Ready position

For field gunning.

The ready position is the starting point of your swing and gun mount. The ready position should be a comfortable and fundamentally sound way to hold the gun prior to making your move to the bird. In the correct ready position your gun is held with the muzzles just below the line of sight, with the stock tucked comfortably under your armpit. The gun is at an angle so that the barrels are up slightly. However, the stock definitely should not hang loosely below the right forearm. The right arm should gently hug the stock next to the upper chest and ribs. The left or lead hand should be extended on the forend to enhance your ability to point at the birds. Many shooters will extend the index finger along the barrels to further enhance their pointing instincts.

Tom Deck, The Orvis Guide to Gunfitting — Techniques to Improve Your Wingshooting, and the Fundamentals of Gunfit.

Cocker test at Luke Weaver's farm

I barely remember running Larsen on Saturday.  Sunday stands out in my mind, though.  I was committed to keeping on top of Larsen with the hope of stopping him if he broke.  The plan didn't work out as intended, since crowding Larsen made him move down the field all the faster.  His flush came near my feet, and when he decided to take off to the bird, I made my lunge -- a belly-to-the ground grab of his rear leg.  We were dismissed, of course.  A funny round of applause, probably for the ridiculousness of lunging for your dog in a Master Hunter run.  But it was heartfelt, since everyone in the gallery had been there at one time or the other.

Saturday's run was a bit more stylish.  I started Larsen and then pipped him to a sit almost immediately.  That got into his head.  He stuck to my feet and only slowly started to range out.  He got his bird out on the left side and broke.

I liked that pip and sit.  I'll try doing that with getting him to sit so I can walk up.

Cathy offered to let me run Zelda.  I like the idea.  I'd be able to control for the dog and thereby see how my handling affects the dog.

Larsen enjoys the outing.

Thanksgiving 2012

We hope you had a happy and thankful Thanksgiving.

Practice update

Larsen and I spent an hour or so with Tim Pullian going through steadying drills.  I spent some time heeling him and sitting him.  I also let him run the field and sat him.  A lot of sitting drills that can be transferred to yard work and walks.  I need to sharpen his obedience so that Larsen sits without thinking.

Larsen was steady with live, fluttering pigeons tossed at him and around him.

He broke immediately upon flushing his lone chukar.  Tim was pretty sure that he was ready for a flush, but it turned out to be premature.  Those chukar still provide too much temptation to a wild and uncontrolled flush.

My takeaway for the weekend was to be vigilant on our walks to peeps on the whistle for a quick sit.

Stake out

A stake can be useful during the warmer months.  I hesitate to pop Larsen into the station wagon right after a run.  I'd like to let him stay in a shady spot on some thick grass where some air can circulate.

The stake (or tie out) is handy for that.  You can pound in the stake with a small sledge (which I happen to have) and then just loop the British lead over the stake.  I've found that Larsen, like many spaniels, does not test the robustness of the stake even if he keens to get back onto the field.  In the one pictured below, I pound it in about to the wings.  Not much more.

I find that the straight stake and a small sledge is better than the screw-type tie out (also pictured below) due to the hard Georgia clay.  The benefit of the screw type (which I also have somewhere in the basement) is that you don't need to tote a sledge.

The one pictured below is about $5 at gundogsupply.

Just pound this in and loop the lead over the top.

This stake is handy where the soil is soft.  

The master tap

Your dog flushes the bird and the gunners shoot it.  The judge is satisfied that your dog is steady to wing and shot.  The judge taps your shoulder indicating that you may send your dog for the retrieve.

Judge Susan Willingham tells Marilyn Burke that it is ok to send Graham.

Larsen's WSSCA Hunt Test results

For Larsen and me, the results were discouraging.  Larsen broke through the bird with nary a care in the world on both days, basically erasing from his mind any thought of steadiness to wing and shot.  That was monumentally disappointing, and the reality of a summer of work going up in an instant is only now starting to sink in.

I'll have to revise my methods, somehow.  My immediate thought is to sit him at every opportunity near and far and any time I toss a bumper, even in the most mindless game.

On the positive side, Larsen's delivery to hand of the fetched bird were very good.  He hunted with enthusiasm and with intelligence, using the wind and terrain and responding to quiet whistles.

Also on the positive side, participants seemed to have a good time generally, winners and losers a like.

Steady, boy

This weekend is our first go for a Master Hunter leg.

The little dog has the pieces.  He has flashes where everything is there.  But it is not consistent.  He has not assembled the pieces into a coherent whole, and, as a result, he can explode at any time.  He'll sit on pigeon.   But, sitting to a flushed chukar is another bird altogether.  That difference may be because I've trained him for years on chukar while letting him have is head.  In contrast, he didn't like, and we didn't use, pigeon much at all when he was a pup.

The weekend looks to be bright, sunny, and cool in northeastern Alabama.  Perfect for spectators and participants.  Maybe a little warm for dogs, so we'll have a lot of water around.

Larsen and I look forward to stepping onto the field.

Burge blast

Larsen and I joined other spaniel lovers for a weekend at Burge Plantation in middle Georgia.  Trainer Joe Demarkis was there to help people prepare for the WSSCA test on November 10-11.  As always, the hospitality from hosts Amy and Dave made the event memorable.

Larsen enoys the view.

Plenty of field work for these dogs.

Frank M. and Ryder consider their options.

Larsen says thanks for bringing me here.  

Saturday at Tim's

Larsen and I visited Tim's for another round of one-on-one practice.

Larsen had a magnificent flush & sit.  A pigeon went up, got hung in some brush, and fluttered in Larsen's face while Larsen sat and watched.  Tim shot the bird and Larsen sat.  He keened a bit, but sat.  I sent him and the happy dog fetched the bird.

Tim compared that discipline to Moses, which is the highest of praise.

We did a bucket drill to teach Larsen left, right, and back.  Three buckets are laid out in T formation.  I started up by Larsen and sent him for single and multiple fetches.  I stepped about 3 yards away and did the same thing.  Larsen fetched even the blind retrieves, following my hand signals.  This was a great drill to learn.  I'd read about it in books, but doing it is the best teacher of all, and Larsen had a good time showing us how smart he was.

Case closed

Entries for the 2012 WSSCA Hunt Test closed yesterday at 7:00 pm.  The final entries are in the table below.  We have a nice bump up from last year's 28, even if we lose a few through last-minute pulls.

Let's hope for fine November weather.  Cool dryish and overcast days would help.

2012 WSSCA Hunt Test Nov 10-11, 2012 Heflin, AL
Count of dob	Column Labels
Row Labels	JH	MH	SH	Grand Total
American Cocker Spaniel	2			2
American Water Spaniel	2	3		5
Boykin Spaniel	1	1		2
Clumber Spaniel	1	3	1	5
Cocker Spaniel-Parti		1	1	2
English Springer Spaniel	3	3	2	8
Welsh Springer Spaniel	5	1	1	7
Flat-Coated Retriever		1		1
English Cocker Spaniel		1		1
Flat Coated Retriever			1	1
Airedale Terrier		1		1
Grand Total	14	15	6	35

More Octoberness

Zelda's Wisconsin Pass

Another MH leg for the indomitable Zelda.  Cathy reports that she played the clown, as she has been doing of late.

During one recent practice session, she came in step-by-step, ever so slowly.  In another, she placed the bird's wing over her nose, like Humphrey does, and pranced in.  What goes on in her mind?  Or any spaniel's?

Mid Fall fun

Larsen and Aki enjoy an October afternoon, and Larsen steals a kiss.

Team Bing on the podium

CH Shogun's Blue of the Night ("Bing") got his first two Junior Hunter legs this weekend at the Fox River Field Spaniel Club's Hunt Test at the Ottawa Field Trial Grounds in Eagle Wisconsin.

It's a long drive from Wisconsin to Birmingham, Alabama, but Cathy will have plenty of good thoughts to make the trip more enjoyable on the way home.  Congratulations.

Sunday at Tim's

We trained at Tim's place near Royston, Georgia on a postcard mid-fall day.  I told Tim what I thought Larsen's strengths and weaknesses were.  Tim opted for a few different drills.

• Larsen quartering.  Sit him/control him periodically.  
• More quartering.  Roll in a bird (pigeon).  If the bird flies (and a number of them did), Larsen was pipped to sit.  If Larsen flushed the bird, he was pipped to sit.  
• Same as above, but with random gunfire.
• Same as above with a genuine flush and non-random gunfire (trying to hit the bird to set up a retrieve).

Larsen was attentive and biddable.  He was a little sticky, as often happens when we roll in birds, but he played the game without punching far out or simply hanging around and waiting.  He had a very nice retrieve on the genuine flush & shoot.  The bird went over the driveway, and into the front yard.  There were plenty of distractions in and around the house, and Larsen ignored them all to get the bird.

Tim trained me on how to accept a bird.  I'm to stand up straight and really expect Larsen to bring the bird all the way in and hup.  I let Larsen hold the bird for a bit before gently taking the bird, and then I give Larsen a gentle attaboy on the cheek and chest.  

Time thought that Larsen had come a long way, and and all of us were happy with the day.  

 

Pheasant hunt

It felt like a hunt as Larsen tracked a rooster pheasant.  It was a plant, to be sure, but that tough bird got up and started running and didn't look back.  I quartered Larsen, but pretty soon decided to just pocket my whistle.  What was the point?  That's when the hunt began.  The little dog scented the bird and started after the bird and never let up.  We didn't need whistles or commands to get his attention or keep him in range.  The rooster and Larsen's response took care of that.  This was a field-smart dog and a wily pheasant.  There were no straight lines on this hunt.  Larsen pivoted on his nose, wheeled about, and moved across and deep into the  field.  Bill T. and Al were flanking with the guns, and we lost ourselves in this hunt.

Along the way, Larsen found a downed chukar and started to bring it in, and then got a full whiff of pheasant.  He started toward that scent, chukar in mouth.  I called him in, and Marilyn B, following closely behind, told me to take the bird and immediately release Larsen to the hunt.  On we went.

Larsen corralled the bird in some tall stuff just before the bluffs of the Tallapoosa.  The bird went up hard and Bill brought it down.  Deep in the blind, Larsen couldn't mark the bird.  He got his reward for his hard work as Marilyn gave him a toss into that blind.  

There was fun talk on the long walk back.  We had been caught up in the quick strategic moves of bird and dog.  It was a fine effort all around and made the day worth it.

More on Larsen's day later.

Best wishes to Humpers

Humphrey (Celtic's Always Have Paris JH SH MH) tore his ACL and is undergoing surgery today.  Best wishes to Cathy and Humphrey.  May there be many more falls afield for Humphrey.

New mistakes

I'm tired of making the same old mistakes with Larsen.

On our run last Sunday, Larsen self-hunted and was definitely un-steady.  On one flush of a big rooster, he followed just behind those enticing tail feathers.  Al shot the bird, and Larsen retrieved.

On another, Larsen sat, but only after I read to him from the book.

This marks at least the third Sunday in a row of doing the same thing and getting the same results.  Larsen is not ready for free-range hunting.  He's simply not steady.  I need to back up a step to the drill and the roll-in.  I'll move to a full hunting environment when he gets in closer to me and starts to obey that sit whistle.

I'll make more mistakes.  I'm not fooling myself about that.  But I want the mistakes to be different and show a zig zag forwardward.  Not just treading the same old ground.  Progress will come in fits and starts, built on small successes.  Larsen and I will go back to success and then move forward.

A sunscreen over the dog crate is essential during the summer, and it is useful year round.  The screen keeps the dog cooler and it also blocks the action on the field and thereby reduces the plaintive whining of a dog that thinks the whole is stacked against him if some other dog is in the field.  

I've got sun screens from Gothic Arch Greenhouse in Mobile, AL, which provides greenhouses and accessories to the gardening set.  

The suncreen  is called "Aluminet" and it comes with many options.  

I have two of and each is 7' x 10'.  It seems standard width is 13', so I'm not sure why I didn't just go with the standard. (maybe it was cut for the binding, I don't remember).  You can get other standard and non-standard sizes.  Mine is 70% sun blocking, and that seems to work for me.  I also have the binding or taping with grommets.  

I got a couple of stuff sacks from Amazon.  At day's end, I fold and roll up the screens and stuff them into the stuff sacks.  You can get nylon stuff sacks from WalMart as well.  

My order for 2 of the 7x10 screens was $89 all in and they have held up for several years now despite looking very delicate.