Dog Train Kenna 2015_0110
NAVHDA training day at Lake Wales in the NE (field A).
Dry cool (60s F?) and windy
At the beginning of the first outing, Kenna ran well ahead and pointed a bird not in a launcher. She held point for several minutes, but bird flew and she chased long before we got there. She chased, but did not catch the quail as it landed in a small tree in the border scrub.
We got Kenna back from the brush and sent her toward the launchers which were placed next to each other this first attempt. Kenna did not really point the launcher, but we did get her to stop and then she perked up when I launched the first bird. After that I tried to put in another bird without Kenna seeing – she saw and raced for the spot I’d placed the quail. She moved to mark when flushed the bird, but did not hit the end of the check cord.
During the second outing, Kenna held point on bird that she found – there were several walking about. Wesley was able to hold the check cord while I chased off the running quail. Kenna stood well for all of that earned meatball treats. Because of the running ground quail, I held the check cord and took Kenna upwind of the launcher as I felt she needed more time to relax before encountering more birds. We went on to the further launcher. She responded to scent, but was unsure. I verbally asked for a wait.
She found another quail and we were able to get to the check cord. At one point in here she broke and hit the end the check cord. After this last quail Kenna was stotting (boinging) and we were back near the bird launcher we had skipped. Kenna was even more wired than before so we skipped the other launcher and took Kenna back to the van.
Ritka’s three outings were fun. A few times she crept or moved to mark more than ideal, but overall her performance was good.
On Kenna’s 3rd outing, Kenna found a non-launcher quail first. She stood while I had to really chase the bird to get it away. Then we worked the near launcher – I tossed one extra flyer and a dead bird for the retrieve.
The last launcher of the day was near the SW corner of the pond. Those birds did not want to flush well and had to be chased. Kenna stood for all of this. On the last launcher of the day, I tossed 3 extra birds (I miscounted there should have only been 2). One of those birds flew so poorly I was easily able to catch it with my hat. Then I tossed a quail for Kenna to retrieve – She tends to go by me before coming back to trade the quail for a meatball, but she is retrieving to hand with a detour.
On the way back in, Kenna bumped a bird (not sure if she should have stopped, I was not watching carefully enough). She did not chase, but did not stop – I verbally asked for a stop and she did.
So only one real chase and one chase attempt, with improvement through the session.
