Seven-year-old puppy

A man in a homburg politely stepped aside to let me pass with my wheeled suitcase.  The man's small dog stepped aside with him as my suitcase popped over the seams and cracks of the sidewalk.  I walked by and I caught the dog's quick glance up toward the face of the man, who was preoccupied with his thoughts for the day.  It was a quick glance.  Looking for assurance.  The wheeled suitcase might have been vaguely threatening to the dog, who was thus comforted by the total indifference of his master to the contraption.

There was a time when Larsen would have sought the same quick reassurance perhaps for a wheelie suitcase bouncing over an uneven sidewalk.  Not long ago, it seems, he shied from a snowman and would not walk past, until finally he worked up the courage to sniff it and then pee on it.

Today, Larsen would be as indifferent to the snowman as the man in the hat was to my suitcase.

However, here and there puppyhood shows itself.  After dinner, Larsen will pull out the most obnoxious of his squeak toys to gain anyone's attention .  He will bring a shoe from the closet and drop it with a thump to demonstrate how bad he has suddenly become.  Once such behavior has been demonstrated, I'm obligated to drop to the floor and lead him on a merry chase through the house, grabbing at him as he growls and bites me and as we torment one another in joyous play.

Happy birthday to a seven-year-old pup as he tries to instigate evening mahem.

Genuine steady

Maybe it's been my time running Zelda or maybe it is something inside Larsen himself, but there is a genuine connection in our outings.  This connection was electric today when Larsen was steady - - sitting, no less - - to two birds at Tim's.

Tim's plan was as follows:

First, we quartered Larsen on an empty field.  The field turned out to be not empty after all, as two of Tim's pigeons landed and strutted about.  Larsen got wound up as he got closer to the birds, but we continued to quarter.  The birds flushed themselves, so we heeled Larsen off the field.

This led to step two.  Larsen was put onto the place board and we walked around him.  A radio played in the background, and kenneled dogs whined.  The effect was to disturb tranquility.  Tim shot his starter pistol and, on occasion, tossed a pigeon into the mix.  Larsen was interested and eager, but ultimately settled down.  That was important, Tim said.

Now for step three.  I kenneled Larsen in the car.  Tim and I visited with Tim's little boy, Carsen, and we let Larsen cogitate on everything that had occurred.  Tim said that spaniels are thinking dogs and that Larsen would consider the events of the day.

Finally: step four.  Tim put out a bird and I quartered Larsen.  The wind was at our back, so Larsen found the bird coming in to me, not far off.  Tim shot and missed and I pipped the dog in.

On the second bird, Larsen flushed the bird and sat, as he had done on the first.  I kept my eye on Larsen and Tim shot the bird, which came down a good 40 yards off.  Larsen lost sight of the bird, so we enjoyed a hunt-dead.

This was an outing with two genuine sits-to-wing-and-shot, a hunt dead, and a successful retrieve.  This is real progress.

Yes and No

Zelda and I had good success at the ESS Hunt Test in Bowman, Georgia, but not so at the Bokin Spaniel Test this past weekend in Batesville, SC.

We hunted a thorny, close area on Saturday at the Boykin test.  The field provided a good test of a clumber spaniel's steady, nose-oriented hunting style.  Zelda was steady to her birds, but had the misfortune to flush a sucker bird - - a 20-foot flier that landed on a line between me and the dog.  As Zelda sat, I hesitated to send her for the bird or even call her back because I did not want to be flunked due to "encouragement."   In the few seconds this goes through your head, Zelda resolved the condition by pouncing after the bird.  The bird flushed, Zelda sat, and then was sent for a nice retrieve.  After deliberation the judges determined that the self-dismissal was a break.

On Sunday, Zelda flushed three birds that flew in directions that precluded a shot.  She was steady on each and was passed on her land effort.  We did not fair well on the water blind, which was set at a very obtuse angle of about 140 degrees.  This primed the dog for bank-running.  Worse still, was that a bucket of birds was positioned on the bank (180 degrees) about 20 yards from the dog.  Confused, Zelda entered the water but would come ashore.  She finally ambled to the bird bucket and fetched a bird for me.  Amusing, but not what was wanted, so we were dismissed.

At both the Boykin test and the prior-week's ESS test, Zelda hunted with me.  Coming around to my whistles and hand signals.  A genuine hunting experience.  My improved skills are reducing the volume of bees buzzing about my head as I manage the dog in the field.  I am now eager to try my improving capabilities on Larsen, and hope to have him in the field this coming weekend.

Practice notes

Last Sunday, I had Larsen on the long cord.  I successfully sat him to the flush and shot.  His second bird was a nick, and I mistakenly sent him for a dead bird instead of walking up and hunting it.  The generally unharmed bird took flight and Larsen broke.  I can get a steady only in extremely controlled circumstances.  Still, it is a start.

Larsen and I later went to work on water, and while I was there I tossed the bird and pipped him to sit.  He enjoyed that game and on a turn or two sat before the whistle.

Meanwhile, my efforts with Zelda were a little clumsy.  She self-hunted for a while and I had to pull her in (using the whistle) and recast her a few times.  However, both Tim and Cathy have remarked that my own efforts with both Zelda and Larsen are looking better.  Quieter and more authoritative.  That is a tribute to working with an exceptional dog and being able to focus on one's own actions.

Percolator

Someone asked me about a percolator.  I know that some campers still use them, but that's about all I know about them anymore.

I recall having bought a Revere Ware percolator for my college apartment and thinking it was just the best.  I visited home some time later and saw that my own mom had bought this new-fangled contraption called a Mr. Coffee.  It was years before I got a Mr. Coffee of my own.

I wonder if percolator coffee would taste any good today?

Graham

Tricket comforts his pop, Graham.  

Winter's last blow

This is about the time for winter's last blow of the season.  Here's hoping that it does not flatten the grass in the fields.

Valentine's day

Training ideas

Larsen broke at the flush on his first real bird.  Ultimately Tim and I reset the field and I whistled Larsen to a sit in a nicely choreographed setting:

• The bird flushed over my head
• Larsen was only a few feet from me and looking into my eyes as I whistled
• He sat.  Tim swung and hit the bird as it disappeared into the treeline.

We hunted and recovered the quail in the tree line, as Larsen nosed out the creature.  Tim gave me the following thoughts on our field training:

1. When on long lead, get Larsen patterning.  Keep him close but don't honk on the whistle.  Quiet commands.  If he is not paying attention, page him with the e-collar.
2. Hit the sit whistle a few times to be sure he's in control. 
3. While he is patterning, toss a few deads and have him sit.
4. Pick the deads up myself.
5. On occassion, put down a clip or an actual bird when you pick up the dead.
6. Re-quarter Larsen, and let him flush up the bird.  Make sure the long lead is tight in hand.

Tim thought that this would be more useful than the simple drill.  Tim also thought that it was important to go back to the beginning with Larsen, insofar as he seems to have forgotten or otherwise chosen to ignore what he knows about steady.  

Live practice

Aki's trips around the ring netted her a couple of best-of-breed ribbons in a field of a single, champion dog.  The real benefit of this competition is the invitation to go into the sporting dog "group" ring.  Thus, for a single payment, Aki and Larsen get two trips around the ring in live action.  Larsen loops the ring with aplomb, and Aki gains the practice.

Aki shows off Larsen's best-of-breed ribbon at the Cherokee Rose dog show in Jonesboro, Ga.

The blondes are back in town

These golden retrievers, Conelly and Aubrey, born a few days apart but of separate litters, and still puppies, really, came by for a visit during the latter part of January and lifted everyone's hearts during a trying time in the Welsh Springer Spaniel world.

Retriever v Springer training program

I would say the progress and steps are a lot the same.  

Same Obedience

• Sit
• Stay
• Come

Same on Retrieving

• Hold
• Quick delivery
• Marking

• Handling
• Lining drills
• Blind retrieves

The difference is probably the Distance of the Marks and Blinds and The number of repetitions in a drill

You still need the foundational steps to build on.   For Retriever events, you really need to teach a dog to stay on a straight line even when doing water across the edge of a pond or slough.  Spaniels, not so much.

Dogs will naturally try to use the wind to their advantage when questing for game.  so you just teach them to turn with the whistle in order to not miss ground.   This is not as noticeable in the thickets but more easily seen in the open fields. 

h/t/ SpringerDude

AmSpan 2014

American Spaniel Club is the oldest flushing spaniel club in the U.S.  

Aki took Larsen around the ring.  Team Larsen did pretty well, finishing non-last ( 3^rd of 4) in the Hunting Dog class (i.e., dogs that have earned at least one hunting title) for WSSs. 

Larsen earned a compliment. The judge said he was in good condition.  Aki said that she used a lot of conditioner on him, and the judge said, no I mean he is rock solid.  These judges feel a lot of dogs and so that is a nice compliment, indeed.

Dog and handler float around the ring.

Aki and Larsen enjoy one another and the event.

The big freeze

Temperatures are in double-digit negative numbers in Chicago.  Frozen switches have delayed the Metra trains, and the wheels of the El trains seem to be stuck to the tracks as well.

The freeze has its beautiful side.

But the freeze is also producing headaches like black ice, which appears to be responsible for this broken pedestal at the Davis Street parking deck in Evanston, IL.

Appalachee Plantation

Our WSSCA Hunt Test last November used the chukars from Appalachee Plantation.  The birds were strong flyers.  Few were trapped.  It took a hard hit to bring them down.    The birds were delivered on time and in usable crates.  Todd Howell of AP allowed us to keep the crates for a few weeks until we were able to swing by the storage area again to fetch them and return them.

Back update

Larsen's back seems much better.  He ran with vigor on the beach.  His deer chase brought no aftereffects, other than a coat filled with burrs.  I'll take him out this Sunday to see how he responds on the field.  He will have an appointment after January 9 for an additional round of acupuncture.

Wired-up dog.

This looks like Frankenstein!

Larsen would rather be at the beach.  

Christmas past

Some scenes from Christmas as we file the year into history.

Aki places her jello salad onto a silver platter for her annual Christmas brunch with her friends.

A refreshing salad.

A business card holder with Larsen's likeness is a thoughtful gift from a colleague.

Some R&R during the Christmas season.

Steadying tips

You can also hand toss the birds when you want a flyer and teach the dog to stop when it sees the bird.  You can also tape wing the flyer when the dog becomes reliable at stopping when the bird is thrown, then you can send the dog for the retrieve.  If the dog is easy on the bird, you can recycle this bird over a period of time.  

When you are tossing the flyer, the dog will not quarter well because it knows that you have the birds and you are going to toss them.  That is OK.   Don't fuss at the dog to get it to quarter.  You are teaching it to watch you and stop on a flyer.  No need to confuse the dog with trying to teach several things at once.    As the dog learns this routine, you can plant a couple taped winged birds in the field for the dog to find and not toss a flyer.  You can use the taped wing birds to help teach the quartering pattern and keep the flush hard, and then mix in a hand tossed flyer for a steady opportunity.  

I feel that if I have the birds and the control of when the dog finds or sees one, then I stay the focus of their attention and they think I really do provide all of their "fun".    When they think they can go find their own "fun", the control power starts to change a little.  They will figure things out soon enough when you start hunting wild birds. 

Lots of ways to get to the end result. 

Thanks, and HT to SpringerDude

Deer chase

Right away I knew something was wrong.

Larsen went to the right and then to the left of the boardwalk that led from the condo to the beach.  He was tracking deer, and I knew that I was not in his mind in the least.  I hit the whistle once, but that only confirmed what was obvious to both of us.

The dog disappeared deep within the tangled laurel.  I walked to the end of the boardwalk and looked west in time to see a whitetail spring from the dune and onto the beach, heading east and straight toward the boardwalk.

If I'd been a smarter cowboy, I could have swung onto the back of that deer as it thundered by and rode that critter out of town three steps ahead of the posse.  Hot behind the deer came that stupid dog, busting out of the sedge and sea oats and  stretched flat out belly to the ground, eyes crazed with a jackpot-gleam of excitement, joy, and greed.  I jumped in front of Larsen and yelled at him to stop in a most insipid attempt to end the chase.

The deer turned from the beach into the dunes, with the dog behind him, keening.  Both broke into the sea oats and deeper into the spear-like spanish bayonett, weeping yucca, and the laurel where it is always dark even on a sunny day.

Running behind the two was a foolish exercise, though I did it anyway.  How could I catch those animals?  I could follow their tracks only by carefully picking my way through the undergrowth that they had burst through and during that time deer and dog could run the length of the island.  I found my way to a couple of vantage points but of course saw nothing.  I walked toward the condo to get some rain pants, figuring I was in for a day of island combing in the now-driving rain.

On my way I saw at the end of that trail, on the road, the deer.  Standing still and  with its head lowered.  I whistled.  Not for the deer, but figuring that the dog could not be far behind.  That was true!  Larsen came trotting up from the road and onto the pathway, sides heaving and tongue dragging.