All went well with Kurt's training yesterday. I did three very close range stops to whistle and three retrieves, one of them a short memory retrieve. He sat while I tossed the dummy down the road and then he walked , more or less to heel, off lead when I walked him 10 yards back up the road then turned around again to be ready to send him for it. He sat at heel again while still off-lead and I had him wait for a few seconds but just as I was about to send him I saw his muscles bunch and his haunches slightly rise in readiness for a command …..or a run in.
I was only four feet away from him but I knew that if he did run in I'd be too slow to stop him so I instantly gave him the retrieve command. I did a sort of pre-emptive strike I suppose with that retrieve command but I think it was better that he ran-in as he heard the command than have him manage to just run-in .
He has become a big and very strong puppy, he is far bigger than my lab bitch and she is no tiddler. If this pup wasn't so willing to please I would be in big trouble - - - - and so would my daughter !
My continued inability to walk far has meant that Kurt is well behind what I would usually expect from a 9 months old puppy …. I've ran HPR's in trials when they were only a few months older than he is. He has almost no idea of how to go about finding a dummy thrown into anything resembling thick cover for example , he just hasn't had the practice. Almost every retrieve he has ever had has been inside my garden or out on the road just outside it or - at best - on short grass.
Where hunting and pointing is concerned he has only been out twice to a place where he could do those things. I liked what I saw but he should really be getting an awful lot more chances to hunt and point.
Wullie
Ghillie's Report Card
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trekmoor
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Re: Ghillie's Report Card
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
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Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
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Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
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trekmoor
- Member
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- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:38 am
- Dogs: Too many and not enough !
- Location: Central Scotland
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
I've been feeling crap today and Kurt isn't here anyway so I decided to do something I've been meaning to do for donkeys years. I decided to make a dummy launcher. The finished product weighs about 2 ozs. and can be carried in a shirt pocket.
When I was a boy I was always interested in ancient weaponry like bows and arrows, atlatls, spin darts and slings. Slings go back at least 3000 years and were famously used by David to give Goliath a wee dunt on the heid. I know that a slingshot would be easily capable of bringing down a very big man or giant. Slings were often called the shepherds weapon and slingers from one particular part of the Mediterranean area , the Balearic Islands, were famous for their use of the sling in battle....even the Romans employed them . These men could throw a heavy lead "bullet" for more than 400 yards using a sling - - - that means that even a very powerful bow would be outranged by about 100 yards !
My dummy launcher is based on the principles of the sling. Recently I have had a problem with throwing dummies, my spondylitis makes throwing one just 20 -25 yards difficult. In addition to that Kurt the GSP puppy has a habit of picking dummies up by the string or toggle and I wanted to do something about that. I did try just removing the string and toggle from a couple of dummies but found the "bare" dummy even more difficult to throw and my distance went down to just 10 - 15 yards. My "dummy launcher" removed both of these problems in no time flat.
I removed the string from an ordinary 1 lb. dummy but kept the plastic toggle . Then I cut a 3 foot length of paracord .... a bootlace might be even better. I attached the toggle to one end of the paracord and heat sealed the other end then passed it through the eyehole on the dummy. With the toggle held in between my index and middle finger the other end of the cord was now held by my thumb and index finger with the other fingers also holding it firmly into my palm for extra security. The dummy now dangled about 15 -18 inches below my hand held there by the loop of the cord. I felt this was a bit too much for me to easily manage so I cut the cord to give me about a 10 - 12 inch loop in which to hold the dummy.
It was time for testing. I took my high tech dummy thrower into my back garden and sat my springer Edge ready for a bit of retrieving .... I hoped ! I stretched my throwing arm out behind me and swung but I did so rather gingerly in case the weight of the dummy at the end of it's centrifugal force accelerated swing hurt me rather badly ! That dummy flew off the end of the cord I'd released and went into the wood behind my house. It hit right into a load of tree branches and part of a hedge before hitting the ground. The distance was crap. Only 10 -12 yards but those branches had got in the way. I also noticed that because the dummy had no string or toggle attached it did not catch up in all the twigs and branches .... a bonus point !
Edge was so excited by that style of throw and then all the branch crashing , he ran -in .....the bugger !
I tried again and this time a bit more confidently and with better aim now that I was more used to the swing of the dummy. That throw went 25 - 30 yards before it fell into the wood after hitting a big tree branch.
I think a fit person , which I am not, could use this method of releasing a dummy and gain considerably on his or her usual throwing distance . No it would not rival an £130 pukka made dummy launcher but all it cost me was 5 minutes in time making it and 2 - 3 feet of cord.
I am now in the process of taking out a patent for my innovative 3000 years old invention and will be marketing 3 feet long lengths of paracord or old bootlaces for the knockdown price of only £25 each to all buyers. I might give you lot a good discount , just 10 quid each to you. Any takers ?
Seriously, I think this will work . It can throw further than I normally can thanks to centrifugal force, it doesn't easily catch up on tree branches and dogs cannot pick up the dummy by the string or toggle because there no longer is one. It does need some practice to get used to the lengthened swing of the dummy though.
Wullie
When I was a boy I was always interested in ancient weaponry like bows and arrows, atlatls, spin darts and slings. Slings go back at least 3000 years and were famously used by David to give Goliath a wee dunt on the heid. I know that a slingshot would be easily capable of bringing down a very big man or giant. Slings were often called the shepherds weapon and slingers from one particular part of the Mediterranean area , the Balearic Islands, were famous for their use of the sling in battle....even the Romans employed them . These men could throw a heavy lead "bullet" for more than 400 yards using a sling - - - that means that even a very powerful bow would be outranged by about 100 yards !
My dummy launcher is based on the principles of the sling. Recently I have had a problem with throwing dummies, my spondylitis makes throwing one just 20 -25 yards difficult. In addition to that Kurt the GSP puppy has a habit of picking dummies up by the string or toggle and I wanted to do something about that. I did try just removing the string and toggle from a couple of dummies but found the "bare" dummy even more difficult to throw and my distance went down to just 10 - 15 yards. My "dummy launcher" removed both of these problems in no time flat.
I removed the string from an ordinary 1 lb. dummy but kept the plastic toggle . Then I cut a 3 foot length of paracord .... a bootlace might be even better. I attached the toggle to one end of the paracord and heat sealed the other end then passed it through the eyehole on the dummy. With the toggle held in between my index and middle finger the other end of the cord was now held by my thumb and index finger with the other fingers also holding it firmly into my palm for extra security. The dummy now dangled about 15 -18 inches below my hand held there by the loop of the cord. I felt this was a bit too much for me to easily manage so I cut the cord to give me about a 10 - 12 inch loop in which to hold the dummy.
It was time for testing. I took my high tech dummy thrower into my back garden and sat my springer Edge ready for a bit of retrieving .... I hoped ! I stretched my throwing arm out behind me and swung but I did so rather gingerly in case the weight of the dummy at the end of it's centrifugal force accelerated swing hurt me rather badly ! That dummy flew off the end of the cord I'd released and went into the wood behind my house. It hit right into a load of tree branches and part of a hedge before hitting the ground. The distance was crap. Only 10 -12 yards but those branches had got in the way. I also noticed that because the dummy had no string or toggle attached it did not catch up in all the twigs and branches .... a bonus point !
Edge was so excited by that style of throw and then all the branch crashing , he ran -in .....the bugger !
I tried again and this time a bit more confidently and with better aim now that I was more used to the swing of the dummy. That throw went 25 - 30 yards before it fell into the wood after hitting a big tree branch.
I think a fit person , which I am not, could use this method of releasing a dummy and gain considerably on his or her usual throwing distance . No it would not rival an £130 pukka made dummy launcher but all it cost me was 5 minutes in time making it and 2 - 3 feet of cord.
I am now in the process of taking out a patent for my innovative 3000 years old invention and will be marketing 3 feet long lengths of paracord or old bootlaces for the knockdown price of only £25 each to all buyers. I might give you lot a good discount , just 10 quid each to you. Any takers ?
Seriously, I think this will work . It can throw further than I normally can thanks to centrifugal force, it doesn't easily catch up on tree branches and dogs cannot pick up the dummy by the string or toggle because there no longer is one. It does need some practice to get used to the lengthened swing of the dummy though.
Wullie
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
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trekmoor
- Member
- Posts: 16074
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:38 am
- Dogs: Too many and not enough !
- Location: Central Scotland
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
P.S...……...If this idea works and catches on , I betcha some bloomin' American will claim it as his and have a fancy name for it ! - - - Maybe sumfin like the Balearic Bow-wow Trainer ???
Wullie
Wullie
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
Lol...its both a briliannt read and a dragons den moment 
Muddling along in the hope that one day it starts to make sense.
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trekmoor
- Member
- Posts: 16074
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:38 am
- Dogs: Too many and not enough !
- Location: Central Scotland
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
This afternoon I will be going out with a man who lives locally and his 11 - 12 months old GSP . I will be taking Kurt along with me.
I've never met the man or his dog before but he is a forum member though he has only made one post . As I understand it his dog is a bit of a handful and likes to take off to play with other dogs …..sounds very like Kurt !
I only hope the two male dogs get on well and don't run off into the sunset together ! The man is in for a bit of a shock when he realises I was not kidding about how far or how fast I can walk , we will be lucky if I manage to go 50 yards from the cars !
I'm taking him to what was once an industrial site but the buildings were levelled long ago leaving only hints that most of the ground we will be standing on was once either the floors of buildings or car parks for those buildings. Mother nature has been doing her best to reclaim all of this and much of the concrete and gravel and rubble now has a covering of mosses and grasses and even reeds around the little pools in depressions in the rubble. Bushes are growing quite thickly too - - - won't be long before nature has reclaimed her own.
It sounds a very ugly place and unlikely to hold game but later in the winter snipe frequent it in numbers and ducks use the pond that has formed among what looks like a very big bomb crater. It is actually quite a bonny place to be in. Not many people walk through this area and those that do are mainly office workers taking a short cut from their cars to their offices about 200 yards away. They stick to the only remaining tarmacked path through the place never knowing or never noticing that snipe are within feet from them on either side of the path.
It isn't a big bit of ground , maybe twice the size of a footie pitch at the most but there is a fence of sorts around it that I hope the dogs will stay inside. I will let you know how we got on.
Wullie
I've never met the man or his dog before but he is a forum member though he has only made one post . As I understand it his dog is a bit of a handful and likes to take off to play with other dogs …..sounds very like Kurt !
I only hope the two male dogs get on well and don't run off into the sunset together ! The man is in for a bit of a shock when he realises I was not kidding about how far or how fast I can walk , we will be lucky if I manage to go 50 yards from the cars !
I'm taking him to what was once an industrial site but the buildings were levelled long ago leaving only hints that most of the ground we will be standing on was once either the floors of buildings or car parks for those buildings. Mother nature has been doing her best to reclaim all of this and much of the concrete and gravel and rubble now has a covering of mosses and grasses and even reeds around the little pools in depressions in the rubble. Bushes are growing quite thickly too - - - won't be long before nature has reclaimed her own.
It sounds a very ugly place and unlikely to hold game but later in the winter snipe frequent it in numbers and ducks use the pond that has formed among what looks like a very big bomb crater. It is actually quite a bonny place to be in. Not many people walk through this area and those that do are mainly office workers taking a short cut from their cars to their offices about 200 yards away. They stick to the only remaining tarmacked path through the place never knowing or never noticing that snipe are within feet from them on either side of the path.
It isn't a big bit of ground , maybe twice the size of a footie pitch at the most but there is a fence of sorts around it that I hope the dogs will stay inside. I will let you know how we got on.
Wullie
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
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trekmoor
- Member
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- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:38 am
- Dogs: Too many and not enough !
- Location: Central Scotland
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
I met up with the man and his wife , had a quick blether, then drove to the snipey bit of ground I mentioned. Their dog is even bigger than Kurt and he's two months older than him and he's had a head start in getting his own way. Like Kurt he will retrieve but also like him he acts up a bit when asked to retrieve with another dog and a strange person around.
I showed the man the "backwards shuffle step" and I hope doing that in future will help to persuade the dog to come right in to deliver. Kurt did come right in but he did several drops of the dummy and he was holding it by an end . He was also dead slow and stop as he returned.
I tossed Kurt's dummy into a snipe splash on his second retrieve and he did not really hunt for it. He'd caught the residual scent made by a few snipe that had departed as we arrived at the splash. I had to tell him firmly to pick up the dummy . He did it but his heart wasn't in it , he was far more interested in the scent left behind by a species of bird he's never even seen !
Both of the pups were steady to the dummy throws and that surprised me a bit ….. I'd have betted on Kurt running in !
The "hunting," if you could call it that, did not go very well. This was mainly due to my inability to walk much more than 30 yards without having to stop and gasp for breath. I thought a little sit down for a while would do me good but when I tried to sit on a fallen telegraph pole I fell off and landed up on my back waggling my arms and legs about like an upturned crab.
I explained the importance of "giving the dog the wind" and think the man already knew this but was too polite to say so. When cast off to hunt the dog did hunt but was no better than Kurt is at actually turning to whistle. I explained about turning your body while giving the whistle command and accompanying that with a sweep of the arm in the required direction. For a first attempt at this the dog did O.K.
I noticed the dog was far too inclined to "dwell on scent" and also inclined to scent mark as he hunted and told the man to keep the dog moving. In my opinion pointing dogs should either be running and looking for game, or pointing game or even bumping it but they should not be given time to just mooch around. I'd rather urge a scent dwelling pup or dog on and make it bump a bird than see it not either running or pointing.
This dog has one rather major fault ….he barks and he whines and he does not like remaining in place - not even with a lead on. His owners have made the mistake of manhandling him into doing things like sitting and staying and this dog is big enough, strong enough physically and strong willed enough to struggle against being man handled . I can't do much about his noisemaking but if the dog was more settled mentally then I think his noise making would decrease. I asked his owners to use the lead more , accompanied by just one definite command when getting him to sit and stay in one position when the dog gets worked up and begins to be noisy.
As is the case with many relative newbies to dog training this dog's owners tend to attempt to correct a dog on the lead in the wrong way. They pull on the lead and they pull while the lead is stretched taught. A firmly applied jerk given after deliberately giving the lead 6 - 12 inches of slack works far better - - - dogs can resist a pull far more easily than a jerk, they can fight back against a pull.
I ended this session by hunting or at least trying to hunt Kurt back towards the cars . He was keen enough to hunt but not nearly so keen to come back ! He took off after two strange dogs and I didn't have the puff to follow him ….so the man's wife did and he eventually came back to her and then to me . I am not entirely sure why Kurt was so keen to follow those two dogs ? Maybe one of them was a bitch he really fancied or maybe he knew he was on the way back to the car and wanted to continue having fun ?
I don't know why but if I'd had the ability I'd have went out there after him and very clearly have let him know I was not a happy bunny !
Wullie
I showed the man the "backwards shuffle step" and I hope doing that in future will help to persuade the dog to come right in to deliver. Kurt did come right in but he did several drops of the dummy and he was holding it by an end . He was also dead slow and stop as he returned.
I tossed Kurt's dummy into a snipe splash on his second retrieve and he did not really hunt for it. He'd caught the residual scent made by a few snipe that had departed as we arrived at the splash. I had to tell him firmly to pick up the dummy . He did it but his heart wasn't in it , he was far more interested in the scent left behind by a species of bird he's never even seen !
Both of the pups were steady to the dummy throws and that surprised me a bit ….. I'd have betted on Kurt running in !
The "hunting," if you could call it that, did not go very well. This was mainly due to my inability to walk much more than 30 yards without having to stop and gasp for breath. I thought a little sit down for a while would do me good but when I tried to sit on a fallen telegraph pole I fell off and landed up on my back waggling my arms and legs about like an upturned crab.
I explained the importance of "giving the dog the wind" and think the man already knew this but was too polite to say so. When cast off to hunt the dog did hunt but was no better than Kurt is at actually turning to whistle. I explained about turning your body while giving the whistle command and accompanying that with a sweep of the arm in the required direction. For a first attempt at this the dog did O.K.
I noticed the dog was far too inclined to "dwell on scent" and also inclined to scent mark as he hunted and told the man to keep the dog moving. In my opinion pointing dogs should either be running and looking for game, or pointing game or even bumping it but they should not be given time to just mooch around. I'd rather urge a scent dwelling pup or dog on and make it bump a bird than see it not either running or pointing.
This dog has one rather major fault ….he barks and he whines and he does not like remaining in place - not even with a lead on. His owners have made the mistake of manhandling him into doing things like sitting and staying and this dog is big enough, strong enough physically and strong willed enough to struggle against being man handled . I can't do much about his noisemaking but if the dog was more settled mentally then I think his noise making would decrease. I asked his owners to use the lead more , accompanied by just one definite command when getting him to sit and stay in one position when the dog gets worked up and begins to be noisy.
As is the case with many relative newbies to dog training this dog's owners tend to attempt to correct a dog on the lead in the wrong way. They pull on the lead and they pull while the lead is stretched taught. A firmly applied jerk given after deliberately giving the lead 6 - 12 inches of slack works far better - - - dogs can resist a pull far more easily than a jerk, they can fight back against a pull.
I ended this session by hunting or at least trying to hunt Kurt back towards the cars . He was keen enough to hunt but not nearly so keen to come back ! He took off after two strange dogs and I didn't have the puff to follow him ….so the man's wife did and he eventually came back to her and then to me . I am not entirely sure why Kurt was so keen to follow those two dogs ? Maybe one of them was a bitch he really fancied or maybe he knew he was on the way back to the car and wanted to continue having fun ?
I don't know why but if I'd had the ability I'd have went out there after him and very clearly have let him know I was not a happy bunny !
Wullie
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
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trekmoor
- Member
- Posts: 16074
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:38 am
- Dogs: Too many and not enough !
- Location: Central Scotland
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
I think I will have to give in on trying to train Kurt. I just don't have the puff for dog training any more. I walked from my car to the local library this morning, a distance of about 40 yards. Once inside the library I collapsed and was helped up, had a chair pushed under me, then was given a glass of water. The two librarians asked about getting me a doctor but I refused that - - - I don't like docs - -- I sat there for a while , picked up one book from a nearby shelf then went back to my car.
I'm jiggered. No more dog training for me.
Wullie
I'm jiggered. No more dog training for me.
Wullie
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
.
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
Sorry to hear that wullie , get your journal written that will keep you amused. A book of short anecdotes of your life in pursuit of field sports that would be a brilliant read 
Muddling along in the hope that one day it starts to make sense.
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nanalander
- Member
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:04 pm
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
Wullie, just to say Bucks Diary, Charlies Chatter, On the Edge, Ghillies Report Card have all at some time or other been hiding on my browser at work over the last few years, so I could have a sneaky peep, or a good old read if things were quiet and no bosses prowling about.
So, whatever you write, please carry on, as I'm not working now, so can read more of your words of wisdom!
So, whatever you write, please carry on, as I'm not working now, so can read more of your words of wisdom!
Re: Ghillie's Report Card
Sorry to hear your health has now stopped your ability to train!
I was just about to pack Alice up and send her up to you for the mandatory retrieve and sit training you did with bee
Speak soon pal
Mike
I was just about to pack Alice up and send her up to you for the mandatory retrieve and sit training you did with bee
Speak soon pal
Mike
Don't be backwards at going forwards