. I had no idea what was going on but knew she was taking too long and was on the look out for her. She appeared up on the road to my right so I called her in before casting back - she took off again and, although I couldn't see her, called out "back!" a couple of times to help her out. It was clear she was struggling and the judge said to call her in. Talking with both him and the steward afterwards she went over the first small hill and into the gully, over the second small hill and gully but then came up against a wide road and it was like a brick wall that she couldn't get past. When I sent her in the second time, the judge said she actually took my verbal "backs" really well but I couldn't help her out when she really needed it and couldn't push deep enough. I teamed up with a competitor from WA and her Goldens and we trained this later in the day - Em got it the first time but was still a bit unsure so we ran it again in a slightly different spot and she nailed it so more good experience.

Run 2: Memory mark and double blind. I placed blinds for this so had a birds eye view. This was a very tough run. The mark was reasonably short but proved to be a huge suction factor. Dogs could pick up the blinds in any order but had to pick up the mark second. Picking up the long blind first meant that the dog had to pass under the arc of the thrown mark which caused a few problems. Once they got beyond that, a ditch put off even the most experienced dogs and required a bit of handling to push through. The shorter blind was much simpler but getting that first, followed by the short mark meant that it was harder for the dogs to then run on a long blind. I did this run as a training exercise but followed Em to the long mark as it was pretty tough for her. The mark and the short blind were easier.

Run 3: Memory mark and double rise in VERY cheaty water and a land blind. Watch the mark. Get the blind. Get the mark. Get the double rise. I was on the thrower for this one and hand threw the double rise. Em was pick up dog and I was very busy keeping her mouth shut! The dogs that cheated sprinted through where we were hiding so she was pretty horrified about that lol - but when she realised they weren't rushing her she realised they were getting HER retrieves and she was most put out. Again, I used this as a training exercise later in the day and was absolutely thrilled with her. Saw the mark really well. Picked up the blind with a couple of handles and picked up the mark and the double rise without even looking like cheating...she needed some help after struggling to get over a log but I sent her back. The double rise floated a LONG way behind the mark so I also gave her a back there. A very good day of training!

Sunday: The forecast was warmer than Saturday but we did the land run early and were then near the water. With a smaller entry than normal we were all done by 2pm which was great, especially when you have to pack up your campsite.

Run 1: Double memory mark. Watch short mark. Watch long mark. Pick up short mark then long mark. I was on the thrower for the first half a dozen competitors and had a few problems with no birds as the game was pretty small. Had a few good tips and soon overcame this issue. I could not believe how different this run looked from the pegs compared to from the throwers - it always looks different but this was really stark. Anyway, Em saw both marks really well. Sent her for the short mark and she took off like a bullet but something sent her off line and I saw a flash of white change directions as she thought about swapping. Stopped her. Cast right. Silly me - she couldn't see me through the cover and took off back again. Stopped her. Brought her right in. Stopped her and let her sit for a while. Calmly cast right and she took off like a bullet in the correct direction. Straight into the area, hunted like a thing possessed, picked it up and came flying back. Sent her for the long mark and she pulled up a bit short but I let her be as her body language was telling me she was super focussed and knew what she was doing. She started quartering with real purpose and hunted it up. Not without a few nervous moments but it was great to get through the first run. We lost 4 dogs out of 12 on this run.

Run 2: Triple mark around lagoon. This was a challenging one to remember and was further complicated by the fact that several of us had issues with the gun not firing at all due to a stuck safety switch or a bent firing pin, causing the gun to click rather than fire. No matter! Heel to first set of firing pegs. Fire at mark (landing in clear ground behind reeds). Reload. Relocate to second set of firing pegs. Fire at mark (landing in clear ground behind reeds). Fire at water mark splitting the other two marks. Pick up order was water mark (last bird down), relocation mark (first bird down) and memory mark (second bird down). Again, Em focussed forward really well and saw all the marks (yay!) Sent her for the water mark - she hesitated at the lily pads and I was not going to risk her swapping to the relocation mark so I stopped and sent her back. She picked that up no problem. I thought that the relocation mark might throw her even though she does them in training but I was quite wrong. I lined her up, sent her and she took off like a bullet. I saw her hesitate and thought she might go back for a "double rise" so I stopped her. She evidently couldn't see me because she scrabbled up on quite a high fallen log and looked at me waiting for the command. Clever girl! I told her she was a good girl as I love to see that use of initiative. I think I may have also laughed and called her a "smartarse" under my breath lol. When I cast her right I thought she disobeyed as she climbed down to the left - however looking back I suspect she had to get down that way as I saw a flash of white flying through the reeds and pretty quickly brought game back. Lined her up for the final mark and she went straight to the area and hunted hard. It was great to see her confidence so I let her be - she is very methodical and it is very enjoyable to watch her use her nose.

Run 3: Double blind across the lagoon. Pick up in any order. I sent for the long one first, across the wider part of the lagoon. It took a few handles to keep her on the straight and narrow but she made me laugh when she dragged herself up on a tiny island, threw herself off the other side and came back exactly the same way. Some of the labradors struggled to get up there! On the other side of the lagoon she was ready to keep on running which was fantastic - I had to stop and handle her towards the fallen timber and then tell her to "find it!" The shorter blind was a tight-ish angle across the lagoon....very cheaty. She took a nice line to the water but the angle entry (not her strong point) pushed her to the centre of the lagoon so I had to handle to get her back on the line. Once she got the line she leapt through the water and picked up the blind reasonably easily.

So, so pleased to finish another AA trial. Em finished the weekend much, much brighter than her last weekend and full of confidence. This week we will stick to single marks mostly as we are trialling again this weekend.

Edited February 24, 2014 by The Spotted Devil

[The Spotted Devil]

Ha! I've got my first whistle injury. Juggling Dalmatian and setting Em up with whistle in mouth I somehow ended up with a cut on my top lip. Weird!!!

Monday night was agility training so Tuesday was single marks with the BB and yesterday I did lining and handling. Marks were pretty good (except when I landed one in a tree) and I set up a few where she could see the up arc but not the down. She was full of beans yesterday and I have nowhere to run her that is safe (ie snakes, grass seeds, hunting temptations) so I trained her pretty hard although it barely took the edge off her. I worked on lots of straight backs through cheaty cover and then moved on to a couple of very tight 3 leg lining blinds. She started off a bit rough on both exercises but showed heaps of improvement. Sits were sloppy so will do some work on those. She was covered in black, sticky mud so I finished with a simple across water blind with hand thrown memory marks either side. She needed one reminder not to get the easy mark.

[The Spotted Devil]

[rubyroo]

Yuk!, she looks gross :laugh:

[The Spotted Devil]

Didn't smell too good either!!!

[Luke GSP]

Ha! I've got my first whistle injury. Juggling Dalmatian and setting Em up with whistle in mouth I somehow ended up with a cut on my top lip. Weird!!!

Monday night was agility training so Tuesday was single marks with the BB and yesterday I did lining and handling. Marks were pretty good (except when I landed one in a tree) and I set up a few where she could see the up arc but not the down. She was full of beans yesterday and I have nowhere to run her that is safe (ie snakes, grass seeds, hunting temptations) so I trained her pretty hard although it barely took the edge off her. I worked on lots of straight backs through cheaty cover and then moved on to a couple of very tight 3 leg lining blinds. She started off a bit rough on both exercises but showed heaps of improvement. Sits were sloppy so will do some work on those. She was covered in black, sticky mud so I finished with a simple across water blind with hand thrown memory marks either side. She needed one reminder not to get the easy mark.

Hi TSD,

Do you use a round slim "silent" type whistle? I know a lot of the gundog folk in blighty put a bit of silicone tube on the end so that they have a soft rubber tube in their mouth rather than the metal whistle end, more comfortable for long day use and more likely to have the same number of front teth as what you started the day with :)

[The Spotted Devil]

I use a mega whistle rather than a silent whistle. It's kind of plastic - y and I only hurt myself because my teeth got in the way of my lip! Lablover posted some info in this thread re silent whistles and how the sound travels long distance (her OH is a physics prof) - hence I prefer regular whistles. However, it's a personal preference. As we all found out on Sunday, no matter what the whistle sometimes the conditions make it VERY hard for the dog to pick up the commands!

[The Spotted Devil]

Had a great weekend away trialling - no finishes for us but Em did some super work on Saturday and bounced back beautifully on Sunday after I had to handle the sh!t out of her. Fairly warm weekend but we took advantage of the mild evenings and did a fair bit of socialising!

Saturday:

Run 1: Double mark. Em started the weekend focussing really well on the marks and continued to do so all weekend. Picked these 2 up without a command. Nailed the long mark. She took a super line to the memory mark and, like nearly every other dog, followed a clear track that dragged her off line. However, she seemed to realise what happened as she suddenly changed direction and hunted hard in the area of the fall. Surprisingly it was easy to see her through the moderate cover as she springs so much. The judge didn't even need to get on the ladder and couldn't help laughing at her running style.

Run 2: Double memory mark and blind splitting the 2 marks. This was a true AA run. Left Em in the hide and fired at the blind. Turned around to find she had very hestitantly crept out of the hide. I asked the judge if I could put her back and he was fine. Normally I would give her a NRM and put her in the car (fun over!) so when I quietly said "ah well" and heeled her back to the hide, she was devastated lol. Made her wait before whistling her up. Watch the 1sf mark. Watch the 2nd mark. Get the blind. Pick up 1st mark then 2nd mark. The blind took a few handles as she had to push through a LOT of heavy timber which pushed her towards the 2nd mark. She took the stop whistles and casts really well and the judge said afterwards that I should be pleased. Sent her for the 1st mark (uphill and over a ridge/road) and she needed a bit of help to push deep enough. Sent her for the 2nd mark and she absolutely nailed it - took a super line there and back - being small enough to squeeze under an enormous fallen tree didn't hurt either!

Run 3: This was a double blind - one across the river and one in water around some reeds. The across water blind was a long run to the water and an angle entry - both those together were just too much for Em. She entered the water several times but squared up to the bank and thus kept going the wrong way. I couldn't see much and tried to help her out but she was so confused! Once the trial finished one of the other triallers kindly tossed several dummies for us. I set Em up close to the entry point, the first dummy landed in the water and I sent her as a mark. She picked that up no problem so he tossed a few more on the other side of the river (a LONG way!) and I sent them as hot blinds further and further from the angle entry. She nailed both of those so it was a fantastic training session. Another positive was that she did not move a muscle when left in the hide this time!

Sunday:

Run 1: Triple memory mark, left to right, long, short, long and pick up in the same order. I was on the thrower for the first half of the run and, boy, what a mess we all made of this run! I don't think one dog did a particularly good run - something strange was going on out there with dogs not scenting well or hearing whistles. It was very dry and the wind was swirling which didn't help and the terrain was all very similar which made memory marks difficult. I had to handle Em a lot - she slipped a few whistles much to my surprise and had real trouble finding the game although she was hunting hard. One of the guys on the thrower said that it was really hard to hear the whistle and he could see Em wasn't sure she'd actually heard me. Apparently she also scented the first bird several times before finding it and he said it was very odd - like she didn't trust herself. Needless to say I was incredibly relieved to finish that run although I'm sure we didn't have many points to play with! We lost half the field.

Run 2: Double rise and double fall. Fire 2 shots at the mark. Reload. Send for mark. Fire at double fall. Get the mark. Get the double rise. Get the double fall. Em was a bit unlucky - she took off like a bullet for the mark and the double fall landed a bit short and very close to her. I stopped her twice and cast her back but the 3rd time she was just too quick (and you could see her saying "you idiot Mum! It's right here!), picked it up and flew back to me as pleased as punch. So that was if for us unfortunately but I couldn't help but be delighted with her enthusiasm.

Run 3: Double blind - one land and one over the river. I didn't hang around too long as I wanted to get my tent packed up in time for presentations. I was on the road by 2pm which is unheard of!

Fantastic weekend and lots to go on with. I'm loving the challenge of All Age. I was much more relaxed than the last few weekends and enjoyed myself immensely. I was also more conscious of slowing my commands down, much to Em's disgust at times!

Edited March 3, 2014 by The Spotted Devil

[fetchindawgs]

How come the small fields in AA ? Is it too hot yet ? Didn't think you were having too hot a time, unlike us.

Just reading about your last trial. The d/rise, d/fall, was that judge Jim ? If so, he had that run over here once. Trouble was that sometimes the mark wasn't that easy to see.

Still a long way off from our first trials here, and very difficult to get enthused about training with the heat still pressing on. Also, water in dams and rivers is low, so we are having to find alternatives.

Roll on winter !!!

[The Spotted Devil]

Yes we've had a bit of hot weather - nothing like yours though - but also a few folk and a few dogs out of action - work, illness, bitches in season/whelp etc.

No - wasn't Jim. A certain WA trialler (first AA appointment) who I am very much enjoying catching up with at all the trials! No doubt Em saw the marks.....just the double fall was a little TOO tempting. However I was just contemplating how far she has come in even a few weeks of AA and I'm really pleased with her. Lots to train of course but her focus on marks, lining etc has really improved.

Things are drying up here too but I have that much to work on it doesn't affect me much. It's still warm and dry but not oppressively so. I'm looking forward to traipsing about in the freezing rain and mud again....it really opens up the training grounds. With the season opening this weekend we had a rush of trials - fantastic numbers in Novice and pretty good in Restricted. I think end of March is our next one and then the Easter trial....not sure I will make the latter unfortunately as Mr TSD will likely be away for work in QLD so there will be no one to hold the fort.

[fetchindawgs]

Yes we've had a bit of hot weather - nothing like yours though - but also a few folk and a few dogs out of action - work, illness, bitches in season/whelp etc.

No - wasn't Jim. A certain WA trialler (first AA appointment) who I am very much enjoying catching up with at all the trials! No doubt Em saw the marks.....just the double fall was a little TOO tempting. However I was just contemplating how far she has come in even a few weeks of AA and I'm really pleased with her. Lots to train of course but her focus on marks, lining etc has really improved.

Things are drying up here too but I have that much to work on it doesn't affect me much. It's still warm and dry but not oppressively so. I'm looking forward to traipsing about in the freezing rain and mud again....it really opens up the training grounds. With the season opening this weekend we had a rush of trials - fantastic numbers in Novice and pretty good in Restricted. I think end of March is our next one and then the Easter trial....not sure I will make the latter unfortunately as Mr TSD will likely be away for work in QLD so there will be no one to hold the fort.

Ah yes, I know who you mean. Pity she isn't over here to judge a bit through the early part of our season. Have had some problems with D/falls in my time, but these dogs at present seem to know what is required. Actually tried one today at training.

W.A. are supposed to be starting our season on April 6th with a N & R trial, but having all sorts of trouble getting someone to commit to being Chief Steward for it. Decision will be made this weekend as to whether we cancel the trial completely, but it might shake up a few people who sit about and expect everyone else to drop everything to work at trials.

[The Spotted Devil]

So the lead up to last weekend's trial was a little rough training wise. Life just got in the way but it can't be helped - squeezed in a few drills on the oval, some handling and stopping plus a few single marks, set ups and channel swims. However, I was absolutely delighted with Em on the weekend - no finishes but we did get a little unlucky....but that's retrieving for you...

Great property - lots of variety but relatively dry. Still enough water to test concepts. Terrain was challenging, especially for the handlers walking to the pegs!

Saturday:

Run 1: This was a tough concept (double rise and 2-bird) at the best of times but thick fog made it nigh on impossible for us. I could tell she didn't see the long mark as she took a very odd line and handling her was a struggle as she couldn't see me! She was using her nose and kept ending up where the double rise was put out for previous dogs and it was extremely difficult to get her on the mark. As she bolted back to me the 2-bird went up. I couldn't see it very well but I'm pretty sure she did. I sent her for the double rise and she took the same odd line (unsurprisingly) and then peeled off to pick up the 2-bird. I handled her a couple of times to try and push her back but she disappeared from view and quickly appeared with the 2-bird. Ouch. However, whilst she understands the concept of a stand alone double rise, we have never trained it in combination with something else. The fog definitely didn't help us at all but the very experienced dogs just lined off their handlers leg and actually did some outstanding work as a "triple blind".

Run 2: The judge kindly let us run this. Walk to the first set of pegs, watch mark. Leave dog. Relocate to second set of pegs, fire at 2 blinds. Call dog. Send for long blind (across small, very cheaty body of water). Send for shorter blind to the right. Send for mark, further to the right again. I was really pleased with Em - a couple of handles on each blind, no cheating and nailed the relocation mark.

Run 3: I was out on the thrower for this one. Walk up mark, long mark, split by a channel swim blind. Pick up order was blind, long mark, walk up. I ran the set up for Em after the trial had finished but she had real trouble on the channel swim. There was a lot of timber and a huge boulder in the middle of the river and she really, really struggled to push past it. Another trialler metaphorically slapped me silly for not helping her enough and we set her up again with him throwing for her. Later on I reversed the blind and she nailed that. I had Zig with me so I let him out and they both ran riot - lots of swimming, running, hunting and general feel good stuff.

Sunday:

Run 1: Thank goodness the fog cleared more quickly and allowed us to make a start. First run was a walk up mark sharp to the left. I broke the gun, reloaded, left Em in a stay and proceeded to the second firing point. Fired at the very short blind. Called Em. Lined her up for the long mark (splitting the blind and the walk-up). Order of pick up was the walk-up, blind and then the long mark. Em seems to have a real handle on relocation marks - I told her to "leave" the long mark, lined her up for the walk-up, "Watch. Yes. OK! I had noticed that a number of dogs overran this mark - it dropped down into a gully - but Em was out and back so quickly I was confident she'd nailed it. I also realised that if I sent her for the blind she might think that was the mark and would be totally confused when I sent her for the mark. So I lined her up for the long mark first, "Watch. Leave". Then I lined her up for the short blind. Like every other dog the blind really was very short for her and I noticed the bushes rustling beyond the blind. I whistled her in and handled her onto the blind. I was really pleased. Then I lined her up for the long mark. And it was really long - through moderate cover, down a gully (not sure how much water?) and up a very steep embankment to the crest of the hill. If you had to handle you were in trouble as you couldn't see much. Most in the gallery thought it would be too much for Em, as did I. "Watch. Yes. Ok!" She gave me every indication she knew what she was about and I decided to keep quiet and give her a chance. I knew it took a while to cross the gully so I had to bite my lip and wait patiently. To my complete delight my first sight of Em was her flying up the steep embankment and appearing on the ridge within 10 m of the mark! A quick hunt around, she picked it up and came flying back just as fast. Bloody hell but I was delighted!!! The whole gallery raised their arms in a silent cheer and I pumped the air in response. Amazing feeling. Little devil lined up ready for another. The guys said they wouldn't be giving me any more training advice lol.

Run 2: Our nemesis. A double fall and a blind. Twice we've had these in trials and twice she's swapped. Had trained them but not enough. Leave dog in hide, fire at blind, reload, relocate to second set of firing pegs, call dog, fire at mark. Pick up order was mark, blind, double fall. Both mark and double fall was across water and up on a ridge. You could see your dog really well if they went to swap. Em took a lovely line to the mark - no hesitation around the gully or water - double fall went up, fired and stopped Em on the whistle. Now, suffice to say this was MESSY and I made some handling errors according to the judge (I can't remember!) BUT I did finally manage to convince Em to pick up the mark so a huge, huge win. Relocated to first set of firing pegs and sent for blind across the river. This was a very, very tight line and you lost sight of your dog if they were off line. A clever test I thought and it took us a few whistles as I am too slow and she too fast! Relocated back to the second set of firing pegs to pick up the double fall and this was easy peasy thank goodness as my nerves were shot!

Run 3: Mark and a blind. Walk to firing pegs. Fire at blind. As soon as you fired at the blind the mark went up. Pick up blind then mark. Blind was moderate distance wise, but it was hot, the blind was up on a log and the dogs didn't get much help from the breeze. Em was a bit hesitant - she took a lovely angle through the shallow water and I think she was a little unsure whether she was supposed to be swimming or running. When she hit the land and realised she could run, she just took off! She was a bit confused about the blind being up on the log so that took a bit of convincing but she clambered up there like a monkey and found it. Another valuable lesson for her. Sent her for the long mark and the length of the swim was a bit daunting I suspect. It was a bloody long way, there was a lot of debris in the water and she was mentally a bit tired. I had to keep pushing her back - at one point she climbed up on a log and looked confused - I sent her back. She thought about it for a little while (later I realised she was trying to work out how to get down) and finally took a flying leap into the water which left the gallery and me quietly giggling. Bat sh!t crazy I tell ya! Finally got her to the mud flats and, although I couldn't see much, she hunted and hunted and hunted but kept climbing out of the gully as she couldn't find it. I had to handle her repeatedly to get her back in the gully and I knew I was rapidly running out of whistles. At one point she handled left so beautifully that she ended up on the other side of the gully on the ridge! Unsurprisingly the judge said to call her in but told me to come up where he was standing and see where the bird had landed. Unfortunately for Em, it had landed in behind a log and whilst it was technically in the area of the fall all the other marks had landed in the open. She really didn't have much chance and I was so pleased with how she persisted and kept handling that I asked the judge if she could have the bird. Under instruction, the steward on the thrower dropped the bird for her and she was just beside herself and came running back to me. I treated her like she'd just won as it really was a great effort. Some things are even better than finishing!

[sheena]

Not sure if this is the correct thread to ask this question Someone at Agility training the other night mentioned that if you ever do Tracking with your dog, don't use cheese for treats. I didn't get to ask her why.......Anyone heard that before

[The Spotted Devil]

Not sure if this is the correct thread to ask this question Someone at Agility training the other night mentioned that if you ever do Tracking with your dog, don't use cheese for treats. I didn't get to ask her why.......Anyone heard that before

No idea sheena. I use cheese in retrieving training