With the game season over, it’s time to have a think which areas of dog work could do with a little attention.
Islay was put out of a field trial, for failing on a blind retrieve, which was lying in waterlogged ground on the far side of a stream. So we need to work on retrieving over an obstacle, handling, and then persisting in a defined area until she finds what she’s looking for.
Yogi performed well in his sole field trial, but ran in a couple of times when I was shooting over him, and my attention was divided. Sitting to flush, fall and a bit of general steadiness training is required. Not only will unsteadiness get you kicked out of a trial, but it will also potentially put the dog in the line of fire, and thus limit the number of safe shots that can be taken.
Here we’re practising retrieving over an obstacle – I think we’ve got it nailed!
