Hooray for adult teeth.

MLBob Furia

MLBob Furia

Well-known member
Puppy teeth are gone and Scooter is past all that soreness.

Back to regular retrieving sessions just as we have the promise of some less humid conditions.

Back to singles, but starting to lengthen them out by using heavier charges in the launcher pistol. Judging by the way she marks, it looks like this little one has terrific eyesight & depth perception.

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My biggest problem is reminding myself not to overdo the marks at this stage. I really look forward to the time spent working with this pup!

Shout out to the DNR for really making the effort to keep this dog training area maintained. They even did some clearing followed by re-seeding of grasses back a few months ago to maximize conditions in the fields they've set aside for training. Kudos to Bill Cosgrove a local Springer pro for working closely with the area manager to provide input that has benefited everyone who uses the area.
 
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Looking good Bob! She looks to be steadying up very well (at least she isn't yanking your arm in that "after launch" pose). It's getting close now.
 
Scooter is looking great, Bob. You said something that I sure agree with when training dogs. Here it is; "My biggest problem is reminding myself not to overdo the marks at this stage." It does make a difference.
Al
 
Bob - glad to hear those "needle teeth" are gone. That's some pretty good pain those pups put up with. It looks like you two are well on your way to making a great hunting team. I'm glad to see you have a nice, designated area to work that pup.


Dave
 
A new lesson today.

Did some "baseball" drills to warm up. Scooter does great on the left & right overs, but has a tough time staying still when the dummy is tossed directly back. Time to back up and do some more yard work to "second base."

Then I launched her 4 single marks along with blowing the call, and just letting her sit calmly by me in between throws.

Finished up by introducing the precursor to building up to the introduction of some pattern-blind work. Let her see me toss a dummy into cover. walked her back about 40 yards, lined her up with the hand motion I want her to associate with taking a line to a blind and then sent her. Did this 3X with great results and ended the session on a positive note. Got to love a smart, happy pup.

Won't be long before I'm packing the traffic cone to set up pattern blinds at the end of each session.


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Looks like Scooter is doing great Bob! I am at pretty much the same stage of training with Cedar, we're working on baseball and early blind stuff too, and "hold" as well. I'm not sure if it's a female thing or a lab thing, but I've had good luck with getting Cedar to not break at the shot or the dummy throw-that's something that I'm grateful for as it was often a struggle with my Chessie.

One of my favorite drills for learning lining is the ladder drill- start in an area with a fence on each side, about 20 yards apart is ideal, and walk your dog in a straight line at heel while you drop about 3-5 bumpers in a line behind you. Go about another 20 yards, turn around, and give the line signal and a retrieve command-they don't have any choice but to run along your line and retrieve the bumpers one at a time, and they will start to pick up on what the line you give them means. I believe this is from a Wolters book but I don't remember for sure.
 
Thanks for the additional lessons. I need a brush up also. Scooter is looking really good, Bob. I just love being able to work with pups that age.

When I saw all that lush grass and just the right height for Scooter to work in, I still think about snakes so an area like that is out of the question. I need to toss bumpers where there is no heavy vegetation. That means around our home and or the driveway.
Al
 
Sounds like a good drill, Cody.

The areas I go to don't have a fence that would work, but the DNR has mowed some strips in the cover that may help in that sort of exercise.

Don't think Scooter will be too difficult to steady, but right now I'm more concerned that she learns to sit quietly by me and pay attention to the fall.
 
Al,

The DNR has done a nice job maintaining that cover.

Glad we don't have to put up with the threat of snakes. Even the ticks have seen to drop off to nothing as we get further into August. Haven't found any on her (or me) in the past few weeks.

Sending them back for a memory bumper or two at the end of a session is always a good one for developing their recall and trust.
 
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