working and living with performance spaniels
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
I am once again guilty of posting dog updates on Facebook when they should be here! Bad, bad Facebook! I recently picked Gael back up from her trainer, and we spent a few hours watching her work before I took her home. I could tell Gael was glad to see me, but was also a bit confused between me and the trainer. That ceased after a few minutes, and by the end of her work, she ran to the van to go home.
Anyway, here are some shots of Gael working her birds. In this first shot, she has winded the bird and is moving into the scent cone:
As Gael gets closer, she freezes into a point:
Here’s Gael working a different bird. With this bird, I was able to move into the bush and flush it, without Gael moving. That’s a lot of progress for 2 months!
Here’s Gael on her third bird:
I had hoped to get a better shot of Gael pointing from her front, but the trainer was having me move in and flush the bird for her, which is what we’ll be doing in the spring hunt tests for Junior Hunter. I’m pleased with Gael’s work in this short time. Her style is intense yet classic setter with a level tailset. While many field trialers today prize the “12 o’clock” tail, I like the old-fashioned tail. Way to go, Gael!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
Jes’ checking out how my new Nikon camera works. I typically upgrade my techno-toys about 10 years after everyone else, and my camera finally bit the dust a few weeks ago. I need something to photograph Gael next week in the field, but all of my savings are wrapped up in house move/sale/upgrading tasks. So I ran out to Costco and got a cheap Nikon Coolpix. Here’s one of Reardon on the move:
Not bad. And I had to get a shot of Kani, who has happily grown some winter coat:
I’m still not convinced this camera captures movement all that well, but fortunately Gael is a POINTING breed!:-)
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
Since December my focus has been on getting my house ready for sale, in hopes of down-sizing to a more manageable property and mortgage amount. Beyond that, my goal is to find a property with a shop/garage that I can use as a training building. Needless to say, this has turned my life and my dogs’ lives temporarily upside-down, with contractors and cleaners in and out of the house, and now real estate agents and open houses.
The dogs have handled the changes with good nature, but meanwhile life goes on. Kani’s recent blood test on 2/20 continues to show disturbing numbers. Here’s the breakdown of the worrisome numbers with comparisons to the last two tests. All of them are above the normal range:
BUN
2/20: 63
12/21: 46
11/21: 47
CA (calcium)
2/20: 12.4 (this has stayed steady for 4 months, but it’s still out of range)
PHOS (phosphorus)
2/20: 9.2
12/21: 6.8
11/21: 6.9
CRE (creatinine)
2/20: 4.5
12/21: 3.9
11/21: 4.1
From 11/21 to 2/20, Kani’s PCV has lowered from 41% to 35%. This percentage shows the amount of red blood cells. 20% is the danger level, and it’s scary that we’re heading in that direction.
And yet, Kani seems to feel great! She’s happy, bouncy, and with a good appetite. My vet just shakes her head, smiling. I’ve made a point of getting Kani more exercise lately, with frequent short walks and running with her little springer pack after a tracking session. I just try to be grateful for every tail wag and every good day. Right now, life is a joy with her.
Now that the house is actually on the market, I’m trying to get us back into a training routine. Reardon and Journey are preparing for a go at Utility at the Seattle Kennel Club shows in March, and Rozzie is making good progress with her tracking, now progressing to two corners per track. I also made the big decision to send Gael off to a field trainer for a few months while everything is so unsettled. Next week I’ll head to Kennewick for a visit, and I’ll be posting pictures!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
This is a few weeks ago now, but Kani had her monthly blood test to see how her kidneys are functioning. A few numbers improved, but the most important ones did not:
The BUN and Creatinine (CRE) are most significant in terms of kidney function, and they are asterisked, meaning they are above normal range. (The normal range are the numbers in the middle column.) Not only are they well above normal range, but they are higher than Kani’s October numbers, which I’ve written in on the right-hand side. Phosphorus (PHOS) is also important, and while that has gone down slightly, it is well above normal, even with a daily phosphorus inhibitor medication and dramatic change in diet. However, the PCV count (packed cell count) is within normal range (41%), which is good. From what I understand, this means Kani’s kidneys are still telling her bone marrow to produce red blood cells. Once this percentage drops below 20%, we’re in trouble.
When I asked Kani’s vet to give me an honest prognosis, she said we’re living on a house of cards. Right now Kani feels great. Her tail is wagging, her appetite is good, and she’s alert and fairly active. But at some point, the house of cards will collapse, and my vet warned me this will probably happen quickly. We’ve upped her phosporus inhibitor, and she now gets sub-q fluids three times a week, rather than two. I’ve become very grateful for this time we’re having together. She sleeps very close to me in bed and I make sure to let her know every day how special she is. I’m especially grateful that she made it to our annual holiday photo shoot with Creative Indulgence. I made sure to get some special photos just of her. Here’s the best of the best:
Our next blood test is right before Christmas. Until then, every day is a great day to be with her!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
Rozzie started tracking a few weeks ago, and today showed excellent progress. In rainy weather with no wind, we did three short tracks of increasing distance, some change of cover, and diminishing food drops: 50 yards and 60 yards in short mowed grass, and then 70 yards in short pasture grass. They were all about 5-7 minutes old. She did great, really pulling me on the 6-foot lead and showing a lot of focus and eagerness. I’m excited to see that she even starts tracking as soon as we’re out the door, and today tracked my scent across the asphalt street! I have plans to do some initial VST work with her from the get-go, and am waiting for Presnall’s book on VST Component Tracking to show up in the mail so I can proceed with a plan. I do notice her air-scenting more on asphalt, and I don’t know if that’s typical. I suspect we need to do some training to get her nose back on the ground. Next we can start aging the track a little more and doing some much longer ones. I’m pretty certain we can start doing turns before the end of December.
The only hitch we’ve had so far is when I switched her from a first week of double-laid tracks (meaning I walked the track twice) to single-laid (walking the track once). We had one tough day where she was confused and had trouble staying focused on the track. It leads me to wonder if starting with double-laid tracks is even necessary. I know Sil Sanders doesn’t recommend them. Anyway, we’re definitely past that hitch now! Rozzie loves this work and starts whining excitedly as soon as I put on the harness. Go, girl!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
Two Sundays ago Reardon and I hit a milestone in his tracking career: earning his TD! In winds up to 20 mph, he completed a 455-yard track that had been aged 35 minutes. Here’s the judge’s map:
The 1st, 3rd, and 5th legs of this track had crosswind, and I was very impressed with how Reardon handled that wind, occasionally exploring the far side of the track where the scent had blown, and then always returning right onto the track. He consistently casted at each corner, but only briefly, and found and indicated the turns quite confidently. This was a night and day difference in his performance in his two other tracks up in Bow, WA, where he floundered at some point in the track and just never regained his confidence.
What was the difference? Some of that answer is unknowable; we didn’t have gunfire by duck hunters this time, and we were on a field far away from the scents of the dairy farm. It seemed like he simply liked the scent of this particular tracklayer, because he was tracking her before we ever got to the start flag. But one major difference was my psychological state. This time around, I simply refused to be nervous. I hadn’t thought that my nerves would play a role with the dog when he’s out 20 feet ahead of me on a long line, but Reardon’s confidence level was so astonishing on this track, and so different from the very nervous behaviors he’s shown on past tracks, that my state of mind had to play a role.
How did I get rid of my nerves? I just had to let go of the outcome. We had already flunked twice at Bow; this was the last tracking test of the season, and if Reardon didn’t pass, we would take a long break to just focus on Utility. I wondered if perhaps asking him to be so focused on me in the obedience ring, and then so independent on the tracking course was just too conflicting for him.
Then on the way up to the test, I listened to Troy Bassham’s CD from his mental toughness book called Attainment. He talked a lot about letting go of that outcome and just concentrating on the task at hand. He also talked about how most competitors make the mistake of giving 110% in performance and actually trying too hard, and thus blowing the performance. He said the 110% should happen in the practice; in competition, he said the competitor just needs to “let it happen.” That became my mantra at the test. As Reardon and I walked up to the start flag, I talked playfully and happily to him, and said to aloud to both of us many times, “let’s just let it happen.” And it did.
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
This is not the world’s greatest video, but it is evidence that Gael can indeed:
Six months ago I wasn’t sure how and when these things would be possible. She’s certainly maturing and we’ve been working on all these things. For my part, I don’t do the greatest halts when I’ve got a side leash to operate, and when I’m so intent on her sits. And we’re still working on her hold; she can hold it sitting still, but ask her to move and the whole thing falls apart. I’m trying something I learned with Reardon, where my response is not to correct (which ups any anxiety), but instead help to quiet her jaw muscles. With Reardon I used T-touch circles; with Gael, she seems to respond to gentle strokes across her forehead.
Normally there would be more play during and around these exercises, but I was short on time. She seems pretty darn happy nonetheless. This video shows huge progress on her part. I’m pleased!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
Yesterday on the morning of Reardon’s obedience trial in Lynden, WA, my mantra was: We’re double winners! I like mantras; Jane Savoie, the Olympic equestrian competitor and author of many books about the mental game, encourages adopting words or phrases to chant the weeks before a competition and on that day.
How are we double winners? Well, I was assuming Reardon would earn his CDX that day (and I was right!). But the winning is more than that. I’ve made huge strides this year in recognizing and overcoming old negative self-image “tapes” while performing. Reardon has made huge strides in overcoming a health issue that has plagued us for 3 years. He is blooming in good health; in fact, he’s a little chubby, but after the scary weight and muscle loss last year, I struggle with putting him on a diet. He is exuberant with good cheer and vitality, and it feels like he’s trying to make up for lost time. So we are both double winners, inside and outside the ring. And guess what? My mantra came true:
This titling run included some rather comical brain farts on both our parts: in the heeling pattern, when the judge said “slow,” I went fast for a few steps before I recovered and moved into a slow. I have no idea what I was thinking. The heeling was going beautifully before then and we were almost done! I think my mind had moved too many stages ahead. Remarkably, Reardon stayed with me through every fumbling step.
Then on the very last retrieve, Reardon gave me a beautifully straight front but several inches away from me. Then for the around finish, he finished behind me. Where was his brain? On his cookies? Who knows? Who cares? After rock solid stays a half hour later, we happily grabbed our green qualifying ribbon! Double winners we are!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous
This tracking photo, taken by the talented photographer Lisa Kaufman, does not at all capture the soggy fields of Bow, Washington today. I just forgot my camera! Today Reardon and I drove up to Bow to practice for the tracking tests coming up. Bow was his nemesis in the spring, and so I wanted to have a confidence-building session, and today was the only free day I had available to make the two-hour drive.
All of my track-layers were off on their own activities, so Reardon tracked me. I figured that was fine; he loves tracking me, and the more success the better. All went very well. He handled his corners quite efficiently despite some major changes in wind, and never really had a moment’s hesitation. I’m hoping for success in November!
The Spaniel Annals 