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Blinds w/ birds vs. Blinds w/ Bumpers

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Dman 
#1 ·
Well it's Monday and Hudson passes his first Seasoned Test on Saturday and Sunday. He passed both days which I am really excited about, but I did see something that I need to work on.

In all of my blind work w/ him thus far, (I run Seasoned and Finished level blinds in training) I have used bumpers. I did not think about the affect this might have. He has been through swim-by and all that and handles great. But what I noticed at the test was that when I get him close to the blind (about a 10-20 ft. radius) he smells it and is way more likely to slip the whistle. part of this may be my fault b/c on two of the blinds I whistled for him to sit when he obviously smelled it and would have gone to it. So I am going to start training w/ birds at the blind pole and doing sit nick sit if he does refuses the whistle in the vicinity of the blind. Is this a pretty common thing?

Also, what is the thought process of judges on this? For example if the dog takes 3-4 casts to get the area of the blind and is running off line by say 15 ft. and the handler just lets the dog wind it and go over and pick it up, is that ok? I think I may be trying to handle the dog too perfectly to the blind, I.E making him step on it. How much room for hunting at the Finished level is there? I don't want to eliminate his hunting instinct, I mean when we are duck hunting there is no blind pole and he may know better than I do where the duck is when he gets in the area. So could I get some input on how to handle a dog around the blind, say in a 20-25 ft area?

Thanks.

I am very happy to get the Seasoned passes and only need one more for the title but I want to make sure I am training for the next level!
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Finished is much more strict on control. And a 15' hunt 'em up will probably get you failed, or at least marked down. It's time to tighten up your blind work, including not allowing him to slip a whistle. You have the right idea on the sit-nick-sit if the dog doesn't sit when you blow the whistle. Remember, blind work is all about control. Also the judges in Finished want to see you keep the dog as tight to the line to the blind as possible. They also want to see you handle the dog all the way to the bird, not just to the vicinity. Hope this helps.
 
#3 ·
A nice drill for this is to run him on a double T using dead birds or clipwings instead of bumpers. Just before he gets to the bird, stop him and cast him to a different bird. Cast him all around the double T and never let him pick up a bird unless you say it's ok.

Work up to this by gradually sitting him closer and closer to the bird before you cast him off. Make sure some of the birds end up up-wind.
 
#4 ·
But what I noticed at the test was that when I get him close to the blind (about a 10-20 ft. radius) he smells it and is way more likely to slip the whistle. part of this may be my fault b/c on two of the blinds I whistled for him to sit when he obviously smelled it and would have gone to it.......
Also, what is the thought process of judges on this? For example if the dog takes 3-4 casts to get the area of the blind and is running off line by say 15 ft. and the handler just lets the dog wind it and go over and pick it up, is that ok?
Thanks.

In the hunt test middle level, when I am sitting in the chair. Well it would have to be a NAHRA Field test but I am quite sure the distance is the same. NAHRA middle level water blind (Intermediate we call it) is 50 yards maximum. When I am sitting there looking intently at the north end of a south bound dog. And I see that the dog was identified the blind location ether by winding or sometimes actually seeing it. And you can tell, you know when the dog knows that it now knows where the bird is. Anyway when I see that and the dog is 10-15 feet away, the very first thing that goes through my mind is "I hope this idiot doesn't blow the whistle." Because if you are as you say in your example 10 feet from the bird and you hit that whistle and this is a middle level hunt test. Wellllllllllllll a high percentage of the dogs entered will ignore that whistle and I will have to mark something on your page. Something more than the curved line you already have. Because 50 yards is admittedly short and 15 to 20 feet off line is outside my fingers. Your already hurting, don't add a few whistle refusals to your page. That's what I think about that.
Ken Bora
ps- this is not training advice, this is your butt at the line at a test advice.
pps- somebody here has a great signature line, or used to. It is/was, "Just because you didn't blow your whistle doesn't mean you lined the blind." So challenge the line to the blind from the very beginning. Try very hard to not let the dog be so far off line. But once you know your dog was winded it let it go. No need for a pissing match in front of the gallery and judges with your $75 on the line.
 
#5 ·
also, in training. after all the appropriate drill work cold blinds are with birds. Not for my first dog but I have observed and adapted and with my most newest dog it is all he has even had. when we line up and say "dead bird" it has always been a dead bird. he likes that and is very enthusiastic. don't you hate the dogs that almost seem to sulk as the handlers line them up for a blind retrieve?
and I forgot to say congratulations on your passes, very good job
Ken Bora
 
#6 ·
I think you should tighten up your control like others have said. There are basically two things that are important to keep in mind when running blinds in a hunt test and they are challenge the blind and finish the blind. A lot of dogs and their handlers get in trouble on the last 10-15 yrds of the blind, loose control, and fail the blind. You must maintain control all the way. Congratulations on your passes!!!
Make sense?
 
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