First birds

We started practice at 7:00 am CDT so that we could protect the dogs from the day's heat. Venee G. showed up with her Clumber Natasha and cocker Whisper. Cathy had Zelda and Humphrey and I had Larsen.

Larsen took big bites of the field in his first turn.  He seemed to be running off a week's worth of inaction. I hadn't taken him to the lake or to the mountains on Saturday, and so on Sunday he was ready to roll. His responses to the whistle were not crisp.

Venee suggested some corrections.

She showed me that if he fails to respond immediately to a pip, you gather in the dog, grab him under his chin by his collar, and pop him toward you while pipping "here". Or, you turn him by his collar as you pip "turn". The hold under the collar is important because that puts your eyes and his eyes on the same plane and he knows he is getting a correction. There is no room for temper or meanness here, especially with a spaniel. Just a firm pip & pop so that he knows exactly what he needs to do and he acknowledges it by looking you in the eye.

Larsen's turns improved, and we kept him close in.  The boy knows how to hunt, so we are working on control.

On occasion, I would pip Larsen to a sit in the field.  He was remarkably responsive.

Venee showed me how to congratulate him on a good crisp sit when pipped to a halt from quartering.  She said that when I pip him to a sit, I might walk gently up to him, pat him on the chest, tell him he's a good boy, and them send him off from that spot. Her thinking is that you get the dog to hup, and you let him stay right where he is and you move to him to give him some love. No sense overdoing it. Just look for that acknowledgment lick or swallow.

On Larsen's second turn, Venee handled a clip-wing pigeon.  These were the first live birds that Larsen has seen since we started steadying him.  The setup was Larsen-Frank-bird, so that while he headed toward me, Venee would toss the flutting bird, and I was in a position between dog and bird to pip Larsen to a halt, or grab him if he sailed by.

Larsen came to nice sits on those.  Venee tested him on a clip-wing toss when Larsen was past me and heading toward the sideline, so the setup was Frank-Larsen-bird, with Larsen heading away from me and toward the bird.  Venee tossed the bird away from Larsen and in his direction of pursuit.  Larsen sat before I really gave the whistle.  Good boy.

This is a very big step forward, since it indicates that he is starting to understand that he sits to bird.

Next step, more of the same, and then start steadying him to the gun.

Larsen's retrieves need more work as he sets the bird down a few feet from me.  Senior distance maybe, but not master "to hand".  I will have to get back to the table and to Joe's gentle force fetch.