New Adventures in Training

I've decided to begin a completely new adventure in dog training for me! A new instructor has joined us at FDSA and starting gun dog lessons! When Vito first came home I thought it would be fun to dabble in it but without anyone to give R+ guidance my dedication didn't last long as I moved onto other sports. Still not sure I will be all that committed with Zumi but I set myself a goal of getting her WC at least. Certainly not looking to be a forerunner of the super, super, super small positive gun dog community.

Jumped right in and got my Dokkens delivered! I am clueless and didn't realize how big mallards are. All of the dogs were capable of retrieving it but it wasn't easy for the dogs to know where to hold it.

So then I ordered a teal, a puppy gun dog bird, and will started training with that first.

Much better.

Also got a shiny new whistle and starting to teach her the whistle sit! Since I know Zumi is great at offering sits I know she wasn't quite getting the cue in this video yet. I added distance and movement pretty quick to help give her more contrast on the whistle being the cue. Note- not in the homework, if this was a stupid idea I only have myself to blame :)

Kristen – ( December 7, 2015 at 1:23 PM ): Yayyyyyyyy!

My two favorite resources:

Thomas's field dog foundation class (fannygott.com - not on the schedule yet, but probably in the spring) and the new book _ Retrieving for All Occasions_
Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duck – ( December 7, 2015 at 2:41 PM ): Give me a nudge when his class opens and we will see if I'm still committed! I've put the book on my amazon wishlish, I wish it wasn't hardcover!
Kristen – ( December 7, 2015 at 3:38 PM ): There's an ebook version: http://www.retrievingforalloccasions.com/product/retrieving-for-all-occasions-ebook/

Hardcover is beautiful but pricey.
Abby – – ( December 8, 2015 at 5:05 PM ): So if "all" the dogs are capable of retrieving the Dokkens, where is Lance's picture? Or is he enjoying retirement too much to retrieve giant birds?
Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duck – ( December 8, 2015 at 5:40 PM ): Ha ha! Lance actually did retrieve the mallard for me! He was the first one to do so completely being the good dog and all! I shall get a picture of it, super cute!
Abby – – ( December 9, 2015 at 5:23 AM ): Yay Lance! I can't believe how well he keeps up with his retriever siblings! And I look forward to the picture :)