The names of my cohorts will not be revealed so the guilty can be protected. My favorite hunt test occurred at a full test (they had reached the published limit.). Only one of my buddies was able to get in the test. His dog passed Saturday. Saturday night my other industrious friend called the hunt secretary and find there are scratches. So we quickly made plans to meet at 3:00A.M. and drive to the test.
Our day began at a run down gas station where 3 guys and their dogs met. We were confident in our dogs and knew everything worth knowing. So the banter was loud and included a lot of bragging about how our dogs would kill the test my buddy described. The day was a gift because we had escaped the humdrum duties of yard work and honey do’s. What could be better than a day showcasing our fine animal’s skills.
For convenience and to keep everything straight let me assign names to my buddies. M for mentor was the most accomplished of our group. His dogs were already titled but he ran every weekend he could. J for joker was the cut up of our group. He had a very talented dog. N would be my new buddy. His dog was a great marker but had a weakness on blinds. Too many hunt em up blinds in the real world cause a self employed attitude. We were 10 feet tall and bulletproof. Our combined knowledge surpassed anyone we knew and we fully expected to be running field trials soon and winning.
My personality traits made me ideally suited for dog training. I have a bad temper, smart aleck attitude and a full truck load of anal retentive and obsessive compulsive disorder. I am also overly competitive and controlling. Hunt tests seemed to be a perfect hobby.
As we arrived at the grounds the dogs got excited. Me and J became a little worried. Our dogs could mark and run blinds as well as any on the grounds. However in our rush to get these dogs ready we had ignored and glossed over some of the more mundane training. Sit was a suggestion and heel was a reminder to get a little closer. Tail grabbing length was doing pretty well when at heel. Because we had both failed tests because of poor heeling and no sitting dogs our worry turned to angst. We both agreed that we would work on Sit and Heel next week.
J had been working a solution to poor heeling in the last week. He had been using the vibrate function of his collar every time his dog surged ahead at heel. This was followed by a burn until the dogs head was beside his knee. As his Blackberry made a similar buzzing sound, the plan was to put the phone on vibrate & someone would call every time J gave a thumbs up sign. Of course the dog started acting up in the holding blind and the thumbs up sign was flashed. A blood curdling scream issued from the dog and J loudly proclaimed “Sorry I stepped on his tail”. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, J proceeded to the line flashing the thumbs up sign and his dog got progressively farther in front as they approached the line. All was good enough and they made short work of the test after a little creeping and a few reheels.
M ran both of his dogs making the test look easy. His dogs were a little loose at the line and he left muttering something about “fixing this”.
About this time my buddy N shows up. He said the other test was really tough. They threw something called a “poison bird”. A mark was thrown and the dog must pick up the blind before it gets the mark. He asked one of the pros what that was and they politely told him then advised him that he would probably fail this test. N proved the pro right, picking up the poison bird after 4 straight cast refusals.
About this time M tells me that I need to run now because we need to leave the grounds. So Me and my dog Annie get into the running order and are soon sitting in the holding blind. As Annie gets more and more hyped up, J’s trick starts to sound better and better. I once again promise to work on holding blind drills and line manners next week. The words “dog to the line” come ringing out soon enough. As I take off the lead, Annie jumps out of the holding blind. Several heels are required to get her back to me. Now we are off. Annie starts the journey at heel but starts to surge forward. My heel request now has no effect as Annie is locked onto the line like a Patriot missile. My dream of walking calmly at heel with my dog is gone. All that is left is a salvage operation. I simply increase my speed to catch her and we race to the line while trying to make it look like a stroll. Judges confer and tell me that the second series needs to improve.
The test starts with a duck call. Annie creeps as the first bird comes out, a little more with the second and more still with the third. I wait patiently for the words I know are coming. The judges oblige with a “reheel your dog” and it takes several heels to get the dog that has turned into a crouching tiger to a position close enough to be released. Annie made short work of the marks and lined the blind. All that was left was the honor and we were on to the next series. Annie and I had been sitting for British style honors at our group training sessions so that detail went off without a hitch.
Annie and I come off the line and find the truck running. As I load the dog and jump in M tells me “your dog needs a heeling lesson”. Now in full agreement we head off the grounds. Once off the grounds M is making turns like a man on a mission. We arrive at our destination of a harvested grain field. As we exit the truck a hand painted sign is evident on 4x8 sheet of plywood. “No trespassing by order of the Sheriff”. It has the added exclamation point of 3 bullet holes and one well placed shotgun blast dotting the i. I am glad we have permission. So we proceed to work on heeling drills. The dogs are now glued to our sides and have a refreshed memory regarding sit. So we load up and head out. As we are getting in the truck I ask M “who owns this property?”. His reply of “How the hell would I know” is not very reassuring. So with possible pending trespass charges, we head back to run the second series.
Both M and J run the water test and their dogs have improved their line manners. So it is with some confidence that I approach the holding blind. Annie is calmer and doesn’t bolt when she hears “dog to the line”. So we approach the line heeling much better. The marks go off with only minor creeping and my hopes are soaring. All that is between me and a ribbon is 3 marks and a blind. The first two marks are quickly picked up but the Achilles heel in my plan quickly shows up. As Annie returns with the second bird she notices the orange blind pole. Not exactly color blind my dog sees orange and understands very well that birds are cleverly marked by such poles. Annie locks in on the blind pole as she comes back. She turns to the third mark as I say “no here” and locks back in. Tragedy avoided I send Annie. She goes out 30 yards and then makes a left turn to the blind. Two cast refusals and 1 whistle refusal later, Annie picks up the hot blind.
We waited patiently for the ribbon ceremony and both M & J were gracious enough to show me how pretty the ribbons were. M even let me hold his first ribbon while he collected his second. We drove home in good spirits and I was resolved to do a better job training. Through the years I have had as much fun telling about that trip as I did going.
The takeaway from the story is pretty simple. Dogs will provide a healthy dose of humble pie to anyone that professes they are an expert. The neophyte trainers knew way less than we thought and our clever tricks now look like band aids. Those tricks and interseries fixes may work once of twice but always fail in the long haul. Training is a slow process involving lots of repetitions to cement the desired response. I have come full circle. From thinking I knew nothing about dogs to knowing everything to knowing nothing again. In the process I have learned a lot, been carried by some talented dogs and mostly enjoyed the ride.
Our day began at a run down gas station where 3 guys and their dogs met. We were confident in our dogs and knew everything worth knowing. So the banter was loud and included a lot of bragging about how our dogs would kill the test my buddy described. The day was a gift because we had escaped the humdrum duties of yard work and honey do’s. What could be better than a day showcasing our fine animal’s skills.
For convenience and to keep everything straight let me assign names to my buddies. M for mentor was the most accomplished of our group. His dogs were already titled but he ran every weekend he could. J for joker was the cut up of our group. He had a very talented dog. N would be my new buddy. His dog was a great marker but had a weakness on blinds. Too many hunt em up blinds in the real world cause a self employed attitude. We were 10 feet tall and bulletproof. Our combined knowledge surpassed anyone we knew and we fully expected to be running field trials soon and winning.
My personality traits made me ideally suited for dog training. I have a bad temper, smart aleck attitude and a full truck load of anal retentive and obsessive compulsive disorder. I am also overly competitive and controlling. Hunt tests seemed to be a perfect hobby.
As we arrived at the grounds the dogs got excited. Me and J became a little worried. Our dogs could mark and run blinds as well as any on the grounds. However in our rush to get these dogs ready we had ignored and glossed over some of the more mundane training. Sit was a suggestion and heel was a reminder to get a little closer. Tail grabbing length was doing pretty well when at heel. Because we had both failed tests because of poor heeling and no sitting dogs our worry turned to angst. We both agreed that we would work on Sit and Heel next week.
J had been working a solution to poor heeling in the last week. He had been using the vibrate function of his collar every time his dog surged ahead at heel. This was followed by a burn until the dogs head was beside his knee. As his Blackberry made a similar buzzing sound, the plan was to put the phone on vibrate & someone would call every time J gave a thumbs up sign. Of course the dog started acting up in the holding blind and the thumbs up sign was flashed. A blood curdling scream issued from the dog and J loudly proclaimed “Sorry I stepped on his tail”. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, J proceeded to the line flashing the thumbs up sign and his dog got progressively farther in front as they approached the line. All was good enough and they made short work of the test after a little creeping and a few reheels.
M ran both of his dogs making the test look easy. His dogs were a little loose at the line and he left muttering something about “fixing this”.
About this time my buddy N shows up. He said the other test was really tough. They threw something called a “poison bird”. A mark was thrown and the dog must pick up the blind before it gets the mark. He asked one of the pros what that was and they politely told him then advised him that he would probably fail this test. N proved the pro right, picking up the poison bird after 4 straight cast refusals.
About this time M tells me that I need to run now because we need to leave the grounds. So Me and my dog Annie get into the running order and are soon sitting in the holding blind. As Annie gets more and more hyped up, J’s trick starts to sound better and better. I once again promise to work on holding blind drills and line manners next week. The words “dog to the line” come ringing out soon enough. As I take off the lead, Annie jumps out of the holding blind. Several heels are required to get her back to me. Now we are off. Annie starts the journey at heel but starts to surge forward. My heel request now has no effect as Annie is locked onto the line like a Patriot missile. My dream of walking calmly at heel with my dog is gone. All that is left is a salvage operation. I simply increase my speed to catch her and we race to the line while trying to make it look like a stroll. Judges confer and tell me that the second series needs to improve.
The test starts with a duck call. Annie creeps as the first bird comes out, a little more with the second and more still with the third. I wait patiently for the words I know are coming. The judges oblige with a “reheel your dog” and it takes several heels to get the dog that has turned into a crouching tiger to a position close enough to be released. Annie made short work of the marks and lined the blind. All that was left was the honor and we were on to the next series. Annie and I had been sitting for British style honors at our group training sessions so that detail went off without a hitch.
Annie and I come off the line and find the truck running. As I load the dog and jump in M tells me “your dog needs a heeling lesson”. Now in full agreement we head off the grounds. Once off the grounds M is making turns like a man on a mission. We arrive at our destination of a harvested grain field. As we exit the truck a hand painted sign is evident on 4x8 sheet of plywood. “No trespassing by order of the Sheriff”. It has the added exclamation point of 3 bullet holes and one well placed shotgun blast dotting the i. I am glad we have permission. So we proceed to work on heeling drills. The dogs are now glued to our sides and have a refreshed memory regarding sit. So we load up and head out. As we are getting in the truck I ask M “who owns this property?”. His reply of “How the hell would I know” is not very reassuring. So with possible pending trespass charges, we head back to run the second series.
Both M and J run the water test and their dogs have improved their line manners. So it is with some confidence that I approach the holding blind. Annie is calmer and doesn’t bolt when she hears “dog to the line”. So we approach the line heeling much better. The marks go off with only minor creeping and my hopes are soaring. All that is between me and a ribbon is 3 marks and a blind. The first two marks are quickly picked up but the Achilles heel in my plan quickly shows up. As Annie returns with the second bird she notices the orange blind pole. Not exactly color blind my dog sees orange and understands very well that birds are cleverly marked by such poles. Annie locks in on the blind pole as she comes back. She turns to the third mark as I say “no here” and locks back in. Tragedy avoided I send Annie. She goes out 30 yards and then makes a left turn to the blind. Two cast refusals and 1 whistle refusal later, Annie picks up the hot blind.
We waited patiently for the ribbon ceremony and both M & J were gracious enough to show me how pretty the ribbons were. M even let me hold his first ribbon while he collected his second. We drove home in good spirits and I was resolved to do a better job training. Through the years I have had as much fun telling about that trip as I did going.
The takeaway from the story is pretty simple. Dogs will provide a healthy dose of humble pie to anyone that professes they are an expert. The neophyte trainers knew way less than we thought and our clever tricks now look like band aids. Those tricks and interseries fixes may work once of twice but always fail in the long haul. Training is a slow process involving lots of repetitions to cement the desired response. I have come full circle. From thinking I knew nothing about dogs to knowing everything to knowing nothing again. In the process I have learned a lot, been carried by some talented dogs and mostly enjoyed the ride.
