http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yPglgVw0EM

February 9th 2012.


Finding good training ground at this time of year is never difficult. Cattle are off the land and as long as we stay many miles away from where sheep are lambing we're sorted. What seems to present more problems is the number of available training companions...most are suffering , quite possibly , from Field Trial fatigue. Unfortunatley by the time they feel motivated to commence training for the Working test season training ground availability will again begin to decline.
 I have been fortunate to have gained the aquaintance of Colum, a fellow non-field trialler and Flatcoat owner , we all have our crosses to bear :). The important thing is we are equally as passionate at pushing our dogs as far as they can go.

Winterwork for Gundogs is somewhat of a double edged sword.Especially if your dog is part of the picking up team on a shoot. Marking down birds improves considerably and as the dogs become more experienced they learn to judge distance better but also work out that they can  find a bird by going around cover as opposed to going a straight line. So lines tend to become fuzzy during the Winter and need to be tightened up again at this time of year. .

This morning's training session went well. The weather was mild with a light rain falling so even though there was very little wind the scent was good. We started with some easy long single marks in short meadowgrass. As we moved on down through the fileds to the Rushy Bottoms I laid a memory blind, which we would pick on the way home. The ground we're using at the moment varies from meadow to rushy ground. The poorest aspect being the water, which is a narrow river, so we will need to vary that over the coming weeks. A lot of working tests are based around lakes. 
 Bertie's marking is good. I learned form watching more experienced handlers in competition last year to blow him up and handle him onto a mark quickly rather than allowing him hunt around, unless he nails it straight off. He's still pulling against me on direction, tending to acknowledge me briefly before turning to work again. I am learning if I slow down  my commands , he focuses better. I need to staple my feet to the ground as I have a tendency to move around way too much when handling on lefts and rights:).
I have booked my flight to attend the UK CBRC AGM at the end of the month. It's also a lovely opportunity to see my little sis , who lives in Oxford and is giving me a bed for the night.
Preparation work continues with Mossy.He's still having issues standing for exam so it's my intention to attend two ringcraft classes next week. Time is ticking on...
The following is a synopsis of our work over the Winter months. Since I  became involved in working my dogs Winter has become my favourite season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yPglgVw0EM

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