Took the dogs out and ran a little Y drill and blind.

The Y drill is a marking drill that helps a dog In a few ways. A couple being depth perception and learning to check down on "angle in" marks.

Typically you wouldn't add a blind in but I just wanted to.

Rally the black dog just turned 1 and Kimber the choc dog just turned 3.

Mark 1 is thrown right to left flat
Mark 2 angle back left to right
Mark 3 angle in left to right.





The Y drill can be done like i do it in the videos if you have wingers and train alone. It has a disadvantage in that you don't have a bird boy to help if the dog gets in trouble.

The other way is to run the Y drill by sending the dog back to "home plate" and throw them yourself. I use a half kennel and just send the dog back to the "kennel" after delivery. Then you can hand throw the next mark. This also has a disadvantage in that you aren't next to the dog and you are not able to work with your dog on line or correct any line manners issues.

The best way is to have someone throw marks for you but that's not always possible.


I over casted Kimber on the first whistle. I gave the cast I would have given Rally who is younger and just starting cold blinds.

Sorry I was in the way for a lot of Kimber's video.

Beautiful work sir!

a couple suggestions...
1. Be as still as you can and make the dog move to where you are, especially on line. Eliminate the BIG leg slaps and use small taps on your thigh. Fine tune instead of bulk. It will take some time, but you'll have much better communication with the dog.
2. Be soft with your voice on line and subtle with your movement. Dogs are very aware of body positioning. Voice should be very soft on the line and used, if necessary, loudly in the field to push to create momentum through tough spots like old falls and poison birds.
If the judges can hear me talking to the dog on the line, I'm being too loud.
3. Literal cast as much as possible. Meaning give the cast that will put the dog on the bird if they take it the hole way. Don't get too big in training because you won't be able to get big enough in a trial/test. Your recall was approapriate, but if you recall the dog you
need to give a more challenging cast. example...give and angle back and the dog digs...stop whistle "here" to the spot, sit whistle, nick, another sit whistle, then a more straigh up cast. The dog will likeley take more cast after the recall and correction.
4. In training, I use "here" when bringing a dog in when handling on a blind, or marks, instead of the "toot toot toot" come in whistle. That can cause confusion and tell the dog and tell them to hunt it up. In a test or trial, you just gotta get out of it with handling. Come in
whistles are frowned upon and "here" is basically elimination, certainly is in trials.
5. I prefer the "area marking drill" over the "Y" drill. Area marking is very similar concept but you only throw to one side. All left or all right. When we do the area marking drill, we have 5 marks. Hard angle in, angle in, flat, angle back, and hard angle back. This
teaches the dog to get to the area of the fall and then hunt quadrants once they arrive. It also teaches them to check down before the gun instead of blowing by the gun, then coming back to the bird. It's okay to HUNT past the gun, then HUNT back infront of the
gun, but blowing by the gun isn't good. This is also why in training set ups, we mostly throw flat or very slight angle ins.
The other, and the largest reason I prefer AMD over YD is that the YD shows the dog it's okay to hunt both side of the gun. It's a drill and they should, and probably can, tell the difference but why show them something is okay in one scenario and it's wrong in
another. Does that make sense?

Good job though. I hope the suggestions help.

Appreciate it Mub Shark.

I agree, and do the same drill

Robby

Mudshark, did you get that at one of Danny seminars?
Robby

I've seen the drill y'all are referring to in the Farmer/Aycock problems and solutions DVD.

They were using a black bumper. Stated they used it to tighten up big hunts.


Appreciate any tips for sure.

I have plans to try a Q with the young black pup at some point.

I'm a member of a HRC but nobody really does much FT training and there are no FT clubs/training groups anywhere close. I'm also the only amateur in our club running dogs above a HR/SH level.

Well there may be members running dogs higher but I've never met them or see them at training days.

Anyway, I welcome any help.

No sir, not directly. Learned that from Dan, but I'm sure that it origanated from Farmer and Aycock.

Trent

if you really want the dogs to work, find you a pasture with ankle height cover, covered in cow pies. Black bumpers and cow pies look a lot a like. Works very well, but make sure it's cool/cold outside because they'll get too hot pretty quickly if it's at all warm