Month: July 2012

What not to do during training.

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During the week I train by myself and let me tell you I have some dosies that I do. It’s after I do them that I say “what was I thinking”!

All 4 dogs were running loose in the house. I went outside to set up my test (the living room window is facing the field I train in), got in the truck and drove to the spot I wanted to put the bumper boys continued around the field to the 2 permanent blind stations I have set up for Gambler, drove back to the starting point and went to the house to get the dogs. I open up the door and let all 4 dogs out and off they go…..guess who runs to one of the permanent blinds??? Yes that would be Mr. Gamber with Miss. Glory hot on his heals because where one puppy goes the other puppy follows. Gambler swoops up the bumper and comes running back to me so proud! So that was what not to do during training #1 (don’t let the dogs watch the set up from the window in the house)

I load everyone into the dog truck except Norman, he is too big and old so I ran him first so I could just walk him back to the house when done. I don’t put the e collar on him because he is a Master Hunter dog and he don’t need no stinkin collar. I run only a single with the old guy so I line him up squak the squaker then set off the bumper boy. I send Norman and he runs out and has no idea where he is going since he is dang near deaf and apparently didn’t hear the squaker go off so didn’t know which way to look for the mark. I blew my whistle and tried to handle him again and apparently his sight is as bad as his hearing and he took the wrong cast (I actually think he was blowing me off since no collar and he is a chessie who thinks he can figure out things on his own)! I then had to walk out there and tell him to hunt it up and he finally found it and he was the happiest boy on earth thinking he did it all by himself and was so proud of himself. So I come to the realization that my old man is an old man but he gives it his all and that is all I can ask from him. So that is what not to do during training #2 (don’t run a deaf dog without a ecollar).

It was all down hill from there and the others did well during training. Each training day I learn something that I shouldn’t do during training. I just can’t think of everything or what may happen until it happens then I go “I shouldn’t have did that”! It makes life fun thou!

Counter Surfing

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Gambler brings a whole new meaning to counter surfing.

This morning I was sitting in the living room and heard some noise of clanging dishes, I turn around and Gambler is up on the counter licking off all the dirty dishes. He was making sure he got them all licked off as he was standing 2 feet in the sink rearranging the dishes to get them all. He thinks he is a cat and is allowed on the counters! The best part is I cleaned out my refrigerator and the scraps were in a bucket on the island counter waiting for me to take it out to the chickens. He didn’t even care that it was there he was too busy with the empty dishes.

Sunday Training

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Like others we haven’t been training much because of the heat. I don’t feel it is worth risking the dogs health to get a training day in with this kind of heat we have been having. This is so not like Wisconsin. Usually the pro trainers from the south will come up to Wisconsin to train in the summer because we have calm summers. Not this one. Along with the heat in some parts of the state, like the one I live in it is a drought. No rain! It hasn’t been this bad since the drought of 88. We bucked it up and went up to Sheboygan Falls and trained with our training group on Sunday. I got a new camera so it was exciting for me as I would get to try out the camera on some action shots.

I got a Nikon D60 camera with one lense that is 18-55, and one lense that is 55-200. This is by far a fancier camera then my old sony that has seen better days. Puppies and camera’s don’t mix so it was time to get another one.

www.woodlandbay.com has some really nice property with 2 ponds on it so we did water work while it was so hot. The pond we were running on had some resident geese on it so the dogs training was with live distractions. Of course Glory at 7 months was very distracted and didn’t get her bird. Nellie did fine as she has been trained for that. Gambler I thought would fall apart and not come out of the water but he was very good and got his mark. So it was a good day over all.

Here are some photo’s of Sunday’s training.

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Craft Project

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So I remembered I had these iron on transfers that you can print a picture on from your computer and then iron them onto a tshirt. I decided to get them out when my friend Kathy was in town staying. She took some great pictures of Gambler and I decided I wanted to make some shirts. Each time I go to a hunt test and text my friend Mike how Gambler and I do he responds with “way to go Team Giblet” .  So I decide I want to put  Team Giblet on my shirts. It took me forever to get the picture how I wanted it and then I needed to mirror the image so it wouldn’t be backwards when I ironed it on. I practiced printing it out on blank paper first and I ended up using up the rest of the ink cartriage. The picture would only print out as a mirror image when it felt like it so more ink and paper wasted. Then I printed the picture on the wrong side of the transfer so more transfers wasted. It took me alot of failed attempts but I finally got it together and got some shirts to work.

Note to self: Self when washing iron on transfer tshirts make sure you use cold water and put the shirt inside out like the directions said and you won’t have your transfer wash off! Or maybe it was because the transfer paper was over 10 years old and it lost it’s stickyness, who know? But all I know is now I’m afraid to wash the rest of the tshirts as they look so pretty. A facebook friend Jayne, who adores Gambler wanted a shirt so I made her one and I had to tell her that “I hope the iron on doesn’t come off”. So am I going to start a tshirt printing company,,,,I think not!

The shirts –

Gambler proofing project

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Gambler is always rummaging around in the shed for bumpers. We usually leave our training supplies in the back of our truck for easy access and just have to jump in the truck and go. Gambler is 14 months old now and he is a agial dog forsure or just driven for his bumpers or anything to do with training. If I leave Gambler outside unattended (well for that fact if I’m outside also) he will jump in the back of our truck and take out all the bumpers and drag them all out on the lawn for all the dogs to play with. He will then grab the leashes and training bag and carry that stuff around also. You can’t put those bumpers high enough where he won’t get them. If there is a will there is a way with him. Did I mention he will jump over the side box of the truck to get in the back to get the bumpers.

I had this bright idea that I would clean the shed and move a shelve around in there and put all our training supplies in one spot and then put some hangers up so I can hang my 5 gallon pails so Gambler couldn’t get the bumpers. I worked really hard at cleaning and getting everything set and then comes Gambler and jumps up on the second level of the shelve, puts his head in the 5 gallon pail hanging there and pulls out the bumpers! URGH guess I didn’t Gambler proof it good enough. When I went into the house he also got y training bag and I found that under the deck with all the stuff out of it and ground into the dirt. He couldn’t put it under the deck where it is easy access, no he had to put it under the smallest spot where I had to get on my bellie and crawl under there. Does he not know I have a fear of small spaces!

This past weekend – my first UKC dog Show

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My friend was coming up to WI from NC to bring a puppy up, look at a stud dog and stay with me. Since she was staying with me she asked if there were any UKC Conformation shows she could show Gambler and Glory in for me. I said yes there is and off to the show we went. I only attended one AKC Conformation in my life and it was a very long time ago so this was going to be all new to me. We got to the show and my friend used her magic fingers to make the dogs look good and away she went. Luckly this was a small show so I didn’t get lost in what was going on. I was the photographer and cheerleader. My two chessies were the only 2 chessies competing. There were 2 shows on Sat and in the ring first was Gamber. Of course he won (there were no other males) and then it was Glory’s turn and of course she won! Then they got to go in the ring for Best of Winners dog. Glory beat Gambler in both shows and then Glory got to go back into the ring for the Gun Dog group showing. She took 3rd out of 6th in the first show and then 4th out of 6th in the second show. She got a total of 70 points and 2 wins towards her title for the first day and Gambler got a total of 50 out of 100 points needed. The Second day things changed, they both won their class as they again were the only chessies there but then Gambler won Best of Winners in both shows. In the Gun Dog group showing Gambler took 4th out of 5th in both shows. So he got an additional 70 points and 2 wins towards his title and Glory got 50. They both now have 120 points out of the 100 points needed and 2 wins apiece. They each need one more win for their UKC show title. It was a fun weekend! I learned alot and I still have lots to learn by the end of August when I will have to get in the ring and do it myself.

Here are some photo’s I took as well as some Julie Darling took.

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Training in Pink

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Here are my pictures of my running Gambler this weekend in a senior test setup. We trained at our trainers property which is in Sheboygan Falls. He had a client coming to watch her dog run and she is going thru breast cancer so he asked if I could wear my Pink. I surely did as I will support anyone going thru cancer. I wore my Pink shirt and Pink laynard that I got from the Pink Whistle Society a group that supports breast cancer research and when you buy a laynard from them they will donate some of the proceeds to breast cancer research. Here is the link to that group: http://www.pinkwhistlesociety.com/

Gambler had a great day for not doing anything for the past 2 weeks as it was too hot to train. We were also concentrating on getting his Junior Hunter and Started title so we just focused on single marks. Well we are moving up and we are now working on double marks, being steady, diversions, honoring and decheating. So much to work on for this next level of hunt test training. We are hoping he will be ready by the end of July to run his first senior test.

Glory VS Decoy

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A couple of weeks ago I posted up that Glory ran a UKC hunt test and brought in the decoys. Here is the video from that day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnXRGSxaRxQ

This is a video of Glory doing her walking fetch lesson. We put out decoys and then placed bumpers and birds in with the decoys and walked her thru the decoys telling her to “leave it” and when got to something we wanted her to pick up then said “fetch”. We then tossed the bird into the decoy and had her retrieve it and she did very well. Her whole body wiggles when she has the prize in her mouth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap5F3jynTaM&feature=relmfu

And a couple of pictures of Glory working.