Just a quick update on how the boy's training is going... We have been working really hard in the last few weeks and he is responding very positively. I've been taking him and Tilly out individually every day so that I can really concentrate on both of them.
In the last few weeks I have been able to channel his drive more and more to get him to work for me rather than hunt for himself which is an incredible feeling
He still has his moments where he goes deaf but these are becoming much fewer and further between. I can send him out to the left or the right with two pips on the whistle and a hand signal and he will work the ground like a dream and then come back to me without me having to whistle him again, he doesn't miss an inch, I wish I had a camcorder so I could film him doing it. However at this stage I wouldn't trust him to do this if he was out of sight and he flushed game, he would probably still give chase so I am keeping him within my sight until I am happy with his steadiness to live game or I am just setting him up to fail. When he's working his tail never stops which is a nice sight.
Last Wednesday we were at the country park and we had an amazing moment where I sent him out quartering and he flushed a partridge. Now the old Alfie would have chased it all the way to Glasgow but when I pipped the whistle he took about two strides after it before stopping and turning back to me, to say I was chuffed is the understatement of the century
Ideally he would have lay down when the bird flushed but I am confident that that will come in time. He is dropping well to one long blast on the whistle but I don't expect him to do this just now when exposed to live game, he simply hasn't had enough experience of this. If he turns away and comes back to me for the moment I am more than happy with that. He is also starting to ignore small birds and crows as he has discovered the joys of 'proper' birds now having flushed a few so that's a relief! We are practising at home where I throw a dummy or a ball over his head and whistle him to lie down as it goes over him. He's doing very well at this - when all his instincts must be telling him to jump at it and chase it, 8 times out of 10 he will resist, listen to the whistle and lie down
The other two he usually turns to look longingly at it but he doesn't go for the chase which is good.
His retrieving is coming along well, I am shaping it as a behaviour chain with a clicker and working on each element individually before putting them all together for a full retrieve so we are doing 'wait still while the dummy is launched' 'mark where it lands' 'send off in the right direction' 'seek it out' 'pick up' 'bring straight back' 'sit and present' all as separate elements which is working well. It's really a lot of steadiness work, building on his self control again.
To introduce him to fur and feather I got him a rabbit fur dummy and a pheasant feather one and we use these solely for picking up and presenting practise. I also have him carrying and holding a raw egg as practise in the house as well.... so far so good, he hasn't broken any yet!
I am trying to arrange to get him a few sessions in a rabbit pen so hope to do that in the next couple of weeks. I have taken him to the stables a couple of times and he has been pretty good, very interested but no barking or lunging. There are a lot of sheep and lambs in the fields near the reservoir atm so I am using them to practise self control and keeping attention on me. I wouldn't trust him yet but he's coming good.
Ok for those of you who have made it this far
Sorry, this is actually quite a long update but he's been working hard and I'm curious as to how all you others are getting on who are field training your dogs. It's hard work but I'm finding it really rewarding and Alfie loves it as well which is the main thing
Takin' a break after some hard work