it was just another day.
March has not been particularly pleasant. However, we've only missed two days. Today will probably be the third.
Tuesday, with the exception of a brief shower around 11:30 am, Taffey, Kooly, Daisy and Gunny had a decent day to train. We started at the Square Pond DTA. All four aired and warmed up with a short session of Walking Baseball. Gunny went first so that he could have a break before moving over to the bean field and continue with the next step in his Four Phase Drills (faux gunners).
After Gunny ran his Four Phase twice, the "gang of four" each ran a Zig-Zag drill. The three older dogs "played" with nine bumpers while Gunny did a seven bumper "wedge". Just as Gunny finished, it started raining....again. Flood warnings are all over around here.
Went home and the dogs stayed in the van while I had a late lunch. At last, the radar said things were a "go"....so we took a short trip to the Industrial DTA. A Renegade drill was setup (angle backs). This is the first time they've run it. With a few modifications, at lot was accomplished.
The last session on the list was to run marks for Gunny. So off to the Macktown DTA we went. Eight walking singles in heavy cover ended another day of training....alone. I can't imagine doing a day like this in a group setting......not enough time.
Here's a photo of the Four Phase drill setup. Normally this is run at 100 yards in factorless terrain. However, it seems with each new pup winter delays it some. By spring the pups have a lot more experience and can handle the terrain. This past season Gunny went duck hunting on the Mississippi, field hunting for geese, worked two "euro" shoots and took a trip to SD for pheasants. Gunny is 21 months old and will run his very first hunt test this spring.
The drill is "plugged" into a known pattern blind of 125 yards which makes this part seamless. Gunny had lined it a couple of times on five different days since March 1st. Today, I "stuck" the four stickmen in where the wingers will be placed. Gunny lined it four times (fast) without any reaction to the stickmen (no suction or flaring). He has run many marks in stickmen setups....so he's use to them.
Dang, this morning the wind chill is 1 °F. This is definitely a "slacker" day.
"Four Phase Drill (early stages)"
March has not been particularly pleasant. However, we've only missed two days. Today will probably be the third.
Tuesday, with the exception of a brief shower around 11:30 am, Taffey, Kooly, Daisy and Gunny had a decent day to train. We started at the Square Pond DTA. All four aired and warmed up with a short session of Walking Baseball. Gunny went first so that he could have a break before moving over to the bean field and continue with the next step in his Four Phase Drills (faux gunners).
After Gunny ran his Four Phase twice, the "gang of four" each ran a Zig-Zag drill. The three older dogs "played" with nine bumpers while Gunny did a seven bumper "wedge". Just as Gunny finished, it started raining....again. Flood warnings are all over around here.
Went home and the dogs stayed in the van while I had a late lunch. At last, the radar said things were a "go"....so we took a short trip to the Industrial DTA. A Renegade drill was setup (angle backs). This is the first time they've run it. With a few modifications, at lot was accomplished.
The last session on the list was to run marks for Gunny. So off to the Macktown DTA we went. Eight walking singles in heavy cover ended another day of training....alone. I can't imagine doing a day like this in a group setting......not enough time.
Here's a photo of the Four Phase drill setup. Normally this is run at 100 yards in factorless terrain. However, it seems with each new pup winter delays it some. By spring the pups have a lot more experience and can handle the terrain. This past season Gunny went duck hunting on the Mississippi, field hunting for geese, worked two "euro" shoots and took a trip to SD for pheasants. Gunny is 21 months old and will run his very first hunt test this spring.
The drill is "plugged" into a known pattern blind of 125 yards which makes this part seamless. Gunny had lined it a couple of times on five different days since March 1st. Today, I "stuck" the four stickmen in where the wingers will be placed. Gunny lined it four times (fast) without any reaction to the stickmen (no suction or flaring). He has run many marks in stickmen setups....so he's use to them.
Dang, this morning the wind chill is 1 °F. This is definitely a "slacker" day.
"Four Phase Drill (early stages)"