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New Friend for a week
- Thread starter yoderjac
- Start date
yoderjac
Well-Known Member
I did a little work with her this week. I grabbed a couple training dummies and some quail scent from Bass Pro last Thursday. I started with a single dummy in the visible short grass. She was already inclined to fetch. Her owner and the kids would throw toys and sticks for her to fetch, but she wants to play keep-away when she gets back. It did not take long for her to get the idea this is business, not a game. She is dong better coming to me at the end and dropping the dummy. I still have to give her the come command while she is returning.
Next, I started throwing the dummy into the tall weeds you see in the background. I started with a few yards in which let her rely on sight. I then started throwing them deep enough into the tall weeds that she had to start using her nose to find the dummy. At first, she was mostly relying on sight. I began making her wait until she turned her head and lost the visual mark and then sending her. She headed in the right general direction. After I let her search for a bit, I started giving her hand signals. She naturally pick that up pretty well. The would run a few yard in the direction I pointed and then resume the search. She never missed a dummy.
I tried to keep the sessions short and do them when she was energetic. I want her to be excited to do it but not treat it like a game. As soon as she showed any signs of being tired or board, we would stop.
Next I started her on doubles. So far, I just doing visible retrieves. Her tendency is to try to retrieve both simultaneously. He typically first heads to the last one thrown, brings it part way back, drops it, and heads for the second one. The best thin I can think to do is to throw them at nearly 180 degrees putting me in the middle so she has to focus on me after picking up the first. She is starting to get it. She has done a couple perfectly, but she still falls back to trying to retrieve both.
I wonder if I need to start using the tall grass. I wonder if one of the dummies is not visible, she will be less likely to try to retrieve it before finishing with the first. I'm sure she will get it in time, but today is my last day with her. Great Dog!
Next, I started throwing the dummy into the tall weeds you see in the background. I started with a few yards in which let her rely on sight. I then started throwing them deep enough into the tall weeds that she had to start using her nose to find the dummy. At first, she was mostly relying on sight. I began making her wait until she turned her head and lost the visual mark and then sending her. She headed in the right general direction. After I let her search for a bit, I started giving her hand signals. She naturally pick that up pretty well. The would run a few yard in the direction I pointed and then resume the search. She never missed a dummy.
I tried to keep the sessions short and do them when she was energetic. I want her to be excited to do it but not treat it like a game. As soon as she showed any signs of being tired or board, we would stop.
Next I started her on doubles. So far, I just doing visible retrieves. Her tendency is to try to retrieve both simultaneously. He typically first heads to the last one thrown, brings it part way back, drops it, and heads for the second one. The best thin I can think to do is to throw them at nearly 180 degrees putting me in the middle so she has to focus on me after picking up the first. She is starting to get it. She has done a couple perfectly, but she still falls back to trying to retrieve both.
I wonder if I need to start using the tall grass. I wonder if one of the dummies is not visible, she will be less likely to try to retrieve it before finishing with the first. I'm sure she will get it in time, but today is my last day with her. Great Dog!
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