Here is an interesting training scenario for you, let's see who can figure it out:
Dog was bold on birds. GREAT upland hunter and pointer. Range was a little far but solid pointer so not too much of a concern.
First season training for retrieving, I blew through started hunt test levels. He was always one of the top dogs at the hunt test, and got extra marks for delivery to hand, pushing through heavy cover, and was just crazy about birds.
However then when I started teaching handling I had trouble building the dog's confidence. Lining the dog at any distance was a challenge, and when doing the "T" drill involving any distance from dog to handler was always a problem. I used white buckets and flags which seemed to help.
I had been told by professionals watching us two separate opinions: First was a sheer lack of confidence in the dog which would develop with repetition. Second from those seeing how much time training I was putting in, that I had an obedience problem with the dog. At a distance he would blow me off and use his nose to hunt. When I put pressure on him he would freeze up and refuse to move until I moved up closer to him to handle him.
Anybody figure it out yet ??????????????????
Then I tried teaching doubles. First I started schooling out singles, then would re-run as a double. This went fine. Then I tried easy doubles. At first he would simply forget a second mark had landed, after retrieving the first. In time he didn't forget but would either give me "no goes" or would insist on going to the "old fall", and I would have the bird boys help.
Figure it out yet ?????? (don't worry I didn't)
Then I said, ok, NO MORE SINGLE MARKS for this dog. Everything was a double. I could NOT handle the second bird because of my handling problem. So I would do one mark REALLY close (like a breaker bird) and the next further. I would school the further marks using the breaker bird as a double and then in the end eliminate the breaker bird and do a double of the two far marks (on the already schooled distance marks).
It became obvious to me that the only doubles he could do were if the "memory" bird was wide out in the open, or if the memory bird was right on top of us.
Now I bet I have some people figuring this out now !!!!!!!!!!
So then I happen to take the dog for a CERF eye exam which he passed, no genetic defects ...... but I found out the dog had severe scaring in both eyes from a previous illness when he was young. He is not blind, but is severely visually impaired.
This amazing smart, really birdie dog had been doing singles for most of his life by seeing some movement, listening for fall to get to the area and then scent to get the bird. That is why he could not handle, he couldn't SEE ME.
How could I have been so blind to not see this !!!!!!!!!!!! If dog's had hands he would have put the e-collar on me for pressuring him and not reading his body language that he was trying to please me and I could not be pleased. So loyal and devoted these dogs are to us, a smart trainer will learn from the stories they tell us with their body language. |