A Plumsās retrieve! I wanted to keep the original audio as a learning opportunity.
Iām getting low and encouraging the little man the whole way through the retrieve from the moment he grabs to the out.
Notice my pacing of the commands. Iām excited and throwing commands out left and right. š
not the end of the world as he does execute the commands, just at his pace.
Lastly, pay attention to Nisha during Plumsās retrieve. She isnāt taking/possessing the bird from him. She isnāt demanding my attention or running off in the distance. I canāt emphasize this enough, if you run multiple dogs in the field or know you will be hunting with other peopleās dogs-take time to train your dogs around each other outside of a downed bird situation. Throw some bumpers, do some denials, and send one dog at a time for a retrieve.
One of my FAVORITE drills for retrieve!
I love this little game of teaching the dog to pull into the back tie to put their face in my hand.
1. Gets a dog comfortable with pulling into the back tie outside of retrieve or bite work context.
2. Helps foster motivation for reaching.
3. Gets a dog more comfortable with their face being manipulated/touched for when you have to bring your hands in over or under the dogās mouth for when you increase the criteria.
4. Fosters a culture of the dog has to bring the activity to move the game forward and not the handler.
5. Helps me know when to reward for a settled mouth/grip
6. I can later put it on que so I can check ears/eyes/mouth for any foreign bodies. Plus makes wiping them eye boogies a lot easier š
Fit check! Plums got a new skid plate, so I always recommend testing out your gear before taking it into the field. You donāt buy a brand new pair of boots and take them out of the box at the hunting field. You wear them bad boys around the house and break em in!
Things I keep in mind when I test out new gear for the dogs:
1. Indirect socializing and training of the gear beforehand (donāt be slapping specs or plates on and expecting a good hunt if theyāve never had any exposure before)
2. The fit (adjust the sizing before reaching the hunting field. Should be ready to go beforehand and need no major adjustments)
3. Looking for any rubbing or chafing especially in the armpits when wearing skid plates (can lead to skin infections/issues)
4. I like to exercise the dogs while they test their gear to help simulate the running/environment of hunting this way I can see if the fit is proper, I see what they act like in their gear, and observe any behavior changes (check specs staying in place, look for any breathing restrictions with the skid plate, and watch their movements)
5. I get a lot of questions on booties. I personally donāt use booties for my dogs, but have used mushers secret and have bandage wraps in the first aid kit if need be.
Working dogs out in Montana! šļø
Iāve heard and read it before, ānever play tug of war with your retrieving dog.ā To that I say define the behavior. Here is Nisha playing with a ball and then holding a bumper on que, with motivation, calmly, and with no chewing.
Also, Nisha won the who did it best post by a landslide! š
Mr. Plums and I enjoying a serene Montana sunrise. Watch till the end to see what he thinks about it.
When introducing water to a younger dog be sure to get out there and have some fun with them! āļø
Honored to have an opportunity to be back in MT and working with @dirtybandanaworkingdogs Club! Nisha and I had a lot of fun teaching some newer decoys about the importance of misses, drive channeling, and about the ooos and aaas! Lots of smiles all around and excited to be back at it next weekend!
Check out this video of baby Plums! Watch him hit that scent cone and listen to some sniffin! š½
In this video I planted a pheasant wing and some kibble in the tall grass and let it sit for about 5-10 mins. As a puppy he ate the majority of meals through training or having to hunt for it! I didnāt que him at all to start hunting, I was simply just taking him for a stroll on by and he bettered his own situation by relying on his nose/self discovery of the pheasant scent. I also wanted to make sure that being in tall grass has lots of value! I drop kibble on the wing so it spreads around and in the grass so he has to scent harder for the little kibble bits. This is a drill not just for puppies, I still implement drills like this with my dogs to this day to make sure they arenāt just relying on dad to show them where the pheasants are. I even try to have others plant the wings out there so I have no idea where it is and it keeps them fresh in the off seasons.
