Day 17: We Interrupt this Training

After a week of obedience and a "refresher" on the fetch table, we are back in business!

Today Kevin, Rob and I headed over to the club for some training. I was happy that from the get go Fred was paying much more attention! I decided to move back to the three or four bumpers around the corner of the pond.
It wasn't perfect or even pretty; but the week of momma's iron fist seems to have him paying attention to me again. Ironically he got off of his line a few times today. I think it had to do with him being able to see the other "blinds" when he got out there. Nonetheless, we got a chance to handle a bit and he did a good job. I made a boneheaded handler error on the second one where I blew the whistle, but didn't wait for him to turn around before I gave him a back...doh. I think this training is as much for me as Fred. I also enjoy the play by play critique from Kevin and Rob!

I am having trouble posting the video; but things went well for the first three. On the last return he makes a big production about trying to get out of the water. He has been reasonably de-cheated, so he never tries to run around the bank, but he runs up and down it. Kevin yelled at me to stop him and whistlehim back, which worked; however he still flopped around like a 6 month old puppy....back to the drawing board I guess! It seems that every time we fix a problem, we create 5 more!

Day 16: House Rules

There are only a few rules in the Kees household that aren't up to interpretation:
1. Never leave the paper towel roll empty
2. Never leave a nearly empty gin bottle on the shelf
3. Never growl at the person who feeds you

Seeing as Kevin is out of town, I'll give you one guess as to what happened today.

I can't say as this was a complete surprise; and despite good advice given to me by Fred's namesake, I saw it coming and ignored all of the warning signs.

Over the past three weeks, Fred has transitioned from my loyal employee to completely self employed. I had shrugged of Sunday as a slump, but today when we hit the club pond, I was back to a wrestling match at the water's edge. Everything from his focus to his delivery was miserable. Ironically his line (yes his, not mine) was good and he came straight back through the water, but any casual onlooker could tell that I was only there to drive the car.

After Fred's blind, I went to put him back on the chain gang. When I reached down to get his collar, he gave a full on growl. Needless to say; this didn't end well. I felt a little silly as a grown woman tackling her dog and biting his lip and growling back...but a trainer I worked with a long time ago told me to do that if I ever needed it, because it puts the argument in dog language and is much more effective than other "human" punishments.

I followed this up with heeling and obedience. Even during Fred's favorite "free time" at the end of the training session I kept him at tight heel. I think the point got across, but tonight's antics have let me realize that I will need to work extra hard to ensure that Fred understands who the boss is. Its not a pleasant or fun part of dog training; but its a necessary one!

Day 15: Sunday Slump

I am starting to think that I should just not train on Sundays...

Despite the cold weather, Rob, Kevin and I headed to the club. I forgot my hat camera and a scarf; which I apparently needed. I decided to take the Wagon Wheel drill and do 1/2 of a wheel around the corner of the pond. I was feeling pretty confident so we set them all as blinds.


When I took Fred to where I planned to run from I absolutely could not get his focus. I think I said heel more times than a podiatrist does in their career. Finally I got him to lock in on the first line and I sent him...and he cheated the bank. I didn't get too bent out of shape and lined him up for the next one. When I say I lined him up; I mean that he happened to lock in where I wanted to send him anyways. He went for the second one with no issues. Still fighting him and considering the use of a 2x4 as a training aid, I spent a good 5 minutes trying to get him to line up for the third one. After I decided that he was completely self employed, I looked to Rob and Kevin and said "help!".

Kevin laid out a half wagon wheel on the land and told me to go get his focus. I went over to the land and he did his push/pulls perfectly just as expected. I took him back over to the water and we were back to Fred completely ignoring me. Rather than making a bad mess worse, I put him back on the chain gang and we moved on to the other dogs.

After everyone else was trained, I heeled him away and had Rob set the blind again. This time I got him marginally lined up and sent him. His line was okay; but if I was a better trainer I wouldn't even have sent him because he was so far from what I expect from him. We all headed back to the clubhouse as the chilly rain started to come down hard; and just cut our losses for the night.

Usually I get the wind knocked out of me once or twice during these 30 day sessions; and it happened today. I am not going to lose determination, but also not ignore this problem and hope it will fix itself. While every dog has their day, I am not comfortable knowing that my little guy was flipping me off with all four paws. Since this week may be snow covered (4-5 inches tonight!) I guess we will run the gamut of push/pull drills for the next few days and try to get his head back in the game.

Day 14: Boys Night Out

We got a bit of a late start on Friday; so I opted to leave the girls at home and meet Rob at the club. The weather was perfect, and I was feeling full of myself; so I decided to have Rob put a "true" blind clear across the pond and send Fred to it. It was still a white bumper...though I am deciding that we are about to transition to non visible ones next week.

There were a few other distractions going on as Friday night is dinner at the club and a gentleman and his daughter came down to watch. They sat on a bench across the pond from Fred and I; about 15 yards from where the blind was. When he was about 3/4 of the way out, he arced a bit towards them, but quickly got back on track so I let him go. I have realized that when I do handle him in the water; I'd better really need it because he is not yet crisp enough to get right back in his line.

Once he got the mark he waked a few feet on the bank before getting back in; but in my opinion that's not a major issue. I will continue to work on cleaning up these little things; but for now I am happy with his progress. The video is long...and he isn't going to win any races in the water, but I enjoy his determination and almost methodical approach to this new game!

I was thinking about thawing some ducks so that I can teach him that he can use his nose in this game too (since he often winds things at 50 yards) but I don't want to confuse the situation in the event that the wind is coming from the wrong direction and he starts trusting that...so, unless anyone has other opinions; we'll get after it next week with black and orange bumpers and see whether he trusts me, or he just has really good vision!

Day 13: Can you Handle This?

Rob, Kevin and I are still sitting in the kitchen talking about dog training, but if I don't write this soon I will never get around to finishing all of the things I need to finish for work!

We headed down to the pond for some water blind training. Since it was warm out again today; we opted for big swims. We were back to true blinds with white bumpers again today. Kevin set the first one and I sent Fred through some muck and mud. He got 1/2 way across the pond and started getting off of his line. I whistle stopped him and gave him a left back; which turned into an over...um, what?

I didn't post this video because it largely turned into a whistle seminar and an etch a sketch type of trip to the bumper; plus I think I was cursing! We moved and reset the blind nearby and I sent him on a long swim which is what the video is of. He cheats a little bit at the end, but after the amount of swimming and whistling that was happening leading up to this; I let it slide.

So my question is this, how is it that this little dog can be so solid on his handles on land and seemingly have no clue what the difference between a back and an over is in the water? For the past hour we have been watching videos and talking about this. It seems to the consortium of unskilled and unaccomplished dog trainers that when I whistle stop him, I don't wait until he is directly focused on me and facing me. I have been giving him handles when he is sideways; and since on land he is sitting square on facing me; there is a very clear distinction in my handles.

So...while this swimming to the other side of the pond in a straight line thing is fun; I am going to need to learn how to teach him to be completely focused and facing me before I handle him. On the land, I run out there and reinforce the whistle, but I don't think that swimming out there is an option. Is an e-collar my only option; or are there other tricks that I can use to accomplish this?

Day 12: Walking on Water 2012 Style!

For anyone who followed last year during the first 30 days of water work, you'd know that my all time favorite place to train dogs is the back corner of Peter's Lake in April...so guess where we went tonight! Rob beat me to the lake by about 20 minutes and sent me a wonderful text which said "lunging water looks good." Perfect!

I met Rob over at our favorite spot and had him set a true blind (aka; Fred didn't see him place it). We are still using white bumpers for at least another week of this until I'm ready to take more risks. You have to admit watching this; that it's a blast to see my little guy bounding out through the water!

His return is a little bit lack luster; but after we ran the other pups we realized that the mud was pretty thick. As I said last year; this corner of the lake is really more for me than for the dogs...but after 6 blinds and three or four marks, I actually have a very rare sleepy Fred watching the hockey game with me. Maybe I'll see if I can tire him out again tomorrow!

Day 11: Making the Most of Mistakes

Today Rob and I headed out to the club after work. We took along the bumper boy and decided to give everyone a good swim. I started Fred out with a medium distance true blind. It has been a week or so since I tried this; so I thought I'd give it a go. After taking a decent amount of time to line him up; my little guy went plunging in and swam a straight line there and back! Grant it, it was a white bumper; so once he was headed out he could see it, but I see it as a step (or swim) in the right direction. The video is below; but my hat cam was a tick off, so you miss some of the action.

A good dog trainer might have stopped at this point...but since I don't claim to be good, or a dog trainer; we decided to forge on. I had Rob load up the bumper boy and we planned on a long single mark with a diversion bird on the way back. With the new electronics being a bit more sensitive than the old ones; both bumpers ended up going off right in succession of one another and landing only a few feet apart in the water. Ugh. I sent Fred and he got the first one perfectly. When I got ready to send him for the second one I realized that he had no recollection of the fact that there were two out there to begin with. Luckily, I have been training for just this situation for the past 11 days; so I lined him up and sent him back. Much to my amazement, he took the line and swam about 45 yards out before I had to handle him back to the bumper.

With just this one handle, he nailed it and came swimming back. I even had Rob throw the diversion bird on the way back and he handled it like a champ! I have this whole ordeal on video but needless to say its a long one so I'll keep that one in my own archives for when I'm getting down on my training skills.

Now that the weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer, we should be out to some of our other favorite spots soon!

Day 10: Suck it Up and Train

It was a beautiful sunny day; so despite the fact that I'm plagued with a flu like illness, I sucked it up and went out to train. I guess my thought is that I'm sure there are days when Fred just doesn't want to, but he still does it for me; so I owe it to him.

We headed down to the pond and Kevin set a few time and space delay blinds which went smoothly. I then had him set one while Fred couldn't see at all in a similar area to the time delay ones. I then heeled Fred to a different area of the pond and sent him for the mark. The video is hard to see because it was so sunny; but the important part is that I spent probably a minute getting him lined up perfectly. I am starting to learn that taking this extra time is absolutely worth it!

I think that we are making good progress in a short amount of time. We are only 1/3 of the way through so there is much more work to be done; but with the right steps in place, the next 20 days should be a blast!!

Day 9: Swimming Solo

Fred and I headed out for a quick training session tonight on the pond. Since it was just the two of us; I took him down to the pond near a down tree and threw a white bumper in. I then took him back to the pasture and threw some marks, then heeled him to the other side of the pond. With this method, the mark/blind was both a time delay and spatial change for Fred.

I'm not sure if he just has a great memory or he is really starting to get it; but he did a wonderful job taking my line to the mark. His swim back was questionable, so I reverted to the sit and cast back into the water which does seem to be working effectively as you can see below.

I have, however, noticed another problem in the past few days. Fred is getting a little bit full of himself and his delivery and heeling is slipping. I have seen this in his training in the past and it is usually resolved by putting something challenging into the training routine; so, while we continue to work on blinds, I am going to interject some good old fashioned drills to get him thinking. He's pretty attune to Walking Baseball, Single T's and Wagon Wheels, so any suggestions are welcomed! If we can't come up with anything; I'm thinking about the two tiered wagon wheels that Evan Graham does...they have always scared me in the past, but hey; Fred and I could both use a bit of a challenge!

Day 8: New Trick and Toys

Today was a busy work day, followed by a conference call, then some work issues; so by the time I got out to train with Rob it was almost dark. It was also a chilly 38 degrees and kind of snow sleeting...so why not train dogs? I have said it before and I'll say it again, If you are going to hunt in it, you may as well train in it.

We headed out to the back field and threw triples for Ranger, doubles for Fred and some nice long singles for Hondo. We decided to stay on land for the majority of the training session because of the temperature, but at the end of the session we took Fred down to the pond for a short blind. This one was right on the water's edge with a good deal of lunging involved. Fred took a great line to it. On the way back, once he got a little too much "lunging" he started to get out; so I used Kevin's trick. I decided to stop him and then cast him back into the water. I didn't have high hopes; but it worked as you can see in today's video.

After the training session, I came back in and unpackaged my new Hawx Dog and Gun Control...I can hardly wait the three hours until it is charged up and ready to play with this weekend. Fred doesn't know it yet; but he's gonna love it!

Day 7: Water in a Winter Wonderland

Today was cold...not just a little bit cold; more of a "what did that stuipd groundhog say?" type of cold. Kevin and I took Fred into the back pasture and spent a decent amount of time quartering and doing steady drills on our way down to the pond. When we got there; I started to question whether or not I should even put Fred in, but after he jumped in on his own accord, I decided to run two quick blinds and then get him back on land to warm up.

Luckily, the two blinds went beautifully. We used white bumpers again so that they were, what Millie just told me were called "site blinds". He swam out like a champ and only briefly had an inner struggle over whether or not he would swim back.

I can feel myself getting arrogant again and considering moving to cold blinds; but I will spend tomorrow talking myself off the ledge and reminding myself of Kevin's old suggestion to expend the amount of effort that you think it will take to train something; then double it, then triple it...and then you MIGHT be close!

On a warmer note; when I came back in, I saw that the incredibly gifted Mark Atwater had posted pictures of Fred from the BSS Nationals, http://upclosenature.com/gallery?g2_itemId=226505 so I just had to order a canvas of my goofy dog!

Day 6: Concept Corners

For anyone who has been reading along, you'll know that yesterday's session didn't work out so well; so I spent the day thinking about what we could do to work on the bank running debacle that we had yesterday. I got thinking about SmartWorks and about Graham's Tune Up Drills. For anyone who doesn't watch these, he takes four or five bumpers and puts them around the edge of a small farm pond, then teaches the dog to go to each one and swim back.

I wasn't yet ready to delve into this water wagon wheel; but I did decide to take Fred down to a remote corner of the club pond and set up a few water blinds across only 20 or so yards of water. I started with ones right across from him and then progressed to ones that were a little bit more cheat enticing. You can see the videos here and here

All in all, I am proud of his progress and on this blustery afternoon we got some big wins to make up for yesterday! I can't wait to take this concept and turn it into a lining drill with bumpers all over my new found concept corner of the pond!

Day 5: Don't Count Your Easter Eggs...

Today we decided to go out to the club and train with our friends Dan and Cindy Hupp and their two wonderful Boykins, Sam and Sophie Ann. We headed down to the pond and threw several long marks for Sam, who is the single fastest swimming Boykin that I have ever seen. After that we threw a few marks for Sophie who is still deciding whether or not she likes the water. In the spirit of keeping it simple on this holiday, we threw a few water doubles for Fred and LC just to get them some exercise.

There was a lot going on with all of the dogs, plus another dog and fisherman on the pond; but because I have a tragic sense of confidence; I had Kevin put out a bank running blind. Right as I sent him, the other couple with a dog threw a stick in for their pup, which took Fred's attention. He started in the wrong direction which led to three loud whistles and a few overs before I got him to the bird. Ugh. Once he got it; he decided he'd run the bank. Double Ugh. Kevin tried to cut him off at the pass which led to both of them getting caught up in a mess of fishing line. Triple Ugh. Finally I went over to him and cast him back into the water. He swam some, but still cut the corner.

At this point, I was out of whistle and looked like an idiot in front of the "gallery", so I decided to cut my losses and figure out how to work this day of failure into another day of training. We did a few land marks and a short land blind and called it a day. I guess it goes back to flexibility, ups and downs and remembering not to count any Easter eggs until they have hatched.

Day 4: My Kind of Happy Hour

A few years ago I never would have guessed that I'd be rushing out of work on a Friday to get home and train dogs, rather than to get to a popular happy hour spot...yet this afternoon as my Friday afternoon meeting ran late; all I could think about was getting back to the farm.

It was cold again (it was below 32 last night!) so I decided to do just two long water blinds. We did a lot of quartering and hup to flush drills on the way down to the pond. We ended up flipping the direction of the blind from day 2. Kevin dropped the first one so that he could see it. The line out went perfectly and he popped right back into the water for the return. While returning he got distracted and swam close to the shoreline. Kevin hollered "stop him and cast him over!" I didn't think it would work, but sure as shootin' it did and he stayed off the bank!

While Fred was on his return, Kevin replaced the blind, only just in the vicinity of where it had been and in some weeds. He took the back line nicely and swam right to where the other one was and didn't find it. Fred panicked and hopped back in the water at which point I yelled "Kevin, show him!!" and Kevin went and dropped it so that he returned and picked it up. Whew.

I think I learned a valuable lesson today...we are at a phase of building Fred's confidence, so it is important that once he is well on his way to where I sent him, that he sees (or smells) the blind. At this early phase in the game I need him to trust me implicitly to make sure that he keeps up the good work and doesn't get turned off to it.

Every day that I train I remind myself that its like going to a bar for happy hour that doesn't serve Guinness...you have to be flexible if you want to get the job done...that being said, its time for a few well deserved Friday evening libations now!

Day 3: Everyone Could Use a Little Patience

Day 3 was another chilly one; but Rob met me out at the club with Hondo and Ranger, and I brought LC, Fred and Maggie. Much to my surprise, all dogs opted to go hop in the pond before we even got down there, so I guess it wasn't too cold for them! I had some grand schemes to teach swim by thing, but decided to keep that for a day above 40 degrees!

I (arrogantly) decided to run Fred all the way across the pond on a cold blind...after he got about 30 yards out, I realized that both his brain and ears must have been frozen because he went deaf on the third whistle and headed for a clump of something. I called him back in and had Rob drop the bumper so that he could see it. After the cold blind became warm, he had a nice line, swim and cheat free return. Rob and I decided that after about another 100 warm blinds, he might be ready to try again...so we are back to teaching them for the next week or two; or until I am all out of patience.

In order to make the most of these short days; we took everyone down to the water and used my new tieouts to keep the bystanders standing by. I have a great video of Fred going across the 60 yards of water to the mark, then getting back in....yet I think this one of Hondo and LC on the Chain gang is much funner. It is nice to have everyone down there because I really think that even when we are training one dogs, the others learn valuable lessons in patience...something that their owners have yet to master!

Day 2: Giant Snowman

I didn't realize that it was going to be in the 40s this evening when we started training; but if you know me, you know that getting me to change my mind is like putting toothpaste back into the tube, so today was day 2!

Rob came over to the farm with Hondo and Ranger so that we could work on blinds, then work on some of the venison in the freezer for dinner. Our pond is suffering from some duck meal right now thanks to the rapid change in temperature and the lack of solid freeze this winter, but despite its gross appearance; it in no way impeded training.

We set a visible blind across the pond right off the shore in little to no cover today. Somehow in my haphazard training, I managed to miss the whole swim by pond thing, so Rob offered to play boogie man (or as he calls it, Giant Snowman) in case Fred decided to get out of the water. He took a great line as you can see here. He got a little bit confused in the duck meal; but quickly got himself back in line. As you can see from his return, we managed to get a good blind AND a decheating exercise done all at once!

After several other shorter blinds, and some land marks, Rob and I headed in to watch some SmartWorks drills and read through my crusty version of Finished Dog while eating tasty tasty venison. Fred and Hondo were really paying attention to the videos...maybe i'll play them at night to see what sinks in! I swear after a few more days of studying and benchmarking i'll have a plan, but as of right now, i'm pleased with my little man!

Day 1: Back in the Saddle

It is the week after the Boykin Spaniel Society Nationals; so that can only mean one thing...time for Fred The Dog and I to embark upon another 30 day challange!

While I was watching the Open level dogs run on Saturday, I realized that I want to have a dog who confidently crashes into the water and swims the width of the English Channel. We have done a bit of water blind work over the past few months; but our exposure has been limited to floating blinds, or blinds on land on the other side of a 30 yard patch of water; so I figured it was time to take it to the next level and start on 30 days of water blinds.

Step one was completed on the way home from Clinton, SC; which was to spend an excessive amount of money at LCS for new tieouts, some new hex bumpers, a gun stand, marking tape, holding blinds and a few extra whistles.

Step two was to do my research. I read several programs and reveiewed my SmartWork by Evan Graham videos. This being said I didn't yet write aout a training plan; but I think I have one in mind.

Step three was to call my partner in crime Rob and see if he was ready to start another 30 day challange...only I forgot to call him, so today I asked if he wanted to train dogs and then when we arrived I said, "oh, in case you didn't know; this is day 1".

Day 1 was a bit of a benchmarking day. I wanted to work with Fred and see where we stood on some basic skills so that I could decide how to best devise a program to fit our needs. I started by having Kevin put a visible bumper on the other side of the pond at the club which would lead to a 60 yard swim and then a pickup right on land. Due to the amount of water, Kevin wisely suggested that we make this a learned blind. Fred watched him drop the bumper; then I sent him back to it. He swam a perfect straight line across the pond. He really wanted to run the bank on the way back, but Kevin and Rob had a standoff with him unitl he decided to swim back to me.

After his long swim, I put him up and we trained LC, Hondo and Ranger for a bit. Kevin replaced the blind and I sent him again. He swam approximately 35 yards and got off course a bit. I whistled him and gave him a right back which put him right back in line and he swam straight to the mark. This time, he didn't consider running the bank, and got back in for the chilly 60 yard swim.

All in all, the session went well as a benchmarking exercise...now to make a plan for the next 29 days. As always, please send comments, questions or suggestions as I am always ready and willing to try new things with my little man Fred!