Claire
|
Braving the weather - are we mad ?!Well its a shoot day for us tomorrow and originally it was cancelled due to the weather being so horrific all week. However, we've now decided to go...... Are we mad ??!! Don't answer that 
We will have to get down there (40 mins drive) really early to do some dogging in and then see how many drives we can get. The weather can be hideous down there anyway (scottish borders) and I'm not looking forward to standing on the hills
Hopefully Whistle will enjoy herself still. She doesn't seem to care about the weather anyway which is kind of handy. Will have to make sure I wrap up VERY warm and not forget my waterproofs !!
Wish us luck 
|
Mike
|
Good luck 
|
Claire
|
The weather is actually getting worse. Blowing a gale and chucking it down and fweeeezing! So tomorrow is an early start and no doubt a knackering day to be followed by another early start on Sunday as I have a training session with Tom. So Monday I'll be going back to work for a rest 
|
Helen
|
Hope it went well today!
I was supposed to be shooting but I've got the flu  Rob's gone on his own which makes it worse as I've been in bed all day :-s
Helen
|
Claire
|
Well we survived the weather It started off not too bad, just a bit windy but not much rain. Did some dogging in and managed to get a few pheasants up. Then we moved off for our first drive. This was where the weather really changed Whistle and I were standing at the top of a hill and I still don't know how I managed to stay upright. It was blowing a gale and chucking it down with rain. However we stuck it out.
It was pretty much like this all day. Very windy with rain coming and going, but we managed 5 drives and I think we bagged about 40 birds.
Whistle however was a bit of a bugger and wasn't listening to me initially. I think the wind was making her rather excited  However she still managed to learn quite a lot and she thoroughly enjoyed her day out.
Fingers crossed my training tomorrow morning goes well. I'm knackered today but Tom works you so hard that tomorrow I'll be even more knackered !!
Today was my birthday too! No better way to spend your birthday than watching your dogs do what they were bred for. We even managed to catch a fox so a very worthwhile day
|
josie
|
Happy Birthday!!!
Give us a report on what you get up tomorrow too!!
|
Helen
|
Happy Birthday!!
Sounds like you had a good day. Hope it goes just as well tomorrow.
Helen
|
Claire
|
Well today went pretty well. Weather was hideous but it did mean we had a very good head wind. Also mean't that the training was a bit harder than normal as the ground was very boggy and difficult to walk over so I am suitably knackered and have most definitely had a good workout
Whistle hunted very well, quartered nicely and really worked the wind. We attempted some retrieves, mainly so Tom could see the problems I have been facing. It is very frustrating because back in the summer Whistle's dummy retrieving was coming along very nicely. We had got to the stage of doing blind retrieves at 100yds and all I had to work on was her delivery because she kept dropping the dummy at my feet. But then she stopped retrieving altogether and now will only do it when she feels like it. I have not helped matters by getting anxious over the retrieving and so have desperately tried to put it to the back of my mind
We did a memory retrieve with a hen pheasant. We walked about 100yds away from the bird and I sent Whistle out for it. Tom thought she would forget where it was but I said no, she will remember and she'll find it but I guarantee she will sniff it and then come back without it, sure enough that is what she did. So after trying to get her interested in the bird we put it away and left it for a while. We then got out a dummy covered in pheasant wings and after a few attempts she retrieved it twice and dropped it at my feet. Its frustrating knowing that she can retrieve but won't do it. However Tom has assured me it will come back and so I'm to mainly concentrate on hunting her and leave retrieves for simple play games in the house and see what happens.
We hunted over 2 fields for about an hour and Whistle did great. When she was looking like she was getting bored I would blow my stop whistle, then recall her, pop her on the lead for a minute or two then cast her off again. This all worked really well.
Going forward I'm to not allow her to run around with the other dogs. I'm only to take her out on her own and only to let her off the lead when I'm hunting her. This will apparently improve things greatly. Tom has said I should be aiming for spring pointing tests this year and apparently there is one near me around July/August time that he wants me to enter.
He said I have a very good hunting dog So I am over the moon with that. It has also boosted my own confidence because I was thinking that due to my lack of experience, just because I think she is a good hunting dog doesn't mean she actually is. I will go back out again in a month or so and this time he's going to use a caged pigeon and see how she is on pointing. But overall he was very happy with what he saw and said I am most definitely not wasting my time on her
|
josie
|
Excellent Claire, that's great news!
|
Helen
|
Excellent Claire! Sounds like she's doing really well.
We'll have to arrange another training session soon.
Helen
|
tashap
|
brilliant... always worth braving the weather
|
lou
|
hi Claire
You know you said that your trainer told you to only let Whistle off lead when you want her to hunt?
Why is that? will it sharpen her up?, or is she at a very dodgy age where she is likely to make mistakes? will it make her focus more on you? or will it make her keener to hunt when she is allowed?
just wondering!
Louise
|
Claire
|
Hi Lou
The reasoning behind it is, if I am only allowing Whistle off the lead when I want her to hunt she will not only be more keen because she will be enjoying her off lead time but she will get into the habit of hunting for me, rather than going off on her own and doing her own thing.
However, in reality this is very hard for me to do right now. By the time I get home from work it is dark and hunting her in the dark is difficult. Tom suggested I still keep her on the lead and just do some stop whistle training and basic obedience training but this just isn't going to be enough physical exercise for her. So until the light nights come in I am struggling to never let her off lead unless I am hunting her on her own.
So at present whenever its possible I'm out with her on my own and keeping her on the lead until I get to the area I want to work her through but I know its not as much as Tom would like When the light nights come it will be much easier. 
|
guy
|
Claire prompted by our post i went into the garden this evening and tried a few retrieves. Worked really well as he was not sighting them but working all the way in on his nose. Having said that bring on the light evenings - and a bit more warmth.
|
Claire
|
Yip, these dark nights have been a right blooming pain for those of us that have to work full time. I've been telling Gary that if he wants Whistle to be trained well I should really jack my job in and be a kept woman but he just isn't buying it
|
Helen
|
lol, that's what you want to do Claire! I've been really busy over the shooting season to put much work into Teal so February is the month to do it. Got to get these grouse dogs fit for the counts as well. I just love not working over winter.
Helen
|
|
|
