So we've been trying to drum up some enthusiasm for dummies. Not quite up to Heidruns standards (video or retrieve) but it was a lovely little session in the sun this morning Getting the ever popular tennis ball (yes I know it squeaks :-[ ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz8mbhhi7CY And one of the dummies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpHw4JjOngc He picked up a full size traditional dummy today too but he's still not carrying it in the middle so I haven't shared that video : he's getting better though - lots of carrying different dummies round at heel seems to be helping. Does anyone think I should use my recall whistle earlier? I don't want to distract him while he's picking up the dummy but he's definitely heading towards me already when I whistle.
Re: Fun in the field Lovely little clips Barbara , well done to you and Riley ;D I may well be wrong here, but if you blew the recall whistle too early , theres a chance he might just turn round and come back , he seems to be responding very well as things are
Re: Fun in the field lovely, riley is beautiful he looks so happy i have ordered whistles, not arrived yet ,still reading the book, hope to get started on the training soon
Re: Fun in the field thanks kate, lynne I do love it when all you can see of him is his wagging tail in the long grass as he hunts for his tennis ball ;D whistles plural is a good idea, I have several and leave one in the car and one in my dummy bag as I'm always forgetting to pick up my usual one off the hook as I leave the house
Re: Fun in the field i have ordered 2 whistles, should be here today, just going to take my time with the training one small step at a time you look like you are doing very well
Re: Fun in the field [quote author=lynnelogan link=topic=1646.msg11997#msg11997 date=1370427995] just going to take my time with the training one small step at a time [/quote] definitely the best way the good thing about that is you have lots of steps to celebrate the success of, the bad thing is sometimes you lose track of how far you've come ;D but it's lots of fun and for us the only way to develop some kind of control on our walks!
Re: Fun in the field Lovely clips, Barbara, and a very enthusiastic and happy Riley! ;D The field is absolutely perfect for training, that long soft grass is very inviting for a young dog. I think your timing of the recall whistle is spot on. ;D Looking forward to lots more videos. Get someone else to do the filming. I have learnt a lot about my own handling after watching myself in my videos. I am doing things that I wasn't aware of. ;D
Re: Fun in the field Thanks Heidrun I figured I would let him run in until he's as keen on dummies of all types as he is on his tennis ball. He's been pretty easy to steady previously, I think I was doing that too early so I'm only going to ask him to wait if another dog will be retrieving. Does that sound like the best way forward?
Re: Fun in the field Wow Barbara, you have become quite the professional. I feel very left behind as usual Well done to you and the lovely Riley. Helen x
Re: Fun in the field Thanks Helen, I was really pleased with him this morning but you wouldn't say that if you'd seen how unkeen Riley was in the woods the other day, too many nice smells : Keenness still comes and goes but he can usually be relied on to be excited about his tennis ball. I've been doing the usual embarrassing things like playing with dummies on my own to try and get Riley interested and haven't asked him to be steady at all. I've also asked him to carry dummies whilst at heel so he gets used to the different feel of each dummy and what it's like to carry. All of the above seems to be building his enthusiasm for retrieving anything instead of just a tennis ball.
Re: Fun in the field I look forward to the day when dummies are part of Charlie's life. I have been getting Charlie to 'hold and carry' his ball on the way home from the paddock (on lead) to get him used to it too. Such tiny steps Helen x
Re: Fun in the field I remember a while ago you asked about different dummies I think in hopes that Charlie would find them more interesting than hunting. The response was that hunting would still win. However if, like I have been, you're looking for the next thing for Charlie to retrieve under the same conditions that he has his ball I used the Working Dog Company rugby ball shaped dummy(I think I have their middle sized of three) because I can get it to roll and bounce so it's more fun to chase than a standard dummy. I also got some that had tennis ball material on the outside so that they felt familiar. The rugby ball was the more successful of the two. From there we headed into more traditional dummies, a lightweight recommendation from Heidrun and then a full size green number Each one I gave him to carry first, then I tried to make them fun to chase, Riley likes stuff that runs along on the ground. After that I'd start throwing through the air. Baby steps is definitely the phrase with a bit of trial and plenty of error thrown in !!
Re: Fun in the field Thanks for the tip about the dummies Barbara, when we are at that stage I will definitely take a look on that website. Absolutely plenty of error here Helen x
