Working two dogs – 8th November 2009

 

I know that there are probably too many photos attached to this post, but this morning was so enjoyable that any fewer would do it no justice at all – or rather would do the dogs no justice at all.

With these dark evenings and limited time to exercise the dogs adequately in the week, let alone train the dogs, the importance of a good weekend blow out for all of us cannot be overstated.  Don’t get me wrong, both dogs get a good walk every day but in the dark this is limited to walking the lanes with a headtorch, keeping them both on leads.  Pointers need to run.

This morning I set out early with the intention of working both dogs over a patch of ground that I thought may hold snipe.  It was a wet, rushy piece of ground, flanked by a mixture of heather and willow.  I don’t really know very much about snipe, rarely coming across them, but felt that if anywhere held them this would be it.  I had also picked up from Des O’Neile’s diary that snipe numbers seem to be good this year (at least in Northern Ireland) so figured it was worth a look. 

On the way to the hill I saw two snipe flush from the field adjacent to the road and later saw another that Archie signalled but didn’t point, rising from the grass alongside the track as we walked to the area I wanted to cover.  Whilst this was a good sign, we ended up seeing no others.  That’s not, however, to say that the session wasn’t useful.

When we reached the moorland edge I decided to cast both dogs off and let them have a blast.  I figured that the worse thing that could happen was Archie ended up chasing a few birds if I wasn’t on top of him to drop him…I had already come to terms with the fact that Grace would chase if she had the opportunity and that there was no point beating myself up about it.  So, prepared for chaos, I cast both dogs off.  Now, neither dogs have been run together on heather with any real intent.  Yes, they have had a gallop about together in open spaces, but not really in any areas that are likely to hold birds.  This was a little different today.  I soon found that scenting conditions must have been very good as Grace had barely run twenty yards before signalling a bird then pointing.  Archie immediately backed her, Grace then roaded forward with Archie keeping his distance but following suit.  I walked forwards, clicked Grace in and she sprung forwards to put up a cock pheasant.  I blew the whistle, Archie dropped and Grace watched the bird away without chasing.  This was looking good.  I called both dogs back to me, made a fuss and cast them off again.  With renewed vigour both dogs ran well.  Grace quartered really well, very flat and wide.  Archie tended to pull forward a bit far so needed turning back every now and again but he did ok.

After we had moved about 200 yards forward Grace went on point again.  Archie however was further out to the left and carried on running away from where Grace had pointed.  I didn’t want Archie to turn at the end of his cast and run across the front of Grace so walked towards Grace and gently called Archie who swung around and came running back directly towards Grace.  The heather was deep so Archie didn’t see Grace on point until he was nearly on top of her, but when he did see her he stopped dead in his tracks and dropped like a stone into the heather.  I am not sure if he also ran straight into the scent cone but whether it was the sight of Grace or the scent of a bird, he dropped.  I then stood there, whistle in mouth with Grace on point in front of me and Archie, backing on the other side of Grace.  We stood there for a good few minutes before I finger clicked Grace forwards.  She roaded forwards and put up another cock pheasant.  I blew the whistle, Grace didn’t chase and Archie just watched the bird away from his belly down position in the heather.  It was great to be part of this.  Both dogs were actually working together…and I would even like to think that I played a small part in the event.

I cast both dogs off again and we covered a lot of heather before turning to retrace our steps and put ourselves in a position to walk across the wet, rushy area, into the wind.  As we walked back to get into position Grace ran into a thick clump of willow and I lost sight of her.  Archie was standing outside the willow obviously backing Grace although I couldn’t see her.  I walked forwards, told Grace to get on, wherever she was, and a woodcock came jinking out in front of me and headed off along the scrub edge.  Both dogs came to me and we walked on.  Great. 

We eventually positioned ourselves at the start of the wet area and I worked both dogs across the bog.  We covered every inch of ground but no birds.  As we reached the top of the wet area we had to move through a large patch of bracken.  Both dogs were ahead of me and out of sight.  When I eventually got up the bank I could see what I initially thought was Grace backing Archie.  Now I know this is unlikely but as everything had been going so well my hopes where high.  As I moved forwards I realised that actually Grace had gone on point behind Archie, and once he had noticed he backed her from in front by twisting his head around (the photo shows this better).  As I drew alongside Grace she turned her head and looked at me, which is usually a sign that she isn’t confident.  This proved to be correct as we didn’t produce a bird.  An interesting point and back though.

We then went onto the heather and I let  the dogs have a good ten minute blast before heading back to the car.  Whilst we didn’t see any more snipe the session was really good.  Grace worked very well and demonstrated her excellent nose, Archie backed beautifully and both dogs worked together very well.  If I have one criticism it is that Archie didn’t quarter flat enough, but I can work on this another time.

A really good morning.

First day of winter – 1st November 2009

Today really felt like the first day of winter.  The storm in the night had resulted in a few local floods and the river really was running high.  When standing in the garden the sound of the river below really was distracting,  we haven’t had rain like this for a long time.  Looking back though, on this weekend a year ago it snowed quite heavily, so things could have been worse.

With these dark evenings both dogs have had little more than an hour’s road walking a day.  This isn’t very good at all but is about all I could offer them until the weekend.  Having spent yesterday beating I couldn’t even give them the run they deserved then, as the dogs were walked by my wife.  Today, hopefully, made up for this though as both dogs had a long exercise session in the forest burning off the pent up energy they had stored up all week.  It was cold though, with blue sky and a cold wind it wasn’t the most comfortable of sessions.

I only practised the recall and the turn and both dogs did very well.  I was happy to let them just run.  On the way back, however, Grace picked up a scent and went on point by the path.  Archie, who was running along behind, immediately backed Grace.  I find this really quite fascinating.  I have never taught him to back, in fact I am not sure you could teach a dog to back, he just instinctively does it.  It isn’t a half hearted acknowledgement either, its a solid, staunch point in whatever position he happens to be in when he spots the other dog pointing.  Grace had a few tentative points along the way but the wind was really strong and my guess is that these were pheasants well in the distance.  I had no intention of letting her head off in search of these birds.

Both dogs had a good run.  It did remind me to search out my gloves though.  Winter is here. Judging by the front that I could see coming in I feel we are in for even more rain.

Moorland fog – 24th October 2009

 

I try to feed both dogs at about 7.30am and again at about 7.30pm although the evening feed is often later.  I never exercise the dogs after feeding and only feed them at least an hour and a half after exercise.  With this routine it is easy to wonder whether the whole day is mapped out around feeding times.  This morning, however, I broke with tradition. I got up late, at a quarter to eight, and decided to take the dogs up onto the heather before breakfast.

As I drove up the hill from my house I quickly realised that training would be difficult on account of the fog.  Visibility was very poor at about 1200 feet so I would have to play it by ear.  I ran Grace first giving her no particular direction and she seemed to be  doing ok.  After ten minutes I picked her up and let Archie have a run.  As is now usual he set off at high speed covering the ground well.  I had him turning at the limit of my visibility and quartering comfortably into the wind.  No problems there.

I picked both dogs up after about twenty five minutes and decided to walk to a patch of moorland that had never produced birds but apart from this had everything going for it.  When we counted the moor in August I had high hopes for this particular area but we found no birds despite the fact that the heather was in its building phase, there was a good carpet of bilberry, plenty of gaps in the heather and the odd wet flush surrounded by tall grasses.  The keeper had even been burning patches here so the age structure of this area seemed perfect.  Despite this, we found no birds in August. 

I approached this area with both dogs on their leads, walked to the edge of the moorland and planned to run the dogs one at a time into the wind.  If fog creates visibility difficulties at least it gives a good indication of the wind direction at heather level.  In addition to the fog it had now started to rain heavily and the wind had really picked up. 

I cast Archie off to the left and he ran well.  He covered a good distance before I turned him to bring him across me.  Instead of coming across me, however, he pulled ahead before reaching the half way point of his beat.  He stopped, moved forward, then hesitated then continued to finish his beat before I turned him again.  He did the same again, pulling forward half way along the beat.  I called him back in order to cover the ground that he was missing which he did immediately but felt sure that he had scented something.  I picked him up and cast Grace off.  Grace ran flat out immediately, and swung onto point absolutely rigidly within about five seconds, although off to the left (not where Archie had been).  Archie backed immediately despite being on the lead.  I was then stuck.  I couldn’t move forward to Grace, who was a fair way off, to control the flush without encouraging Archie to move closer.  I had to stand and watch and let Grace work it out for herself.  She slowly moved forward and up sprung a cock pheasant from the heather.  I couldn’t believe it, I was miles from nowhere and it was a cock pheasant.  Never mind, Grace didn’t chase but ran around in circles like an idiot before returning to me looking very pleased with herself.  I picked her up and walked forward with both dogs on leads.  After another twenty yards I put two greyhens up to my right.  These birds were directly ahead of the spot that Archie continually drew forward towards.  I have no doubt that he picked them up earlier on and with a bit more experience would have signalled them in a more obvious way.

After another few yards a black cock got up ahead of us and wheeled around to the right.  Despite the fog its lyre like tail was plainly visible.  The photos look to be a joke but it was far more visible to the naked eye, honest.

Not a bad session but I was drenched.  Even my boots had filled with water.  At least we found birds though. 

I do apologise for the photos; the lens got very wet.

Repetitions – 17th October 2009

Firstly I must apologise for not keeping this diary up to date over the last two weeks.  A combination of very long working hours and my wife writing an assignment has meant that there has been no time to get on the PC.  Worse than that, exercising the dogs has been, by and large, confined to local lead walks on the road.  Not ideal.  This, however, will be changing.  My wife has finished her assignment and I won’t be working the same hours that I have done recently.  This doesn’t mean that training will get any easier as the clocks change this weekend and we will have less light, but at least a few of the factors will be on my side.

Last weekend we had a training session on the racecourse.  It wasn’t particularly eventful, but it was noticeable how compliant Grace was compared to normal, or at least the preceding two weeks.  She was dropping to the whistle quickly, and turning and returning on the ‘p’ of the pip.  I had her spayed after her first season but I still feel very strongly that her hormones change as if she wasn’t spayed.  I am not sure how this could be, but I really feel there is something in it.

I let them both let off some steam before a rather systematic lesson of drops, recalls, hups and stays.  As usual Grace whined incessantly when having to sit in one spot for longer than a second, but I found that by leaving them both in the hupped position and walking even further away than normal before recalling them I could actually get out of earshot, giving me some respite.

Both dogs did fine.  I purposefully let Archie ‘get on’ when I knew he had spotted other dogs in the distance, then dropped him in full flight just to test how well he dropped.  He dropped instantly.  Great.

Distractions – 11th October 2009

It is always useful to repeat training exercises in an environment that provides a few more distractions than normal, if for no other reason than to remind yourself that training is contextual.  I really believe that Grace thinks the signal for a drop, if all around is quiet, means drop.  If another dog walker is in sight, however, it means stop for a second, calculate the chances of getting away with a complete disobeyal of the instruction, then run up to the other dog leaping and writhing like a ten week old puppy.  This is obviously what happened today.

We went up to the racecourse for a bit of direction work, drops, recalls etc.  It was Sunday though and the sky was blue so we weren’t alone.  I can honestly say that I have put so much more effort into training Grace to drop than Archie and with Grace I still haven’t got it anywhere near bomb proof.  In fact, looking at both dogs you would swear that it was Grace that had only had six months of training.  Both dogs noticed an oncoming couple with a dog and Grace behaved as described whilst Archie dropped immediately to the ’sit’ and waited for me to go over and slip on his lead.  By this time Grace was making a prat of herself, writhing about like an idiot in front of what turned out to be a Tibetan Terrier that wasn’t the least bit impressed.  Luckily its owners were far more tolerant.

We had a chat and the owners of the terrier asked what dogs I had.  We talked about training and they asked if they could see Archie drop to command again (as they had seen him do it earlier).  I cast him off, turned him on two pips to the right, recalled him and dropped him in front of me.  It was a risky thing to do as any ‘demonstration’ is destined to be an episode of severe embarrassment, but it worked.  Archie did everything right whilst Grace, on the lead by this time, wriggled about like an eel on a line.  We said our goodbyes and went on our separate ways. 

Without distractions Grace was dropping fine, which was good.  Doing the same in front of other dogs was another story.  Both dogs had a good run though, and Archie even managed to find a badger dung pit to roll in.  Great.

It is getting colder now so, as a treat, I have replaced the kennel pop hole door.  I have two parts to the kennel, one side as original with its plastic pop hole curtain intact – reserved for guests (their dogs that is).  The other side is ply lined and partially insulated, with a raised bed, and now with a rather stylish curtain made of two hessian sacks (Archie ate the original one and its replacement).  It is now quite snug inside but I give the door three days before Archie has shredded it.  We will see.

Pointers backing – 10th October 2009

This week has been busy. My wife has been working long hours and whilst I do work at home most of the time this doesn’t mean that I seem to have any more time to do anything other than work. With the nights drawing in, and a real chill in the air, the opportunities for longer training sessions only really come at the weekends.

I went up into the forest today with no real intention of doing anything other than letting the dogs have a good run, practice a few recalls, and drop a few times to the whistle. I have to admit that I have been a bit disappointed with Grace’s training on the heather recently but maybe this is just in contrast to the speed and determination that Archie shows. Anyway, I sometimes forget that training can be a bit of a roller coaster ride and just when you least expect it things come together well. Today was one of those days.

It was warm with a good breeze and as we walked through the forest the noise of birdsong was intense. Flocks of coal tits flew through the canopy and I even got sight of a woodcock, given away by its jinking flight more than anything else. I know woodcock are here all year round but to me they signify the arrival of autumn in the same way curlew tell me summer is on its way. The dogs just ran flat out and every now and again I recalled them to me.

We moved out of the forest into a clearfell area and before long I noticed that Grace was on point ahead of me. Not only that but Archie was backing solidly from quite a distance. I moved in and waited. After a few moments Grace relocated and Archie followed, closing the gap slightly. As Grace froze on point again Archie dropped into the grass. Moments later Grace relocated and Archie followed suit. We eventually ended up in a situation where Grace was solidly on point up against the stump of an old tree and Archie was backing solidly behind. I waited, and waited, and waited. I figured that it would do no harm to let the dogs wait so this is what we did. We must have stood motionless for about ten minutes. I then clicked my finger and thumb and Grace went in to flush the bird. The bird however must have moved on into the small conifers because Grace worked out the scent, then headed into the trees. Archie checked out the scent excitedly then turned around and came back to me. Within seconds a noisy cock pheasant flushed and I blew the drop whistle. Archie dropped at my feet and I can only guess that Grace must have either dropped or stopped as when I called her she came back out of the trees instantly. She cannot have chased the bird. I called her back to me then hupped her. Archie stayed in the dropped position. I was really happy. To watch one dog point then produce the bird is one thing. To watch one point and one back then produce a bird is more than double the pleasure.

On the way back we walked through some dense woodland and came across some stag-horn fungus. It was visible from a long way off as it is virtually flourescent. A great session for both dogs.

Horses for Courses – 4th October 2009

Today was a typical October day.  You could feel a chill in the air but the sky was blue and the sun still had some warmth in it.  In addition, it was a Sunday which meant that I had a bit more time to spend training the dogs.  Because of this I elected to take the dogs out separately.  The colours in autumn are quite special, particularly when the vivid red of rowan berries are set against a backdrop of blue sky.  There are days in the winter when I would rather not be out with the dogs.  This was exactly the opposite.

I came home from the last outing today with a clear picture of the way ahead.  I have a Land Rover and an Audi.  The Audi is quite capable, with careful driving, in reasonable conditions, of making it along a rutted farm track.  It is possible with the Audi, but the Land Rover does it better; much better.  Likewise, the Audi is very comfortable sitting at 80 mph on the motorway for hours on end.  With the wind behind me I can get the Land Rover up to 80 mph on the motorway, and given favourable conditions, it can sit there for a long time.  It is possible with the Land Rover, but the Audi does it better; much better.

I took Archie out onto the heather today and ran him for quite a long time.  We were out for well over two hours and I guess Archie had about an hour of free running during this time.  I was about 200 yards from the Land Rover when I realised I had forgotten the long line so decided to take a risk and run him without it.  To cut a long story short I ran him in various depths of heather at various angles to the wind and he did very, very well.  In the shorter heather his beat was comfortably wide and his speed was consistently high.  He turned on every whistle and dropped both to the whistle and the raised hand.  It was an absolute pleasure to be out with him.  I chose a patch of moorland that was extensive with good visibility, meaning that I could let him get out a good way and see how he responded to my direction changes.  He was really good, turning in response to my turning.  We found no birds but despite this I was really pleased.  I daresay that he will sleep soundly tonight.

I have worked really hard with Grace to draw out of her the best performance I can manage.  She can run well when she chooses, has a great nose and will definitely find birds if there are any to be found, and by and large she handles pretty well.  Her recall is really good, her turning is really good.  Her dropping to the flush however is still an issue.  She is my first dog, and I have had to learn, often the hard way, how to do or not do things. All in all I don’t feel I have done a bad job with Grace but as my school reports will testify…I could have done better. 

There are fundamental differences between Grace and Archie though.  These differences I believe are inherent.  They correlate with the breeding but as I was taught, quite rightly, that correlation does not equal causation, I realise I would be on risky grounds making any assertions on breeding when the variables are so numerous and the sample size so small.  When I cast Archie off he runs.  Not just a comfortable gallop into the heather but a powerful, determined, thundering charge.  He then keeps an eye on me. looking for a signal to do something different whether that’s change direction or drop.  If I casually call him he will come back and drop next to me until I set him up and cast him off again.  I feel very strongly that he wants to do what I want him to do, and he knows I want him to find birds.  When I set Grace up to cast her off she whines impatiently.  She always has and I don’t believe she can help it.  I have tried many ways to stop it, all fruitless.  I cast her off and she will run well.  She doesn’t run, however, with the same determination as Archie.  She does well, but she isn’t a rocket.  She handles well and recalls well but often doesn’t look for direction.  If she gets the scent of a bird she does exactly what she wants, which to a point coincides with what I want her to do, but only a point.  She will totally blank me out, deciding to chase the bird rather than drop.  I genuinely believe that she works to please herself, which often also pleases me.  I really feel that Archie works to please me, which also often pleases him.  The difference is maybe quite subtle, but its impact is not.

Having come to this partial conclusion I decided, once Archie was home and kenelled, to take Grace out for a walk.  No frustrating training.  We went down by a different section of the river only 5 minutes from my house, then up the valley side into the sunshine.  It was a wonderful walk.  Grace trotted ahead of me, sometimes disappearing from view, but more often than not only 20 yards ahead of me.  I could think about other things and just take in the walk, rather than worry about whether Grace was onto a bird, or about to flush one.  I guess this is what dog walking is all about.  We met a few other dogs and Grace had a hop about before dutifully coming away from them and walking with me.  I would call her in to heel every now and again and she was happy just to be out with me.  We had a really comfortable, relaxing walk.  When I take Archie out I set him up, then cast him off.  If he doesn’t run hard immediately I drop him, pick him up and repeat the whole exercise, only letting him carry on if he runs hard.  If I walked him along this track he would vanish from sight within seconds.  In short, it just couldn’t happen.

I mustn’t forget why we got Grace.  We wanted a pet that I hoped would open the door for me to working pointers (my family had to be convinced).  She has taught me a great deal.  What I mustn’t lose sight of is the fact that she is not the same as Archie and I mustn’t get annoyed or disappointed that she responds differently to her surroundings and my training.  I am still trying to get her to drop to a raised hand.  It took me just two attempts to get Archie to do this.

I am sure the Working versus Show debate will rumble on forever, as will the Nature versus Nurture debate.  These two dogs are totally different – whether this is down to pedigree, sex, or me I will never know.  I would never criticise my Land Rover for its motorway cruising capabilities in the same way I don’t expect my Audi to come off unscathed should I take it up a farm track in the winter.

With regards the other photos, the spring that Archie is drinking out of was nearly dry.  This is the first time I have ever seen this.  The river alongside which I took Grace was also really low.  We need rain.  The caterpillar, by the way, is that of a Fox Moth.  There were loads on the moorland today.  They eat heather.

Out on the heather – October 1st 2009

Nic came with me this afternoon which meant that we could up onto the heather.  I avoid formal training sessions with both dogs if I am on my own as they can be frustrating at their best, and counterproductive at their worst.  I may send Archie off across the wind, with Grace on a slip lead by my side to find that Grace’s continual whining at being kept on the lead shortens my fuse, which in turn makes my instruction of Archie more tense that it should be, causing the whole event to become difficult.  Or I send Grace off and drop her, to find that Grace hasn’t dropped, but Archie has.  I am then stuck with Archie in the dropped position attached to a lead on my wrist with the need to reach Grace before she forgets what the instruction was.  All very complicated; and easily solved by bringing someone else along.

So, with Nic to help me, both dogs had some good runs.  I ran Archie on a line to be on the safe side, and although we didn’t find any birds, he handled pretty well.  It is difficult using a line, in that it causes him to adopt a low flat running position which presumably helps him pull the line through the heather.  This makes it difficult not to misinterpret his body signals.  Still, with no birds about, there were few signals to misinterpret.

Grace had a few good runs but she continually cut short her beat.  I corrected her every time by stopping her from taking a bite forward too early and sending her on in the direction I wanted her to go in, but it was a persistent problem and I got fed up correcting it.  In the end I picked her up and we headed home.  There is a small chance that I was misreading the wind and at her head height the wind was coming from a different angle but I couldn’t feel this.  All in all we had a useful session.

The Dee – 29th September 2009

I seem to have failed to publish this post yesterday, so sorry about the date order.

I dropped my youngest son off at football this evening, and having to pick him up only an hour an a half later meant that I had little time to train the dogs.  Instead, I opted to walk alongside the River Dee with the dogs.  This has been the first year for a long time that I haven’t been fishing once and walking alongside the river during a hatch made me realise exactly what I have been missing.  The evening rise is so relaxing, even if you aren’t fishing it…but standing in the water as trout rise around you must be one of life’s luxuries.  Never mind, I will have a bit more time next season.

No training this evening.  It will have to wait.

The photos that include the lab were taken a few weekends ago.  My brother came up for the game fair and part of Saturday was spent with the dogs down by the river.  No training as it would have ended in failure but the dogs had a good time, and a lot of exercise.

Using a long line – 30th September 2009

I took Archie out today for a bit of one to one.  I made sure he stayed attached to a line just incase he needed a bit of controlling but he was fine.  I cast him off and he headed in normal fashion into the distance, then turned on the whistle.  The problem I have with the line is that the weight obviously drags on Archie and affects the way he looks.  It doesn’t seem to slow him down very much, as he is quite a powerful bundle, but trailing a heavy line, particularly in deep heather causes him to run lower.  I am never really sure how to interpret his body language with a line on as he runs with a lower head which, from a distance, gives the impression that he may have scented a bird.  Couple this with the fact that he seemed to spend the session in a stop start mode made the whole exercise quite difficult.  Archie seems to pick up scent everywhere, signal it, then move forward slowly in a very unsure way.  I wasn’t sure whether to drop him and cast him off again, recall him and send him off across the wind, or just let him follow the scent.  As this happened a few times I tried a number of responses.  He always, however, ended up picking up the same scent and roading forward in a stop-start way.  After a few hundred yards of hesitant walking forward along a path (it didn’t even constitute what I would call roading) I picked him up and we headed home.

I have no doubt that he was on to scent of some sort, but as yet doesn’t seem to be able to differentiate between birds under his nose and those a long way off.  The stop start thing I think it may be down to fitness.  When he wants to run he can really run but if he was fitter he may not take the opportunity to stop and go slow quite so frequently.