Training on the 14th

Our chukar have seen better days.  Maybe one of the bunch actually took flight, even though we were rolling them in rather than planting them, and even though in some instances the bird was bobbing around.  The molting, past-their-prime birds simply had no get-up-and-go and the dogs trapped them easily.

Still, we got some good work in with each of Cathy's dogs, Shoni's Sunny, and with Larsen.

This was the first time I'd had Larsen out since retrieving him from Tim's the day before, and I could see the difference in the dog.  He was attentive, sat to the whistle, and returned when called.

My own handling was very rusty.  I let him range too far, I overguided him, and I sat him when he was well beyond the halo and a break would have been tempting indeed.  He was good, and I was lucky.

On one difficult fly-off (me, Larsen, bird), Larsen's rear end came up from a sit and Cathy yelled "no!" before I pipped my whistle.  In this instance, I could see that (1) I was a fraction late; and (2) in a training situation that yell was far more effective than a mere pip could ever be.

My goal now is to work bumpers in the park and get him to retrieve crisply.  Tonight might be a nice outing.