Originally posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:58 pm
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..After yesterdays double dog training sessions I felt like I could hardly move today but Charlie and his big G.S.P. pal felt just fine so I had to take them out. I took both together to the local wildlife park which is a contradiction in terms 'cos it has no wildlife apart from lager louts and courting couples and their attendant twitchers !
I went along a woodland track and chucked a couple of dummies well into the wood on one side. My plan was to send Charlie out first giving him an easier find then to send out the G.S.P. for the more difficult 2nd dummy.
Into view on the same pathway as me came a man a woman a pram and a dog. It was the dog I recognised first , Belle the 'orrible Brittany ,still owned by me but dognapped by my son and his wife to be a nice sized house pet nearly a year and a half ago. It was my son, his wife and my grand daughter - but I recognised the dog first ! I really must get specs !
During the subsequent greeting ceremonies my G.S.P. who is retrieve daft sneaked off and came back with one of the dummies I'd tossed. I waited no longer but lined Charlie up and sent him . He remembered very well and tore off along the track then into the wood but Belle the 'orrible decided to follow him . Charlie found the dummy and started back but got mugged by Belle who is bigger than him , meanwhile my G.S.P. had decided he could do it all much better and he'd ran in !!! I did nothing for fear of frightening Charlie , Belle the 'orrible now got a dose of her own medicine 'cos the big lad mugged her in turn and made a triumphant return with the dummy.
That is not what I call good dog training but what can you do with families ? Everyone other than me was muchly amused -- I left the scene to continue on my way muttering something about sassafrassin , bassafrassin Brittanies ! They are the nearest breed I know of to cocker spaniels - utterly infuriating yet terrific little dogs !
Following this total muck up I decided to do some serious steadiness to dummy training. I went onto short grass and sat the two dogs a few feet apart. Wee Charlie studied me intently this was new territory to him. He did very well really for I have hardly begun to teach him to stay in one spot. The G.S.P. is steady but is ever watchful for a chance at the dummy when another dog is nearby, he thinks every dummy ever thrown should be either his or mine with no middle men such as wee cocker spaniels. With a dog with a different temperament I would not have done any of this but Buck the G.S.P. is a very friendly dog. Him and Charlie are good friends and are forever playing together. Buck might try to steal the. dummy from Charlie but he would not harm him in any way.
Charlie will steal any dummy available so I had my hands full !
I tossed dummies around trying always to keep my body between Charlie and the dummy. I split things fairly equally picking some of the dummies myself and sending either Buck or Charlie by name to get the others. Charlie tried twice to run in on Bucks dummy as soon as he saw my arm signal. He got no reward for this 'cos a big fit G.S.P. dog is faster than a wee cocker ! Buck got the dummy first and held it well out of Charlies reach as he came back to me. I did notice though that this worried Buck a bit for he "rolled" the dummies in his mouth . Charlie got plonked back into his place.
By the end of a short session both dogs were behaving well remaining at the sit while the other retrieved.
I'm not kidding myself that either Charlie or Buck is now steady but it was a good start to what will be needed when I eventually take them out picking up together.
I tried a longish double seek -back into the fringes of a wood 60 yards away. Charlie got the first dummy easily despite not having seen it tossed but the second one caused him problems . He hunted hard but came out of the wood without it twice. Both times I whistle sat him at 30 yards or more from me and commanded him "Out !" again. He responded perfectly and charged back into the wood, after the 2nd time I walked back towards the wood to help him but he didn't need it ,he came hurtling back out of the wood again this time with the dummy. This time he did his only body swerve of the training session on me but I at once spoke sharply to him and he came right in for his usual cuddle/present !
I headed back towards my car letting Charlie chunter on 30 -40 feet ahead while I walked Buck ay heel free down the path. This is good practice for Buck, I find training heelwork boring and have a very bad habit of neglecting it . Buck very much wanted to move on ahead with Charlie but he stayed pretty well at heel with very few extra commands.
My attention was still on Buck . Charlie has been with me for over a month now and he has come on in leaps and bounds in his confidence in meeting other dogs and other people. A month ago what happened next would not have occurred , Charlie would never have done it .
Charlie spotted two dogs and ran near them inviting a game, the two dogs were track greyhounds. Charlies sudden appearance caught their walker by surprise and the leads got torn from his grasp. The two dogs rushed Charlie and he took fright and ran back towards me. The greyhounds easily overtook him and bowled him over he yelped in fright and by this time I was hurrying towards the scene. Something else was hurrying too - I think Buck thought he was missing out on a game but whatever he thought he charged in and knocked over one of the greyhounds. The other dog broke off from Charlie who lost no time in deserting his big pal and hurrying back to me leaving Buck standing looking very statuesque and utterly confident between the two dogs. The one he'd knocked over was out of it - I know what it feels like to be bumped by Buck.At this point I realised there was no real problem for both the greyhounds were muzzled ! Their owner hurried up to reassure me about that and was apologetic. Apart from being bowled over and kept down until Buck arrived by the two dogs Charlie seems unharmed. Those dogs seemed to mean business though...... I have a feeling it was very fortunate that they were both muzzled.
It is a public park and the man and his greyhounds have as much right there as me and my two rogues. I should have kept a closer eye on Charlie and the greyhound man should have kept a tighter grip on the leads.
It is when things like that happen that I realise just how gently Buck is playing with Charlie - he really is pulling his punches ! Buck once accidentally Knocked me out cold by barging into me as I was sitting hidden from him in tall grass. He also once accidentally banged against my knee cap doing an overly enthusiastic return . That was about 9 months ago and my kneecap still throbs - I now need a plastic one ! He is even bigger and heavier and faster now - I would not like to feel like that greyhound does right now !!!
Wullie
The little b*^^*r has known exactly what was required for some time ! He just hasn't much wanted to do it and gave me the "be gentle with me, I'm ultra sensitive " eyes and semi cowed looking crouch. I am of course mug enough to fall for it - I'm not used to cockers ! 
I would have thought he was ill but when he was allowed to retrieve he went like a wee black bat out of hell ! 
Buck could do those two memory retrieves standing on his head - but could Charlie do them as blinds ??? 
) when he got to within a few yards of the dummy and could see it lying on the short grass he began "proinking " out of sheer high spirited exuberance ! I love watching him do that, it always makes me smile. Back he came with that dummy while I bragged to my admiring wife that "Yes , I've trained him that quite well." He ran right on past me and my wife and the other two dogs to do a few victory circuits of the field while still holding his trophy ! The little sod- my bragging had been going well too ! 