Hold on the Ground

Aw. Could it be,finally off the table for a few days? Need to work on Hold on the ground for a few days. Get those dogs to hold all kinds of bumpers and game while walking around. Doesn't sound hard but you'd be surprised. Before going on to Fetch we want to make sure there will be no issues so we can move forward and not have to divert to making backwards progress. Lola has been on the ground for a few days now doing well. Having a few issues with presentation and letting go sometimes. It is getting worked out, and after a few sessions last night i think she gets the hint. Sometimes it is easier said than done.
Jager too moved off the table and to the ground last night. First time so it was challenging, had a few drops but thats kind of expected. It is a weird transition from table to ground. In my opinion he is doing quite well. They will all come along.
Nik is actually on to Fetch. Been doing that for a few days now i suppose. All on the table, handler still holding the bumper but slowly working farther away from the dog and eventually will be putting the bumper on the table for retrieve.
Keep going guys.

HOLD

Here are a few pics from the days of Hold. Working on making sure they will hold that feather and fur before going to the ground. It's interesting to see each dogs different attitude towards each part of training. Some have a little attitude, some alot, and some none at all. One part to the HZP test is having to Fetch the rabbit after a rabbit drag, so we have been working really hard on the Hold so there are no drops, as in a hunting situation it is alot more ethical to have a dog that will fetch game and hold until it can put game in hand. Wouldn't be so great to shoot game, the dog retrieves but the animal is still alive and dog drops animal to watch fly or run away. That is why the HOLD is so important either if you are testing or hunting. This is Jager and Lola during Hold, walking up and down the table. Ready to move on to the ground and then its time for Fetch. Good work on the training guys. I know it is boring and not as productive as other stuff but it will be rewarding in the end. Just keep going.

VGP Training Update

No pictures for this post sorry. Been having issues with the camera and gave up. Had some serious training to do so i got busy.
Sunday I and helper Biz went to the Uintahs to do some forest work. Great day for it too, sunny, warm ,green. Runoff still flowing strong. Saw deer, grouse and such. Laid a 1/4 mile long blood track and let it set for 3 hours.
Meantime we worked on other areas of the VGP test. Biz went for a walk while Hess wasn't looking. Deep into the woods dropping a few bumpers along the way,and after dropping the last one hid where he could observe Hess. I released Hess with a hunt command and off he went, coming back every minute or so with a bumper and back in again. Finding the last one and heads out, Biz said Hess was looking real hard and covered alot of ground. Good to hear.
We walked through the forest letting Hess search and firing a couple shots from the shotgun. No problems there. Did fine.
Biz drug a rabbit for me about 1500 feet or so. Hid behind it and watched as Hess tracked it, found it and returned to me with no hesitation.
Forgot to get the fox from Zac so we had Hessian retrieve the Rabbit over fallen timber about 3 feet tall. No problem. Did great on this too.
Worked on some obedience like the Down Stay. Biz hid behind a tree and watched as i put Hess into a Down and walked off into the trees where he could not see me and fired 3 shots from the shotgun. Hess wasn't supposed to move from the position i put him in. Biz says he sat up and then went back to down before he could do anything. Perfect. I could do without the sitting up part but have a few months.
We also simulated a drive hunt, Biz went off into the woods making alot of noise, breaking branches and such. Fired 4 rounds from the shotgun. Hess stayed at my side unleashed but whined a bit, think i can fix that, Otherwise did great. Always likes to go search over the area when released. Can't blame him he is a hunter.
Finally back to the bood track. We approached the starting wound bed. I Platzed Hess and went to investigate. Came back and put the tracking collar and lead on and started off. "Hess, blood blood. Find the buck!" Off we go. Hess tracking strong and fast, need to work on slowing down a bit. Followed track well, jumped a grouse and i had to return his focus back to the blood which wasn't to bad. He took to the track right away again in speed mode but focused. Lost it a few times but not for long, turns back around by himself and starts tracking again. Along the way as i see blood i speak out "blood good boy find the buck". Seemed to help him get excited about it. Finally the end of our 1/4 mile long bloodtrack through the woods, over fallen timber and wet runoff hillsides! I am so stoked Hess is really catching on to this blood tracking thing.
All is well. Hope all training is going well for everyone else. Going to check out the Force Fetch event tonight, hopefully i will have an update on that as well. Happy training!

Motivational Posters

I’m sure everyone has seen the Motivational posters either in an email or just around sometimes in offices, classrooms, work break rooms etc. But here are a few I’m sure haven’t hit the mainstream yet. Fun stuff, need to actually make these into posters or something. Enjoy. Thanks Zac, these are great!

Bow Fishing Day

Looks like I may have to start another blog about a possible new addiction…..BowFishing. It is actually more like hunting than fishing. A hell of alot of fun. It was a nice,sunny, warm day out in the channels around Utah Lake. A bunch of guys that call themselves Carp Hunters, with air boats, jet boats and Mud Buddy boats. Arm themselves with bows and arrows and head out to get the stinky,nasty fish. Some of them took it a bit more serious than us. We fished, change that, we hunted for about 2 ½ Hours then decided we wanted some lunch. Back to the boat and Mac knows how to hook it up….Charcoal grill, sausages, beers and Patron’! My kind of lunch! We had to have a first time celebratory cheers but no shot glasses! Who are we to just swig from the bottle? Animals? Thanks to Mac-gyver, he had it taken care of with a little cutting of a beer can and crimping the edges to avoid cut lips! Fascinating! The hunting was fun, much like a spot and stalk type. Wading through the shallows, trying to be as quiet and wakeless as possible. Spotting the fish in the shallow water and slowly stalk ahead, drawing the bow as you approach, aim and release…….THWAP. Fish stuck, arrow through it and stuck to the mud. Most of them anyway, some we missed, some we hit high so they escaped and some jumped out of our bucket. Overall a really good time, fun people and unforgettable experiences. Sorry there is not more pics but my camera decided not to work that day. Thanks Mac, thanks Zac, and thanks Bowfishing Association. Good Times!! Check it out and get your hunt on.