I don’t think we’re going to have a problem with retrieving from water … “as long as you come with me, Dad!”
Veeka. 11 weeks old.
Proof that having a good scratch is much more important than the silly recall whistle!
Telling a dog what NOT to do ….
Improving retrieving accuracy using the “No!” command.
Celery stick vs Mars bar.
All is explained in the audio track accompanying this video 😅
Daisy has just completed her last day picking up on a driven shoot.
Aged 12, after 10 years of picking up, the star of 110 gundog demonstrations country- wide and a bedegezillion retrieves under her belt, this was her last ever retrieve on a driven shoot before she starts her well-earned retirement.
She’ll still come out training and rough shooting, but today was the end of an era. Things will never be the same again.
What a wonderful, sweet-tempered, gentle, kind and fantastic dog she has been.
Time now for her to lie on the sofa in front of the fire and dream about all of her special moments in a glittering career.
Thank you Daisy Moo from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
I recently posted a video of a young lad heeling an adult male lab with confidence.
I thought I might even up the balance by posting a video of a more mature owner. The “before” video doesn’t look too bad. But this very lively & boisterous 9 month old male lab, Tucker, was on a double lead and nose halter and had recently pulled his owner over causing injury.
Such was the owner’s anxiety at being pulled over again, Tucker now had to be walked by the owner’s daughter.
Seeing someone re-bond and renew confidence in their dog is always a joy to witness!
An 11 year old heeling a headstrong, “pulls like a train”, 28 kg male lab after 10 minutes coaching. Brilliant work! Always lovely to involve children in training. P.S. His mother allowed me to post this video.
With his Mother’s written permission, I post this video of an 11 year old young man teaching an 18 month old, 28kg, male labrador to walk beautifully on the lead.
This dog had been described as:
“headstrong, pulls on the lead, has an abundant energy and of late, he has been running off during our daily walks which we find frustrating, not to mention, a nuisance to wildlife in the area. We would also like to learn ways in which we can teach him an effective recall”
After one lesson, both the adults and children can walk and recall the dog with confidence and without fear of being pulled over.
Where possible, I like to involve all members of a family in handling a dog. I find that children, who can inadvertently encourage a dog to engage in undesirable behaviours through unstructured play, are always enthralled to be part of the training process - and make really good trainers!
Aside from enthusing and giving the children confidence, by involving all family members we can avoid the “one man one dog” mentality and remind the dog of their status in the pack - below that of all the humans, regardless of age.
Brilliant work, young man!!!!
The staples are out, the wound has healed and the vet has passed Choo fit to resume working again. This was her first retrieve in nearly 3 weeks.
I chose a 140m blind retrieve of cold game with clingy, long grass and a small pond for her to negotiate. She went ok but has clearly lost some conditioning ……
Back to picking up on Saturday. I’ll take it easy with her until she has regained full fitness.
Apologies for the wind noise on the video. It’s been really blowy here - loads of trees down on the Plain.
With Choo still recovering from her injuries, it was left to the golden girls to pick up the slack.
As the video demonstrates, they don’t need me at all! Done it, been there, got the dog coat!
Still trying to work out the significance (if any) of furious tail wagging and none at all 😅
Daisy Moo, at 12 years of age, still has the heart for it, just not the body any more. It now takes longer and she can only do it once before she needs a rest.
Bit like her owner ….
I’m normally sceptical about potions for dogs that promise to improve moods etc ……….
Tilly has always been an anxious girl. 2 months ago, I agreed to try something from Protexin. Since then, she has been a much happier dog both at home and when out training.
Of course, this may be a coincidence and the transformation in her could be down to other factors. All I know is that the change in her has coincided with taking this medication.
Here’s a video of her undertaking the longest retrieve she has done. Previously, this would have overfaced her completely. She would have stopped, looked for reassurance or just shut down. But now ………
I’m just so happy that she is now a more contented little girl ❤️
Blind Man’s Buff!
A blindfolded Tilly having to rely on my voice to relocate me 😅
Collecting wounded birds is a priority when picking up in order to prevent unnecessary suffering. On most shoots, collecting a wounded bird is the only occasion when you should send your dog whilst a drive is still in progress, providing it’s safe to do so.
Could there be a link between tail wagging (i.e. excitement / happiness) and levels of focus? Only when I watched this video back did I notice a potential link ….
The girls, when out picking up & sat nicely waiting for a retrieve, had different rates of tail wagging: Daisy was fast, Choo was slow & Tilly had none.
And then, when a bird flew over their heads, I noticed different levels of focus on the bird: Daisy was short duration, Choo was medium & Tilly was long.
I just wondered if the 2 behaviours could be linked? Tilly is certainly best at remembering the exact locations of fallen birds.
Or perhaps I just need to get out more! 😅
Choo had an off day yesterday, swapping runners like a novice 🙈🙈🙈. Uncharacteristic and embarrassing.
But Tilly played a blinder. She was steady, fast and the most observant of all the dogs.
Here, she marks a running bird that I had missed. I know when this happens, as she always turns to me as if to say “Dad, I’ve marked a runner, let me go!” I trust her and send her.
My trust in her is never misplaced.
Now back to reprogramming the little black monster ….. 😅
Tilly on a running partridge, fending off a marauding spaniel !!
When I took Tilly for a session with Graham Slater earlier this year at Hectorkirk Gundogs, he said of her “That dog could pick nits off the moon!” in his inimitable style.
I asked his wife, Heather, what he had meant by that. Her reply was “Don’t worry, it’s a compliment“.
I still didn’t really understand what had been meant, but now I think I do.
The other day, I posted a video of Choo trying to hunt and “hold” an area. I said that she still needed to slow down, get her nose down and really start hunting properly.
Today, I set up the same scenario for Tilly, the most anxious of my labs. When I asked her to hunt, the contrast between her and Choo was huge. Tilly takes her time, gets her head right down and hunts thoroughly and methodically. It may not look as flashy but it’s certainly more effective.
These 2 videos show the different approaches by Choo and then Tilly.
And now I know what “picking nits off the moon” really means!
